Rules and Roses

Chapter 4

I shouldn’t need to tell you that the walk to the stables is the most uncomfortable walk I have ever had in my life. I can see the dim lights of the stable ahead when I grow tired of the awkward silence and stop dead in my tracks.

“You know we are both adults, right?” I say and Piero turns to look at me with a raised brow, “if there is an issue, you can easily just talk to me about it so we can at least be civil instead of this.”

That quirked eyebrow has my n*****s aching for his touch (or maybe his mouth) but I keep the frown on my face firmly in place.

“I have no issues with you, Marigold. Rather, I think you have a problem with me,” he says in that voice that makes me want to clench my thighs together.

“Is it because of the party?” I ask and he nods, “We danced once and then what? Your ego is disappointed I didn’t come back for more?”

He sighs and shakes his head, “It’s not that. I'm… surprised.”

“Surprised?” I ask. Seeing as he’s forthcoming, I start walking slowly down to the stable and he keeps the same pace as me.

“You see, I was rather disappointed that you didn’t come back to me. And I was angry at myself for being disappointed.”

“So you decided to storm off like a six-year-old and wallow. You realize you could have just walked up to me at the party.”

“I realize that,” he agrees surprisingly, “but my pride did not let me.”

“Does your pride stop you from doing a lot of things?” I ask.

He looks at me intently for a second and then says ‘Yes.”

Before I can think too much about him or his pride, we step into the warm stables.

The smell of horse s**t and hay isn’t as strong as other stables I have been in although they’re not so many. But this stable looks impeccable, like something that’s meant to be in a magazine. The floors are spotless wood and the stalls practically gleam. Of course, there’s the expected hay, saddles and grooming equipment but not too shabby.

I can hear the horses grunting and snorting and my heart warms. I start walking down the stable and see that they have the most elegant horses I have ever seen in person. Their coats are shiny and they are so well-cared for. They have troughs attached to the doors of their stalls so they can eat easily and each horse has enough space to actually turn around.

I pass a chestnut brown mare and come face to face with an amazing stallion munching from his trough. He’s absolutely beautiful and I want to touch him but I know better. He’s completely black except for a black star in the middle of his forehead. I can’t see his legs but I wouldn’t be surprised if he had some white on there too.

“This horse is beautiful,” I say to Piero who is right behind me.

“That’s Morning Star.” At the mention of his name, the stallion snorts, “He was a rescue horse.”

“Oh wow,” I say and reach out to offer my hand to Morning Star to sniff.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Piero says and holds my hand down. His sharp intake of breath tells me that he felt it too; the subtle jolt of current before he snatches his hand away, “We don’t call him Morning Star because of that star on his forehead. We call him that because he has a temper like a devil. Offer him your hand and he’d take all your fingers off in one bite.”

“It can’t be that bad,” I argue and it seems like Morning Star understood what I said because he looks up at me with a horse expression that I'm very sure means ‘try me’.

I stare him down with a scowl on my face, “You have an attitude, don’t you, Mr High and Mighty?”

He snorts and I can feel the heat from his nostrils. He’s clearly warning me but I don’t back down. I raise my chin defiantly and stare right into his almond-shaped eyes. This goes on for about a minute before he shakes his head and continues eating.

Marigold – 1. Morning Star – 0.

I want to get out of this horse’s space now because I can tell that I have already agitated him enough. I turn to find Piero looking at me with the ghost of an amused smirk on his face.

“Did you just have a stare-down with a seven-foot-long horse?” he asks.

“That’s the best way to deal with a rude horse,” I say, “show him that you’re not fazed or he will use your fear to his advantage.

Piero shakes his head and mutters something I don’t catch, “Are you ready to go?”

“Yes,” I turn back to Morning Star, “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

Morning Star grunts but keeps on eating. Horse with a f*****g attitude.

We walk out of the stable and I'm expecting silence from him like it was when we are coming but shockingly, he speaks but what he says is something I would never expect to hear from him. Ever.

“I have a proposition for you, Marigold. And I hope you will agree to it.”

I look at him suspiciously and ask, “What is it?”

“Let’s sit and I will tell you.”

Conveniently, there’s a small garden with benches close by so we settle into one of them.

“What I am about to ask you may come as a shock and I sincerely hope you won't dispel the idea completely.”

“Get on with it already,” I urge. Piero actually looks nervous and I'm aching to know what could possibly make this stone of a man nervous.

“Will you carry my child?” he blurts out.

“Come again say what?” I'm stunned. Did he just asl if he could impregnate me? What the f**k? I’m not even in any sort of relationship with this man. Why on earth would I want a child with him?

“Wait, let me explain.” He says. I don’t know what he could possibly say but this must be good.

“A few years ago, I had a fiancée.”

“No way!” I gasp mockingly, “A woman actually agreed to marry you?”

He rolls his eyes but seems less nervous, “Let me finish. We were engaged for a while but she… left.”

“Aww. I'm so sorry.” I pat his hand but instantly regret it when I feel that stubborn jolt of current and his eyes shift to my hand on his. I snatch my hand away and clear my throat. After a few seconds, he starts speaking again.

“Anyway, before she left, we went to the doctor and they found out that her womb wasn’t stable enough to carry a child so we would need a surrogate. We agreed that we would pay a surrogate provided by the hospital.”

He pauses and I wait for him to continue. It mustn’t have been easy to have your significant other leave just like that after making such solid plans to get married and have children. He must have gone through a lot of pain and maybe that’s why he’s such an unfeeling oaf now.

 He takes a deep breath and then continues, “The procedure had started already when I lost her. The doctor had extracted her eggs and all that was left was for them to be fertilized and planted in the surrogate.”

“So why haven’t you done that?” I ask because I can't help myself.

“Because after I lost her, I just couldn’t put the last piece I had of her in some stranger. I've always known I would still go ahead with the procedure but I need it to be with a good woman.”

“And you think that good woman is me?”

“I don’t think it’s you, Marie. I know it’s you.”

“First of all, my name is Marigold, not Marie. Secondly, you’ve only known me for like a month and in total, I'm pretty sure this is the third time we have spoken to each other. s**t, this is probably our first real conversation.”

“I can't explain it, Marie, and please don’t expect me to.”

“Didn’t I just tell you my name isn’t Marie?”

“Please, Marigold.”

Okay, that makes me pause. That’s the first time I'm hearing Piero say please to ANYBODY, even his dad. Damn, he must be pretty desperate for this to happen.

“Do you even have permission to do this?” I ask. Surely he can’t just shove her eggs in someone else without asking his ex first.

“Yes, I do. She already signed the paperwork.”

 I suddenly feel very hot with the way Piero is staring at me so intently. My body starts to heat up from the inside-out like his unrelenting gaze is a boiling my insides. I don’t even want to say no, sincerely. What do I have to lose? And I’ll be giving this Adonis a gift he wants so much; a child of his own.

“What do you want me to do?”

A hopeful light enters his eyes but he doesn’t smile. I haven’t said yes yet.

“Well, you’ll have to sign some paperwork before the procedure. I'm going to pay you, obviously. Does ten million sound okay?”

My eyes widen and I nod slowly. Ten million dollars? I’d literally be set for life. But Piero is still talking, “You can sign a waiver stating that you won't have anything to do with the child once it is born. That is if you want to.”

This time I'm shaking my head vigorously, “There is absolutely no way I am having a child and I won't be a part of its life.”

“Okay. No waiver then. It will be convenient if we have the procedure done as soon as possible so that you will have the baby around the same time you will finish my father’s autobiography.”

It is awfully good timing. And I'm single as hell anyway. A child wouldn’t hurt. I'm completely capable of taking care of one. Maybe I’ll move to Italy and get a small apartment in the countryside here so my child can be close to his or her father. And it would be so much more peaceful than the hustle and bustle of New York. I love my apartment in SoHo but a fresh start would be divine. It helps that I can work from anywhere in the world too.

“Fine. I’ll have your child, Piero.”