"Your brother was just leaving. As are you," Rico said. "The bargain is finished. Go back to your family."

She looked as though he'd slapped her and he winced. It wasn't his intention to bring her more pain.

"We talked about this, Rico," she reminded him, hands at her hips. "I'm staying."

"I've reconsidered." He ignored Gianni just as Teresa was. "We made a deal. The month is over."

"You can't mean this," she muttered. "What if I'm pregnant?"

"Pregnant?" Gianni scowled at Rico.

He waved the man's outburst away with one negligent hand and focused solely on Teresa. "Are you?"

Teresa chewed on her bottom lip, then grumbled, "No."

Disappointment welled inside him as his last hope at keeping her faded. But he had to do this for her. d.a.m.n it, he had blackmailed her into a monthlong affair. He would not blackmail her into being his wife. Since reason wasn't working with her, he released the anger churning inside him.

"You think I want you to be a sacrifice for your family? Again?" He shook his head. "No, Teresa. You'll go and you'll do whatever it is you want to do without worrying about trading your life for theirs."

"No one asked her to sacrifice-"

"Be quiet, Gianni," she snapped and took two furious steps closer to Rico.

He saw the fire in her golden eyes and loved her even more. She was magnificent in her fury as she was in every other aspect of her life. This woman was everything to him. And his only chance to prove that was to force her to go.

"I don't want you here," he blurted out.

She sucked in a gulp of air and fired another glare at him as she shook her head. "You're lying, Rico. You said you didn't lie to those you care about, but you're lying now."

"Teresa, I think we should-" Gianni said patiently.

"Basta! Enough!" She snapped the words out and held up her hand, palm out toward her brother. Gianni shrugged and leaned one hip against Rico's desk, settling in to watch the show.

"You're an idiot," she said, frowning at Rico.

Gianni laughed.

Rico scowled and murmured, "Thank you."

"I'm not sacrificing myself by staying here, Rico," she said, coming closer now, keeping her gaze fixed on his. "I'm staying because I love you."

A flare of heat swelled in his chest and Rico breathed easy for the first time since she had stormed into his office. Maybe there was light in his darkness after all. "I love you, too. I always have."

Tears swamped her eyes and a tremulous smile curved her mouth. Reaching up, she laid her hand on his cheek and sighed when he turned his head just far enough to plant a kiss in the center of her palm.

"What about before, Rico? The past. Will that always be there between us?"

That was one thing he was sure of. "I don't care about the past, Teresa. All that matters to me is the future. Our future."

"And my family?"

He slid a glance at Gianni, still watching them with a bemused expression on his face. "If I can handle the Kings, I think I can live with the Corettis." He pointed a finger at the other man. "As long as they stay out of my hotels."

"Agreed." Gianni nodded.

"But you were going to let me leave," Teresa complained, drawing his attention back to her. "Why?"

"Because you had to want to be here. With me. It had to be your choice," he whispered now, as if only the two of them existed. "But if you had left, I promise you I would have followed."

Her smile wobbled, then grew more bright. "Really?"

"I would have traipsed all over Europe and beyond, romancing you, seducing you, winning your heart until you chose to come home. With me."

"Home?"

"Our home. Here. On Tesoro."

"Our home, Rico, is anywhere we're together." She went up on her toes and kissed him lightly. "You are my family, Rico. And I will always choose you."

Gianni cleared his throat and stood up, interrupting. "I will tell Papa what happened here. He'll be disappointed that you're not coming home, but I think he'll understand."

Teresa went to her brother and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Gianni."

He shrugged and kissed her forehead. "You should know," he said, talking to Rico now, "Papa will probably want another wedding for you two-since we weren't invited to the first one."

"Yes, about that," Teresa said.

"Doesn't matter now, little sister," he said, "as long as you're happy. And I can see that you are."

She grinned at him, then watched as he walked to the cold fireplace on the far wall. "Gas?" he asked.

"The switch on the wall," Rico told him, knowing just what the other man was going to do.

Gianni hit the switch, gas flames erupted and he went down on one knee in front of it. Carefully, he tossed the envelope of evidence onto the flames and watched as it burned. When it was nothing but curling paper and ash, he stood again to face his sister and Rico.

"Now that's done, I can go."

"Where, Gianni?"

"London, for now." He went to her and pulled her in close for another hug. Then, looking from her to Rico, he said, "You don't have to worry about me anymore. The reason Papa couldn't get me on the phone this month is that I've been in talks with Interpol."

"What?"

He smiled at Teresa's shock. "In exchange for immunity, I'm going to work with their people. Help them catch thieves for a change." He shrugged. "Could be fun. And I think I might be able to talk Paulo and Papa into doing the same."

"Good luck with that," Rico said on a laugh.

"It's worth a try," Teresa said and beamed at her brother. "I'm so proud of you, Gianni."

"Imagine. Me. Working for the police." Shaking his head, he walked to the door and paused only long enough to look back at Rico and say, "Treat her well, Rico. I'll be in touch."

When he was gone, Rico grabbed Teresa, pulled her against him and just held on. Burying his face in the curve of her neck, he inhaled her scent and dragged it so deep inside him he would never take another breath without tasting her on it.

"I love you, Teresa Coretti King."

"I'm going to want to hear that a lot," she said, leaning back to look up at him. "I love you so much, Rico. I always have. Living without you was so horrible-"

"Shh. That's done. It's gone. Neither of us will ever have to feel that misery again, that's all that matters."

"Being here. With you. On Tesoro. It's perfect." She leaned her head on his chest and whispered, "Take me home, Rico. To our home."

"First," he told her as he stepped away, "I have something for you."

"All I need is you, Rico."

He grinned at her. G.o.d, he felt freer than he had in years. Just hearing her say that filled him with the kind of joy he had never really expected to feel again. But this had to be done. "Trust me. This you need."

He walked to his desk, opened the top drawer and took out a small velvet box that he had looked at every day for the last five years. When he brought it to her, he opened it and Teresa gasped.

"It's your ring," he said unnecessarily. "The one you left behind with your note, telling me only that you had to leave."

"Oh, G.o.d." She stared at the yellow diamond and clapped one hand over her mouth. "It almost killed me to take that ring off, Rico. It-you-meant everything to me." Shaking her head, she murmured, "You kept it. I can't believe you kept it all this time."

"Sometimes," he said, "I admit, I thought about selling it or even tossing it into the sea."

"Oh, G.o.d..."

"But something kept me from it," he admitted as he plucked the ring from the velvet and slid it onto her finger. He sealed it there with a kiss, then met her eyes, now drenched again in what he knew were tears of happiness. "I think a part of me knew that we would find our way to each other again.

"Because you are my one. My only. And now the ring-and you-are back where you belong."

"And this time," Teresa whispered as she lifted her face for his kiss, "my romantic, wonderful husband, it's forever."

"It is a deal," he said with a smile, then kissed her with all the love he held in his now healed heart.

If you loved Rico's story, don't miss a single novel in the KINGS OF CALIFORNIA, a series from USA TODAY bestselling author Maureen Child:.

BARGAINING FOR KING'S BABY.

MARRYING FOR KING'S MILLIONS.

FALLING FOR KING'S FORTUNE.

CONQUERING KING'S HEART.

CLAIMING KING'S BABY.

WEDDING AT KING'S CONVENIENCE.

THE LAST LONE WOLF.

CINDERELLA & THE CEO.

KING'S MILLION-DOLLAR SECRET.

READY FOR KING'S SEDUCTION.

THE TEMPORARY MRS. KING.

TO KISS A KING.

THE KING NEXT DOOR.

Prologue.

When Josh Gordon let himself into his girlfriend's apartment, he wanted two things-to make love to Lori and get some much-needed sleep. He'd spent a long day preparing job bids for Gordon Construction and an even longer evening wining and dining a potential client, who couldn't seem to make up his mind whether to give the contract for his new office building to the construction business Josh and his twin brother, Sam, co-owned or to one of their compet.i.tors.