Falling for Her Convenient Groom Read online

  “And you think I can run his company on top of managing my own family business?”

  A frown pulled at her beautiful face as her gaze met his once more. “Certainly not.”

  “Then I still don’t understand.”

  She sighed and glanced out the window at the bustling piazza. “My father is resistant to hand over the reins of the company to me, even though he’s had a massive heart attack.” She failed to mention the most recent heart attack as she’d promised her father to keep it quiet. “Instead he spends all his time parading men in front of me, hoping I’ll choose one to marry.”

  “So I was right.” He’d warned her about her father’s matchmaking at his brother’s wedding to her cousin.

  “Yes. I confronted him, and the rumors are true.” She didn’t sound happy about it. “He started this matchmaking before he’d had his heart attack, but now he’s gone into overdrive. So in order for me to be able to pick my own husband and also to prove to my father that I’m quite capable of running the business, I’ve negotiated a deal with him. According to our agreement, I have until the end of the year to marry. If I don’t marry by then, the deal is null and void. But I don’t intend to waste any time with the formalities. Once I’m married, I can run the company any way I see fit for the following six months.”

  “You arranged a marriage contract?” He didn’t know if he should be awed by her or worried about her.

  “In a manner of speaking. All with the best of intentions.” Then her big brown eyes turned to him. “So, will you do it? Will you marry me?”

  * * *

  Her insides were knotted up with nervous energy.

  Carla couldn’t believe she’d been pushed into this unbelievably awkward position. She’d never imagined she’d be marrying for business, not love. But if she didn’t do something drastic, she feared her father would work himself to death, quite literally. Just the thought made her heart clench.

  And though she was marrying someone that her father would be totally opposed to, she knew if her father gave Franco a chance, he would see what she’d seen—that Franco was a good guy. If he wasn’t someone she could reasonably trust and respect, she wouldn’t have made this totally outrageous proposition.

  Buzz. Buzz.

  Her gaze moved to her phone that was quietly resting on the table. Even though it was the same ringtone, it was Franco’s phone going off. She glanced across the table as Franco sat there like a statue, staring unblinkingly out the window. His phone buzzed again.

  When he didn’t move this time, she said, “Franco, it’s your phone.”

  That startled him out of his deep thoughts. As he reached for his phone, she studied him. From his short dark curls on the top of his head to his clean-shaven face to those intense, dark eyes that felt as though they could totally see through her, to his aristocratic nose and finally to those very kissable lips—not that she’d had the luxury of feeling his mouth pressed to hers.

  While he rapidly sent some text messages, she continued her leisurely view of the man that she’d just proposed to. He had broad, strong shoulders and a muscular chest. And then there were his hands, with his long, lean fingers. Her mother would have said that he had the hands of a concert pianist—as her mother had been a concert pianist until she’d married. But if Carla were a betting person, she’d say that Franco didn’t know the C key from the A.

  Franco slipped his phone in his pocket. His gaze met hers. “Sorry. It was business.”

  She nodded in understanding. “No problem. I know your family business is as important to you as mine is to me.”

  His eyes lit up. “We do have that in common. But you’ve obviously misinterpreted our time together—”

  “I didn’t.” Heat rushed to her face as she realized he thought she was in love with him—nothing could be further from the truth. “I have no illusions about what a marriage between us would be like.”

  His gaze narrowed in on her. “So you’re not in love with me?”

  She couldn’t hold back the laughter that bubbled up inside her. Sure, he was drop-dead gorgeous, but he had one big fault—he was like her father, always thinking about business. And she had no desire to marry anyone. “Of course not. Is that what you thought?”

  He shrugged. “Well, that’s usually why people get married.”

  “But we’re not usual people, are we?”

  “Even so, I’m not getting married—not to you or anyone else.” His tone was firm and unbending.

  She wasn’t giving up now. “Listen, I know this marriage idea is a bit of a surprise—okay, it’s a big shocker—but don’t dismiss the idea so quickly. It could be beneficial to both of us.”

  He didn’t say anything for a moment as he continued to stare at her—as though he were trying to break through her barriers and read her most intimate thoughts. Not that she’d let him get that close.

  She’d already been hurt enough by her college sweetheart. Matteo had been Mr. Popularity, and she’d been the socialite with all the right connections.

  Matteo had been eager to get into politics, and though she saw herself as being more than a politician’s wife, she’d agreed to marry him. Her parents had been delighted. And so after graduation, they’d delayed the wedding and instead thrown themselves into Matteo’s first campaign.

  It had been a grueling year of public events, dinners and interviews. She felt as though the layers of her life had been peeled back for all the world to see.

  It wasn’t just her life the press had delved into. And that’s when they’d exposed Matteo’s duplicity. The story of him conducting an affair with his campaign manager was front-page news, complete with a picture of them wrapped up in each other’s arms kissing.

  Just the memory made her shudder inwardly. She’d barely dodged that disaster. She never wanted to let herself be that vulnerable again.

  She gave herself a mental shake, chasing away the troublesome thoughts from the past. She was no longer that doe-eyed girl who thought love would win out. Her heart had been hardened. She was much more practical now.

  While Franco might be the most handsome man she’d ever met, she had absolutely no intention of acting upon that chemistry. This would be a business arrangement, nothing more.

  His gaze narrowed. “Beneficial how?”

  “Should I marry, I assume full control of the company for six months, during which time my father can’t override any of my decisions.”

  A flicker of interest ignited in his dark eyes. “And what’s in it for me?”

  “I know you want your products once more on all the tables in the Falco chain. That’s a lot of tables—many more than there were back when our families were doing business together.”

  “And you will have the power to make that happen.”

  She nodded. “My signed, sealed and official agreement gives me all the power, once I marry.”

  Franco’s brows rose. Her totally outlandish scheme had caught and held his attention. She suppressed a smile that threatened to lift her lips. Now wasn’t the time for gloating over a plan that would not only benefit the two of them, but more importantly it’d help her father—even if he was too stubborn to see it.

  CHAPTER TWO

  MARRIAGE WAS OUT of the question.

  It was tantamount to self-destruction.

  And yet this proposal was most tempting.

  Franco couldn’t believe he was not only entertaining the thought of marrying Carla but also very tempted to say yes.

  With his appetite long forgotten, he glanced across the table. Carla’s unfinished meal had been pushed off to the side. It appeared neither of them were that hungry. He paid the check, and then they headed outside. He had no particular destination in mind.

  When he’d accepted her request for this dinner, he figured it would be to turn down his latest business proposal to place his spic
es back in the Falco Fresco Ristorantes. Carla’s family’s company was the largest restaurant chain in all of Italy. It spanned from the northern fringes of the country down to the warm shores of Naples. It’d taken decades for the chain to be the most well-known name in Italy, but they’d succeeded. And Franco liked to think his family had something to do with it, seeing as his family’s spices were what they’d used in the restaurant until more recent years.

  But why did the success of both of their businesses have to hinge on marriage?

  He raked his fingers through his hair as he tried to figure out another solution, one that was amenable to both of them. He stopped walking. He turned to Carla and gazed into her beautiful brown eyes. For a moment, he forgot what he was going to say. Her beauty, well, it was unique, and it didn’t come from makeup.

  It started with her heart-shaped face, her warm brown eyes and long lashes. She had high cheekbones, a pert nose and lush lips. She was stunning. But he refused to let himself get distracted. This was too important.

  He swallowed hard. “Does your agreement with your father state that you have to marry me in order for it to be valid?”

  “Of course not. My father hates your family.”

  He refrained from stating that his grandfather felt the same way about her father. Though he did recall his grandfather’s warning that he couldn’t trust a Falco. So did Carla have something else in mind besides a business arrangement?

  “I propose you marry someone else,” he said, though the idea of Carla pledging her heart to someone else didn’t appeal to him—not at all. “And then you’ll be free to do business with my company.”

  “I’ve considered the idea.” She hesitated.

  “And?”

  When her gaze met his, her eyes were shuttered, blocking him out. “And I can’t trust anyone else to do this.”

  “And you think you can trust me? Maybe you should talk to your father about that.” He was certain her father would talk her out of this crazy idea.

  She stepped up to him. “I can trust you because I know you’re totally opposed to marriage.”

  “And what does that have to do with this?”

  “It means that when it comes time to dissolve this partnership, you won’t give me a hard time. You won’t have developed any illusions that there was something more to this arrangement than what we agree to now.”

  There was certainly more to Carla than he’d ever imagined. This cool and calculating businesswoman was a side of her that he’d never seen before, and he wasn’t quite sure how to react. Part of him respected the fact that she took her family’s business so seriously that she’d be willing to go this far to look after it. Luckily he hadn’t had to go that far—well, not yet.

  He’d worked like crazy over the past several months, meeting with smaller restaurant chains and grocers, but no satisfactory deals had been reached. His grandfather had made sure to point out his failures. The comments still stung. But Franco was determined to prove to his grandfather that he was a skillful businessman. And now Carla was offering him a prime opportunity to do exactly that, but could he afford her price?

  He couldn’t believe he was asking this, but stranger things were known to happen. “How long would the marriage have to last?”

  “Six months.”

  Six months. Twenty-six weeks. One hundred and eighty-two days. A lifetime.

  As they resumed walking, he forked his fingers through his hair again. The last thing he was worried about at this moment was appearances. He was more worried about breaking the promise he’d made himself when his mother had dumped him and his brother on their grandparents’ doorstep—he would never let himself be vulnerable again. And that included marriage—most especially marriage.

  But this wasn’t a typical marriage. Right?

  His sideways glance met Carla’s expectant look once more. “And do you promise that if we do this—if we marry—you won’t expect anything from me?”

  She averted her gaze. “There might be some stipulations.”

  He knew it! He knew when it came to marriage no one could be trusted. “Forget it.” He shook his head. “We aren’t doing this.”

  “Don’t you even want to hear the stipulations before you write off my offer?”

  Did he have to hear them? She probably wanted weekends together, family gatherings and all the other stuff that people did when they were trying to show the world their marriage wasn’t a complete and utter sham. He wasn’t doing it.

  “No. Forget it.”

  “Well,” she said, “you might not want to hear them, but I’m going to tell you. There will be no stepping out on the marriage. So you’ll have to say goodbye to any girlfriends for the length of our marriage. I won’t be made a laughingstock.”

  Hmm...that wasn’t so bad. It wasn’t like he had a serious girlfriend. Unlike his brother used to do, he did maintain girlfriends for longer than two weeks. But he made it perfectly clear from the beginning that the relationship wouldn’t go anywhere. It was all for fun—nothing more.

  But the last woman he’d casually dated had been a little scary. So he’d been avoiding dating for the past couple of months. He didn’t see how Carla’s stipulation would be an issue, especially with a wife like Carla. His gaze lingered on her. They could definitely have some fun together.

  “And we will not be consummating the marriage.” It was as though she’d read his mind. Was he that obvious about his attraction to her?

  “Are you sure that part isn’t negotiable?” He sent her a teasing smile.

  She glowered at him. Okay, so she was taking this all very seriously. He supposed he should, too, though he didn’t want to. No matter the outcome, there was still an integral part of him that was utterly opposed to this arrangement.

  He cleared his throat. “Sorry. I guess I’m just really having a hard time taking this seriously.”

  “Don’t I look serious enough for you?” Her unwavering gaze met his.

  “It’s not that. You definitely act as though you’re negotiating the most important deal of your life.”

  “Then what’s the problem? I thought this deal would give you exactly what you wanted.”

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s the marriage part that I’m having problems with. Couldn’t we just fake the marriage like my brother and your cousin did with their engagement?”

  “It has to be a real marriage, otherwise I won’t assume control of the company and I won’t be able to hammer out a mutually beneficial arrangement to put your products back in my family’s restaurants. But this time around, I’m foreseeing a much bigger tie-in and promotion.”

  She certainly knew how to sweet-talk him. But still, he’d promised himself not to marry—not to make the same mistakes as his parents. He knew a secret about their marriage—a secret that his brother didn’t know—a secret he wasn’t supposed to know.

  His conception had been a mistake. That’s how his father had put it in an argument with his mother. He was the mistake that kept them married longer than they’d wanted. If it wasn’t for his presence, his parents would have gone their separate ways without destroying the childhoods of both him and his brother.

  And though the logical part of his brain said that none of it was his fault, the other part of him felt bad that his mere existence had caused his brother so much harm, from their father walking out on them to their broken home to their mother abandoning them on their grandparents’ doorstep.

  But if he didn’t do this—if he didn’t agree to marry Carla—how much more damage would be done? Because those products that were in danger of being pulled out of production weren’t just from the company’s past. They were the future of the company.

  The company’s sales had slumped over the years. Younger buyers weren’t recognizing the Marchello name. They weren’t rushing to the grocers to buy their product, so it wa
s just a matter of time until their company became extinct. Did he really have a choice in the matter?

  “Wait.” Carla’s voice drew him from his intense thoughts. They paused along a quiet stretch of sidewalk. When his gaze focused on her, he saw her withdraw folded papers from her purse. “This should explain the details of the agreement.”

  He was a little dumbfounded that she would have a legal agreement already drawn up. Surely he’d misunderstood. But when he wordlessly took the papers from her, he saw her name at the top followed by his.

  He was shocked that she would think he would just readily agree to such an outlandish idea. After all, he wasn’t an author, like his younger brother, and eager to live out a fictional life.

  But he was also impressed with Carla’s get-it-done attitude. It said a lot about her. It also told him that they had a lot in common. Was it something they could build upon? Not as in building a real marriage, but a real business relationship. Something told him that this deal, though it went against everything he’d ever promised himself, was too good to pass up.

  And besides, it would be a marriage on paper only. Soon it would be over—though not soon enough.

  He glanced down over the top sheet, catching the important details: their names; the length of marriage; the agreement to display, use and serve Marchello spices in all Falco Fresco Ristorantes.

  “Okay.” He folded the papers. “I’ll have my attorney go over these. Then we can sign the papers and set a date for the—well, you know.”

  “The wedding. I had a thought about that, too.”

  Why was he not surprised? It appeared she had thought about everything. He wondered if this was a sign of how things would go with their m...arrangement.

  He cleared his throat. “And what would that be?”

  “I think we need to get moving on this. We can get married at the same time we sign the papers.”

  “That soon?” His throat grew tight, and it was getting hard to breathe.