She could empathise with some of what Corti had said. As much as shewanteda child, she also had no desire to marry. The thought of being intimate with someone—emotionally or physically, made her break out in a cold sweat.
She’d learnt very young from her competitive siblings and cold parents that any show of emotion could be used to exploit vulnerabilities and weaknesses.
The ultimate example of how toxic it had been was when her own parents hadn’t wanted to hand over the ransom the kidnappers were demanding for her release. They’d said afterwards to Lili that if they’d gone public and paid the ransom, it would put the boys in danger, not to mention take the risk of further kidnap attempts. But the truth was that they hadn’t cared enough, and they’d been too mean.
Lili had been humiliated by her own parents. When she’d managed to escape the kidnappers and the police had brought her home, her parents had barely looked up from their dinner party. She would never forget the pitying look from the female police officer who had left her there like an unwanted returned puppy.
In that moment Lili had vowed that as soon as she was of age, she would walk away. She had, two years later, and sometimes she wondered if they’d even noticed.
Lili pushed painful thoughts of her family aside. She wondered now if she had just dreamed up that conversation between Corti and his solicitor? Because living here and being handed a licence to have a baby all of her own was almost too good to be true. She loved this place. She would happily nurture it for the next generation to fulfil the dictates of his inheritance. Cassian Corti wouldn’t even have to be involved. After all, she knew how easy it was for some parents to turn their back on their children and he’d stated explicitly that he didn’t want children.
She could also tell that he’d been torn about the decision. Obviously, if he’d been happy here with his family, this place must hold painful memories, but it was probably those very memories that were holding him back from fully letting go.
Lili’s gut churned with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. Did she really have the nerve to go to him and suggest…herself? As a candidate to be his wife, the mother of his heir? They were complete strangers.You saw him naked. A flash of heat went through her.Not all of him.She felt a wildness thrum inside her at that prospect, and then the reality of what that would mean hit her. Being naked. Together. Her excitement drained away.
What was she thinking? She couldn’t do this. It was nuts. She hadn’t come into contact—willingly—with another human being in years.You don’t have to sleep with someone to get pregnant.
She shook her head at herself. She was losing it. She pushed all such rogue notions out of her head and got on with her chores and told herself that no matter what happened—even if Corti ended up having to sell the villa because he wasn’t willing to marry or have an heir to guarantee inheritance, then she would move on elsewhere.
She’d grown so much stronger in the past eight years since her kidnapping and then since she’d walked away from her family and any inheritance she might have been due. She didn’t need anyone. But, even as she went about the rest of her day and caught glimpses of Corti walking around the villa’s gardens talking to Matteo as dusk drew in, the tantalising vision of what she could have if she was brave enough to suggest it wouldn’t leave her head, or his words:As if such a woman exists. Who on earth would want to hide away here forever?
* * *
Cassian sat in the shadows outside, a bulbous wine glass resting in his palm, the dregs of the red wine he’d been drinking with his dinner at the bottom of the glass. A bold Barolo, his favourite. From his own cellar.
Dusk had given way to night and the stars were out. The evening air was like velvet. He could hear the faint lapping of the water down below.
As much as being here caused him pain, he also couldn’t deny the deep level of peace he always felt. Two contrasting states that battled inside him, making his insides feel jagged and tight.
Was he really going to give this place up? Because of an ancient clause demanding that he marry and have a child, or forfeit the villa—a jewel in the Corti crown, primarily because its very existence was a testament to the enduring legacy of the Corti family, passed down from heir to heir.
But, that enduring legacy had died for Cassian the day his family had died.
Did he really care if the community cribbed behind his back that he’d sold out on his ancestors?On his parents and little brother? And the little sister in his mother’s belly?That detail had never made it into the public domain.
His mother had told them the day of the accident that she was pregnant and that they’d have a little sister by the end of the year. Cassian and his brother had madeughsounds at the prospect of a girl but he had been secretly delighted and so excited at the thought of being a big protective brother.
And then within a mere second, it had seemed, he’d been orphaned and his care taken over by a series of guardians, schools and nannies, approved by the board of trustees. They’d believed that sending him to a boarding school in the UK would be the best distraction for him. Cassian still had nightmares about those first rain-sodden months in a grim school in the middle of nowhere miles away from his beloved Italy and utterly grief-struck.
At that moment a soft sound nearby made him tense. He was about to call out when he saw the shape of someone in a short toweling robe walk towards the pool, not far from where he sat in the shadows, nursing his wine.
He squinted. It was female. He could tell by the small waist, flare of hips. Long legs. Slim. Pale in the moonlight. Long dark hair rippling down her back.
His housekeeper. Lucy…? No. Lili.But she’d been shapeless under those voluminous clothes earlier. A long dress and cardigan. And yet, her eyes, those distinctive blue eyes popped into his head.
She stopped on the edge of the pool and was perfectly illuminated in a shaft of moonlight. Cassian wasn’t sure why he didn’t call out, or make his presence known but for the first time since he’d arrived his mind was blessedly diverted. He felt a need. To see her.
As if answering his silent thought she unbelted the robe and let it drop to the ground. She was wearing a plain white one-piece. Cassian stopped breathing for a second. Far from shapeless, he’d never seen anyone shapelier. The curve of her waist and hips and the toned length of her thighs ignited a spark in his blood. Her bottom was like an upside-down heart, perfectly plump. The spark ignited into a fire.
As he watched, she lifted her arms over her head, and executed a graceful dive into the deep end of the pool, barely making a splash.
* * *
Lili swam length after length until her limbs were aching. Eventually, she flipped over on her back and let herself float. This was her favourite time to swim, at night. When everything was still and the warmth of the day lingered.
A throat being cleared somewhere near the pool made her almost flip over again and she swallowed some water, coughing and spluttering. A deep voice said, ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I wasn’t sure if you were training to swim the lake from end to end, you were doing so many lengths.’
Her boss. Cassian Corti. Standing at the side of the pool. He was still dressed in those worn jeans that molded far too lovingly to his thighs. And the shirt. A few more buttons open now. Hair messy. She couldn’t make out the expression on his face in the dark.
