The Moretti Seduction (12 page)

“Yes. I want you to be my wife, Nathalie. It has nothing to do with Moretti Motors.”

“Really?” she asked.

“
Sì.
Sit down here. Listen to me. Over the past six weeks while we have argued and talked and become lovers, I’ve come to realize how much you mean to me. How much I need you in my life.”

“How much?” she asked again. It was odd. She should feel like crying now, but instead she felt oddly detached. It was almost as if she were watching the events unfold instead of actually participating in them. “Enough to give up the Vallerio name on the new roadster?”

“Why are you asking me that? You know that our affair has nothing to do with business.”

She stood up and paced away from him. “No, Antonio. I don’t know that.”

“What is going on here?” he asked.

“I heard you talking to Dom earlier. I heard you tell him that I was just a romance.”

“Merda.”

“Cursing won’t change the facts. And all of this is so lovely, but really it is over-the-top for the kind of affair you and I have…at least according to you.”

“Nathalie—”

“Don’t. Don’t try to explain it to me, Antonio. I can’t do this. I thought I could have it all. A man who cared for me…really cared about me and my family’s respect, but I can see now I was wrong.”

“What do you mean? The Vallerio and Moretti deal is done, just waiting for signatures,” he said, walking over to her. He took her shoulders in his hands. “And our relationship is just starting. I couldn’t tell Dom what I have only just figured out myself.”

“What is that?”

“That you mean more to me than any woman ever has before.”

He let his hands fall to his sides and she knew he was telling the truth. She did mean more to him than another woman, but for her that wasn’t going to be enough. She wanted to be the love of his life. She wanted him to be enamored of her the way Gio was with Philomena. And that wasn’t ever going to happen.

She could tell from the moment he mentioned marriage that he wasn’t talking about a love affair and she knew that was what it would take for her not to grow bitter.

“That’s not enough for me, Antonio,” she said.

“Why not? We are both new to this relationship stuff. Give me time to get better at it.”

She shook her head. “I can’t.”

“I don’t understand, Nathalie. I have everything here that a woman could want. I will give you everything you need.”

“Will you?”

“If it is within my power, it is yours,” he said.

She wondered if she was being too hasty. Maybe she had misunderstood what he’d said to Dom. This boardroom certainly made it seem that way.

“What if I said all I really need is your love?” she asked quietly.

She felt the air go out of the room, as Antonio stared at her. In that instant she had her answer and the tears started to roll down her face. She didn’t try to stop them, knew that asking a man for his love and getting silence wasn’t something that tricks could combat. She reached up behind her neck and took off the pearls and put them on the table.

“I think that answers my question,” she said, walking to the door.

“No, dammit, it does not,” he said.

“Yes, it does. Because without love, all of this is hollow. You’d think a man who grew up surrounded by the real thing would know the difference.”

“You’d think a woman who spent her entire adult life in the business world would know a good deal when she sees it.”

“I want more than a good deal from the man who asks me to marry him.”

“I didn’t mean that,” he said.

“What did you mean, then?” she asked.

He raked a hand through his hair. “I don’t know.”

“What do you feel for me, Antonio? Is it only lust?”

He shook his head. “It is so much more than that.”

“That’s something at least. I think I made a mistake by starting an affair with you while we were adversaries.”

“No, we didn’t make a mistake. You and I we were drawn together from the very first.”

“That doesn’t mean we were meant to marry,” she said. “We both wanted to win and I guess in the end I gave in because—Well, the why doesn’t matter anymore…but I almost gave in on some important points for Vallerio Incorporated.”

“Are you backing out of the deal we brokered because I can’t say that I love you?”

He made her feel small and petty when he said it that way. “No. I’m backing out because we decided we don’t need the money we’d make from the roadster.”

“Fine. Walk away from the deal if that’s what you feel you must do. But remind your board of directors that I treated you fairly and it’s only your wounded pride that has you running back to Paris.”

She had no rebuttal for him. She just unlocked the boardroom door and walked away as quickly as she could. She didn’t want to think that she was using pride to protect her broken heart. To be fair, nothing could protect her broken heart. The pain there was already too intense for her to control.

“What happened in here?” Dom asked from the doorway.

“Nothing. I…I had some—I asked Nathalie to marry me.”

“What? I thought—Never mind that, are you okay?” He stepped into the boardroom.

“Yes, Dom. I know what you are thinking. I had it all under control this afternoon and now I’m afraid I may have messed everything up.”

“The deal with Vallerio Incorporated on use of their name?”

“Yes. But more importantly my relationship with Nathalie.”

“Which is more important to you?” Dom asked.

For once Antonio didn’t stop to think about what answer his brother would want to hear. Instead he spoke the truth. “Nathalie is. And I let her go, Dom.”

“You had to. You know that Moretti men don’t make good husbands.”

“How do we know that? Dad’s happy and so is Marco.”

“Yes, but they aren’t cut from the same cloth as we are. We crave success the same way
Nono
did. What are you going to do? Would you choose Nathalie over Moretti Motors?”

Antonio thought about it. There was no way that he could pick between the two of them. And suddenly he realized he didn’t have to. Without Nathalie in his life he didn’t care if Moretti Motors was successful. “I can’t choose.”

“Then that’s your answer,” Dom said.

“What is?”

“You love her.”

“I know I do. I was hoping that by not saying those words out loud I would be able to protect us from the curse. I’m sorry, Dom.”

Dom shook his head. “I’m sorry, Tony, sorry that you feel like you have to apologize for falling in love. I was wrong to put you in that position.”

“You might not feel like apologizing when I tell you that she’s probably going to convince her board not to accept any deal with us.”

Dom shrugged. “If that’s what she has to do and if that’s what you have to agree to in order to prove you love her, then we will find another way.”

For the first time since everything went awry with Nathalie, he felt a ray of hope. “Yes, we will.”

“I guess this means the curse is still in affect,” Dom said.

“How do you figure?” Antonio asked.

“Well, if she’s going to take the rights to the name…”

Antonio thought about it for a minute. “You know, I don’t believe that’s what the curse was about. I think the real curse is the fact that we would deny ourselves love to make the company successful.”

“Really?”

Antonio shrugged. “I don’t know for you, but for me I think that is the answer.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Figure out a way to win Nathalie back.”

Tired of sleepless nights and countless recriminations about the last time she spoke to Antonio. She’d tried to get out of this meeting, but Moretti Motors flatout refused to talk to anyone else from Vallerio. And so now they were all here for a big announcement from Moretti Motors. Something that demanded every one of them attend.

She’d tried to find out what was going on, but no one would share any details. Even Genevieve, who normally couldn’t be shut up, just sat quietly next to her.

She had confessed to her sister that things had gone wrong with Antonio, but hadn’t been able to tell her that she’d let him break her heart. She was a sadder but wiser woman when she entered the Moretti Motors building with her family.

Angelina greeted them all. “If you would all follow me to the garden. We have a special presentation before we go up to the boardroom.”

“What presentation?” Nathalie asked.

“That’s fine,” Emile said, preempting her. “We will give you the time you need for the presentation.”

“We will?”

“Oui, ma fille.”

She shook her head and followed the rest of her family through the building and out into the courtyard. In the center of the courtyard was a canvas-draped car. She suspected it was the Vallerio Roadster coupe, though she doubted seeing the car would convince her board to go for the deal that Moretti had offered. But she’d have to wait and see.

There were several seats in the courtyard and Angelina directed them all to sit down. “Signore Moretti will be right with you.”

“Merci,”
Emile said.

Nathalie found herself sitting between her father and her sister, tired and heartsick. Sitting here in this garden, she remembered the first time she’d been here and how it had been the start of her affair with Antonio.

She had hoped that her anger would be enough to inure her to the love she’d felt for him, but it wasn’t. And it saddened her to think that a man could use her and she’d still love him, but there it was—the truth of the matter.

“Thank you for joining us today,” Dom said, stepping out of the factory and walking toward them. “I know that we have yet to reach an agreement for the use of Pierre-Henri’s name on our legendary roadster and that very fact might be on your minds, but my brother has something very important he must do before we can go back to the boardroom.”

She noticed that Philomena, Gio, Marco, Virginia and little Enzo were standing behind Dom. Why were they here?

Dom came over to her. “Will you come with me?”

She shook her head. “Why?”

“To make up for the trouble I caused,” Dom said.

“What trouble?”

“Making my brother believe that he couldn’t have the woman he loves and not disappoint me.”

Woman he loved? Did that mean Antonio loved her? She stood up, putting her hand in Dom’s. “Where to?”

“Right here,” he said, leading her to the center of the courtyard right next to the canvas-covered car.

“Nathalie.”

She turned to see Antonio striding toward her.

“Thank you, everyone, for coming today and for allowing me to do this in front of you,” he said, speaking to their assembled families.

“As you are aware, our families have some misunderstandings between us. And because of that we haven’t always communicated well with each other. I allowed that to ruin something precious to me.”

Antonio turned to her. “I allowed the past to have more power over me than it should. I love you, Nathalie Vallerio. And I don’t want to live without you.”

“Antonio—”

“Shh. Let me finish,
cara mia.
”

He dropped down on one knee in front of her. “Please do me the honor of being my wife.”

She stared down at him for a long moment and then drew him up to his feet. “Did you mean it when you said you loved me?”

“More than anything else in this world.”

“What if my family won’t agree to letting you use the Vallerio name?”

“That is why I’m asking you to marry me now. There is nothing that can change my desire to have you as my wife,” he said, drawing her into his arms.

Nathalie looked at Antonio. She wanted to believe that he was sincere, but how could she be sure this wasn’t the Moretti charm? The same charm that Lorenzo had used on Anna. Was she simply being fooled because…because it was what she wanted to hear so badly? She realized she wanted Antonio’s love. Not because it would end a family feud but because her life was so much better with Antonio in it.

She knew then if she was going to be happy for the rest of her days she needed Antonio and his love.

She hugged him tightly to her. “Yes. Yes, I will marry you.”