Ruthless Perfection (The Rosa Legacy #1) Read online

  The late August evening was pleasantly warm, so she left her apartment without a wrap and walked to the train station. With the evening rush hour winding down, it was easy to locate a seat. As she glanced out the window, doubt and fear welled up inside her. Even though the Mayes Arts Organization raved about the film, it was possible that Marc would think that she revealed too much.

  Memories of their night together three weeks ago began to infiltrate her thoughts. She remembered his sensitivity when they made love, and she couldn’t believe he had dismissed her without a second thought. For a few fleeting hours she had started to believe that he was interested in her, that he could see past her scarred body.

  It was eight o’clock when she got off the train and walked the short distance to Santoro Designs. She could see the bright lights and hear the music before she climbed the steps. A few guests were lingering outside, enjoying the night air.

  Opening the heavy glass door, she walked into the gallery space and immediately saw him. He was wearing a dark suit and the corners of his mouth lifted in a brief smile.

  She glanced through the crowd and noticed her grandfather was surrounded by old friends.

  Marc stepped forward and handed her a glass of champagne.

  “I was beginning to worry that you wouldn’t come.”

  “I wasn’t sure if I should, actually.” Her mind raced forward. How could he just make small talk after everything that happened?

  “We need to talk,” he said.

  Isabel could barely meet his gaze. Just seeing him in person made her feel like she was going to shatter into a thousand pieces.

  “There is nothing to say.” She glanced around the crowded room and hoped someone would interrupt them. The last time they had seen each other, he couldn’t wait to get rid of her.

  “Please, Isabel,” he said, lightly touching her lower back and directing her into the open gallery area. She noticed people were turning toward them with wide smiles on their faces.

  Her eyes were drawn to a series of sculptures on display. She placed her untouched glass of champagne on a center table and moved closer to the artwork. There were six marble statues of a young woman wearing very little. They were all of her.

  She turned back to him in shock. “I don’t understand. I barely modeled for you.”

  “You didn’t have to. Your image is permanently imprinted.”

  She looked back at the marble statues and began to realize that the room had become very quiet. Each statue was unique and captured a different memory.

  She felt his hands on her shoulders. The warmth felt so good, but she didn’t want to hope for the impossible. She needed to start a new life. All of a sudden it became too much.

  “Isabel,” she heard Marc calling out to her as she escaped the room.

  She disappeared into one of the back workrooms, but she heard Marc follow her and close the door.

  “Please don’t.” Isabel could feel tears running down her cheeks and tried to wipe them away.

  “Isabel, we need to talk.”

  She kept her back to him. “No. I don’t want to go over everything.”

  Marc turned her toward him and his expression was grim. “I have no regrets about the night we spent together. It was incredible until the siren went off.”

  Isabel tried to move away, but his hands moved down onto her upper arms and held her captive.

  “I need to explain, cara mia.” His voice was soft, drawing her in.

  But instead of talking, his mouth came down on hers, provoking a response. For a brief moment she enjoyed the feeling of his tongue sliding into her mouth.

  But she pushed against his chest, and when he lifted his head, she made herself speak. “You will destroy me. Everything I have worked toward will be lost.”

  His bronze skin paled and he held out his hands to her, but she didn’t want to risk rejection all of over again. Isabel forced herself to walk away, her heels striking against the concrete floor was the only sound she heard.

  “I was afraid.”

  Isabel stopped and looked back at him. His words shocked her. He was so strong and powerful. He was always in control.

  “I spent my entire life hiding who I really am. Being an artist was completely unacceptable to my father. The quarry business destroyed my mother.”

  Isabel looked at him with compassion.

  He continued. “I have spent my entire adult life deflecting what others wanted of me. So naturally, I wanted no part of the film or Alda playing matchmaker.”

  Isabel was surprised by his revelation.

  “But I didn’t expect to be completely captivated by your mere presence. I haven’t been able to work or do much of anything since you captured my heart. I never expected to say this, but I love you.”

  Isabel let out a gasp. “Marc, I …”

  “Let me finish. I wanted to gather you into my arms when you came to the quarry on that last day. You were so beautiful, but a man was clinging to life and I didn’t trust you. I thought you might exploit what we shared.”

  “Why would I do that? We were just getting to know each other. Why would I try to hurt you?”

  “I learned at a very early ago not to trust anyone. I downplayed the stories about my parents because I didn’t want you to use them. But everything you found out about my family’s tragic past was true.”

  Isabel rushed to him and threw her arms around him.

  Marc held her tight. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have sent you away. I should have trusted that you would stand by me.”

  “I don’t know how you could have doubted that.”

  “I know that now. It took me a while to work through the events and realize that I could trust you with my heart and soul.”

  “I understood that you were preoccupied dealing with the police and the accident, but you acted like you never wanted to see me again.”

  “I was reacting to the situation. It was much later when I let myself feel again that I realized how much I missed you. It took forever for the situation there to improve so I could fly back and find you.”

  Isabel held onto him. “I can’t believe you missed me. I was heartbroken, but whenever I remembered our parting, I felt rejected all over again.”

  “Cara mia, please don’t. I never want you to leave my side again. I want you forever and ever.”

  “Why didn’t you come and see me or answer my emails? Why wait for tonight?”

  “It took me a few weeks to organize and finish the sculptures. I wanted something tangible to show you, to convince you how much I care about you.”

  Isabel looked at him and said, “Marc, I love the statues, but your words would have been enough. And that was a rather public display out there.”

  “I had hoped to propose, but you stormed off.”

  Marc kissed her again, and she pulled him closer, not quite believing her good fortune.

  Isabel asked, “How long did it take to create the statues?”

  “I started on one in Martha’s Vineyard and then here and finally several in Italy.”

  “Really? I thought you despised me at first?”

  “No, I was fascinated by you and somehow you kept appearing in my work,” Marc revealed.

  Isabel put her head on his chest and allowed her happiness to sink in. She felt inexplicably pleased that he was fascinated with her and driven to capture her image.

  “Have you spoken to your aunt about this?”

  Marc hesitated, then said, “I asked her about you. I wanted to know how she knew I would fall in love with you. She said she didn’t know actually. She and your grandfather couldn’t help but play matchmaker for a little while in the hopes I would settle down. But in the end they realized that you were an enormously talented filmmaker and whatever would happen was up to us.”

  When Isabel remained quiet, he continued. “At that point she was taken with the project; she no longer cared about finding a wife for me. But when she saw my reaction to you she couldn’t help a
little matchmaking just in case.”

  “But you had no reaction to me. You didn’t even want to allow me to film in Carrara,” Isabel insisted.

  Marc ran his hands down her back. “I was infatuated from the first moment I met you, but it took a little while to accept it.”

  “Didn’t you realize how I felt about you?”

  “I never thought that far. I was so used to deflecting what everyone wanted from me that I never let myself consider what you might want until it was too late.” Marc looked into her eyes and she could see the strain and worry on his face.

  “Too late?” Isabel asked.

  “Yes, after you left I realized I was much more than just fascinated with you. I was in love with you, but I was worried that after shutting you out, you would want nothing to do with me.”

  Isabel smiled at his declaration. “I love you. I think I would forgive you anything. Even revealing how you feel about me in front of a hundred people.”

  “Come, there are a hundred people waiting for our return.”

  As they rejoined the party, the guests waited in anticipation.

  Marc released her and got down on one knee, and her heart nearly stopped. He took a small box out of his pocket and asked, “Isabel Neri, will you become my wife?”

  There were tears in her eyes when she said, “Yes.”

  Marc stood, and after placing the ring on her finger, he picked her up and twirled her around in his arms before placing her back on the floor.

  She looked down at the spectacular diamond engagement ring.

  “Your cousin, Emelia, produced the ring in less than three days.”

  “How did you manage that?”

  “It was immensely difficult as she is not accessible to the public but I found a way.”

  Isabel wanted to pinch herself.

  As they were walking to the podium, she asked, “What if I hadn’t come tonight?”

  He whispered in her ear, “Then I would have shown up on your doorstep and pleaded with you to give me another chance.”

  She smiled up at him. She couldn’t believe they were getting another chance. She felt as if she were floating on a cloud.

  Marc smiled at the crowd, saying, “I must apologize for pre-empting Alberto’s celebration.”

  Her grandfather lifted his glass in salute to them. The crowd applauded with enthusiasm.

  “We now have the absolute pleasure of watching a few select clips from the much-anticipated documentary.” Applause rippled through the crowd as Marc hit play on the remote.

  He then gathered her in his arms as the film played. Looking out at the old-timers in the audience, Isabel could see fascination and joy play across their faces.

  When the film ended, there was much spontaneous conversation and Marc pulled her from the podium. She noticed her brothers were over next to her grandfather and his friends.

  She could see her parents crossing the floor to meet them. Isabel couldn’t believe that they had just witnessed her engagement.

  Marc greeted them graciously and held out his hand in welcome. Her parents began speaking at the same time.

  “We didn’t even know that you were dating,” her mother said sharply.

  “We didn’t either,” Isabel said as she smiled up at Marc.

  Marc took her hand in his. “There were a few obstacles to overcome, but we hope that you will give your blessing.”

  Her mother hugged her tight and then her father embraced them both.

  “Isabel, I’m so happy for you. And the film was a beautiful tribute to your grandfather,” her mother said quietly.

  “We are very proud of you and so happy for you,” her father said as he kissed her forehead. “Your grandfather seemed delighted.”

  Isabel nodded. “He was emotional tonight and he missed Nonna.”

  “I think he enjoyed the added surprise to the evening, as did my Aunt Alda.” Marc smiled at her parents and then said, “If you’ll excuse us, we have some catching up to do.”

  As they made their exit, she said to him, “That may have been too obvious.”

  Marc said softly as he pulled her into an embrace, “The speeches are about to start and the open bar will continue for the duration. They’ll be fine.”

  As they walked down the front steps, she noticed a car service was waiting for them. She heard people saying goodnight as they climbed into the back of the limo. When the driver closed the door, Marc pulled her to him and kissed her thoroughly, saying, “I’ve missed you with my whole heart and soul.”

  Clinging tightly to him, she realized she was home. He had taught her how to feel complete and loved. She whispered, “I love you,” as he kissed again.

  Pulling her onto his lap, Marc said, “Ti amo, cara. It’s going to be a challenge to make it home.”

  She couldn’t wait for their life together to start.

  About the author:

  Susie Warren writes contemporary romance. Besides being an avid reader, she spends much of her free time crafting intense and complex stories about falling in love. When she is not writing, Susie works as an administrator in a small, independent school while caring for three teenagers and keeping tabs on her inventor husband. With the launching of her first book, The Forgotten Heiress, she has slowly begun to navigate the social media realm.

  Susie loves to hear from readers and responds to each email and Facebook post. Please reach out to her via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Susie-Warren/647556668647832 or Twitter @susiecwarren

  For more information on her upcoming releases, new excerpts and other related postings, or to sign up for free promotions, please visit www.susiewarren.com.

  The Rosa Legacy Series

  The first novel in The Rosa Legacy series, Ruthless Perfection, started with the idea of a traditional Italian mother who wanted to see her only daughter marry. The mother, Carla Rosa Neri, along with her two sisters, Francesca and Marie, had emigrated from Italy as young girls and each went off to create a dynamic and successful family. Each of the sisters had an only daughter and the cousins remained close throughout their childhoods and were influenced by the Rosa Legacy as they each embark on a journey to create a life for themselves.

  Carla Rosa married into the Neri family with a long history in the Carrara marble industry. Her daughter, Isabel Neri, being a filmmaker and wanting to honor her grandfather’s legacy, approaches a reclusive billionaire, Marc Santoro, to ask permission to produce a documentary about the life of a quarry worker. Ruthless Perfection is the story of how they fall in love.

  Francesca Rosa married into the Berceto family with a long history in the jewelry making business. The Second novel in The Rosa Legacy series, The Exiled Jeweler, is about her daughter, Emelia, who went into seclusion after a scandal tore the family apart. The story is about an extraordinary talented jewelry designer who lived a sheltered life and was drawn into a passionate encounter with her family’s rival, Alexander Armati at a gala. Outside in the garden, photographs were taken on them and sold to the tabloid press. Her family was shocked and embarrassed and sent Emelia off to Florida. Four years later, she returns when her grandfather has a heart attack and her parents are deciding to sell the family business. The Exiled Jeweler will be available on Amazon in November 2014.

  Marie Rosa married into the Adams family with a long history in politics. Her only daughter, Lauren, is fascinated by politics and becomes a speech writer. The opportunity to work on a senate campaign in Connecticut draws her into the middle of a scandal. Anderson Adams is a dark horse in the senate race yet convinces Lauren to play along with a strategy to save his campaign. The third novel in The Rosa Legacy series, The Candidate’s Fiancée, is the story about how they reconcile the public arena with their private life. The Candidate’s fiancée will be available on Amazon in January 2015.

  A note from Susie Warren

  Thank you for taking time to read the first book in The Rosa Legacy, Ruthless Perfection. If you enjoyed the story, please consider tellin
g your friends or posting a short review on Amazon. As a self-published author, your review and comments are essential and much appreciated.

  Table of Contents

  Ruthless Perfection Copyright 2014 by Susie Warren

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  About the author:

  The Rosa Legacy Series

  A note from Susie Warren

  Table of Contents

  Ruthless Perfection Copyright 2014 by Susie Warren

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  About the author:

  The Rosa Legacy Series

  A note from Susie Warren