She was exactly what she wanted to be without apology. Michael admired and appreciated such women, as they were too far and few between. But something about Maggie pulled him to look closer and scratch beneath the surface. Some lingering pain and need glimmered deep within those green eyes, daring a man to slay the dragon and claim her.

His sudden thought startled him. He mocked the ridiculous image, but his pants still tightened around his erection. God, that’s all he needed—some misrepresented damsel-in-distress fantasy. He’d never be a prince and didn’t want the job. Especially against a woman who’d probably steal his horse and rescue herself.

Still, for a while, he needed her. He just had to convince her to take the part.

“Hmm, I wonder what put that expression on your face. Or rather, who.”

He looked up from his chair and met a pair of laughing blue eyes. His heart warmed at Alexa’s smile, and he stood up to give her a brief hug. “Buon giorno, signora bella. Did you enjoy your party?”

Corkscrew curls slipped out of her ponytail and lay against her cheek. Happiness radiated around her figure. “Loved it. I told Nick I didn’t want a party, but you know how he gets.”

“That’s the reason he’s good at his job.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, good for business but a pain in the ass at home.” She grinned naughtily. “Sometimes.”

Michael laughed. “What do you Americans like to say? TMI—too much info?” Color flushed her cheeks and he tugged on one of her curls. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I got you a present.”

She frowned. “Michael, the cake was enough. You almost killed me it was so delicious.”

“It’s a small one. You have meant a lot to me this past year, and I love seeing you happy.” He pulled a tiny box from his jacket pocket. “Open.”

She sighed and looked half-torn. Curiosity won out and she unwrapped the gift. The simple baby booty charm with a gleaming emerald stone lay on the fluffy cotton. She sucked in her breath and pleasure filled him at her expression.

“It’s Lily’s birthstone,” he said. “Nick told me he bought you a new gold chain, so this would go perfectly with it. Do you like?”

Alexa bit her lower lip and she blinked. “I love it,” she said huskily. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, and he clasped her hands within his. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”

“Prego, cara.”

A strong wave of admiration and love washed over him. The moment he’d met her at a business dinner, he knew she was an exceptional woman. Fortunately, since he discovered her marriage, there was never any sexual chemistry between them. Nick was the other half of her heart. But Michael believed he and Alexa were old soul mates—meant to be good friends but never lovers. Nick initially resented their friendship but even he had become both a friend and a business partner. When Lily was born, Michael enjoyed the status of honorary uncle, which soothed the occasional burst of homesickness for his own family.

Maggie, however, disapproved.

Suddenly, she materialized by their side, as if able to sniff out whenever Alexa neared him. She raked him with a sharp look. “Presents, Al?” she asked. “How thoughtful.”

Her tone dripped with icicles and he caught an immediate chill. Her protectiveness and loyalty toward Alexa always fascinated him. How could someone who had the potential to love be so alone? Unless she had a steady lover hidden in the background? She never brought a male companion to any of the functions. Michael studied her figure but caught no softness or satisfaction, just the usual low hum of energy she always exuded.

His thoughts flashed to their first date almost a year ago. Alexa begged him to meet Maggie, citing some strange female instinct that they’d be perfect together. The moment their gazes locked, Michael knew sexual chemistry would never be their problem. She seemed just as startled by their instant connection but played it off with an expert ease until he realized she was a contradictory bundle of emotions—a tigress caught without her roar. The stimulating, edgy conversation only heightened his desire for her, but he knew she’d never be a one-night stand, as badly as she wanted to pretend that was all they could have.

He’d briefly ached to be the man to challenge her limitations and offer more. But his close relationship with Alexa and the threat of a messy breakup kept him from extending the evening to another date. He sought a woman who would fit in with his close-knit family and not keep herself distant. Maggie was the opposite of everything he believed he needed in a mate. Boring, no. But a mass of contradictions, emotions, and work, yes. If they tore each other apart, Alexa and Nick would become the victims, and since he viewed them as family, he never put anyone he cared about at risk. Not because of his own selfish needs.

He’d practiced that move most of his life.

Still, he’d screwed up. Her almost shy offer of the possibility of another date incited a fear he’d never experienced from a woman.

The raw vulnerability on her face from his rejection startled him. But there would never be a second chance with Maggie Ryan. She’d never allow herself to be put in such a position again, and she loved to remind him of it constantly.

Alexa lifted the baby charm up. “Isn’t it beautiful, Maggie?”

“Charming.”

Michael smothered a laugh at Alexa’s warning look. Like a sulky child, Maggie backed off. “I have to get going, babe,” she said. “I have to leave for Milan soon and still have tons to do.”

Alexa groaned. “God, what I’d do to go to Milan and get a new wardrobe.” She looked down at her fashionable dress and wrinkled her face.

“Lily was worth a couple of pounds,” Maggie said firmly. “I’ll bring you back a pair of sexy heels that’ll drive Nick mad.” Her gaze veered directly to Michael’s face as if to prove a point. “Not that it takes much the way you two go at it.”

“Go at what?” Nick appeared and slipped his arms around his wife’s hips.

“Never mind,” Alexa said sharply.

“Sex,” Maggie stated. “I’m going to Milan and bringing back Alexa some sexy shoes.”

Nick looked intrigued. “How about one of those silky nightie things, too?”

“Nick!”

He ignored his wife’s embarrassed hiss and grinned. “What? She’s going to the fashion capital of the world and you don’t want lingerie? Hell, I do. The way you look is just . . . delicious.”

Maggie laughed. “Done. She’ll look hot in red.”

“I hate you both.”

Nick pressed a kiss to his wife’s neck. Michael turned his head for a moment and caught the look on Maggie’s face.

Longing.

Emotion lodged at the back of his throat as he registered the wistfulness on her face while she gazed at her brother, then the shutter slammed down and the moment disappeared.

He straightened and decided to make his move. “Maggie? Before you leave, can I talk to you for a minute?”

She shrugged. “Sure. What’s up?”

“In private, please.”

Nick and Alexa shared a look. Maggie rolled her eyes at them. “Give me a break, guys. It’s not like he’s going to ask me to marry him or anything.”

Michael winced. Nick shook his head at her antics but she only stuck out her tongue and led the way down the hall toward one of the back rooms. She jumped on the high platform bed and kicked her legs out in front of her. With her arms propped behind her back, her breasts pressed against the silvery top in a demand to be freed. God, was she wearing a bra?

Michael tried to be casual as he leaned against the wooden beam of the four-poster bed. His curiosity was rewarded when twin points poked against the soft fabric. He shifted in an attempt to get comfortable, annoyed she couldn’t have picked the formal den to have this conversation. It was too easy to imagine her spread out on the champagne quilt as he dragged her top over her breasts with his teeth. He bet her nipples were ruby-colored and very sensitive. Seemed like the fabric alone caused them to respond. Michael fought a shudder and clawed for focus.

“I have a proposition for you.”

She threw her head back and laughed. The smoky sound beckoned like a witch casting a spell. “Well, then, you’ve come to the right girl.” She licked her lips with deliberate precision. The faint sheen of wetness gleamed in the light. “Proposition away.”

He smothered a curse and decided to go for the blunt approach. “I need a pretend wife.”

She blinked. “Huh?”

“Si.” He despised the slight flush his ridiculous admission caused and forged on. “I am having some family difficulties and I’m required to marry. I need someone to go to Italy with me for a week, pretend to be my wife, spend some time with my family, then leave.”

“Why do I suddenly feel like I dropped into the Lifetime movie of the week?”

“What is Lifetime?”

She waved his question off. “Never mind, a girl thing. Um, let me think about this for a moment. You need me to pretend to be married to you, hang with your famiglia, stay in their house, and then return like nothing ever happened?”

“Yes.”

“No, thanks.” She jumped gracefully off the bed and headed out. Michael cut in front of her and kicked the door closed. She arched a brow. “Sorry, not into the dominating thing.”

“Maggie, please hear me out.”

“Hell, no. I heard enough. First off, I’m going to Milan to work, not to be a mail-order bride. Second, we don’t really care for each other, and your family would pick that up in a moment. Third, we’re not even close friends, which negates me from owing you any favors. Surely, you have some lovely young thing just begging for the opportunity to shine in this role?”

Michael held back a groan. Did he really think this would be easy? “Actually, that’s why you’ll be perfect for the job. I need someone who won’t get any strange ideas. Anyway, I’m not seeing anyone at the moment.”

“What if I am?”

“Are you?”

She pulled back. The temptation to lie glimmered in those eyes, then cleared. “No. But I’m still not doing it.”

“I’ll pay you.”

She smirked. “I don’t need your money, Count. I make enough on my own, thank you.”

“There must be something we can bargain with. Something you want.”

“Sorry, I’m a pretty happy girl. But thanks for the offer.” She reached past him for the doorknob.

She was his only candidate, and he didn’t think America had a store to buy fake brides. The final option flashed before him. It would never work, of course, and Nick wouldn’t approve. But if Maggie thought it was a possibility, she may drop right into his hands. He pushed past his conscience and played his trump card. “Fine, I guess I’ll need to ask Alexa.”

Maggie stopped. Her hair flew, then slid into place as she whipped her head up to eyeball him like a prizefighter. “What did you say?”

He sighed with mock regret. “I didn’t want to ask her to leave Lily so early, but I’m sure she will help me.”