To secure his heirâ¦
The night that Rose Palmer met enigmatic Italian tycoon Dante Fortinari she threw caution to the wind, allowing him to sweep her off her feet and into his bed! But by the next morning Dante was gone, leaving Rose heartbroken, aloneâ¦and pregnant.
Two years later, Rose comes face-to-face with the father of her daughter and can no longer hide the truth of that night. She knew heâd be angry, but never expected him to demand marriage! She longs to accept, but can her heart withstand life with a man who might never love her back?
âHold on!â She shook her head decisively. âThatâs not going to happen, Dante.â
He pulled her to her feet and stood staring down at her. âWe made a child togetherââ
Rose held her ground. âI didnât tell you about Bea to force you to marry me, Dante. I donât wantâor needâa husband.â
âBut this is not all about you, Rose,â he flung at her. âMy daughter needs a father. You have not considered this?â
âAre you serious? Of course I have!â She sighed wearily. âBut I like being in charge of my own lifeâand of hers. If I married you, Dante, I suppose you would expect me to uproot us to live with you in Italy?â
âNaturalmente. I have a home ready for you,â he said swiftly.
Rose shook her head firmly. âItâs not the basis for a marriage, Dante.â
âYou would find it so hard to be my wife?â he demanded, eyes glittering.
In some ways not hard at all, but that wasnât the point. âI think itâs a mistake to rush into anything, Dante,â she said at last.
Dante stood with long legs apart and arms folded as he stared down at her. âI will do whatever it takes to make it happen.â
ONE NIGHT WITH CONSEQUENCES
A high price to pay for giving in to temptation!
When succumbing to a night of unbridled desire itâs impossible to think past the morning after!
But with the sheets barely settled that little blue line appears on the pregnancy test and it doesnât take long to realise that one night of white-hot passion has turned into a lifetime of consequences!
Only one question remains:
How do you tell a man youâve just met that youâre about to share more than just his bed?
If you enjoy DANTEâS UNEXPECTED LEGACY
why not try these?
A SECRET UNTIL NOW by Kim Lawrence
A DEAL WITH BENEFITS by Susanna Carr
PROOF OF THEIR SIN by Dani Collins
CATHERINE GEORGE was born in Wales, and early on developed a passion for reading which eventually fuelled her compulsion to write. Marriage to an engineer led to nine years in Brazil, but on his later travels the education of her son and daughter kept her in the UK. Instead of constant reading to pass her lonely evenings, she began to write the first of her romantic novels. When not writing and reading she loves to cook, listen to opera, and browse in antiques shops.
CHAPTER ONE
ROSE SAT RIGIDLY, every nerve on edge as the plane took off. No turning back now. For years sheâd been turning down invitations to Florence, flatly refusing to be parted from her little daughter, or to take her child with her. But this time refusal had been impossible.
âPlease, please come,â Charlotte had begged. âJust you and me in a luxury hotel for a couple of days. God knows you can do with a break, and Iâll pay for everything and send you a plane ticket, so absolutely no expenses on your part. You know Bea will be fine with your mother, so donât say no this time. I really need you, Rose. So come. Please!â sheâd added, and because Charlotte was her oldest and closest friend and she loved her like a sister, Rose had finally given in.
âOh, all right. If it means that much to you I will. But why a hotel and not your place?â
âI want you all to myself.â
âFabio canât be cool about this. Itâs your wedding anniversary, isnât it?â
âHeâll be away for it on some business trip,â said Charlotte miserably. âBesides, he doesnât know about the hotel yet. But Iâve already booked, so thereâs nothing he can do about itânot that he would, of course.â
Rose wasnât so sure. A possessive husband like Fabio Vilari would surely be anything but cool if his wife took a hotel break in Florence without him, even if it was with her lifelong friend and the bridesmaid at their wedding. But from the moment Rose had said a reluctant yes to the trip Charlotte rang every day to make sure that she hadnât changed her mind, and in her final call sprang a surprise with instructions to take a taxi from Santa Maria Novella railway station to the hotel. âIâll meet you there later in time for dinner, Rose. I canât wait!â
Money, if the hotel brochure was anything to go by, was obviously not part of Charlotteâs problem, but if something was going wrong with her marriage Rose couldnât see what earthly help a single parent like herself could give her friend, other than to provide a sympathetic ear. Still, the note of tearful desperation in her friendâs voice had been so worrying that Rose had enlisted her motherâs willing help, covered her childâs face with kisses and made for Heathrow with her shoulder ready for Charlotte to cry on.