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Words failed her—both at the sheer magnificence of the ring and the image of Ares on one knee, playing out the secret impossible fantasy she’d harboured for far too long during her teenage years.
‘When did you do this?’ she asked, pushing away the more pressing questions she wanted to blurt out. Like why he was pushing this ruse. Why was he going to such great lengths for something neither of them truly wanted?
Are you sure?
‘Does it matter?’ he drawled dismissively, as if a proposal that would’ve made an enormous swathe of women swoon was merely an item he’d ticked off his list tonight.
‘You’re right. It doesn’t matter,’ she forced out.
Theirs wasn’t a reunion filled with breathless proclamations and the obsessive need to tabulate every single moment of their for ever pledge. She’d made a desperate request and he’d grudgingly obliged, with conditions of his own he’d yet to make fully known to her.
‘Are we going to get the suspense over with now?’ she rasped, aware that they were under even more intense scrutiny.
Hell, that diamond on her finger commanded an audience all its own.
He took his seat, and she noticed he’d moved much closer to her. With their table distanced from the other tables, they were out of eavesdropping range. The enforced proximity ramped up her tension, her stomach churning as he watched her for an age before he spoke the words she suspected would turn her life as she knew it inside out.
‘In return for keeping you out of the clutches of your uncle and that bastard,’ he started, his eyes glinting hard as his gaze dropped to the faint yellow marks on her wrist, ‘you’ll stay married to me for five years, or however long it takes for you to give me two children—minimum. If we’re blessed with more in those five years, then they will be well received. After that, you’ll be free to live your life however you want.’
CHAPTER FOUR
IN THE DUMBFOUNDING seconds that followed his words—words that should have arrived with cymbals and trumpets and exploding fireworks, considering the impossible utter insanity they evoked—Odessa fully grasped why Ares had chosen to do this in public.
Just like with the proposal, he’d sought to contain her response. And, oh, was he clever in doing so...
Because she only managed to keep the predictable screech of disbelief and outrage trapped in her throat by the most valiant fight with her willpower.
The hooded look in his eyes said he knew it.
He watched with avid interest as her heart raced madly and her hands bunched on the table, shaking with the force of suppressed emotion and causing the ring to sparkle in its mocking presence even brighter.
She felt the blood drain from her head and take her belly along with it to her toes.
Her lips parted but no words emerged.
Was it even worth reacting to this absurdity? Yes, her frantic senses screeched. Because the steely determination in his face screamed that he was serious.
Dio mio.
‘Before you express anything other than complete ecstasy at my request, remember our audience,’ he warned under his breath.
‘This is why you brought me here? To corner me so I couldn’t tell you how utterly crazy you are?’ she hissed.
Despite the twitch of his lips, his eyes remained deadly serious, without a trace of insanity. ‘My reasons are exactly as I stated. You get to enjoy your favourite opera, be offered the requisite diamond ring, and more importantly get your unwanted suitor off your back. In return, I’ve stated my demands. That you find it insane doesn’t change the fact that those are my wishes. If you want to continue this conversation elsewhere, I’ll be happy to oblige.’ He looked around, his eyes gleaming with triumph. ‘I think we’ve satisfied our objectives.’
He finished speaking just as a rotund man with a booming voice who introduced himself simply as ‘Armand’ approached. He expressed congratulations in Italian, to which Ares responded, speaking in a perfect accent that reminded her he spoke her mother tongue fluently.
Somehow Odessa managed to smile and respond, to hold out her hand when his wife arrived to gush over the ring. In minutes, they were inundated with other well-wishers.
Ten minutes after that Ares was firmly but good-humouredly announcing that they were leaving to celebrate in private. Odessa was still reeling as he escorted her out to their waiting car.
‘That should take care of the publicity side of things. Armand’s wife alone will ensure our news spreads across the continent before morning.’
She turned on him, her heartbeat still roaring in her ears. ‘You... Tell me you were joking back there!’
‘No. I was not.’
‘Ares...’
