Vito thought that his mistress Lily was different than all other women, because she made no demands on him and he enjoyed their relationship until Lily told him she was pregnant and he accused her of trying to trap him, that she was after his money and he kicks her out of his apartment.
Having no way to go and no friends Lily had to spend the night by one of the restaurants that they dined at because the owner took pity on her, then she returned to England.
Meanwhile Vito's grandfather wanted to see him married and he wanted great grandchildren before he died. Vito did not want to disappoint him so although he did not believe that Lily's child was his he decided to make a deal with her to come back to Venice with him and marry him and he will give her child a name.
Lily accepted for the good of her child.
Personally if I was Lily what Vito offered was not good enough to make me marry him, he was a dog to treat her that way. But that is just me.
Here's my review to toss in
Here's my review to toss in my two cents. I read this recently.
My opinion is that the misunderstanding was silly and should have / could have been cleared up so much sooner and saved them pain. The heroine thought she had to prove herself and regain the hero's trust... when really the hero just needed to balls up and give her a fertility / paternity test, it's a legal requirement and she wanted it done. She had nothing to hide, no fear of the test.
My Review: They dated for ten months, lived together for five months, then she fell pregnant and told him. He threw her out without saying much. He thought she slept with another man because he thought he was infertile. She thought he was a mega-bastard for dumping her because of an unplanned pregnancy, she thought him an utter rat. He meets her again six weeks later at work, and at that time he needs a convenient wife and heir, so he decides to take her as his wife and pass her kid off as his. She finds out pretty quickly that he suspects she cheated on him, he tells her he doesn't believe the baby is his, but he won't tell her why. She wants to love him and prove to him that she's worthy of his trust, she's confused about why he mistrusts her, she didn't do anything bad. I love that the hero can't deny his feelings for the heroine, even when he doesn't want to want her, he finds himself picking her up and carrying her straight up to their bedroom. I love their passion and it is pretty obvious from the start that the hero loved her and felt so betrayed because he'd let himself trust her and get vulnerable. It still should have been a silly misunderstanding that got cleared up a lot quicker than it did, but that's life! Good book. Rating: 3.5/5 stars, a really passionate story, and I liked the characters.
I would have rated it even higher
I really enjoyed this book.
He was a creep to throw her out the way he did, but his rule was complete fidelity. And he really believe he was infertile.
Why submit to a fertility test when you know your little swimmers are actually floaters?
If I were Lily I wouldn't agree to a paternity test until after the baby was born. I don't like the odds of having a miscarriage after having an amniocentesis.
As far as Vito goes, of course, he wouldn't talk to Lily about it the infertility issue. When just the thought of it infused his brain with images of his gloating ex-wife telling him he wasn't really a man.
Then there is the issue of male pride, not just any old male pride, but Italian male pride.
I would rate this one 4 stars.
I loved the happy ending.
w-w-w
Heh... I hesitated about
Heh... I hesitated about the rating, I wanted to give it a 4 too. But I thought it needed to get put down a tad bit because of the futility of the conflict and the absolute certainty and coldness in the hero. His heroine was innocent and guileless and he really should have trusted his instincts that she wasn't capable of a deception. He knew her better than that.
I loved that the hero WANTED her even when their relationship was ugly and kept pulling her towards him with one arm while pushing her away with the other. I liked that he couldn't help himself.
Really... as far as "revenge" stories go, this one really was quite delightful because the hero really loved his heroine. AND there was no infidelity, which is really something I love. I love that the separation was so short because it means they didn't spend wasted years apart because of a misunderstanding.
Anyhoo... I recommend it.