Page 10 of The Fixer

Enough panicking, Rosa. Think.“But you’re here, so there’s something you can do?”

“Not me. We. This involves you as well.”

“Anything,” I say immediately. “I’ll do anything to save my family. What do you need me to do?”

He stares at the ocean for a long minute. With each passing second, I get more nervous. “Leo?” I prompt, resting my hand on his arm. “What is it?”

“You and I need to get married.”

“What?” My mouth falls open. The way he made it sound, I thought I was going to have to do something unspeakably horrible. “Married? Why?”

“If we were to get married, we can claim thatyour family is under Antonio’s protection. Spina Sacra will recognize the claim.”

It’s all making sense now. His anger toward me, his uncharacteristic surliness. He didn’t even want a relationship, and now he’s being railroaded into marriage? “But it’s temporary, right?” I ask hesitantly. “We stay married until the heat dies down and then get a divorce?”

“No,” Leo says harshly. “Not temporary. This isforever.We’ll get married in front of our family and friends. You’ll wear a beautiful dress and walk down the aisle on your father’s arm, and we’ll promise to love each other until death do us part.”

He practically spits out the last sentence. I stop and stare at him. Oh, fuck. No wonder he looks pissed. “I don’t understand. Why are you doing this? You don’t even know me. What’s in it for you?”

“I owe Valentina and Dante a debt,” he says. “This will go a long way toward repaying it.”

Oh.

A muscle ticks in his cheek. “Before you decide, you need to know something. In public, we’ll need to pretend that we’re crazy about each other. But in private, this won’t be a real marriage in any sense of the word. We won’t have sex, and we won’t share a bed. I’m not interested in you. There’s only onereason I’m doing this, and that’s to save your brother.”

I’m not interested in you.Hugh’s life hangs in the balance, and given the stakes, I shouldn’t let myself be wounded by Leo’s matter-of-fact statement. “I’ll try not to take that personally,” I say lightly, shoving my hurt down. “But I don’t understand something. If you don’t want to sleep with me, then what are you going to do for sex? I’m assuming you’re not signing up for a lifetime of celibacy. Do you have someone on the side?”

“What? No.” He stares at me. “Of course not. Is there for you?”

You.“No,” I reply. “But if there’s no one else, then why celibacy? Two months ago, you were ready to fuck me on the floor, against the wall, and in the shower stall, all in the same night. What changed?”

He frowns. “You’re not having the reaction I expected.”

“In what way?”

He runs his hands through his hair. “I thought you’d be upset about being forced to marry me.”

“Should I wail about how my life is over?” I roll my eyes. “I’m not an idiot, Leo. When we get married, my family falls under the protection of the Venetian Mafia. My brother gets to live.” I smile upat him. “Also, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you’re pretty easy on the eyes.”

He blinks in confusion.

“You, on the other hand, just get me,” I continue. “Unless you’re planning to use me as a punching bag, I’m definitely getting the better deal here.”

He gives me a frustrated look. “You’re selling yourself short,” he says. “You’re lovely. Any other man would be lucky to marry you. But, as I already told you, I have nothing to offer.”

You’re lovely.A throwaway compliment that shouldn’t fill me with as much pleasure as it does.

“There can be no other lovers for either of us,” he says. “Not for the first two or three years, at least. We need to pretend to be madly in love. After that. . .” His hands clench into fists. “As long as we’re careful and discreet about it, I don’t see a problem in either of us taking a lover.”

I do.The thought of another woman touching Leo makes me see red. But that’s Future-Me’s problem. If I stop and think about all the ways this could go wrong, I’ll be on the fast track to insanity. For the moment, this is the only way forward.

“I’m in, of course.” As if that were ever up for debate. I could feel zero chemistry for Leo, and I’d still do it because the alternative is my family dying. “Thank you for helping us. I’m never going to be able to tell you how grateful I am, but I’m truly, truly grateful.” I square my shoulders. “What happens next?”

He looks at me as if he has no idea what I’m going to say next. Then his lips twitch. “We go back to your parents’ house, where you’ll introduce me to your family as your boyfriend,” he says. “Then we’ll go out for dinner. Over dessert, I’ll ask you to marry me.”

“Got it.” At some point, I’m sure the sheer magnitude of what I’m doing will sink in, but for now, I’m going with the flow. “I’ll make sure to act surprised.”

6

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