Dante's Contract Marriage (The Dante Legacy) - Softcover

Leclaire, Day

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0373768990 ISBN 13: 9780373768998

Publisher: Harlequin Desire, 2008

Synopsis

Wealthy businessman Lazzaro Dante was far too sophisticated to believe in the legend of the Dante Inferno. So he was certain that a marriage of convenience, to protect his family's claim to a priceless diamond, would leave his heart untouched. But from the first moment he met Ariana Romano, his very soul was seared by a desire unlike any he had ever known. And despite their secret agreement to make theirs a marriage in name only, he knew the passion that blazed between them could not be kept hidden for long....

About this title

About the Author

USA TODAY bestselling author Day Leclaire is described by Harlequin as “one of our most popular writers ever!” Day’s passionate stories warm the heart, which may explain the impressive 11 nominations she's received for the prestigious Romance Writers of America RITA Award. “There's no better way to spend each day than writing romances.” Visit www.dayleclaire.com.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

From: Lazzaro_Dante@DantesJewelry.com

Date: 2008, August 04 08:02 PDST

To: Bambolina@fornitore.it

Subject: Marriage Contract, Premarital Conditions

Ariana, as discussed in our recent phone conversation, I'm sending my first marital condition.

Condition #1: Absolutely, positively, unequivocally no secrets.

August 7, 2008

"I hate secrets."

Lazzaro Dante made the statement so emphatically that it caused Ariana Romano to fall silent. Honesty compelled him to admit to himself that he hated secrets almost as much as he hated The Inferno—a myth his family considered a reality. The Inferno, or rather what his brothers and their wives perceived as some nebulous and fiery connection between soul mates that struck at first touch, had recently formed an exclusive club to which all his family members belonged, except him. As far as he was concerned, the family "curse" didn't exist, and nothing anyone could say or do would change his mind. Ever.

He could hear his fiancée's breath catch through the phone line and sensed her searching for an appropriate reply to his pronouncement. "I realize we've never met, but you are aware you're marrying a woman, yes?" she asked. "Secrets and women go together like handbags and heels."

Her comment caught him off guard. Perhaps it was the way she said it, with a hint of gentle humor sweeping through her odd accent. Her English, which she'd acquired from her British grandmother, carried the upper-crust echo of tea and crumpets and combined with the sunny warmth of her native tongue, an Italian lilt that orchestrated her every word.

"And you do realize I'm not Marco, right?" he reminded her.

"Your brother has explained as much," she replied with far too much equanimity. "He's visited us many times on Dantes business and says that despite being twins, the two of you are as different as night and day."

"True."

"For instance... he's charming and you are not."

Lazz straightened in his chair. "I'm logical."

"He is amusing. You... not so much. I believe that is the way Marco puts it."

"When I see my brother, I'll be sure to explain precisely where he can put it."

If she heard the muttered comment, she didn't respond to it. "Marco is also handsome and intelligent and kind. Not to mention an excellent kisser." A pregnant pause followed the pronouncement. "Should I expect my future husband to be none of those things?"

He locked on to the most vital portion of her comment. An irrational anger exploded in him, an emotion far out of proportion to the situation. Not again, an insidious voice whispered. No way would he share another woman with his brother, especially not someone he planned to marry.

He'd been through that with Caitlyn, a woman he'd been on the verge of proposing to, when Marco had tricked her into marriage by posing as Lazz. He wouldn't—couldn't—marry Ariana if she expected him to be a stand-in for Marco. Logic be damned, he flat-out refused to be a substitute for any man.

"You and Marco kissed?"

She must have heard the edge in his voice, because she answered promptly. "Before he met Caitlyn, yes. But it didn't rock either of our worlds." Her use of the idiom would have amused him if the circumstances had been different. "Despite his expertise, it was like kissing in the hopes of finding a lover and finding only a good friend. Do you know what I mean?"

"No."

"Ah, well. Perhaps it's never happened to you." Again came that tiny pause, and he had the strong suspicion she was laughing at him. "Are you... inexperienced?"

"Hell, no!"

"I thought since you've been so insistent that you're Marco's complete opposite that perhaps this is another area in which you are lacking."

She was poking at him, the same as when she'd been a child, he realized with equal parts amusement and annoyance. "You're playing a dangerous game," he warned. "Jerk a kitten's tail, and Marco might scratch you. Jerk my tail, and you're dealing with an entirely different kind of animal."

Her breath escaped in a soft laugh. "Touché. I have gathered as much from our negotiations. Your list of marital demands have been quite... interesting."

"As have yours. Particularly your latest, which is why I'm calling." Lazz regarded the printout he held with a basic masculine confusion. "Why do you want your own room? I can understand your own bedroom, but—"

"I require a room with a lock and a guarantee of utter privacy. Did I phrase my request in a way that confused you?"

"Not at all." Suspicion roared to the surface. "You phrased it in a way that makes me wonder what you're hiding and why."

"I am not hiding anything. I'm being quite explicit. This is not a matter for one of your infamous negotiations. Refuse my request and it's a deal-breaker."

"Why?" he repeated.

Her laugh came to him, rich and earthy, and filled with a honeyed warmth. "How many times must I tell you? I'm a woman. Women need their privacy."

"Your own bedroom isn't private enough?"

"I can't do what I have in mind in a bedroom."

"That's a relief," he muttered.

Ariana's laughter teased him again, decimating the barriers of logic and rational thought Lazz had worked so hard to erect. He struggled to remember what she looked like, but nothing came to him, possibly because nearly two full decades had passed since he'd last seen her. Maybe he'd ask Marco. His brother had conducted protracted business dealings with the Romano family. Worse, Ariana and Marco had kissed. No question he would be able to describe Ariana. Knowing Marco, he'd be able to do it right down to the last tiny freckle.

Lazz grimaced. Or perhaps he wouldn't ask his brother a damn thing, since he suspected Marco would use the opportunity to either give him some serious grief, or even worse, try and talk him out of honoring the contract their father had signed with Vittorio Romano. And all because of that ridiculous Inferno nonsense.

"Are you going to tell me why you need a private room?" Lazz asked again.

"No."

"You simply expect me to comply with no explanation or clarification?"

"Yes. I expect you to comply the same way you expect me to comply with your marital demands." She paused, before asking delicately, "How many are we up to now? Ten?"

"Five," he corrected. "Six, if you count the one I'm sending you later today about the disposition of Brimstone."

"Of course that one counts. And how many have I made?"

"Three."

"Which leaves me with three to spare, should I choose to use them. And maybe I will. Maybe I'll save my extra three demands for after we're married. You can be the genie to my wishes." Her sigh of pleasure drifted across continents. "I quite like that idea."

For some reason that sigh caused a hunger to gnaw at the pit of his stomach. "That's not how it works."

"It works however we say it does. You claim you're the logical one."

"I am the logical one." He always had been, and marriage to Ariana wouldn't change that fact, a point he intended to make crystal clear. He attempted to get them back on topic. "About the room. If you'd just explain—"

"Are you worried that I intend to take a lover? Would you feel better about my request if I tell you I promise to honor my vow to remain faithful to you for the duration of our marriage?"

Yes. He closed his eyes at the silent acknowledgment. He knew where his suspicions came from. Understood his knee-jerk reaction to anything that hinted at a secret or a hidden agenda. He could lay that little issue squarely at Marco's door—and at his own. Just as Marco had used subterfuge to sweep in and carry Caitlyn away, Lazz had been every bit as guilty of a few secrets and deceptions of his own in the course of that entire debacle. Still, it had been quite a blow to his pride when the woman he'd hoped to marry had chosen his twin brother over him.

The entire incident had left a sour taste in Lazz's mouth and created a general distaste for lies and deception. And yet, here he was embroiled in just that. It might have been of his father's making, but he'd chosen to keep the reasons for his impending marriage a secret from two of the people he loved most in his life. And though he attempted to rationalize his decision, there were certain lines that couldn't be smudged.

What he was doing was wrong and he knew it.

"You're not going to tell me why you need a private room, are you?" Lazz asked. "Despite my condition that we not have secrets from each other, you still refuse to explain."

"I'm sorry, Marco."

"Lazz," he corrected softly.

"Now I really am sorry." There was no mistaking her sincerity. "I swear I wasn't 'jerking your tail' as you called it. Using your brother's name was an honest mistake. You sound so much like him."

"I look like him, too," Lazz warned. "But I'd appreciate it if you'd remember my name by the time we marry. My grandparents might find it a bit suspicious if you keep calling me Marco. They believe we met and fell in love the last time you were in San Francisco, and it's imperative that they continue to believe that for the duration of our marriage."

"Of course. You made it a condition, one I heartily approve of." A note of formality stole the summer warmth from her voice. "I will be very careful to play my part. Believe me, I don't wish my grandmother or my mother to find out about this devil's contract any more than you want your grandparents to discover the truth."

"My grandparents would do everything in their power to stop the wedding if they knew about the contract." Primo had once told him that to marry without The Inferno would turn a blessing into a curse. So Lazz had allowed his grandparents to believe that he and Ariana had experienced what he privately denied.

"Don't you find it disturbing that you're marrying a virtual stranger," she asked, "knowing nothing about what sort of person I am?"

"It's not forever, Ariana. And it enables us to achieve the same goal. We both want to prevent Brimstone from being thrown away."

"So we marry for profit."

Her concern came through loud and clear. She sounded on the verge of backing out, something he couldn't allow to happen. "If pr...

Edition details

• Publisher: Harlequin Desire
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0373768990
• ISBN 13: 9780373768998
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 192