The Marriage Merger (24 page)

“I want you to listen to me. I am old. My heart is weak, my arthritis is strengthening, and I’m in the time of my life where I need to let go of my worries. Many things have been settled and bring me great joy. But there are two things that haunt me at night, keeping me from peace and from sleep, no matter how I try to surrender: my oldest daughter and La Dolce Famiglia.”

Her words came slow, deliberate. Sawyer sat back in his chair and gave her his full attention.

“I built this bakery on sweat, blood, family, and love.

I need to know it will reign for a long time, solid, without causing Julietta to sacrifice everything to keep it going. She will not delegate. She is too proud, too like her papa to believe anyone else can take care of our business. I need to make sure this merger between La Dolce Famiglia and Purity will be the key to her freedom. By signing such a contract, she is bestowing a piece of this legacy into your care. She is entrusting you to succeed, and she will have a long-term partner for support.”

Saywer shook his head in confusion. “Wait a moment.

We already told you the contract is signed. There’s no need for a permanent personal relationship between us. We are both loyal to our word and signed a business agreement.

our respective companies will grow and expand together.

you don’t have to worry about this. I give my word I’ll always look after Julietta and the bakery as my own.”

Her mouth softened into a smile. “you are such a good man, though you still don’t believe it.” She sighed deeply. “I hope that will come with time. I believe you, Sawyer. But contracts are broken all the time, and when the ink dries, and time passes, distance supersedes it all. There is only one way I know of to guarantee Julietta and La Dolce Famiglia will have a partner and supporter I can trust with my life.

Marriage. The sacred vows of marriage pledge a bond never to be broken. This is what I need from you.”

He needed to steer Mama Conte back on course. This was crazy talk. Sawyer decided the best way to blow up the plan was to play devil’s advocate.

“Mama Conte, I think you’re missing some important elements in your idea. First, marriages today are more slippery than business contracts. People get divorced, leave the other, have affairs. Marriage is not what it once was. The sacredness is truly gone.”

She tilted her head in thought. “Marriage is like everything else. It is what the person brings to it—whether it be a vow of celibacy, support, or profit. It is not the covenant that fails, but the people. once you and Julietta make that decision, you will not back away from your responsibilities.

This I know to be true.”

His first full-force panic attack beat at the gates of his mind but he fought back. “okay, fine. Let’s talk about Julietta. We may have slept together, but we don’t love each other. She has no interest in proclaiming forever with me, especially if she’s forced into it. I assume you know your daughter’s stubbornness?”

“I saw her with you. How she looked. How you made her feel.” Memories flashed past his vision, and for a moment, Sawyer glimpsed the woman Mama Conte had been when she was younger. “There are real feelings there, but they are caught up with logic and contracts and a bit of fear. She needs a man who can be a companion, who understands how her work feeds her soul, a man who doesn’t want to change her but accepts every pore of her being.”

“I’m not that man.”

The truth slammed through him. For a brief moment, he wondered what it would feel like to know he was the man who could give her all that. To hold her, keep her safe, finally let someone he trusted into his world. But it was only a mirage, not meant for people like him. especially not with someone like Julietta.

“you are. you are her match, and I knew when I saw you together. Two halves of a coin that have no idea how to merge. once you accept this, you will both be whole.”

Temper bit his nerves. enough of this bizarre vision of mergers and arranged marriages. “I’m sorry, Mama Conte, you are mistaken. I am not the man you believe me to be.

I don’t have enough to give to a permanent partner. And if you truly love your daughter, you would never force her to do something like this. you’d be sentencing her to a lifetime of unhappiness. Let me ask you this. Would you pull this kind of thing on your other children? Force them into marriage like puppets without giving them a choice?

Threaten or blackmail them into doing what you wanted?

or is Julietta different from the others because she chose differently? Answer that honestly.”

His victory was short-lived. He expected a shamefaced duck of her head. A defensive anger at his wisdom. Instead, she tilted her head back and cackled with pure glee. He stared at her in astonishment.

“your point is well taken. But I can honestly tell you I am not treating Julietta any differently from my other children.” Her eyes sparkled with laughter. “Trust me on this.”

He shook his head. “This is a moot point anyway. She’d never agree to this plan.”

“She will. If you ask her.”

He barked out a laugh. “Sure. And get my head ripped off in the process? No, thanks.” He softened his tone. “I don’t want you to worry about things. I promise La Dolce Famiglia will never falter, and I will always remain in your daughter’s life.
Va bene
?”

He got up to leave, satisfied he’d done all he could.

Sawyer turned toward the door.

“Do you remember your promise to me?”

The room shifted. He swayed for balance as his words trapped him in a vicious vise that echoed the squeeze of a boa constrictor around his neck. He bowed his head as his fate stepped forward and sucker punched him in the jaw.

He gritted his teeth together. “yes. I remember.”

“
La devo un grande debito. Se lei mai ha bisogno di me,
farò che lei chiede.”

“I owe you a great debt. If you ever need me, I will do
whatever you ask.”

“I need you. This is what I ask. I want you to marry my daughter.”

He didn’t remember much after that. The loud roaring in his ears, the pounding of his heart, the sweat dampening his palms. He refused to meet her gaze, knowing he couldn’t trust himself with his emotions right now. Could he refuse?

She had no idea what she truly asked of him. His acceptance of her request would set in motion a chain of events that scared the hell out of him.

Sawyer teetered on the edge, then realized there had never been a choice.

His marker had officially been called in.

He dragged in a shaky breath and accepted his fate.

He might have to satisfy the debt, but he didn’t have to be happy or gracious about it. Trying not to stumble, he made his way toward the door and clasped the handle in a death grip.

“So be it. But you better talk to her first. And God help you if she agrees.”

Sawyer lurched out the door without a backward glance.

…

Julietta sat in the Piazza del Duomo. A heavy fog shrouded the cathedral’s soaring, elegant lines, and a cold mist bit through vulnerable skin in an effort to nip bone. The wind whipped in late-March fury and pedestrians huddled past clad in long wool coats and hats. She stared at the gorgeous structure that had been a mainstay since childhood: the mingle of style and grace of each individual bronze carving on the massive gate; the sharp points of marble thrusting toward the sky. The gilded copper statue of La Madonnina dominating the sky.

She had loved sitting inside the cathedral, gazing at the rays of colored light as they filtered through the Gothic windows. The sense of peace and tranquility amidst great works of art and the mythical search for spiritual perfec-tion. Afterward, Papa would take her to the square at lunchtime, where they would feast on fresh paninis and drink cappuccino, washing the meal down with pancetta and ripened grapes from the market. She’d watch the women— fashionably dressed in designer suits and heels—come and go, and wish to transform into one of them someday.

Well, she had. At least on the outside. Her wool coat and matching fur hat bespoke a confident, stylish executive on her lunch break. Her green Prada handbag and Manolo shoes screamed refined elegance. Though she’d never left Italy to travel like Carina or her brother, she always felt safe at home. Never empty from not seeing other places.

Never strangled.

Until now.

She was going to marry Sawyer Wells.

Humiliation burned in her blood. Her own mother wished to marry her off so she wouldn’t become a cold, lonely spinster counting her gold coins. Their discussion had turned from amusing, to concerning, to enraging. She had shouted horrible things while her mama remained calm. Like an implacable statue, she’d repeated the same thing over and over.

You deserve happiness, my sweet girl. And if you won’t
do it your way, I’ll do it mine. Sawyer Wells will give you
what you need, though you don’t believe it now.

No. She didn’t believe it. Would never believe it.

Somehow, Sawyer owed her mother a great debt, and he’d marry her to satisfy it. Her mother craved a clear conscience where her children were traditionally married and settled.

obviously, she didn’t trust Julietta to run the business successfully alone, so she’d decided to add an extra layer of protection in the symbol of a big, strong man. oh, how she hated both of them with a passion right now. Her mother for her betrayal.

And Sawyer for his agreement.

A shadow fell upon her. Sawyer sat beside her on the bench, keeping a polite distance between them. Her gaze roved over the shine of his rolex watch, the radiance of his white-blond hair, the cool charcoal tones of his cashmere coat. The red scarf tucked neatly around his neck gave a hint of his boldness and ability to not care about other opinions.

They sat together for a long time in silence while the wind roared and their skin numbed. Pedestrians hurried past them, tilting their heads up toward the sky to try and gauge the magnificence of the Duomo with its intricate architecture and soaring grace. A large flock of pigeons descended from the sky and clogged the piazza, their wings bright blue and heads bobbing furiously for leftover crumbs.

Julietta watched in silence as a younger couple squished together for warmth and laughed at the bird invasion. The woman was pretty, with brilliant red hair. She knelt down and put her hands out, and a bunch of the winged crea-tures hurried over and hopped onto her body. Her laugh was bright and tinkled through the fierce wind. The man laughed with her, knelt down beside her, and kissed her.

The picture burned into her lids and reminded her of the things she’d never have.

She finally spoke. “Do you owe her that much?” she whispered. “enough to give up your life for a sham of a marriage?”

“yes.”

Julietta nodded, already anticipating his answer. A yawning emptiness and grief roared up and pumped through her veins, looking for some type of outlet. She squashed it like an ant under the heel of her stiletto. Never again. She wouldn’t let herself go back to that place of feeling, surrender. Not with him.

“I said no, of course. Walked away and swore I’d never return. I called her names. raged at her. She just took it and said she believed this was for the best.” A crazy laugh escaped her lips. “you know the worst part of this charade?

She believes she’s right. She’s not doing it to hurt us, or make us suffer. What do they say about good intentions?”

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

“That’s the one. Give the man a gold star. oh, and a wife! Cha-ching!” She clamped down on the mania and struggled for composure. No reason to get wacky over a simple marriage merger. Because that was what it would be. She’d give her mother what she wanted, but in her own damn way. “Forgive me, I’m still adjusting. even though this is Italy, I didn’t know arranged marriages occurred anymore.”

“I understand.”

His voice was gentle, and she had a crazy impulse to grab his hand and beg him to make it all okay. Take her in his arms and say they’d work it out and ease the terrible tightness in her chest. But she did what came naturally. Sat quiet and stiff in her own cold bubble and did nothing. “It took me three days to realize she won. That everything I was so proud of becoming meant nothing because I’d still obey her like a child.”

“What changed your mind?”

That part was the worst. Julietta didn’t like to disappoint her mother, but there was no way she’d bend to a loveless marriage. Until she said the words that singed her ears and crippled her resolve.

“
Before your papa passed on, he made me promise two
things: to make sure you solidified La Dolce Famiglia as our
family legacy. And for you to marry. He loved all his children equally, but you were special to him. He worried about
you the most. I do not think his spirit will rest until you give
this to him, sweet girl.”

A deathbed promise with her as the casualty. She tried to ignore the words, but they haunted her day and night.

The portrait in her office stared back at her, demanding her acquiescence. Until she finally realized she had no other choice. Just like Sawyer.

She spoke with no emotion. “She said Papa would want this. For me. For La Dolce Famiglia. And I’m afraid she’s right.”

Sawyer made a move, almost to comfort, but she stiff-ened and he pulled back. She couldn’t have this awful conversation with any type of warmth or she’d never recover.

“How do you want to proceed?” he asked quietly.

This she could handle. “I’d prefer to say we eloped. Like Carina and Max. As soon as our paperwork arrives, Father richard can marry us with just my mother in attendance.

I’ll tell my family it was a whirlwind affair, and we wanted little fanfare and attention. We can cite the merger and our workload to escape a honeymoon. We’ll send out a brief press release, tell our respective companies in a meeting, and hopefully the fervor and gossip will die down quickly.

Is that acceptable to you?”

Sawyer nodded.

The young couple before her rose to their feet, inter-locked arms, and walked out of the square. She watched them leave and wondered if they would always be that happy. She shook off the thought and got back to business.