Chapter Nine
Ella had her first taste of how the uber-rich lived first thing the following morning.
She was swept into a world of personal shopping, where the normal trudge from store to crowded store was exchanged for the emptiness of the high-end boutique and the fawning subservience of assistants bending over backwards to show her the latest pieces.
There were no price tags on any of the clothing.
‘I have enough clothes to last two days,’ Ella had pointed out.
‘My parents are aficionados of formal attire,’ Rocco had told her. ‘I’ve never seen either of them in a pair of jeans.’
Ella had immediately got the message: cargo pants, dungarees, baggy jumpers and her capacious winter coat weren’t going to do.
She ended up with several outfits, shoes for the evening and a bag, only escaping a trip to a beauty salon because they’d been running out of time.
She wasn’t sure whether she’d enjoyed the experience or whether she’d felt manipulated into a spending spree she wasn’t altogether comfortable with—even though she belatedly realised that this sort of spree, so ridiculously uncustomary for her, would probably become the norm.
Now, as they sat waiting for Rocco’s private jet to take off, Ella glanced down at the beautiful pale-grey cashmere trouser outfit she wore and the black designer coat casually slung over the cream leather seat on the other side of the aisle.
She felt a little faint when she took in the rich wood veneer of the private jet, the plush seating arranged in little clusters for maximum comfort and the large windows with electronic shades, everything the last word in luxury.
Next to her, Rocco was scrolling through his phone, catching up on emails.
‘I feel like an imposter,’ she said, turning to him.
Rocco stopped what he was doing and swivelled to look at her.
‘Why?’ Of course, he knew why. It had been impossible not to notice her bemusement underneath the quiet compliance as she’d been shown outfit after outfit in the sort of exclusive shops in which he doubted she’d ever set foot before in her life.
And now she was sitting next to him on his private jet.
She’d wanted to look at the windows of the big department stores, which were dressed lavishly for Christmas, but they hadn’t had time and he’d felt like Scrooge as he’d firmly guided her back to his waiting chauffeur.
He’d thought of the department store where she worked and how proud she’d been of the Christmas tree and the effort the staff had poured into decorating it, knowing it would be the last one to grace the foyer.
He’d recalled her own Christmas tree and the warmth and love between her father and her as they had pulled out the decorations and taken a trip down memory lane with each and every one.
He’d watched her gaze up at the lights in Knightsbridge as they’d been driven through the congested streets, where throngs of shoppers flanked the slow-moving traffic.
‘I don’t belong in this world,’ she said bluntly.
‘It’s the same world as yours,’ Rocco returned. ‘You’re only wearing slightly different clothing.’
‘The closest I’ve ever got to a private jet is when I’ve seen one in a movie.’
‘Aren’t you enjoying the experience?’ He said this as it taxied and then roared upwards. He raised his voice and continued to look at her, easing her gently towards an understanding of the life she was going to occupy.
‘I guess there are no crowds at a packed terminal. Have you ever endured a winding queue at a terminal anywhere?’
‘No.’
‘What’s it like to live your life, Rocco?’
‘Very, very good now that you’re in it and pregnant with my baby.’ He reached out to cover her hand with his and smiled, a soothing, reassuring smile.
Ella closed her eyes and relaxed in her seat, with his hand still covering hers.
She’d been so hesitant about accepting this marriage proposal but he’d waited patiently for her to make her mind up, and had taken his time to show her all the sides of his personality so that she could see what a dependable husband he would make—and a dependable husband would become the devoted dad.
And with both of those…well…who knew where things might eventually end when the beginnings were auspicious?
What had started in deception, the thing that had so devastated her, had ended in this happy place.
She would meet his parents and, if they were a little reserved to start with, she was sure they would eventually warm to her.
Or at least accept her. Surely? Besides, he would be by her side and they wouldn’t be staying for long.
How objectionable could they be when they’d only have a very small dose of her to deal with?
‘I hope your parents like me, even if it’s eventually.’ She voiced her thoughts aloud as the jet sped towards their destination.
Rocco squeezed her hand. Personally, his thoughts were more in the direction of ‘all in the fullness of time’ but his parents were far too well-bred to openly voice any disapproval.
‘They will.’ His voice was reassuringly persuasive.
‘What if they don’t?’
‘I’ve never seen the point in dealing with hypothetical situations. Always best to wait until something happens and then deal with it, rather than creating a range of possible scenarios and getting worked up.’
‘That’s rich coming from the guy who was happy to project to a future where we had other partners,’ Ella said absently, chewing her lip and frowning.
She briefly conjured up one of those hypothetical scenarios he had talked about.
What if she’d dug her heels in and refused to marry Rocco, the son and heir to the family fortune that needed protecting?
Would she have made this trip out to Spain now?
Or would they have tried to convince their son to walk away from a child he had accidentally fathered, one who would have remained illegitimate?
They were clearly traditionalists to the bone.
Was she only going out to see them because she had agreed to marry their son at long last?
There was fertile ground here for all sorts of wild imaginings, but she shut the door to it, because she was now on a road and there was no turning back.
‘We still have to discuss all the details of our marriage.’ She turned to him and met his dark gaze steadily.
‘Whatever you say, your world couldn’t be more different than mine.
It’s not just a simple case of things being different superficially but the same deep down.
You’ve seen where I come from, seen the life I’ve been accustomed to. ’
‘I admit some changes might be on the horizon.’
‘I can’t live a life of spending money and being pampered,’ she told him bluntly. ‘You asked me whether I’d enjoyed the day. As a one off, it was an experience, but I wouldn’t want that to be my entire life.’
‘What are you proposing?’
‘I want to carry on working.’
‘Ella, maybe we could postpone this discussion for later, when I’m not having to shout over the roar of a plane engine?’
‘I feel like I’m on a roller coaster,’ Ella returned with a frown. ‘Yes, I’m really happy that you’re taking an interest in this pregnancy…that was never something you expected or asked for…’
‘This feels like well-trodden ground.’
‘Now we’re on our way to see your parents and that feels like I’m just a little bit higher on the roller coaster.
If I’m not careful I’ll be at the top, I’ll have lost sight of the ground beneath me and, by the time I come hurtling back down, planet Earth won’t bear any resemblance to the place I left behind. And Rocco…? That scares me.’
‘That’s very descriptive, Ella,’ Rocco said thoughtfully. ‘But, okay. I understand where you’re coming from. Do you think holding down a job is worth the effort? Whatever you earn will be a pittance in the grand scheme of things. Also, I would want you to devote time to our child. I…’
‘Yes?’ There was sudden insistence in her voice.
‘I know how sidelining a child to the safekeeping of strangers can have an effect,’ Rocco said roughly. ‘I wouldn’t want to see…that outcome for any child of mine.’
There was an electric silence during which Ella looked at him, taking in the dark stain on his cheekbones, the sudden tightening of his well-shaped mouth and an air of vulnerability that was so rarely apparent in him.
Her heart constricted as once again she was exposed to a past that had doubtless been lonely for a small child, however much money had been thrown at him.
It was another glimpse that made her feel so connected to him.
She impulsively reached out to link her fingers through his, half-expecting him to make some deflecting, jokey remark about not wanting her to feel sorry for him, but he just squeezed her hand in response and gazed at her with a shuttered expression.
‘Can I tell you something, Rocco?’
‘Depends.’
‘On what?’
‘On whether you think I’ll like what you want to tell me.’
He grinned but his dark eyes were wary and she smiled back. ‘I’m being serious,’ she said.
‘That sounds ominous but go ahead.’
‘First of all, when I say I want to work, the money would have nothing to do with it. It would be about mental stimulation. I would be very happy to get involved with some kind of volunteer work. And it would never be a full-time occupation. I would always put our child first and foremost. I know that there would be a nanny of sorts and, as long as I get to say who that nanny is and what their duties are, then that’s fine. ’
‘That sounds reasonable enough,’ Rocco murmured.
‘Something else. Can I ask what sort of woman you envisaged yourself marrying? Or rather, let me rephrase that, was there already someone lined up for you in true “marriage of convenience” style?’
The silence stretched and Ella’s mouth tightened because that silence spoke volumes. ‘Forget I asked that.’