Free Surprised by Love by Kate Hofman

what I said at the dinner…”
     “No,
you don’t,” said Connie decisively.  “I offered to help you in any way I
could, and in fact what you said was because of Marisa’s digging around in my
private life, hoping to find something scurrilous which would cause you to
throw me out in the street…”  She frowned lightly.  “The only thing
that worries me deeply is how will Nonnareceive the news, when you tell
her you’ve ended the engagement?   She’ll be heartbroken,
Alessandro.”
    Alessandro
gazed at her for a few moments.  Taking the biggest gamble of his life, he
said quietly, “She needn’t be, Connie—if we were to make this engagement the
real thing, and you married me in due course?” 
    Connie’s
beautiful mouth opened to a perfect O as she stammered, “F-for real?  You
want us to get married?  How can I believe this is what you want? 
You just lit into Marisa on my behalf—in a way guaranteed to shut her up for
good.  Turning that into a real marriage can’t possibly have been what you
had in mind?  For one thing, we don’t love each other…”
     “Maybe
not exactly at the time—but the more I thought about it, the more the idea
appealed to me.”  He turned to Connie.  “You’ve tried the marriage
for love, and look where that got you.  What I’m offering is a marriage
based on a strong friendship and passion…”
     “But
passion will calm down, and then what?”
    Alessandro
grinned.  “I admit, by time we’re in our eighties, we’ll probably slow
down a bit, but by that time you’ll be so used to me—  Connie?  You
know how well we get along on a daily basis.  Don’t you think that is
quite rare?  Rarest of all, I can talk business with you.  Do you
realize that most men can never discuss their main interests with their
wives?  They have to tune them out, or make noises about liking dresses or
a new hairdo.  Connie—tell me, in general terms, does the idea appeal to
you at all, or…?”
        
Connie smiled.  “Now that I think about it, yes, the idea appeals to
me—but it seems fraught with all kinds of difficulties.  Ours is primarily
a business relationship—which I enjoy very much.  Would that have to go by
the wayside?”
    Alessandro
shook his head.  “I’m not Bob-the-snob, cara.  I give you my
word that any promises given you before the wedding will be carried out in
every respect after we are married.”
     Quickly,
Connie said, “I know that, Alessandro.  I just wondered how we could be
married and yet remain in our business relationship.”
     “With
goodwill on both sides, anything is possible, tesoro.”
    That’s
an endearment—I think it means treasure.  Could he possibly be serious
about wanting to marry me?  I admit he is so different from
Bob-the-snob—what a perfect name that is.  Trust Alessandro to come up
with it.  But he is used to very sophisticated women—in describing them,
the gossip mags invariably all but call these women courtesans…  How could
I possibly be enough for him?  And where Bob’s infidelity only made me mad
at myself for having trusted him for a nanosecond—if Alessandro got tired of me
and started having girlfriends, I would be devastated.  I’d better tell
him…
    Hesitantly,
she said, “You’ve been photographed with some fascinating, famous women. 
Often, the magazines praised these women’s sophistication, their vast
experience in the art of love…”  She bit her lip.  “Alessandro, how
can you possibly believe that a woman like me would be enough for you?  I
don’t have any of the skills these women take for granted—and you have every
right to expect.”
    She
tried to look down, hiding from him the tears she felt welling up, but he had
seen.  His hand flew toward her face, but before he could caress her
cheek, Connie continued, “What if you got bored, and one day you succumbed to
some woman’s seductive skills…  I prize fidelity in a marriage—not that I
got