Chapter 2
Stephano Durnovo, the Marchese of Normanni, had lost the girl. His cheeks still burned.
He was supposed to marry Chelsea. Sure, he didn’t love her. Love was a stupid emotion that didn’t really exist. But Chelsea had the breeding and knew how to run his estate.
And she was broke. Marrying her had been the simple solution, but she’d chosen a no-titled French man and his life on a farm instead of him.
Strange. Stephano adjusted the jacket of his soft black tuxedo and checked that his bowtie was correct. The stopwatch closed in on his thirtieth birthday.
Tonight’s outing with Matteo and Astorre while in Paris would distract him momentarily, but Stephano had less than two weeks to find an alternate bride.
Or he lost his estate, and his money, and his title.
The truth was plain,
