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www.millsandboon.co.uk
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ONE
SAM LOMBARDI knew, without the shadow of a doubt, that she couldn’t possibly be any happier. It was early morning, the time of day she most enjoyed, and she was lying in the arms of the man she loved. Ransom Shaw. Just thinking his name gave her an enormous sense of well-being. Sighing with satisfaction, she smiled, cuddling closer, taking in the scent of him as his chest rose and fell whilst he slept.
She might be just a little biased, but she thought he was perfect. Simply looking at him turned her heart over. He was ruggedly handsome, with a shock of black hair that just curled over his collar, contrary to current fashion, and dancing grey eyes set in a tanned face. Right now that tanned face bore a night’s growth of stubble, which just made him look sexier so far as she was concerned.
She toyed with the idea of waking him and initiating the lovemaking that would surely follow, but decided he could do with the sleep. He was a struggling junior barrister in a prestigious law firm, and had been working hard on his latest case. He was hoping to progress to being a senior barrister, and to one day take silk. It was going to take hard work, but he had the ability to get what he wanted.
Sam had actually met Ransom when she had been called in to act as interpreter in connection with his current case. There had been instant attraction. She had never experienced anything like it. They had been drawn to each other so powerfully, nobody else existed. Within days they had been lovers, and nothing had ever seemed so right. For her it wasn’t an affair, it was for ever. A for ever kind of love. She had no doubts. This was it. He was the one. She had fallen fathoms deep in love with him, and was sure it was true for Ransom too.
The days had turned into weeks. Now weeks were slipping into months, and their feelings had simply gone from strength to strength. They were soul mates, destined to be together…
Beneath her cheek his chest expanded as he breathed in deeply. Sam glanced up to find his enticing grey eyes looking down at her. Ransom smiled slowly.
‘Hey,’ he greeted softly, running his hand over the silky undulations of her back.
Sam moved so that she was resting on his chest and could look down at him. ‘Hi. Did I disturb you?’ she asked equally gently, and his smile took on a rakish curve.
‘You always disturb me, I’m happy to say,’ Ransom responded teasingly, and she could feel his body hardening beneath her thigh.
Sam laughed softly and pressed a chain of kisses from shoulder to shoulder. ‘You shouldn’t be doing this. You need your sleep.’
Ransom’s answer to that was to fold his arms around her and roll over so their positions were reversed. ‘I need you more,’ he told her huskily, no longer smiling, and the heat in his gaze was enough to set her blood boiling. ‘God, I’m totally crazy about you.’
‘How can I resist you when you say something like that?’ Sam murmured on a sigh, and then his head lowered, blocking out the light, and all sensible thought was forgotten in the heat of passion.
Much later, having taken a leisurely shower before dressing, they sat facing each other across the breakfast bar in Ransom’s flat. Sam buttered a hot piece of toast and hastily plopped it onto his plate before it could burn her. She did another for herself and spread it with marmalade.
‘Are you in court today?’ she queried, wondering if they could manage to snatch a quick lunch together. It wasn’t always easy fitting in with his gruelling schedule.
Ransom nodded as he sipped at a steaming cup of coffee. ‘Closing arguments. It’s probably going to be a long day. How about you?’
Sam worked for a company that supplied translators for every possible occasion or event. She was fluent in half a dozen languages, and could get by in a handful of others. Which kept her busy and was never boring.
‘I’ll call the office from home to find out what’s lined up for me.’ She had to go to her own bedsit to change her clothes and check her mail.
Having finished his breakfast, Ransom carried his dirty crocks to the sink, then shrugged into the jacket of his pinstripe suit. ‘Dinner tonight?’
Regretfully, Sam shook her head. ‘Can’t, I’m afraid. I’m having dinner with my family.’ It had been her custom ever since she had moved into her own place, and she had never felt torn about where she wanted to be until now.
‘When am I going to meet this family of yours?’ Ransom wanted to know. He had asked more than once recently and Sam wasn’t quite sure why she was putting it off.
‘Soon,’ she promised. She supposed she just wanted to keep him to herself for a while longer. If she took him home, the speculation would start. She loved her family dearly, but sometimes she felt she could be smothered under their natural interest in all her doings.
Ransom quirked an eyebrow at her. ‘Are you ashamed of me or something?’
That brought her to her feet in a hurry. ‘No, of course not!’ The fact was she had never taken a man home, and her family would know the significance when she did. ‘I just don’t want to share you yet.’ Ransom would get the third degree, and she needed to prepare him for it first.
He smiled lazily. ‘That’s OK, just so long as you remember I’m going to have to meet them one day.’
Smiling with relief, Sam went and slipped her arms around his neck. ‘One day. We’re OK just the two of us till then, aren’t we?’
His hands settled on her waist and drew her closer. ‘Two is good. Forget I mentioned it. I’m just an old-fashioned kind of guy about some things. It’ll keep,’ he reassured her, just before pressing a scintillating kiss on her lips.
It was over much too soon for Sam, who sighed when he released her to go in search of his briefcase. Still, what he had said gave her a warm feeling. There really was only one reason for an old-fashioned kind of man to want to meet a woman’s parents: to show his intentions were honourable. She smiled to herself. There was nothing she wanted more than to marry Ransom Shaw and spend the rest of their lives together. Maybe she would take him home soon after all.
‘What are you dreaming about?’ Ransom asked laughingly, jerking her out of her reverie, and Sam felt colour wash into her cheeks.
She could hardly tell him that she was thinking wistfully of the idea that he might be going to propose. ‘Oh, just that you’re one heck of a kisser!’ she retorted lightly, gathering up the tiny handbag she had brought with her last night. ‘Did you get a lot of practice?’
Grey eyes glittered. ‘It only feels this good because you’re kissing the right person.’
‘And you know this because…?’ she prompted and he laughed huskily.
‘OK, OK. I know it because I’ve kissed a lot of wrong ones. Happy now?’
She laughed as her inner happiness overflowed. ‘Ecstatically happy. I go around with a permanent grin on my face these days. People will begin to think I’m crazy.’
‘Just tell them you’re crazy about me. That will explain everything.’
As they left the flat Sam silently agreed that it certainly would.
The rest of the day was boringly normal. After Ransom dropped her off, Sam changed into her work clothes, rang the office to check the jobs she had to do, then drove herself to her first appointment. From that moment she barely stopped to breathe, so it was a surprise to glance at her watch and see how late it was. So she abandoned the idea of going home to change, and instead drove directly to her parents’ house.
She knew something was wrong the instant she walked inside the front door. Usually her family would be gathered round the large dining table, noisily passing on their bits and pieces of news. This time, however, her brothers and sisters were in the sitting room, talking in hushed voices. They all glanced up when she entered, and Sam could see there were notable absences. The other halves and their children were missing. Something unheard of for family night.
‘Where is everybody?’ she asked, and all at once her sisters began sobbing whilst her brothers looked grim. ‘What’s going on?’ she added, dropping her things in the nearest chair.
Her eldest brother Tom had clearly been appointed spokesman. ‘We’ve been waiting for you to get here. Mum and Dad are in the kitchen. They’ll tell you everything.’
Sam frowned. ‘Why can’t you tell me? And where’s Tony?’ she added, having realised her second-eldest brother was missing too.
‘Go see the parents, Sam. You should hear it from them,’ Tom insisted, and, feeling as if a lump of lead had settled in her stomach, Sam headed for the kitchen.
Her parents were seated at the kitchen table. Her mother had clearly been crying, and was tearing a tissue to shreds in silent anguish. Her father, by contrast, was silent, but his complexion was so pale he looked ill. They, too, looked up when she walked in, but when neither rose to greet her she knew the situation was serious.
‘What is it? What’s wrong?’ she asked with a sick feeling of dread growing inside her.
Her mother stifled a sob behind the mutilated tissue and rose to her feet, walking to the sink and gripping the edge till her knuckles grew white. Sam looked from one to the other, seeking answers. Finally her father swallowed hard and turned to her.
‘Sit down, Sam. We’ve got a problem. A very serious one,’ he admitted in a broken voice, and Sam sat down opposite him, pressing a hand over his as they lay on the tabletop.
‘What kind of problem? Has Tony done something?’ Her brother was the wild one of the family. Trouble was his middle name. Over the years he had given his parents more grief than the rest of them put together.
The question produced a wail of anguish from her mother, who instantly stifled it behind both hands.
Her father took a deep breath before revealing the truth. ‘Your brother Tony has been caught stealing.’
Sam’s heart plummeted. ‘What was he stealing?’ she asked uneasily, though she had a good idea. Tony was a gambler—an unlucky one.
As if he read her mind, her father nodded. ‘Money. A very great deal of money.’
‘Can we pay it back?’ Sam queried immediately. They had done it before. Surely they could do it again.
‘Would that we could, but it’s too much this time. Even if I sold the house and the business, it wouldn’t come close to enough. How can we find this kind of money? Tony will go to prison and the scandal will kill your mother and ruin the business,’ her father declared in despair.
‘Is there nothing we can do?’ she asked, appalled to see her father look so anguished. ‘Who does he owe it to?’
Her mother spun round from the sink. ‘Don’t tell her. You can’t tell her!’
Sam’s gaze flickered from one to the other. ‘Why not?’
‘Because I know what you’ll do, and I won’t let you! Why should you have to pay for what Tony has done?’ her mother declared angrily, and Sam’s blood ran cold.
‘Who did he take the money from, Dad?’ she insisted tensely. ‘You might as well tell me. You will in the end.’
Her parents exchanged a look fraught with helplessness. Finally, though, her mother nodded and her father revealed the final twist in the tale.
‘The Grimaldis.’
Sam caught her breath, for to say the name was to say all. The Grimaldis were seriously rich, with fingers in many pies. They had helped her father set up his business many years ago, and at his request had employed Tony in their wine import/export business—and he had paid them back by stealing money to cover his gambling debts. This time he had screwed up big-time. A bubble of anger surged inside her at the thought that he could do this to his family.
She shot to her feet. ‘Where’s Tony hiding? I’m going to kill him for this!’ she cried furiously.
Her father caught her hand. ‘Sit down, Sam. Tony is at the Grimaldi house. Nothing has been decided yet.’
Sam subsided, frowning her confusion. ‘What is he doing there? Have the police been called in?’
It took a while for her father to summon the right words, and when he spoke his voice was scratchy. ‘Not yet, and perhaps never. You see, Sam, the…problem can be made to vanish without trace, but there is a condition,’ he said, keeping his eyes on his clenched fists. ‘Leno Grimaldi will replace the money from his personal account…providing you agree to marry him.’ With those words her father finally looked at her.
Sam sat back in shock as the words sank in. There was a way out of the terrible mess, but only if she married Leno Grimaldi. She summoned up a mental picture of the man. Leno Grimaldi was some years older than her father. A widower who had had his eye on her ever since she’d turned eighteen. Whilst she knew he had feelings for her, she had never been able to reciprocate. Oh, he was a nice enough man, but way too old for her. She had been careful to keep him at arm’s length, and had refused all his attempts to ask her out. Now, thanks to her brother’s stupidity, he had the means to get what he wanted. He knew how close their family was, and he was banking on her not being able to let her brother go to gaol, no matter how much Tony deserved it.
Which left Sam in the middle of her worst nightmare. She could save her family from scandal, but only by turning her back on the man that really mattered to her. He was her world, her life. How could she bear to give him up? How could she give up all her hopes and dreams for her brother’s indiscretion? Yet how could she do anything else? How could she selfishly put her own needs before those of her family, knowing they were teetering on the brink of ruin and she was the only one who could save them?
Despair sat heavily on her shoulders. There was only one man she wanted to marry, and that was Ransom Shaw. She wanted to cry out that it wasn’t fair! She shouldn’t have to choose like this! But it was what she was going to have to do.
‘Of course we don’t expect you to agree to it, my darling,’ her mother insisted tearfully. ‘We wouldn’t ask it of you.’
Her father rose and drew his wife into his arms, comforting her as best he could. ‘Your mother’s right, Sam. We’ll find another way. We only told you because Leno insisted that we do so. He wants you to give him your answer, then matters will proceed from there.’
Sam had to admire Leno Grimaldi’s tenacity. He had seen what he wanted and had waited for the opportunity to get it. He must be one hell of a poker player, for he knew to a nicety how to play her. It was to be her choice and her answer, because he knew she couldn’t abandon her family to their fate. He probably thought it would be a simple decision, but he didn’t know about Ransom. Nobody did. Only her.
‘What other way is there? The debt has to be paid off. If you give up your house and business, you’ll never be able to raise the money through a loan, or pay off the remainder. Whichever way you look at it, I’m your only hope,’ Sam countered with unnatural calmness. ‘What happens to Tony if I agree to this?’
‘He’ll go to live with my cousin in Australia. The sheep station is far enough away from temptation to keep your brother on the straight and narrow,’ her father said tiredly. ‘Hopefully it will make a man of him.’
‘It will do him more good than going to prison,’ she agreed, and her mother uttered a tiny cry that Sam responded to with a wry smile. ‘It’s OK, I haven’t decided yet. I must have some time to think about it. How long will Leno wait for my answer?’
‘Until this time tomorrow. But there’s nothing to think about. You can’t do it. I forbid you,’ her father commanded gruffly, and Sam silently shook her head.
‘Thanks for saying that, but it’s my decision.’
‘Think of yourself, Sam. Don’t worry about us,’ her father urged, and she hugged them both.
‘I love you. Don’t worry,’ she advised them, though she knew they would. ‘How much do the others know?’
‘Only that Tony’s in trouble again.’
‘Good. Don’t say anything yet,’ Sam advised with an encouraging smile, not wanting them to know how agonised she was feeling. ‘I’d better go. I’ve got a lot to think about. I’ll call you.’
‘Don’t do anything rash, darling!’ her mother called after her, and Sam shook her head.
‘I won’t,’ she said to ease her mother’s mind, then headed back to the sitting room. Once again everyone looked up as she came in and gathered up her belongings. ‘I have to go. Don’t worry about Tony. It’s being sorted out.’
‘How?’ Tom asked tersely as he stood up to confront her. ‘What’s going on, Sam?’
‘He’s been gambling again. But as I said, it’s being sorted out. I’m off to settle the details now,’ she told him, looking round the anxious group of faces and trying to be strong. ‘Look after Mum and Dad. They need your support right now.’
They tried to get her to say more, but Sam shook her head and beat a hasty retreat to the front door, where only Tom followed her.
‘Are you OK, Sam?’ he asked in concern, and it was nearly her undoing. She had to swallow furiously in order to answer.
‘I’m fine. Really. I’m furious with Tony, and upset for Mum and Dad, but we’ll muddle through as we always do. Now I really must go,’ she insisted, and hurried down the path, feeling his eyes on her back all the way.
Feeling as brittle as eggshell, Sam climbed into her car. Knowing that Tom was still watching, she drove off, but, having turned a couple of corners, she pulled the car over and turned off the engine. She sat back, and her head dropped in defeat. What could she do? How could she live with herself if she turned her back on her parents and let them suffer for their wayward son? She wished she could do it, for she didn’t want to have to give Ransom up, but it wasn’t in her. Her parents had sacrificed so much to give their children a better life, and it was about time someone did something for them. The burden had fallen on her shoulders, and she had to be the one to make the sacrifice.
Her eyes burned with the sting of unshed tears as she thought of what she had to do. It was going to break her heart, but when she told Ransom why she was going to marry Leno Grimaldi she was sure he would understand that she had no choice. Her family had to come first. She drew in a shaky breath. Would it be too much to hope they could part as friends? Honesty forced her to admit it probably was. Life simply didn’t work that way.
Yet she couldn’t dwell on that and do what she had to do. So she took several deep breaths and pulled herself together. She had things to do, and they would set in motion a course of events that would be irreversible.
Sam knew where Leno Grimaldi lived, and she drove right over there despite the advancing hour. Leno answered the door to her knock himself, and much to her relief he didn’t look the least bit smug or self-satisfied. He was politeness itself as he invited her in.
‘Sam, my dear, it’s so lovely to see you. Come in. Come in. You’ll find your brother in the lounge,’ he declared warmly, making it seem as if there were nothing out of the ordinary about this visit. ‘This way,’ he went on, pointing to a half-open door.
When she walked into the extremely elegant room, her brother Tony shot to his feet, looking pale and worried. ‘Hi, Sam,’ he greeted her, trying to sound cheerful, but it foundered when he met the icy look in her eye.
‘Can I get you something to drink?’ Leno Grimaldi asked, but Sam shook her head. She hadn’t eaten, and alcohol on an empty stomach was inadvisable.
‘Thank you, no. I’d better keep a clear head.’
Leno Grimaldi smiled faintly. ‘Always wise when talking business,’ he agreed easily, indicating she should take a chair opposite her brother.
‘Business?’ Tony queried, looking from one to the other as they sat down.
‘Your sister is here to discuss your future,’ Leno explained to him. ‘And our own.’
Seeing her brother about to ask more questions, Sam cut him off. ‘For once in your life just sit there and be quiet. You’ve done quite enough,’ she snapped at him, then turned to the older man. ‘Forgive my bluntness, but I don’t think there’s anything to be gained by beating about the bush. Is this offer for real? If I marry you, you’ll replace the money Tony took?’ she asked baldly, and though he winced a little Leno inclined his head.
‘It will be my wedding gift to your family,’ he confirmed. ‘You agree?’
Sam looked at him, seeing a handsome middle-aged man who, for all his good points, was not above using her family’s crisis to his own ends. She felt nothing for him, but for her family she would marry the devil himself. ‘I agree,’ she said flatly, and heard a door slam in her mind, telling her there was no turning back now.
‘No, Sam! You can’t!’ Tony protested, suddenly seeming to realise what was going on. She looked at him, and registered the horror on his face.
‘I can and I am. But don’t think I’m doing it for you. This is for Mum and Dad. They deserve better than what you were going to put them through,’ she told him coldly.
Leno said nothing, merely rose to his feet. ‘The money will be replaced in the morning and we will not mention it again. However, there are some papers that I need you all to sign,’ he told her as he went to a bureau that stood against the wall and took a sheaf of papers from it.
This was something Sam hadn’t expected. ‘Papers?’
He smiled at her benignly. ‘Nothing serious. I’m sure you can appreciate that it would not be good for business if this incident, and the arrangements made to rectify it, should ever become public knowledge. Therefore this is a simple agreement that you will not tell anyone what has gone on here, with the exception of your parents and your brother. All of you will sign it and be bound by it. No one is to ever speak of it again. Should it get out, the debt will have to be paid in full. It is therefore in your own best interest, and that of your family, to say nothing. Is that understood?’
Sam realised that she should have known Leno would insist on something like this. He was first and foremost a businessman. He would not want this ever getting out, and that meant that she could not now tell Ransom the truth. The implications of that were something she could not think about right that minute. She had given her word and was caught. All she could do was agree and sign on the dotted line. Which she did, and then watched over her brother whilst he did the same.
‘Once your parents have signed, that will be that, my dearest Sam,’ Leno declared, taking her hand and kissing it gently. ‘And I…I promise you that I will do everything in my power to make you as happy as you have made me.’
Sam closed her eyes momentarily, as for a fleeting moment she was made achingly aware of what she would be giving up. However, her family was everything. They needed the help only she could afford them. So she cleared her throat. ‘I shall do my best to be a good wife to you, Leno. However, there is one other thing I would ask of you.’
If he was surprised he did not show it. ‘Name it.’
‘I would like us to be married as quickly as possible.’ Now that she had given her word she did not want to have too much time to think.
Leno smiled and took both of her hands in his this time. ‘Ah, we think alike, you and I. I will make the arrangements. Then, after we are married, we will take a long honeymoon in Italy. I have always wanted to go back home one day. I will show you where I grew up. You will love it there.’