Smooth, good-looking, charming and

wealthy, these Italians have it all—except

the right women

Latin Lovers ITALIAN PLAYBOYS

Three fabulous stories from reader

favourites Melanie Milburne, Kate Hardy

& India Grey

Latin Lovers Italian Playboys

Bought for the Marriage Bed

Melanie Milburne

The Italian’s GP Bride

Kate Hardy

The Italian’s Defiant Mistress

India Grey

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Bought for the Marriage Bed

Melanie Milburne

About the Author

MELANIE MILBURNE says: “I am married to a surgeon, Steve, and have two gorgeous sons, Paul and Phil. I live in Hobart, Tasmania, where I enjoy an active life as a long-distance runner and a nationally ranked top ten Master’s swimmer. I also have a Master’s Degree in Education, but my children totally turned me off the idea of teaching! When not running or swimming I write, and when I’m not doing all of the above I’m reading. And if someone could invent a way for me to read during a four-kilometre swim I’d be even happier!”

CHAPTER ONE

NINA stared at her twin sister in shock. ‘You surely don’t mean to go through with it?’

Nadia gave her a defiant look from beneath lashes heavy with thick black mascara. ‘I can’t cope with a baby. Besides, I never really wanted her in the first place.’

‘But Georgia is so young!’ Nina protested. ‘How can you possibly think of giving her away?’

‘It’s easy.’ Nadia pouted. ‘This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If I don’t take it with both hands it might never come again.’

‘But she’s only four months old!’ Nina cried. ‘Surely you owe it to Andre’s memory to raise her.’

‘I owe him nothing!’ Nadia spat. ‘You seem to be forgetting that he refused to acknowledge her as his child. He wouldn’t even agree to a paternity test, no doubt because he didn’t want to upset that cow of a fiancée of his.’ She paced the room angrily. ‘I should’ve known he wasn’t to be trusted. The Marcello males are known for their playboy lifestyle; you have only to look at yesterday’s paper to realise that.’

Nina was well aware of the photograph of Marc Marcello, Andre’s older brother, in the Sydney weekend broadsheet. It was rare for a week to go past without some reference to his billionaire fast-paced fast-women lifestyle. His dark good looks had been the first thing she’d noticed when she’d opened the paper.

‘Does Marc Marcello know about your intention to give his niece up for adoption?’ she asked her sister.

Nadia turned back to face her. ‘I wrote to his father in Italy a few weeks ago but he flatly refused to acknowledge Georgia as his granddaughter. So this time I sent a photo of her. That should set the cat among the pigeons, when he sees how like Andre she is. I felt the need to twist the knife since it’s his precious son’s fault my life has been stuffed up.’

‘But surely—’

Nadia gave her a bristling look. ‘As far as I’m concerned, I want nothing more to do with the Marcello family. I gave them a chance to claim Georgia but they brushed me off. That’s why I’m leaving now to get on with Plan B.’

‘Leaving?’ Nina stared at her in consternation. ‘Leaving to go where?’

‘America.’

‘But what about Georgia?’ she gasped, her heart tripping in alarm. ‘You’re surely not thinking of …’ She couldn’t even frame the rest of the words.

Nadia gave a dismissive shrug of one shoulder. ‘You can look after her for a month or two—you do most of the time anyway. Besides, it’s clear she loves you more than me, so I don’t see why I shouldn’t hand her over to you temporarily. You can take care of her until someone adopts her.’

Nina’s stomach rolled over painfully. It was hard for her to imagine her sister having so little regard for the tiny infant who lay sleeping in the pram near the window. How could she be so unfeeling as to walk away from her own baby?

‘Look—’ she tried to reason with her ‘—I know you’re upset; it’s only been a few months since Andre … went.’

Nadia turned on her furiously. ‘What’s with the euphemism? Andre didn’t go somewhere—he died.’

Nina swallowed. ‘I—I know.’

‘I’m just glad he took his stupid fiancée with him,’ Nadia added in a surly tone.

‘You surely don’t mean that?’

Nadia’s features twisted in bitterness. ‘Of course I mean it. I hate the Marcello family and anyone connected to them.’ She tossed her mane of blonde hair over one shoulder and looked back at her sister. ‘I have a chance at a new life with Bryce Falkirk in America. He loves me and has promised me a part in one of his films. This will be my chance at the big screen. I’d be a fool to let it slip out of my hands. And if I play my cards right he might even ask me to marry him.’

‘Have you told him about Georgia?’

Nadia rolled her eyes. ‘Are you nuts? Of course I didn’t tell him. He thinks Georgia is your child.’

Nina stared at her in alarm. ‘How can you even consider the possibility of marrying the man without telling him of your past?’

Nadia gave her sister a cutting look. ‘Bryce wouldn’t have considered being involved with me at all if I’d told him anything like that. He thinks the sun shines from my “childlike innocent” eyes, and I’m going to make sure he keeps thinking that way, even if I have to lie through my teeth every day to ensure he does.’

‘But surely if he really loves you—’

‘Look, Nina, I don’t want to have the sort of life our mother had, flitting from one bad man to another and shunting kids off into horrible foster homes whenever things got tough. I want to have money and stability and I can’t have that with a kid hanging off my hip.’

‘But surely you could—’

‘No!’ Nadia cut her off impatiently. ‘You don’t get it, do you? I don’t want that child; I never did.’ She dumped Georgia’s changing bag next to the pram, the soft thump as it hit the floor striking a chord of disquiet in Nina’s chest. ‘You were the one who talked me out of getting rid of the pregnancy, so I think it’s only fair you get to look after her now until I can find a private adoption candidate.’

‘Private adoption?’ Nina instantly stiffened.

Nadia gave her sister a streetwise look. ‘There are people out there who will pay big money for a cute little baby. I want to make sure I get the best deal I can. With my connections with Bryce I might even be able to find a Hollywood actor who will want Georgia. Think of the money they would be prepared to pay.’

Nina’s eyes flared in shock and her heart began to thump unevenly behind her ribcage. ‘How can you do this to your own child?’

‘It’s none of your business what I do,’ Nadia said. ‘She’s my child, not yours.’

‘Let me adopt her,’ Nina begged. ‘I can do it. I’m a blood relative, which would make it so much easier, surely?’

Nadia shook her head. ‘No. I’m going to use this opportunity to its fullest extent.’ Her eyes glinted with unmistakable avarice. ‘It’s like a lucky windfall when you think about it. It’s my chance to free myself of Andre’s child and make a whole heap of money in the process.’

‘You’re so mercenary.’

‘Not mercenary—realistic,’ Nadia insisted. ‘We might be identical twins but I’m not like you, Nina, and it’s high time you accepted it. I want to travel and I want the comfort of wealth and privilege around me. You can keep your long hours in a boring old library—I want a life.’

Nina straightened her shoulders, her chin lifting in pride. ‘I enjoy my work.’

‘Yeah, well, I enjoy shopping and dining out and partying. And I’m going to do a hell of a lot of it when I get to Bryce’s mansion in Los Angeles. I can’t wait.’

‘I can’t believe you’re simply going to walk away from your responsibilities. Georgia isn’t some sort of toy you can push to one side. She’s a baby, for God’s sake. Doesn’t that mean anything to you at all?’

‘No.’ Nadia’s cold grey eyes clashed with hers. ‘It means absolutely nothing to me. I told you—I don’t want her.’ She scooped up her bag and, rummaging in it, handed her sister a document folder. ‘Here is her birth certificate and passport; keep them safe for when it’s time to hand her over.’ She hoisted her handbag back on to her shoulder and turned for the door.

‘Nadia, wait!’ Nina cried, glancing at the pram in desperation. ‘Aren’t you even going to say goodbye to her?’

Nadia opened the door and, with one last determined look, closed it firmly behind her.

Nina knew it would be hopeless running after her to implore her to come back. For most of her twenty-four years she’d been pleading with Nadia to stop and think about her actions, but to no avail. Her wayward and wilful twin had gone from one disaster to another, causing immeasurable hurt in the process and showing little remorse. But this was surely the worst so far.

There was a soft whimper from inside the pram and, moving across the small room, she reached inside to pick up the tiny pink bundle.

‘Hey, precious,’ she said as she cradled the infant close to her chest, marvelling yet again at the minute perfection of her features. ‘Are you hungry, little one?’

The baby began to nuzzle against her and Nina felt a wave of overwhelming love wash through her. She couldn’t bear the thought of her niece being handed over to someone else to rear. What if things didn’t work out and Georgia’s childhood ended up like hers and Nadia’s? Nina remembered it all too well—the regular stints in foster care, some of the placements a whole lot less desirable than the neglect she and her twin had received at home. How could she stand by and watch the same thing happen to Georgia?

Nina knew how the legal adoption system worked but this private process made her feel very uneasy. What if someone totally unsuitable offered her sister a huge amount of money? What sort of screening process would the prospective parents go through, if any?

She became aware of the seeping wetness of Georgia’s clothing and, carrying her through to her room, laid her on the bed and gently undressed her as she’d done countless times before. She got down to the last layer, a tiny yellowed vest that was frayed at the edges. She peeled it over the tiny child’s head, cooing to her niece as she did so until the soft nonsense of her words dried up in her throat as she encountered what the vest had hidden from view. Her eyes widened in shock at the purple welt of bruises along Georgia’s ribcage, bruises that exactly matched the length and width of her own fingers as if she’d done the damage herself.

‘Oh, Nadia, how could you?’ she gulped, fighting back tears for how she hadn’t been able to prevent her niece from suffering what had been commonplace in her own childhood and that of her twin.

Nina determined then and there that she would do whatever she could to keep Georgia herself. Surely there was a way to convince Nadia to give the baby to her permanently.

She had to find one!

Other single mothers coped, so too would she—somehow.

She chewed the ragged edge of one nail as she considered her options. It wouldn’t be easy for her—she could hardly afford childcare on her present salary at the library.

She looked down at the sleeping infant, her chest squeezing painfully at the thought of never seeing her tiny niece again.

No. She would simply not allow her sister to go through with it.

She would be Georgia’s mother and if anyone thought differently, too bad.

No one was going to take her niece away from her. No one.

Marc Marcello frowned as his secretary informed him via the office intercom that his father was on the phone from the Villa Marcello in Sorrento, Italy.

He picked up the receiver and, swivelling in his leather chair, looked out at the expansive view over Sydney Harbour as he pressed the talk button.

‘Marc! You have to do something about that woman and do it immediately,’ Vito Marcello burst out in rapid-fire Italian.

‘I take it you mean Andre’s little whore?’ Marc answered smoothly.

‘She might be a whore but she is also the mother of my only grandchild,’ Vito growled.

Marc stiffened in his chair. ‘What makes you so certain all of a sudden? Andre refused a paternity test; he said he had always used protection.’

‘He might have used protection but I now have reason to believe it failed.’

Marc frowned and turned his chair back to his desk, the sudden thump of his heart in his chest surprising him into a temporary silence.

‘I have a letter in front of me with a small photo of the child.’ Vito’s voice cracked slightly as he continued. ‘She looks exactly like Andre at that age. It is Andre’s child, I am sure of it.’

Marc pressed his lips together as he fought to get his own raw emotions under some semblance of control. The death of his younger brother had privately devastated him, but for the sake of his terminally ill father he’d carried on the family business without a single hiccup. The Sydney branch of the Marcello merchant bank was booming and he had every intention of maintaining the punishing hours he’d adopted to block out the pain of his brother’s death.

‘Papa.’ His voice was deep and rough around the edges. ‘This is all very hard to take in …’

‘We have to get that child,’ his father insisted. ‘She is all we have left of Andre.’

A tremor of unease passed through Marc at the determined edge to his father’s tone. ‘How do you intend to accomplish this?’

‘The usual way,’ his father answered with undisguised cynicism. ‘If you offer her enough money she will do whatever you ask.’

‘How much money are you expecting me to spend on this mission of yours?’ Marc asked.

Vito named a figure that sent Marc’s broad shoulders to the back of his chair.

‘That is a lot of money.’

‘I know,’ his father agreed. ‘But I cannot take the chance that she might not accept your offer. After the response I sent to her previous letter she might avenge my assessment of her character and deny us access to the child.’

Marc inwardly cringed, recalling the content of that letter. His father had emailed him a copy and it had certainly not been complimentary. He could well imagine the Selbourne woman reacting to it out of revenge, particularly if what she said was true—Andre had indeed fathered her child.

He was well aware of Nadia Selbourne’s reputation, even though he hadn’t met her personally. He’d seen one or two photos, however, which had shown a beautiful woman with thick long blonde hair, eyes that were an unusual smoky grey and the sort of figure that not only turned heads but turned on other parts of the male anatomy at an astonishingly rapid rate as well. His brother had been completely besotted with her until her true character had come out. He could still recall Andre’s scathing description of how she had responded when he’d informed her that their short but passionate affair was over. She had hounded him for months, following him and harassing him relentlessly.

But somehow the thought of his dead brother’s blood flowing through the tiny veins of her child stirred him both unexpectedly and deeply.

‘Marc.’ His father’s desperate voice cut across his reflections. ‘You have to do this. It is a matter of family honour. Andre would have done the same for you if things had been the other way around.’

It was hard for Marc to imagine ever allowing himself to get into the sort of disasters his younger brother had for most of his life, but he didn’t think it worthwhile pointing that out now. His father had already suffered enough; he’d lost his beloved son.

It had been no secret in the Marcello family that Andre had always been his father’s favourite. His sunny nature and charming boisterous personality had won everyone over virtually from the day he’d been born, leaving Marc with his more serious disposition on the outside.

He frowned as he considered his father’s plan. What would it take to convince this woman to hand over the child? Would she take the money and go, or would she insist on something more formal, such as.

His stomach tightened momentarily as he recalled how his brother had told him that Nadia Selbourne was relentless in her search for a rich husband.

But surely his father wouldn’t expect him to go that far!

So far Marc had managed to ignore the pressure to marry, although he had come very close a few years ago. But it had ended rather badly and he’d actively avoided heavy emotional entanglements since then. Besides, Andre had always made it clear he was going to marry young and father all the Marcello heirs so the family dynasty would be secure. Marc had decided women were not to be trusted where money was involved. And in the Marcello family a lot of money was involved.

His heart contracted at the thought of a small dark-haired infant with black-brown eyes—eyes that would one day soon dance with mischief, as her father’s had for his too short thirty years of life.

‘So will you do it?’ Vito pressed. ‘Will you do this one thing for me and your late mother?’

Marc pinched the bridge of his Roman nose, his eyes squeezing shut. The mention of his mother always tore at him deeply, the sharp guilt cutting into him until he felt as if he was bleeding. He still remembered that last day, the way she had smiled and waved at him from the other side of the busy street in Rome. She hadn’t seen the motor scooter until it had ripped the shopping bags out of her hands, spinning her into the pathway of an oncoming car.

He couldn’t help believing that if he had been honest with her about why he was going to be late, maybe she would not have been killed. His father had begged him, and he had honoured him by doing as he’d asked, but the guilt even now was like a deep dark current that dragged at his feet, weighing him down relentlessly.

When his brother had been killed so soon after the death of his mother, Marc hadn’t been able to rid himself of the feeling that his father would have grieved a whole lot less if it had been him instead of Andre in that mangled car.

He let out his breath and, releasing his fingers, answered resignedly. ‘I will see what I can do.’

‘Thank you.’ The relief in his father’s voice was unmistakable.

Marc knew his father’s days were numbered. How much more precious would they be if he could hold his only grandchild in his arms?

‘She might refuse to even see me, you know,’ Marc warned, thinking again of that vituperative letter his father had sent. ‘Have you considered that possibility?’

‘Do whatever you have to do to make her see reason,’ Vito instructed. ‘And I mean anything. This is simply a business arrangement. Women like Nadia Selbourne expect nothing more and nothing less.’

A business arrangement.

What sort of woman was this, Marc thought, who would bargain with the life of a small child?

He put the phone down a few minutes later and turned once more to the sweeping view outside. His dark eyes narrowed against the angle of the sun as he considered what he’d just agreed to do.

He was going to visit the one person he hated more than any other in the world—the woman he believed responsible for his brother’s untimely death.

CHAPTER TWO

NINA had not long fed and settled Georgia on Monday morning when the doorbell rang. Giving the small neat room a quick glance, she made her way across the threadbare carpet, wondering what it was that her elderly neighbour wanted now. Ellice Tippen had already borrowed a carton of milk and half a packet of plain biscuits and it wasn’t even lunch time.

She opened the door as she plastered a welcoming smile on her face but it instantly faded as her gaze shifted a long way upwards to meet a pair of dark, almost black, eyes.

‘Miss Selbourne?’

‘I … yes,’ she answered, unconsciously putting a hand up to her throat.

The tall figure standing before her was even more arresting in the flesh than the grainy newspaper photo had portrayed. He was taller than average, well over six feet, his shoulders broad and his overall stance nothing short of commanding. The hard angle of his lean clean-shaven jaw hinted at a streak of intractability in his personality, and his eyes held no trace of friendliness. His perfectly tailored business suit superbly highlighted his strong lean body, suggesting he was a man used to a great deal of punishing physical activity.

‘I am assuming you know who I am.’ His voice was deep and had a hard edge to it as if he wasn’t the type to block his punches.

‘I … er … yes.’

What else could she say? The weekend paper was still open at his photo on the coffee table behind her. Every time she’d walked past she’d told herself to screw it up and throw it out, but somehow she hadn’t. She wasn’t entirely sure why.

‘I understand you have my brother’s child,’ he said into the stiff silence.

‘I … yes, that’s correct.’ A vision of Georgia’s dark bruises flashed into Nina’s mind and her rising panic increased her heart rate to an almost intolerable level. She had to keep him away from her niece!

‘I would like to see her.’

‘I’m afraid she’s sleeping just now, so.’ She let the sentence trail away, hoping he’d take the hint.

He didn’t.

He held her gaze for a lengthy moment and just when she began to close the door he put his foot out to block it.

‘Perhaps you did not hear me, Miss Selbourne.’ His tone hardened even further as his diamond-hard eyes lasered hers. ‘I am here to see my brother’s child and I will not be leaving until I do so.’

Nina knew he meant every hard-bitten word and, stepping back from the door, sent him a chilling glance. ‘If you wake her I’ll be extremely angry.’ Please stay asleep, Georgia, she silently pleaded as he moved through the doorway, coming to stand right in front of her as the door clicked shut behind him.

He gave her a sweeping up and down look and when his eyes met hers they were full of contempt. ‘Andre told me all about you.’

Nina frowned in confusion. She’d never once met her sister’s lover. Nadia’s affair with him had been brief but explosive, just like all her others.

Surely he didn’t think …

‘He told me you were trouble, but little did I realise how much,’ he continued when she didn’t respond.

She stared at him for a moment, wondering if she should disabuse him of his error in thinking she was her sister, but in the end decided to let him go on, to see what his intentions were with regard to Georgia. After all, what harm could it do? All she needed to do was pretend to be Nadia for a few minutes to tell him that she had changed her mind about the letter that had been sent to his father. Once she had convinced him she had no intention of giving up ‘her’ daughter, hopefully he would go away.

It wasn’t as if she hadn’t done this type of thing before. So many times in the past Nina had stepped into Nadia’s place to take the brunt of whatever punishment their dysfunctional mother had dished out. Surely if she’d been able to hoodwink her own mother, Marc Marcello would be an absolute pushover.

‘Your brother’s criticism is ironic considering his own behaviour,’ she put in crisply.

A menacing glare came into his dark-as-night eyes. ‘You dare to malign my dead brother?’

She lifted her chin. ‘He was a cheat. While he was fathering Georgia, he was committed elsewhere.’

‘He was formally engaged to Daniela Verdacci,’ he said bitterly. ‘They had been together since they were teenagers. You set your sights on him, no doubt lured by the prospect of his money, but he only ever had eyes for Daniela. Did you really think he would stoop so low as to tie himself permanently to an unprincipled opportunistic little tramp who has slept her way around most of Sydney?’

Nina tensed in anger. She knew her sister had been a little promiscuous at times, but the way Marc Marcello phrased it made it sound as if she had been a call girl instead of the insecure and emotionally unstable person she really was.

‘How absolutely typical!’ she spat back. ‘Why is it men such as yourself and your brother can sow several continents with wild oats but women must not? Get in the real world, Mr Marcello. Women own their sexuality these days and have the same right to express it as you.’

His dark unreadable eyes raked her from head to foot again. ‘While we are speaking of rights, the little matter of Andre’s child needs to be addressed. As much as I lament and abhor the fact that the child is a Marcello, the fact remains that she is entitled to see her paternal relatives.’

‘Surely that decision is up to me?’

‘No, I am afraid not, Miss Selbourne.’ His voice lowered threateningly. ‘Perhaps you do not realise quite who you are dealing with here. The Marcello family will not stand back and watch a street whore raise a blood relative. Unless you do as I say I will do everything in my power to remove her from you so you cannot taint her with your lack of morality.’

Nina’s eyes widened in alarm. She was in no doubt of his ability to do as he threatened. There could be few people in Australia who weren’t aware of the monumental wealth of the Marcello family. Their influence and control stretched far and wide across the world. With the best legal defence and with a total lack of scruples, she knew it wouldn’t be long before Marc Marcello did exactly as he had promised.

Oh, what had Nadia done?

Nina did her best not to appear intimidated, but never had she been more terrified. If he were to find out that she wasn’t actually the child’s mother, he could remove Georgia right here and now and there would be nothing she could do to stop him.

But he was not going to find out. Not if she could help it.

Garnering what courage she could, she stood rigidly before him, her grey eyes issuing a challenge.

‘I might appear to be a woman of few morals, but let me assure you I love that child and will not stand back while some overrated playboy sweeps her away. She’s a baby and babies need their mothers.’

Marc’s gaze swept over her rigid form, noting the tightened line of her full mouth and the stubborn set of her chin. Her startling eyes flashed with venom and, for the first time, he realised just how severely tempted his brother must have been. That pint-sized frame was incredibly alluring, so too the lustrous blonde hair that perfectly offset the creamy quality of her skin. Her figure had snapped back into place rather quickly, he thought, considering she’d not long been delivered of a child. Her air of innocence, however, he knew was the façade of a money-hungry whore who had already demonstrated her intentions by trying to trap his brother with the oldest trick in the book—pregnancy.

‘Under normal circumstances I would agree with you,’ he said in an even tone. ‘Having had the benefit of a wonderful mother, I would be the last person to suggest a child should be raised by anyone else. However, your track record does not inspire the greatest confidence in me that you will be able to support and nurture Andre’s child. After all, who was it that sent a missive to my family in Italy stating your intentions to have the child adopted?’

‘I … It was a knee-jerk reaction. I was upset and not thinking straight,’ she said quickly. ‘I have no intention of giving her up. Georgia is mine and no one—and I mean no one—is going to remove her from my custody.’

Without warning he stepped towards her, his formidable height casting a dark shadow over her slim form. Nina fought with herself not to shrink away, but it took everything in her to hold herself steady under his threatening presence.

‘How remiss of me,’ he drawled as he reached inside his suit jacket pocket for his wallet. ‘I should have known you would want to twist the screws a bit. How much?’

She looked at him blankly.

One dark aristocratic brow lifted. ‘I assume this is what this holding pattern is all about?’

‘I have no idea what you’re talking about,’ she said, her throat suddenly bone-dry.

His mouth twisted into a cynical smile as he fanned open his wallet, ‘Come now, Nadia. I am a rich man; I think I can just about afford to pay you off. Name your price.’

Marc was surprised by how much he was enjoying playing with her, seeing her struggle to hold on to her temper, knowing that any minute now she’d cave in to the temptation he was dangling before her beautiful come-to-bed-eyes.

‘My real name is Nina and I don’t want your stupid money.’

This time both his eyebrows lifted. He paused strategically, wondering what game she was playing now.

‘I thought your name was Nadia? I am sure Andre told me it was—or was that a lie too?’

Nina schooled her features into exactly the sort of expression her twin sister was famous for. ‘Nina is my real name but I thought Nadia sounded a little more sophisticated. I’ve since changed my mind.’ She inspected her hands in another imitation of her sister before raising her eyes back to his. ‘How did you know where to find me?’

‘There is only one Miss N Selbourne listed in the phone book in this suburb.’

Since Nadia had moved in with her after the birth of Georgia, her sister’s erratic approach to paying bills meant that Nina had left the telephone in her name alone, which had obviously made it even easier for Marc to assume she was her twin.

She allowed one tiny inaudible breath of relief to escape the tight frame of her lips. So far so good.

‘Well, then … Nina.’ He drew her name out suggestively. ‘If you are not after money, what do you want?’ ‘Nothing.’

The cynical smile was back. ‘It has been my experience that women like you are always after money even when they insist to the contrary.’

‘Your experience must be terribly limited, for I can assure you I have no need of your money.’

‘Not mine, perhaps, but you must be aware that my dead brother has left a considerable estate. You have given birth to his child, which means she has a legal right to claim some, if not all, of that estate when she comes of age.’

Nina swallowed. This was getting more and more complicated by the minute.

‘I’m not interested in Andre’s estate.’

‘You expect me to believe that?’ he growled. ‘Behind those eyes of yours I can see the dollar signs already rolling in anticipation.’ His dark gaze left hers to sweep the room before coming back to glare down at her. ‘Look at this place! It reeks of poverty and neglect. Do you think I will allow my niece to live in such a hovel?’

Nina felt pride straighten her spine. ‘It’s all I can afford at present.’

He gave a harsh laugh. ‘At present is right. No doubt you have already got some other poor unsuspecting man in your sights for your next free ride.’ He gave her a look of undiluted disgust and continued. ‘You must be offering something pretty special underneath that “butter would not melt in your mouth” pose for anyone to take you on with another man’s baby in tow.’

Nina had never considered herself a volatile person; Nadia had been the firebrand, her unpredictable mood swings causing many an unpleasant scene. But somehow, hearing Marc’s disdain, even though it was directed at her twin, bit her deeply and on her sister’s behalf she fought back.

‘Are you offering to take up where Andre left off?’ she asked in a tone dripping with sultry provocation.

His dark eyes glittered with hatred so intense it secretly unnerved her.

‘I can see how you want to play this,’ he said after another nerve-tightening pause.

‘On the contrary, I want nothing other than for you to leave my home immediately. You’re not the least bit interested in my n … er … daughter.’ She took a quick breath to disguise her vocal stumble. ‘If you don’t leave then I will have no other choice than to call the police and have you thrown out.’

Black eyes clashed with grey for endless seconds but finally Nina was the first to lower her gaze.

‘Please leave, Mr Marcello. I have nothing else I wish to say to you.’

‘I want to see my niece.’ His adamant tone brought her eyes back to his. ‘I want to see the child my brother fathered.’

Nina pressed her lips together as she saw the struggle he made to keep his emotions under control. She heard it in his voice and saw it in his rigid stance as he faced her, his dark eyes shining with sudden moisture.

She hadn’t expected him to have such depth of human feeling and it shamed her to realise how seriously she’d misjudged him. After all, she reminded herself, he had not long buried his only sibling under tragic circumstances. Even with all Nadia’s distressing foibles, she knew that in the same situation she would be little less than devastated.

‘I’m sorry.’ Her voice came out unevenly.

His mouth twisted. ‘Are you?’

She didn’t answer but moved past him to the pram under the single window. She was conscious of his tall frame just behind her as she peeled back the covers so he could see Georgia’s face.

She felt him standing close beside her, his arm brushing hers as he looked down at his brother’s child for a long time without speaking. The silence was so intense she could hear the sound of his breathing, his chest moving in and out with the effort of controlling his reaction to seeing his niece for the first time.

‘Can I hold her?’

Nina felt as if her heart had done a complete somersault in her chest at his simple request. What if he held her the wrong way and she cried?

‘Um … I don’t think—’

‘Please.’ His raw tone brought her eyes back to his. ‘I would like to hold my brother’s child. She is all that I have left of him.’

Nina released an uneven breath and carefully lifted the sleeping baby from amongst the covers, cradling her gently before turning and handing her to him.

She watched as a thousand emotions flashed over his handsome features as he brought the tiny bundle close to his broad chest, his dark gaze thoughtful as he looked down at the perfection of Georgia’s peaceful face.

‘She is … beautiful.’ His tone was distinctly husky.

Nina had trouble keeping the emotion out of her own voice. ‘Yes, she is.’

His eyes met hers briefly. ‘What did you call her?’

She lowered her gaze a fraction. ‘Georgia.’

‘Georgia,’ he repeated as if tasting it. ‘It suits her.’

She chanced a look at him and was surprised to see how at ease he was holding the infant, one of his large hands cradling her securely while the other explored her miniature features as if in wonder.

‘Does she have a middle name?’ he asked into the heavy silence.

‘Grace,’ she answered, wondering if she should tell him it was her own middle name, but at the last minute deciding against it. She’d been so touched when Nadia had told her of her choice of names, and for a while had hoped her sister was going to finally settle down and face her responsibilities. But within a few short weeks of Georgia’s birth she had gone back to late-night partying and drinking, leaving the baby with Nina so often that Georgia had begun to cry whenever Nadia had made any approach at all, as if sensing her total inadequacy as a carer.

Nina was increasingly aware of the silence in the room as Marc Marcello held his niece, his dark gaze fixed on the child’s face.

She said the first thing that came into her head. ‘I think she looks like Andre, don’t you?’

Marc swung his gaze to where she was standing, his hard expression instantly clouding. She thought he was going to agree with her but instead he turned back to the child in his arms and asked, looking down at her, ‘Did he ever see her?’

‘No.’

She’d been furious when Nadia had told her that Andre hadn’t wanted to see his baby, and couldn’t help wondering if that was the reason her sister hadn’t bonded with the child in the first place. The whole way through the pregnancy Nadia had had all her hopes pinned on Andre falling in love with his child once he saw her, thus ensuring a secure future for Nadia as his wife. When he had flatly refused to take a paternity test to establish whether or not the baby was his, Nadia had gone into a deep depression, closely followed by a spate of reckless partying.

‘No,’ she repeated, her tone holding a distinct note of bitterness. ‘I expect he was too busy preparing for his wedding.’

Marc didn’t answer but Nina could see the sudden tightening of his jaw as if her words had annoyed him.

She watched as he laid the baby down once more, his touch sure but gentle as he tucked the light bunny rug back into place.

When he turned to face her she found it difficult to hold his piercing gaze as she thought of how she was deceiving him. It suddenly occurred to her what a dangerous game she was playing. Wasn’t there some sort of law against impersonating another person? Marc Marcello was nobody’s fool and if he were to ever find out how he’d been duped there would be hell to pay, she was sure.

‘Miss Selbourne.’ His deep voice brought her troubled gaze back to his.

‘Y-yes?’ She moistened her lips, somehow sensing he was going to state his intentions, all her instincts telling her she wasn’t going to like them one little bit.

‘I want to see my niece on a regular basis and, while I understand your aversion to such an arrangement, I think you know I will pursue this legally if you refuse.’

‘I’m her mother,’ she bit out. ‘No court in Australia would remove her from my custody.’

‘You think not?’ His lip curled. ‘What if I told them about your little affair with a certain prominent politician just a few weeks after giving birth to my brother’s child?’

What affair? Nina thought in panic. What politician? What the hell had Nadia been up to?

He must have seen the flicker of alarm cross her features as he added in a cool deliberate tone, ‘You see, Miss Selbourne, I have all the dirt on you and I intend to use it in order to bring about what I want. I have heard how you tried to extort money from the poor fool when he called a halt to the relationship. You have been lucky that little affair did not get the press’s attention, but one word from me and, well.’ He paused for effect. ‘You know the rest.’

She sucked in a ragged breath, even her fingertips growing icy cold with dread as it spread through her body like the flow of mercury in her veins.

‘What exactly do you want?’ Her words came out like hard pellets.

Marc waited for a few moments before he answered. Until he had seen Andre’s child—and one look told him she was indeed his—he had not really thought much further than waving a truck-load of money under the mother’s nose and walking away with the baby as his father had planned. But somehow seeing Nina with the baby, the way she looked at Georgia so lovingly and cradled her so gently, he wasn’t convinced that he would be acting in the best interests of his niece by removing her from her mother, unless he was absolutely sure she was not up to the task of caring for her. If indeed he could, considering that ill-judged letter of his father’s, and its vicious rejection of the baby. The woman had a powerful weapon there, if she chose to use it.

Which left him with only one other course of action.

His obsidian gaze held hers determinedly. ‘I want to claim my brother’s child as my own.’

‘You can’t do that! She doesn’t belong to you! She belongs t-to … t-to me.’ ‘I can, you know.’

‘How?’

She shouldn’t have asked, Nina thought later. She just should never have asked.

His dark eyes locked with hers and a persistent tickling feather of fear began to tease its way up the entire length of her spine.

‘I want that baby and I will do anything to have her, even if it means I have to tie myself to you to do so.’

She blinked at him, wondering if she’d misinterpreted his chilling statement. ‘Tie yourself? What do you mean tie yourself?’

His mouth twisted into a smile that didn’t quite reach his dark-as-sin eyes. ‘My brother refused to marry you, but I have no such scruples. You will be my wife within a fortnight or I will make sure you never see your daughter again.’ He kept his features still, knowing his bluff was convincing. But would it work?

It took Nina a moment or two to find her voice, her head pounding with a combination of shock and outrage.

‘Do you seriously think I will be coerced in such a way?’ she finally spat indignantly.

‘I am more or less counting on it. Andre told me your main goal in life was to land a rich husband, so here I am, ready to step into the role.’

She opened her mouth to speak again but her throat closed over at the steely determination in his dark gaze as it clashed with hers.

She considered coming clean, telling him she was really Nadia’s twin, hoping he would understand her need to protect her niece, but his air of icy hauteur changed her mind at the last minute. She’d be damned if she would give up her niece without a furious fight, even if it cost her everything she had, including her freedom.

She flashed him a look of pure loathing at the way he’d cleverly herded her into a corner from which she could increasingly see there might be little chance of escape. She saw the glint of anticipated victory in his dark gaze and her blood ebbed and flowed through her veins in a tide of anger and growing fear.

‘I suppose it’s to be expected a spoilt playboy like you would assume he can always get whatever he wants,’ she said.

‘I will, of course, pay you generously,’ he said, his dark eyes watching her steadily. ‘How much do you want?’

Nina was very conscious that in her place Nadia would have asked for some outrageous sum, but something stopped her from taking the charade that far. The ice she’d inadvertently skated on to was suddenly very thin in places, but taking money in what was little more than a bribe was surely going to lead to more trouble than she could cope with at present.

Besides, little Georgia was lying asleep less than a metre away from him, her tiny body badly bruised. She’d been lucky this time but if he took even one look beneath that vest.

Forcing her chin upwards, she tilted her head at him, her arms folded in front of her chest, and informed him with unintentional irony, ‘If you think you can bribe me then you’ve got the wrong person.’

His eyes flicked to her where her breasts were pushed up by her folded arms, taking his time before returning to her face.

Nina stood silently fuming under his mocking appraisal, wondering how in the world her sister’s behaviour had brought her to this. She knew her anger should be directed at Nadia and not the man before her, but everything about him goaded her beyond bearing.

‘I told you before, I don’t want your money. I’d feel tainted by taking anything from you.’

‘Nice try, Miss Selbourne,’ he drawled back. ‘I can see what you are doing. You are pretending to be nothing like the avaricious young woman who seduced my brother, but I can see through your little act. Do not think that you can deceive me so easily; I have made up my mind, and you will do as I say, whether you accept payment from me or not.’

Nina did her best to hide how his statement affected her while her mind raced on, wondering how in the world she was going to get out of this farcical situation. God, she was going to kill Nadia for this! Surely she couldn’t be forced to marry the man just to keep her niece? But what else was she to do? Nadia was an unfit mother and—like her—Marc apparently had enough evidence to prove it.

‘I want some time to think about this.’ She was a little unnerved by how like Nadia she sounded, but carried on regardless. ‘I like to look at all the angles on things before I commit myself.’

‘I am not here to negotiate, Miss Selbourne,’ he said intractably. ‘I am here to step into the role of Georgia’s father and I want to do it as soon as possible.’

She looked up at him in growing alarm. There was an intransigent edge to his tone that suggested he was well used to getting his own way and would go to any lengths at his disposal to do so.

Tell him the truth, she mentally chanted. Tell him who you really are. But the words were stuck somewhere in the middle of her chest where her heart was already squeezing at the thought of never seeing Georgia again.

She tried to think rationally and clearly but it was hard with him standing there watching every tiny flicker of emotion on her face.

What if she went along with his demands for now? He’d said two weeks. Surely she’d be able to wriggle out of it by then. Hopefully Nadia would be in contact soon and she’d be able to sort something out. She had to sort something out. She couldn’t possibly marry a perfect stranger!

Marc took her continued silence as acquiescence. ‘I will have the necessary papers drawn up immediately.’

‘But …’ She stopped, her heart giving another funny skip in her chest. Oh, God! What had she done? Surely he wasn’t serious?

She tried again. ‘H-how soon do you want me to …’ She found it hard to finish the sentence as his hard eyes cut to hers with a look of total disdain.

‘Perhaps I should make something very clear at this point. I do not want you, Miss Selbourne. This will not be a proper marriage in the true sense of the word.’

‘Not legal, do you mean?’ She frowned, trying to make sense of his meaning.

‘It will be legal, I would not settle for less, but it will be a paper marriage only.’

‘A paper marriage?’ Her finely arched brows met above her eyes.

‘We will not be consummating the relationship,’ he stated implacably.

Nina knew she should be feeling overwhelming relief at his curt statement but for some inexplicable reason she felt annoyed instead. She knew she wasn’t looking as glamorous right now as Nadia customarily did, but her figure was good and her features classically appealing. It didn’t sit that well with her to have him dismiss her desirability so readily, as if she held no physical appeal at all.

‘You expect me to trust you on that?’ she asked with just the right amount of cynicism in her tone.

He lifted a long-fingered tanned hand and made a sign of a cross over his chest as his eyes pinned hers.

‘Cross my heart and hope to die.’

Something about his air of supreme confidence tempted Nina into giving him the sort of seductive look she’d seen her sister casting men’s way for years. She placed her hand on her hip as she tilted her pelvis provocatively, the corners of her mouth tipping upwards in a taunting little salacious smile as she drawled breathily, ‘Then I would say you’re as good as a dead man, Mr Marcello.’

CHAPTER THREE

MARC gave an inward smile at her overblown confidence. She was just as Andre had described, all pouting little girl one minute, raging sex siren the next. It was a heady combination, he had to admit, but while Andre hadn’t been able to contain his desire for her, temporary as it had been, Marc felt confident he was in no danger of being tested beyond his control. Nina Selbourne was the total opposite of what he most wanted in a partner.

He loathed shallow money-hungry women who had nothing better to do than preen themselves in the hope of attracting a rich husband. He’d been surrounded by them for most of his life, with the exception of his French-born mother, who had had both style and grace without affectation.

No, Miss Nina/Nadia Selbourne was fooling herself if she thought he would fall for her physical charms.

‘I am not like my brother, Miss Selbourne,’ he informed her coldly. ‘My tastes are a little more upmarket.’

Nina wished she could slap that imperious smirk off his handsome face but knew there would probably be distasteful consequences if she did. She clenched her hands into fists and glared back at him.

‘I could make you eat those words and we both know it. I saw the way you ran your eyes all over me the moment I opened the door.’

‘I admit I was a little intrigued as to what made my brother act so incautiously.’ His lazy look took in her heaving chest and feisty gaze. ‘But I can assure you I have no appetite for vacuous women such as yourself.’

Nina schooled her features back under control with difficulty. ‘I take it this marriage arrangement you’re proposing leaves you free to liaise with whomever you want whenever you want?’

‘I will do my best to be discreet if the need should arise.’

‘What about me?’ she asked. ‘Am I allowed to indulge myself similarly?’

He didn’t answer immediately but she could almost hear the cogs of his brain ticking over as he considered her question.

‘Well?’ she prodded with an arch look.

‘No.’

‘No?’

He shook his head in slow motion, ‘Absolutely not.’ ‘You can’t possibly be serious.’ She snapped her brows together again.

‘Deadly serious,’ he said and folded his arms across the broad expanse of his chest.

‘You surely don’t expect me to agree to such a double standard?’ she asked. ‘What am I supposed to get out of this arrangement?’

‘You get to keep your child, with a rich husband thrown in as a bonus.’

She let out her breath in a whoosh of feminist outrage. ‘I thought men like you died along with the dinosaurs. Seems I was wrong. So, how are things on Planet Chauvinism these days?’

‘I am not by nature a chauvinist but I am sure it will do you good to be celibate for a while to concentrate on your responsibilities as a mother.’

Ironic laughter bubbled to her lips before she could stop it. Unlike her sister, who had lost her virginity at the age of fourteen, Nina was technically still a virgin. Technically because she firmly believed every modern woman had the right to explore her own body and find out how things worked, although she still wondered what all the fuss was about. The earth hadn’t exactly moved and she’d more or less given up on herself, deciding she was one of those women with unusually low sexdrives. But on principle she wasn’t going to let him have things all his way. He already thought her the biggest tart outside of the red-light district and a perverse little part of her was enjoying every dangerous minute of encouraging him to maintain that view.

‘You find the prospect of being responsible amusing?’ His tone dripped with contempt.

She coiled a strand of her long hair around one finger, hoping he wouldn’t notice her chewed nail as she affected another seductive pose.

‘You’re a laugh a minute, Mr Marcello,’ she said. ‘All this talk of being celibate is hilarious. I haven’t been celibate for ten years and I’m not about to start for you or anyone.’

Anger briefly flashed across his features as he looked down at her. Nina saw his hands tighten into fists as if he didn’t trust himself not to reach out and touch her.

A flicker of sensation unexpectedly erupted between her thighs at the mere thought of any part of his tall hard body touching her. She began to imagine what that firm disapproving mouth would feel like crushed to hers, his tongue searching arrogantly to duel with hers. She felt her breasts start to tingle and, almost without realising she was doing it, her tongue came out just a fraction to sweep over the surface of her lips.

Marc felt the sharp tug of sudden errant desire hit him in the belly like a closed fist punch. He struggled to control it, annoyed with himself for being tempted when he’d been so assured that he would be able to resist her, but something about her struck at him deeply. She positively oozed with sexual confidence, the smoky grey of her eyes and full-lipped mouth making his skin lift in anticipation of feeling her touch.

He decided to strike a deal with her even though he had cause to wonder if he was shooting himself in the foot in the process.

‘Since you seem unwilling to agree to my terms, I am willing to make a small compromise,’ he announced. ‘For the period of one month following our marriage we will both remain celibate; how about that?’

She pursed her lips as if considering it. ‘One month? Hmm … I think I could just about manage that.’

His jaw tightened and she gave him another sexy smile. ‘But no longer or I’ll go out of my mind. But then, from what I hear of you—’ she ran her eyes over him from head to foot as if undressing him thread by thread ‘—maybe you will too.’

‘I think I will manage to contain myself,’ he responded coolly.

‘I take it you don’t have a current mistress?’ She sent him a lash-fluttering glance.

‘I am not currently close to anyone.’

Nina couldn’t help wondering how good he might be when he was close. He was the whole knee-trembling spine-loosening package, even though it irked her to admit it. He was handsome beyond belief, his dark mesmerizing eyes promising explosive passion from within their glittering depths. His mouth was currently stretched into a hardened line of derision but she was in no doubt of its power to persuade if he allowed himself a moment of weakness and brought his head down to hers.

The pram near the window suddenly gave a squeak of protest as Georgia shifted in her sleep.

Marc swung his gaze to the pram before turning back to face Nina, his voice low and deep with concern. ‘Is she all right?’

Sending him a now-see-what-you’ve-done look, Nina went over to soothe her. The mewing cries stopped as soon as her hand stroked Georgia’s tiny legs, the gentle rhythmic movements sending the infant back to sleep within a couple of minutes.

Nina was intensely aware of the watchful gaze of Marc Marcello a short distance away. She could almost sense his cool assessment of her, no doubt weighing up her skills as a mother.

Once she was sure the baby was soundly asleep she turned and faced him, her grey eyes meeting his with as much equanimity as she could.

‘You said earlier you intended to marry within two weeks. Why the hurry?’

‘My father is terminally ill. He wishes to see his only grandchild before he dies. There is not much time.’

‘A fortnight isn’t very long.’ She gave her bottom lip a surreptitious nibble.

‘I will see to all the details. You do not have to do anything but turn up at the registry office.’

Nina knew it was pathetic of her to be feeling disappointed, but if by some quirk of fate she had to go through with this, her lifelong dream of a beautiful white wedding in a city cathedral was going to have to be shelved indefinitely.

‘But what about a dress?’ she asked, trying not to think of Marc Marcello’s motives for marrying her.

‘I have no real interest in what sort of outfit you wear,’ he said. ‘However, I do think it would be highly inappropriate of you to wear white.’ His eyes flicked to the pram and back again. ‘Don’t you?’

She held his gaze for as long as she dared. ‘I happen to like wearing white. It suits my colouring.’

Marc was certain she’d still look stunning even if she was covered from head to foot in a nun’s habit. Her come-to-bed eyes had tugged far too many men into their seductive orbit and he had to make sure he didn’t join their number.

‘Wear what you like; the ceremony will be over within minutes anyway. I will make an appointment with my lawyer to draw up the necessary paperwork.’ He made a move towards the door, slanting a warning look her way. ‘I should remind you at this point that if you wish to pull out of the deal I will have no choice but to activate proceedings to remove Georgia permanently from your custody. And do not think I cannot do it, for I assure you I can and will if I need to.’

Nina wished she could throw his threat back at him but the thought of losing her niece was just too wrenching. She knew he only had to see those fading but still present bruises on Georgia’s tiny chest for the fight to be over right here and now.

She only hoped that maybe in time Marc would see how much she too loved the baby and wanted the best for her. But what would he do if or when he found out the truth?

‘I won’t pull out of the deal,’ she said, wishing her voice hadn’t sounded quite so hollow.

‘No, I imagine not.’ His eyes held hers with a caution reflected in their glittering depths ‘I will, of course, be providing you with an allowance for the duration of our marriage.’

Nina instantly stiffened, but for some reason couldn’t find her voice.

‘What will you do with all that money to spend, I wonder?’ he mused insultingly.

She gave him one of her sister’s casual shrugs. ‘Shop and shop and shop, probably.’

Marc’s lip curled distastefully. ‘You are a complete and utter sybarite. Have you ever done a decent day’s work in your life?’

‘Work?’ She wrinkled her nose in repugnance. ‘Why work when you can have fun instead?’

‘I must be out of my mind,’ he muttered under his breath. ‘You sicken me. I can hardly believe you lured my brother away from Daniela. She postponed the wedding because of you. If you hadn’t come along when you did, Andre—’

‘How typical to blame the woman in the middle,’ she shot back furiously on her sister’s behalf. ‘He didn’t have to sleep with me; he could always have said no.’

‘You hounded him for months,’ he tossed back. ‘He told me how determined you were, how it became impossible to keep you at arm’s length.’

‘I think I can safely say he enjoyed it while it lasted. And I bet you would too. I can guarantee it.’

‘Sorry to disappoint you, but that will not be happening. You know the score and if you put one foot out of place I will use all the weapons at my disposal.’

Nina could well believe it. He quite possibly had cards up his sleeve that could prove to be a little too tactical for her liking. She had two weeks to think of a way out and she was going to do her best to find one, for it was becoming increasingly clear she was seriously outmatched in her opponent.

‘Will any of your relatives be attending the ceremony?’ she asked in an effort to hide her disquiet.

‘No, my father is unable to travel and my mother is …’ He hesitated slightly before continuing. ‘She died a couple of years ago.’

Nina couldn’t help feeling a wave of sympathy for his father, who had been dealt a double blow of grief in losing his son so close to the death of his wife. She imagined Marc was dealing with overwhelming grief too and it made her anger towards his treatment of her soften around the edges.

‘It must be a very difficult time for you all,’ she said gently.

Marc threw her a look of disgust. ‘How dare you offer sympathy when if it had not been for you, my brother would still be alive?’

Nina stared at him in shock. This was getting even worse than a nightmare. What did he mean?

‘That’s a heavy accusation,’ she managed to get out. ‘Exactly what evidence do you have to substantiate it?’

‘You were the last person to see Andre before he went to pick up Daniela from the airport.’

Nina hadn’t known that little detail and wondered why her sister hadn’t mentioned it.

‘So?’ She made her voice sound as unconcerned as possible even though her stomach was rolling in consternation.

‘Daniela was understandably upset at what had gone on whilst she had been in Milan visiting her family the first time,’ he said. ‘She was threatening to call off the wedding altogether but Andre was adamant that his involvement with you had ceased. She knew about the baby and it caused a great deal of trouble between them, as she was concerned about him having further contact with you. She lived long enough after the accident to tell me that Andre had been on edge when he arrived to pick her up, as you had visited him the night before making your usual outrageous demands. He had not slept well after you left and his concentration was all over the place. A truck ran a red light and he did not have the necessary reaction time to avoid the collision.’

‘And you think that’s my fault?’ Nina asked tightly. ‘I wasn’t driving the truck!’

‘You might as well have been, as far as I am concerned. Andre was deeply ashamed of himself for getting involved with you. It almost destroyed his relationship with Daniela.’

‘He should have thought about the consequences before he gave me the come-on,’ she threw back.

‘Have you not got that the wrong way around?’ he asked with a flash of black eyes. ‘It was not Andre who was lying naked in the hotel bed that first night—it was you.’

Nina did her best to hide her shock at his statement. There was so much she didn’t know and the further she became embroiled in this farce the harder it was to maintain her cover. Nadia had told her virtually nothing, which meant she now had to lie her way through this emotional minefield.

Lie after lie after lie.

She’d read somewhere that if a person were to tell one lie they then had to go on and tell thousands to keep that single one in place. Now she could well believe it.

‘So?’ She tried the casual tone again. ‘He could have said no.’

‘There are very few men who could say no when such temptation is dangled in front of them,’ he said, raking his gaze over her once more.

Nina tilted her head at him provocatively. ‘So you admit to being a little tempted yourself?’

His hand left the doorknob as he strode back across the room to stand in front of her, his expression so full of hatred she had to force herself not to step backwards to escape the heat of it coming off him in scorching waves.

His eyes burned down into hers forcefully, the inky depths glittering as if he was only just managing to keep his temper under control.

‘You might have the body of a goddess and the face of an angel but I would not touch you even if you held the key to life itself,’ he ground out heavily.

Injured feminine pride made Nina hitch up her chin another fraction, her eyes issuing him a challenge she knew deep inside she should not be issuing but she just couldn’t help it. How dare he dismiss her so confidently?

‘Want to lay a bet on that, big boy? Put your money where your mouth is—so to speak.’

The line of his mouth grew even tighter until his lips appeared almost white. Nina could tell she had taken things a little too far but it was too late to back out now.

‘All right.’ He finally released his breath. ‘I will lay a bet on it. If I touch you other than in the most casual way during our marriage, you win the bet. I will double your allowance on the spot.’

She suddenly realised that Nadia would have asked how much he intended giving her by now but it simply hadn’t occurred to Nina to do so.

‘Um … how much are you intending to pay me?’

‘Much more than you are worth, I can assure you.’

Her eyes burned with seething hatred at his denigration, everything inside her quaking with anger until she could barely stand still. She felt it rumbling in her stomach, flash-flooding her veins as it was carried to every single cell of her body.

‘That remains to be seen,’ she said in Nadia’s confident flirty tone even though her teeth were being ground to powder behind her seductive smile.

His midnight eyes gleamed with confidence as he looked down at her, the small smile that was playing on his lips a combination of both mockery and challenge.

‘Go ahead, Miss Selbourne, go ahead and make me pay.’

She opened her mouth to respond but before she could get the words out the door opened under his hand and he stepped through and closed it behind him with an ominous click of the lock as it fell back into place.

She stared at the door for a moment or two, her stomach in tight knots of panic, her head throbbing with tension and her legs trembling at the thought of what she’d just done.

She turned and leaned heavily on the arm of the old sofa, her frazzled brain trying to find a satisfactory way out of her predicament.

If she told him who she really was he would have even more reason to claim Georgia, for she could hardly provide for her the way he obviously could and, with Nadia already abandoning her daughter, what hope would there be of fighting back?

But marrying him?

Her heart gave another heavy thump of panic at the thought of being formally tied to him in marriage, all the time having to keep her true identity a secret. But unless Nadia reappeared and claimed her daughter, Nina knew she was going to have to continue with the charade for as long as necessary. What other choice was there? Georgia needed her. She couldn’t let her down.

Two weeks … that was all she had and it wasn’t anywhere near long enough.

She gave a tiny shiver as she thought of him towering over her the way he had, his eyes aflame with dislike. He was ruthlessness and power personified; he was used to simply paying for any obstacles in his path to be removed and she would be the first to be crushed beneath his well-heeled foot.

She gave a little jump when the telephone rang on the small table beside her and, reaching out a still shaking hand, picked up the receiver and held it to her ear.

‘Nina?’ Nadia’s voice rang out airily. ‘I thought I’d call you en route. I’m in Singapore for a couple of hours while the plane refuels.’

‘Do you have any idea of what you’ve done?’ Nina choked, clutching at the receiver with both hands.

‘I know you don’t approve of me leaving Georgia,’ Nadia said. ‘But quite frankly I don’t care. I want—’

‘Will you shut up and listen to me?’ Nina bit out. ‘How could you do that to your own daughter? Not only did you abandon her but you hurt her!’

‘Look.’ Nadia’s tone hardened. ‘She was crying for ages while you were out. It drove me nuts.’

Nina’s stomach churned at the thought of the abuse happening under her very own roof.

‘She’s a defenceless child. You were one once; don’t you remember what it feels like to be so vulnerable?’

‘I don’t remember a thing, so drop it, OK?’

Nina sighed with frustration. Her twin was an expert at burying her head when things got tough. There was nothing she could say or do to change the habits of a lifetime. Her sister was damaged and all she could do now was accept it and do what she could to protect Georgia from repeating the pattern in her own life.

‘Any news from Andre’s people?’ Nadia asked as casually as if asking what the afternoon’s weather had been like in her absence.

‘He came here,’ Nina said through clenched teeth.

‘Who?’

‘You damn well know who!’ She felt close to screaming. ‘Marc in-your-face Marcello.’ ‘I thought he might.’

‘How can you be so casual about this?’ Nina cried. ‘He thinks I’m you, for God’s sake!’

Nadia hooted with laughter. ‘Does he really? How amusing.’

‘Well, guess what—I’m not laughing,’ Nina ground out. ‘And you’d better get back here as soon as you can and sort it out.’

‘I’m not coming back,’ Nadia said determinedly. ‘Bryce is expecting me in LA tomorrow. Why don’t you just tell him who you are and be done with it?’

Nina whooshed out a breath. ‘Because he wants Georgia, that’s why.’

‘Does he now?’ Nadia’s sugar-sweet voice grated along Nina’s shredded nerves. ‘So the photograph did the trick then.’ ‘What do you mean?’

Nina heard the sound of her sister’s long artificial nails tapping a nearby surface as if she was mentally planning something.

‘He’ll have to pay, of course, but it’s where she belongs anyway. Think of how rich she’ll be when she comes of age, an entire family of billionaire merchant bankers to call on for a loan or two.’

‘I can’t believe you can be so unfeeling about this,’ Nina said reproachfully. ‘Do you know what he means to do?’

‘What?’ Nadia’s tone sounded bored.

‘He’s forcing me—I mean you—to marry him, which is really me because you’ve flown the coop and he doesn’t realise it, and I’m up to my neck in lies and I don’t know if I can face it because I have no idea how to handle men like Marc Marcello and I have work commitments and no childcare and—’

‘Whoa!’ Nadia interjected. ‘Slow down; you lost me at the marriage bit. What do you mean he wants to marry you?’

‘Not me—you!’ Nina shrilled. ‘He thinks he’s forcing you into a paper marriage.’

‘A paper marriage?’

‘He wants to adopt Georgia and is prepared to marry me—I mean you—to do it.’

‘And you agreed?’ Nadia sounded surprised.

‘He didn’t really leave me with much choice,’ Nina answered resentfully. ‘He threatened to expose you as an incompetent mother and you gave him all the evidence he needed by hurting Georgia the way you did. It was just pure luck that he didn’t notice—’

‘What’s he paying you?’ Nadia asked.

Nina gritted her teeth at her sister’s total lack of remorse. How could Nadia be more concerned about money than her own baby?

‘Even if I have to starve I am not taking his money,’ she bit out. ‘He thinks he can buy me but no way is some overindulged playboy going to—’

‘Tell him you’ve changed your mind,’ Nadia said, interrupting her again. ‘Tell him you want ten million.’

‘Ten million?’ Nina shrieked. ‘I will do no such—’

‘Then you’re a fool,’ Nadia said. ‘He’s a billionaire, Nina. You can name your price. He’ll pay it.’

‘No, absolutely not. This marriage thing is bad enough.’ She let out a ragged breath and added, ‘Besides, I feel sick at the thought of what he’s going to do when he finds out he’s got the wrong person.’

‘Don’t tell him.’

‘What?’ Nina squeaked. ‘You expect me to go through with it?’

‘You want Georgia, don’t you?’ Nadia said. ‘Here’s your chance to keep her with a whole trailer load of money thrown in. In fact, if you play your cards right we could both really scoop up big time on this.’

Nina didn’t care too much for her twin’s mercenary tone. ‘What do you mean?’

Nadia gave a soft little chuckle that sent a river of unease up her spine. ‘You are about to marry a billionaire. You will have access to cash, lots and lots of cash. I’ve been doing some checking up on Bryce and he’s not quite in the same league as your Marc. But we can make up for that with some clever accounting on your part once you are married.’

Nina cleared the blockage in her tight throat. ‘Nadia, I can’t marry Marc Marcello! It wouldn’t be legal!’

‘Who’s going to know?’ Nadia asked airily. ‘As far as I recall, I didn’t tell Andre I had a twin, so his brother is unlikely to ever find out unless you tell him or he sees us together, which is hardly likely as I’m going to be on the other side of the globe. No, the more I think about this the better it sounds. We both stand to benefit. You get to keep Georgia and I get compensated by a regular income provided by your very rich husband.’

Nina felt her stomach drop in panic. ‘Nadia, please don’t do this to me. I can’t marry a man who hates the very air I breathe!’

‘He doesn’t hate you, he hates me,’ Nadia pointed out. ‘Anyway, once he gets to know you he might even fancy you, or at least he might if you’d whack on a bit of make-up and something other than a shapeless tracksuit from time to time.’

‘I can’t afford the sort of scraps of fabric you usually pipe yourself into,’ Nina said sourly.

‘Come on, Nina. Think about it. This is a chance in a lifetime. You’ve always wanted to get married and have kids. What are you complaining about?’

‘I would have liked to choose the groom for myself, that’s what I’m complaining about!’ Nina shot back. ‘And I wanted a church wedding, not some hole and corner affair at the local registry office.’

‘You’re such a hopeless romantic. Do you think a marriage has any more hope of survival if it’s performed in a church? Come on—get in the real world, Nina. Marrying a billionaire should more than make up for the absence of a dress and veil and the blessing of a priest.’

‘Yeah, well, somehow it just doesn’t,’ she answered. ‘I wanted more out of life than a rich husband.’

‘You could spend your whole life looking for love like our mother did and, just like her, never find it,’ Nadia said. ‘If I were you I’d grasp at this with both hands and make the most of it.’

‘But I’m not you, am I?’ Nina reminded her coolly. ‘No.’ A hint of amusement entered Nadia’s voice again. ‘But Marc Marcello doesn’t know that, does he?’

CHAPTER FOUR

NINA called in sick at the library the next day in order to sort out childcare arrangements but her efforts were not encouraging. As she didn’t have a car, she was limited to using a private centre whose fees were extortionate. She had no choice but to make the booking, hoping that her niece would cope with the change without too much fuss.

The next two days passed without any further contact from Marc. At times Nina wondered if she’d imagined the whole thing, so unreal it seemed, but on the third day a letter arrived, the first page of the thick document informing her that the marriage ceremony would be on July the fifteenth.

She felt her spine buckle in trepidation. It seemed there was no way out. She would have to marry Marc in order to keep Georgia. She would have to continue to deceive him, even though in doing so she was going to be fuelling his hatred even more.

The thought of pretending to be her sister for months, maybe even years on end, terrified her but she couldn’t see any alternative. It was incredible to think that a few simple words stood between her and her freedom. If she told him: ‘I am not Georgia’s mother’, the marriage would be called off.

Five words and she would be free.

Five simple words that would grant her instant freedom, but take away her niece—permanently.

As she had more or less expected, there had been no further contact from Nadia. Nina had tried her mobile repeatedly, but each time the message service informed her the phone was out of service, and the numerous text messages she’d sent went unanswered. As her sister hadn’t given her a forwarding address it made it even more impossible for Nina to escape the tight net that was surrounding her minute by minute.

She tossed the letter from Marc aside to respond to Georgia’s cries for attention, doing her best to keep her mind away from the thought of being married to a man who hated her so much.

As she came back out to the small sitting room with Georgia tucked close to her, the phone rang and she reached to answer it.

‘Nina.’ Marc’s deep voice sounded in her ear. ‘It’s Marc.’

‘Marc who?’ She was back in Nadia’s personality as if by simply hearing his smooth as melted chocolate voice an internal switch had flicked back on inside her.

She heard his indrawn breath and mentally congratulated herself for winning this small battle even though she knew he was more than likely to win the war in the end.

‘I am quite sure with the reputation you have worked on so assiduously you have doubled up on some names by now,’ he drawled insolently.

‘Wouldn’t you like to know,’ she threw back.

‘Did you get my letter?’

‘Let me see …’ She rustled the small collection of bills that had gathered on the table beside her just to irritate him. ‘Ah, yes, here it is. It’s a pre-nup, isn’t it?’

‘You surely did not think I would marry you without protecting myself?’

‘That depends on what sort of protection you’re talking about.’

‘This is a business deal, Nina, nothing more and nothing less.’

‘Fine by me,’ she said. ‘As long as you don’t try and go back on your word. How do I know if I can trust you?’

There was a brief but tense pause.

Nina imagined him grinding his teeth on the other end in an effort to maintain some sort of politeness and her stomach gave another funny little quiver.

‘You will get your allowance as soon as the marriage is conducted and not a second before,’ he bit out at last.

‘Don’t you trust me, Mr Marcello?’ She used her sister’s tone with relish. ‘Do you think I might try and dupe you?’

‘I would very much like to see you try,’ he challenged her darkly. ‘I am sure I do not have to warn you of the consequences if there is any double-dealing on your part.’

Nina couldn’t help an inward shiver at the irony of his coolly delivered statement. As far as double-dealing went, hadn’t she already dug her own grave?

‘By the way,’ he said, ‘since we are marrying in a matter of days it is hardly appropriate for you to continue to call me by my surname.’

‘Marc.’ She breathed his name seductively. ‘Is that short for Marco?’

‘No, it is short for Marc,’ he said. ‘It is French, like my mother.’ ‘Do you speak French as well as Italian?’ ‘Yes, along with several other languages.’ She was privately impressed but wasn’t going to acknowledge it to him.

‘What about you?’ he asked when she didn’t immediately respond.

‘Me?’ She gave a quick snort. ‘All that foreign rubbish? No way! English is the universal language, why anyone would bother chattering away in anything else is completely beyond me.’

She was more or less fluent in both his mother’s tongue and in Italian, but had decided to keep it to herself. She’d studied languages at both school and tertiary level and enjoyed a certain level of proficiency. But it suited her purpose to let him think her a complete airhead who had nothing better to do than primp and preen to fill the time.

‘I have made an appointment with my lawyer to meet us at my office for us to sign the pre-nuptial agreement. You will also need to bring along your birth certificate so I can arrange the marriage licence,’ he said. ‘Is ten a.m. tomorrow convenient?’

Nina’s heart started to pound with misgivings. Pretending to be her sister had been manageable to begin with, but now she was going to be signing binding documents in the presence of a lawyer. What if she were sent to prison for fraud? What would happen to Georgia then? Just as well she’d told him her real name was Nina, and even more fortunate she was the older twin, for only her name appeared on the document, making no mention of her twin as was the practice at the time. But what if he ever looked at Georgia’s birth certificate? Nadia’s name was printed there, not hers. How would she be able to explain that?

‘Nina?’ His deep voice interrupted her quiet panic.

‘Sorry.’ She hitched her niece a little higher on her hip. ‘Georgia was slipping.’

‘You are holding her?’

Just then Georgia gave a happy little gurgle as if she were responding to the sound of her uncle’s voice.

‘Yes,’ Nina said, smiling down at her niece. ‘I was about to put her back down for a sleep when you called.’

‘How is she?’

‘She’s fine.’

‘Does she wake much at night?’

‘Once or twice,’ she told him. ‘But she soon settles back down.’ ‘Tell me something, Nina.’ An indefinable quality entered his voice. ‘Do you enjoy being a mother?’

Nina didn’t hesitate in responding, ‘Of course I do.’ There was a strange little silence.

She wondered if she should have been quite so honest. Perhaps Nadia would have answered completely differently and he was temporarily thrown by the sudden change of character.

‘You do not strike me as the maternal type.’ His tone was laced with scorn.

‘What do I strike you as, Marc?’ she asked in her most seductive voice, determined to make amends for her previous lapse in character.

Sitting in his office, Marc sighed, ignoring her last remark. ‘I’ll pick you up at nine-fifteen tomorrow,’ he told her.

‘Do you have a baby seat in your car?’ she asked.

Marc frowned. He hadn’t even thought about those sorts of details.

‘I will have one fitted this afternoon.’

‘I can catch a bus,’ she offered. ‘Where is your office?’

‘I insist on picking you up.’

‘I won’t be going with you if your car isn’t adequately fitted for carrying a child. It’s not safe.’

Marc released his tight breath. ‘I will have the seat fitted if it is the last thing I do, all right?’

‘Good,’ she said. ‘Can I trust you on that?’

Marc closed his eyes and counted to ten.

‘Marc?’

His eyes sprang open at the sound of his name on her lips. She had such a breathy voice, like a feather stroking along the sensitive skin on the back of his neck.

‘Yes …’ He cleared his throat. ‘You can trust me.’

‘I’ll see you tomorrow then,’ she said into the small silence.

‘Yes.’ Marc released his suddenly choking tie. ‘See you tomorrow.’

The doorbell rang at nine-fifteen the next morning, but Georgia was still crying, as she had done from the moment she’d woken at five a.m.

Nina was getting desperate. She was already aching with tiredness, and the beginning of what promised to be a monumental headache was marshalling at the back of her eyes.

She gently patted Georgia’s back as she answered the door, her hair hanging limply around her shoulders and her eyes hollow from lack of sleep.

When she saw the tall imposing figure of Marc Marcello standing there it was all she could do to stop herself from howling in a similar vein to the small child in her arms.

‘Is she sick?’ Marc asked, stepping inside.

Nina brushed a long strand of hair out of her face and gave him an agonised look as the door closed behind him. ‘I don’t know. She’s been like this from the moment she woke up.’

Marc took the baby from her, resting his open palm over the baby’s forehead to check for a temperature.

‘She is warm but not overly so.’ He lifted his eyes back to Nina’s. ‘Has she had a feed?’

Nina shook her head. ‘She turned away from it. I’ve offered it three or four times but she keeps pushing it away.’

‘Maybe she needs to see a doctor,’ he suggested. ‘Who do you usually see?’

Nina looked at him blankly. For the life of her she couldn’t think of who Nadia had taken Georgia to for her monthly check-ups, if indeed she had at all.

‘I …’

Marc gave her an accusing look. ‘You have taken her to a doctor, haven’t you?’

‘Ah …’

He let out his breath on a hiss of fury. ‘This is a small child,’ he railed at her. ‘She is supposed to have regular jabs and weigh-ins to make sure she is growing to schedule.’

‘She’s perfectly healthy,’ Nina said, wincing as Georgia let out another howl of misery.

Marc raised an accusing brow as the baby continued to cry in his arms. ‘You think so?’

Nina bit her lip. ‘Maybe she’s teething.’

‘She is how old? Four months? Isn’t that a little early?’

‘I don’t know! I’ve never—’ She stopped herself from saying the rest. How close she had been to telling him she knew nothing about babies! What sort of mother would he think her?

Marc had turned back to the infant, his strong capable hands stroking along Georgia’s back as he held her. After a moment or two the crying subsided to a few soft hiccups and after another minute or two the tiny eyelids fluttered closed.

Nina couldn’t help admiring his technique. God knew she’d been up for hours trying to get the baby to settle to no avail. A part of her felt resentful that he’d achieved it instead of her. Another part of her secretly admired him.

‘Go and get ready.’ Marc spoke to her in a lowered voice so as not to disturb the child. ‘We have a few minutes up our sleeves but the traffic at this time of day is always an unknown variable.’

Nina made her way to her room and softly closed the door behind her. She peered into the contents of her wardrobe with dismay. Most of her clothes were either too conservative or out of date. Her work as a librarian didn’t require any degree of fashionable attire, and as she’d so often had to bail her sister out of debt she hadn’t bought anything new for herself in ages. She had jeans in abundance, mostly cast-offs from Nadia, and a collection of tops, also from Nadia, most of which showed far more than they concealed.

In the end she chose one of Nadia’s cast-offs. She was supposed to be her sister so she figured she might as well dress like her, even though she cringed at the thought of showing off so much of her body, especially to someone so discerning of female flesh as Marc Marcello.

Everything about him unsettled her. It wasn’t just the fact that he thought her to be her sister, although that in itself was a major stumbling block, especially to her peace of mind, but his whole manner seemed threatening in an overtly male sort of way. Although she was aware that deep down he was acting out of similar motives to her own, she couldn’t help feeling on edge around him. She knew some of it probably came from her lack of experience with men; she just didn’t know how to manage a man who was so strong, so in control and so determined.

Marc Marcello wasn’t exactly the type of man one could ignore. He was the sort of man who was used to being obeyed—insisted on it, in fact.

She sighed a little shakily as she straightened the close-fitting dress. She wished pretending to be her sister was as easy as putting on her twin’s clothes: that way she wouldn’t feel so nervous all the time in case he saw through her act. She snatched up a cashmere cardigan, slung it casually around her shoulders and made her way out to where Marc was waiting.

He was standing with the baby in his arms, the usually hard lines of his face soft as he gazed down at her sleeping form.

Nina drew in a painful breath at the sight before her. He clearly adored his brother’s child and would do anything to protect her, even going so far as to marry a woman he loathed.

Marc turned to look at her and his expression instantly hardened. ‘Are you ready?’

She nodded and, scooping up Georgia’s changing bag, followed him out of the flat.

The trip to Marc’s office was a silent one and Nina was immensely grateful for it. Georgia had finally accepted a bottle and fallen asleep not long after she’d been placed in the baby seat in the back of Marc’s showroom-perfect car. Marc himself was concentrating on the thick morning traffic in front of him, his dark unreadable eyes looking straight ahead, his gaze never once veering her way.

Nina inspected her chewed nails for a moment as she considered what lay ahead. What had he told the lawyer about their sudden marriage? Was she supposed to pretend things were normal between them just like any other couple, or had Marc informed his lawyer of the particulars, Georgia of course being the primary one?

She curled her fingers into her palms and drew in a ragged breath.

Five words, she reminded herself. Five words and it could all end right here and now.

Sure, he’d have the power to remove Georgia from her custody, but maybe she’d be able to convince him to let her see her occasionally. Aunts had some sort of rights, didn’t they? Not only that, she was also Georgia’s godmother, although she’d never really understood why Nadia had bothered with the formality since the last time she had been in church was probably when she had been christened herself.

She sent him a covert glance but his head was turned towards the parking turnstile beneath the office tower he’d turned into, his hand reaching out of the driver’s window to swipe his entry card.

The car surged forward as the boom rose and Nina turned back to face the front, not sure she wanted him to see the indecision and guilt written all over her face.

Once they were parked she got out of the car and began fitting the baby carrying pouch to her chest, her fingers almost shaking as she tried to fasten the buckle.

Marc handed Georgia to her, helpfully feeding the infant’s legs through the appropriate holes. Nina felt the brush of his hand on her left breast and reared backwards as if he’d touched her with a heated brand.

His eyes met hers, the dark depths of his black gaze glittering with dislike.

‘I would advise against any overt displays of distaste for my touch whilst we are in the presence of my lawyer,’ he said. ‘He believes this to be a normal marriage and I would prefer him to continue to do so in spite of what we both know privately to be true.’

Nina’s eyes flashed as she adjusted the baby-carrier straps over her shoulders. ‘It’s not exactly normal to force someone to marry you.’

He activated the central locking and alarm system on his car before responding. ‘You will be more than adequately compensated for your efforts.’

‘Isn’t the fact that I’m coming here to sign a pre-nuptial agreement going to make him suspicious?’ she asked.

‘Pre-nuptial agreements are commonplace these days. Besides, I have shareholders and investors I need to protect, not to mention my father, who started the business from scratch. I will not stand by and watch a money-hungry little whore take half of all we have both worked so hard for if the marriage were to end.’

Although Nina knew everything he said was reasonable under the circumstances, she still felt hurt by his assessment of her motives. She wished he could see through her thin guise to the person she really was, not an opportunistic money-grabbing bed-hopping pleasure seeker, but a young woman who cared deeply for her tiny niece, so deeply, in fact, that she was prepared to marry a complete stranger.

She closed her mouth on her response and followed him into the lift he’d summoned. She stared fixedly at the numbers on the panel rather than look at him, but she was acutely aware of him standing beside her, his broad shoulder not quite touching hers, although she could feel the warmth of his body all the same.

The lift felt too small. Her chest felt too tight. Her legs felt like wet wool instead of toned muscle and bone. Her mind was a mess of disordered thoughts—thoughts of escape, thoughts of telling the truth, thoughts of what would happen if she went along with the lies she’d told, spending the rest of her life waiting for the axe to fall when the truth finally came out, as she knew it most certainly would.

So far she’d been lucky. He hadn’t asked for Georgia’s birth certificate, but it wouldn’t be long before he did, particularly if he intended to formally adopt her. She knew he intended for his father to see his only grandchild, which would mean a trip to Italy. Would it even be legal for her to take Georgia out of the country? What if somebody asked to see the birth certificate and found out she wasn’t in fact Georgia’s mother? What then?

Suddenly conscious of Marc’s probing gaze, she quickly covered her inner disquiet by plastering a vacant smile on her face. ‘What are you smirking at?’ Marc looked down at her derisively. ‘How quickly you are going to work your way through your allowance?’

‘That depends on how generous it is,’ she tossed back.

Marc rolled his eyes and stabbed at the lift button once more as if to hurry its pace.

‘We are not married yet so I would advise against counting your pennies until they have been dispatched,’ he growled.

The lift doors sprang open and Nina followed the rigid line of his back as he made his way to his suite of offices.

It gave her a much needed sense of power to see how much she rattled him.

As far as she knew she had never got underneath anyone’s skin before; that had always been Nadia’s role, and yet the thought of Marc Marcello fighting an unwilling attraction to her was both strangely tantalizing and terrifying. She’d seen the way he’d looked at her when he’d thought she wasn’t looking, his dark eyes lingering on her body as if he just couldn’t help himself. It made her skin prickle all over in awareness to even think about him seeing her in such a light, let alone ever acting on it.

Her reaction to him totally confused her. She was supposed to hate him for what he was doing but somehow it wasn’t quite working. Every time his eyes moved over her she felt as if he was transmitting heat from his body to hers. That brief accidental brush of his hand over her breast had felt like an electric shock, sending her pulse racing and her heart kicking in reaction.

She had to take better control, she mentally chided herself. To fall in love with Marc Marcello was asking for the sort of trouble she could well do without, considering the mess she was already in.

The reception area of Marc’s banking empire could leave no one in any doubt of the company’s considerable profits, Nina thought a short time later. From the sweeping computer console in the reception area fitted out in shining galaxy black marble, complete with a catwalk perfect receptionist, to the plush ankle-deep carpet on the floor, and the stunning views over the city from every window, it all left one with the impression that the Marcello merchant bank knew how to do business and do it extremely well.

Nina glanced towards a painting hung over the waiting room area, her eyes widening when she realized it wasn’t a print but an actual Renoir.

‘Mr Marcello,’ the receptionist purred at her boss. ‘Mr Highgate is waiting for you in the guest lounge adjoining your office.’

Nina’s eyebrows rose. Even his lawyer thought the common waiting room beneath him, did he?

‘Follow me,’ Marc addressed Nina over one shoulder.

Something in her decided right there and then that she wasn’t going to be ordered around in front of his staff, and in particular in front of his gorgeous receptionist, who had done nothing but stare at her the whole time she’d been there.

‘Hello.’ Nina held out her hand across the reception desk. ‘I’m Nina, Marc’s fiancée. And this is Georgia. She’s Marc’s niece, you know. Andre’s child.’

The receptionist reared away from Nina’s outstretched hand as if by touching it she might be fired on the spot.

‘I … I thought your name was Nadia,’ the young woman finally managed to get out. ‘And don’t you remember?’ She eye-balled Nina accusingly. ‘We’ve met before.’

Nina hadn’t even considered the possibility that her sister might have called at the Marcello office tower at some stage in the past.

Her colour came and went as she tried to think of an excuse for not recognising the young woman but her brain felt as if someone had pulled the plug and she was left floundering.

‘It was when Marc was in Italy last September,’ the receptionist went on, her mouth tight with reproach. ‘Andre was in a meeting but you insisted on seeing him.’

Nina was very aware of Marc listening to every word of this exchange and had to think on her feet to find a way out of it without blowing her cover.

Mentally counting back the months she realised Nadia must have come to see Andre well into the pregnancy, possibly as a last attempt to try to force his hand. She lowered her head in a gesture of contrition, her hand idly stroking the back of baby Georgia’s head where she was snuggled up against her in the pouch.

‘Yes … well, I wasn’t really myself back then … hormones, you know …’

The receptionist peered over the console at the sleeping baby, her stern expression instantly softening. ‘She’s very like Andre, isn’t she?’

Nina nodded, deciding it was probably wiser not to respond verbally even if she could have located her voice.

‘Hold all my calls please, Katrina,’ Marc’s deep voice commanded, interrupting the tight little exchange. ‘Come on, cara, we have some business to see to.’

Cara? Nina disguised her frown just in time. She wasn’t sure she could handle him addressing her with Italian endearments. It made her feel as if their relationship was shifting to another level, a level she had no experience in dealing with.

She followed him down the spacious hall where even more priceless artworks were hung in stately array, each one reminding her of the amount of money Marc Marcello had at his fingertips if ever he decided to run her out of town—without Georgia.

‘In here.’ Marc held the door open for her. ‘Take a seat and I will summon Robert Highgate to join us.’

Nina took one of the plush chairs facing the huge desk and, positioning Georgia into a more comfortable position against her, began to look around.

It was a huge office by anyone’s standards. It was lined with bookshelves along two walls, the thick volumes rich with both a wealth of knowledge and variety of taste. Unless they were there simply for show, which somehow she seriously doubted, they indicated Marc was a man who read widely, for apart from the obvious financial and legal tomes she could see some recent bestsellers as well as some of the classics she’d read and loved herself.

It gave her a funny feeling to have read the same books as him. It gave her a connection with him she wasn’t all that sure she wanted to have.

The door opened behind her and she turned in her seat to see a man of about fifty-five or so enter the room carrying a document folder under one arm. Marc was close behind with one of his impossible-to-read looks on his handsome face.

‘Cara, this is Robert Highgate. Robert, this is my fiancée, Nina Selbourne.’

Nina began to rise but Robert hurriedly gestured for her to stay where she was on account of the baby nestled against her.

He shook her hand instead and looked down at the sleeping infant, his warm light brown eyes visibly softening.

‘What a little treasure. I have two daughters of my own. They are both my life and my daily torture.’ He grinned at her meaningfully.

Nina gave him a tentative smile. ‘It’s not easy being a parent.’

‘No, but worth the struggle, I can assure you. My eldest is getting married in a few months; it seems only yesterday she was in ankle socks arguing with her mother over the length of her school uniform.’

Nina gave a somewhat forced little laugh. She had very clear memories of similar scenarios between Nadia and their mother but none of them were particularly amusing. She saw Marc stiffen at the sound of her chuckle, his dark eyes so piercing she had to look away in case he saw more than she wanted him to see.

‘Now,’ Robert said as he opened the folder on the desk and glanced across at Marc. ‘I’ve drawn up the document the way you suggested but perhaps I should explain it to Nina first?’

‘Explain away.’ Marc’s tone bordered on uninterested.

Nina felt herself shrinking in her seat in embarrassment. She had no real understanding of legal terms and wasn’t sure if she’d be signing her life away. Surely the least Marc could do was go through it with her as well?

‘As you wish.’ Robert opened the file and laid it in front of her. ‘Don’t be put off by all the legalese, Nina, this is pretty straightforward. This simply states in the event of a divorce you agree to a reasonable settlement but not a division of Marc’s total assets.’

Nina did her best to read through the wordy text but it made little if no sense to her. She kept searching the document for Georgia’s name, hunting for some sort of clause Marc might have inserted to take the child away from her if the marriage was to fold, but as far as she could make out there was none.

‘This bit here states that you will receive an allowance during your marriage.’ Robert Highgate pointed to the relevant section.

Nina stared at the figure nominated there and swallowed. ‘That seems a little … excessive.’ She looked up and caught Marc looking at her strangely. She lowered her gaze to the documents once more, her heart pounding in her chest. She would have to be much more careful in future. Marc wasn’t a fool. If he began to suspect he was being duped.

‘If you could just sign here.’ Robert Highgate indicated the dotted line for her. ‘And over here.’ He turned the page and she dutifully signed. ‘There, that’s all right and tight.’ He closed the document and bundled it back in its folder as he turned to Marc, who was leaning against the filing cabinet behind his desk, his dark eyes still trained on her.

‘May I offer you both my heartiest congratulations on a happy and fulfilling marriage?’ Robert said. ‘I know these are sad times but much joy can come about in spite of it.’ He cleared his throat discreetly and added, ‘How is your father, Marc?’

Marc pushed himself away from the filing cabinet. ‘He’s coping … just.’

Robert Highgate tut-tutted sympathetically, ‘A terrible blow, and so soon after your mother.’

‘Yes.’

Nina privately thought Marc’s one word response spoke volumes. While he showed little emotion on his face, something in his voice suggested to her he was a man who felt deeply for all that. It made her see him in a new light. Not so much a hard-driven businessman who wanted to conquer the world, riding over people obstructing his way, but a man with a need to protect those he loved and felt responsible for.

He would make a wonderful father for Georgia.

The thought slipped into her mind and once in there took hold until she could think of nothing else. Visions of him with Georgia during her first Christmas, her first tooth, her first steps, her first day at school … her first boyfriend.

‘What do you think, Nina?’ Marc directed his gaze towards her.

Nina stared at him in blank confusion. ‘Sorry?’

‘Robert suggested we draw up a separate trust file on Georgia. Andre’s estate now belongs to her, but until she comes of age—’

She got to her feet in sudden agitation, holding Georgia close to her chest to avoid disturbing her. ‘I told you I’m not interested in Andre’s estate.’

Marc sent her a quick warning glance but it was too late. Robert Highgate had seen the exchange and was at liberty to make his own conclusions.

‘I’ll have the necessary papers drawn up,’ he informed Marc diplomatically as he reached for the door. ‘Again, I wish you both well.’

‘Thank you,’ Marc said and, turning to Nina with an arch of one brow, prompted, ‘Nina?’

She gave the lawyer a wan smile. ‘Thank you, Mr Highgate, for explaining everything to me.’

‘No problem.’ Robert held out his hand and grasped hers firmly. ‘You know you’re nothing like I thought you’d be, if you don’t mind me saying.’

‘I—I’m not?’ Nina’s stomach rolled over. God, had Nadia met him too at some stage?

‘No,’ Robert said. ‘But then you know what those gossip columns are like; they make that stuff up to sell the next magazine.’

Nina’s heart instantly sank. She shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot as she tortured herself with images of her scantily clad sister cavorting at God knew which of Sydney’s nightclubs in order to have her photo plastered over some seedy gossip page.

She lowered her gaze to the child in her arms and affected a demure pose. ‘That’s all behind me now. I’m a changed person.’

‘I congratulate you for it,’ Robert Highgate said. ‘Bringing up a child is a very maturing experience. Do you have any family—parents and so on?’

She shook her head, carefully avoiding his eyes. ‘No, no family. My father died when I was a baby and my mother died three years ago.’

Marc frowned as he listened to the exchange between his lawyer and his soon-to-be wife. He suddenly realised how little he knew of Nina and her background. He knew she was known to be an unprincipled whore who had made it her life’s goal to hunt down a rich husband to set her up for life, but he hadn’t known she had grown up without a father and had so recently lost her mother. His own grief reminded him of how devastating losing a parent could be and something inside him shifted a little ground. Yes, she was undoubtedly an opportunist and she sure as hell had driven his brother to his untimely end … but she clearly loved Georgia, which still somehow surprised him.

The door closed behind the lawyer and Georgia began to grizzle. Nina extracted her from the baby-carrier and, reaching for the nappy bag, looked across at Marc who was standing in a brooding silence behind his desk.

‘I think she needs her nappy changed,’ she said.

‘Would you like me to do it?’ he offered.

Nina stared at him in silent horror for a moment. How could she let him change Georgia’s nappy with the faint smudge of bruises still on her tiny chest?

‘No,’ she said flatly.

Something came and went in his eyes and she knew she had offended him. He wanted to be a father to Georgia, a real and involved father who would feed and change a baby without rearing away in distaste as some men would do. But until those bruises were gone she had no choice but to keep him well away from Georgia without the shield of her clothes.

‘There is a bathroom two doors down,’ he said, moving from behind the desk. ‘Do you have what you need with you?’

Nina gave him an imperious look as she held up the well-stocked nappy bag. ‘I have done this before, you know.’

Marc didn’t answer but he held the door open for her as she stalked past him with her head held high. He watched as she made her way down the corridor to where the bathroom was situated, Georgia snuggled on one of her slim hips, the baby’s tiny hands buried in the length of her shiny blonde hair.

His own fingers itched to do the same, to see if it was really as silky as it looked, but with a silent curse he thrust his hands deep into his trouser pockets and let the office door click shut as he went back his desk.

He ignored his chair and instead turned to look out of the window as he had done thousands of times before, but this time he saw nothing of the harbour.

All he could see was a pair of smoky grey eyes.

CHAPTER FIVE

NINA took as long as she could in the bathroom seeing to Georgia’s needs. She needed time to think. So much was happening and happening so fast she hadn’t had time to get her head into gear.

She felt a fool for not anticipating people such as Marc’s receptionist having met her sister previously. And no doubt there would be other people she’d have to pretend she knew. And that little slip about the allowance— Oh, God! Her stomach clenched with tight fingers of fear as she thought of her charade coming unstuck in such a way.

She daredn’t even think about Marc’s reaction.

He turned from the window when she returned to his office and, in spite of her determination to keep cool and calm under pressure, she couldn’t help a tiny flip-flop in her belly at the sheer height and presence of him as he came towards her.

‘It has occurred to me that there are quite probably things Georgia needs, such as new clothing or toys,’ he said, taking the baby from her with gentle hands. ‘I have some time available now, so we could go shopping if you like.’

Nina stared up at him, uncertain of how to answer.

Georgia was in desperate need of clothes as she was growing so fast, but shopping with Marc as if they were any normal couple …?

She lowered her gaze and pretended to be re-sorting the changing bag to avoid looking directly at him as she hunted her brain for some sort of excuse.

‘Since your own clothes are designer labels, surely your child is entitled to the same?’ A hard edge had crept into his voice.

Nina tensed as she pushed the lid back down on the baby wipes container. She’d picked up one of Nadia’s cast-offs thinking it was one of the more conservative of the collection she’d left behind, never dreaming it was actually haute couture.

‘This old thing?’ she quipped with a disdainful glance down at the cashmere she was wearing.

Marc’s mouth curled. ‘I suppose you only wear an outfit once before it is thrown to the back of the wardrobe?’

Nina almost laughed at how close he was to describing her sister’s attitude to clothes. She could have afforded designer wear herself if she’d been given a dollar for every time she’d picked some discarded article up off the floor after one of Nadia’s wild nights out.

She tossed her long hair behind one shoulder and smiled up at him saucily. ‘Is it my fault I get bored easily?’

‘You know something, Nina Selbourne?’ He gave her a cutting look. ‘I am almost looking forward to being married to you so I can teach you how to behave. You are the shallowest young woman I have ever had the misfortune to meet. I think it will be a great pleasure to bring you to heel as someone should have done a very long time ago.’

Nina pretended to shudder in trepidation. ‘Oh! I am sooo scared of you, Mr Marcello.’

His black eyes glittered with contempt. ‘If I was not holding Georgia right at this minute I would be tempted to begin lesson one right here and now,’ he bit out.

Nina’s eyes flashed at him with false bravado. ‘You lay one finger on me and you will be the poorer for it.’

‘It would be worth it, I can assure you,’ he shot back.

‘You think?’ She tilted her chin at him. ‘Your brother certainly thought so.’

Nina knew the only thing that saved her at that point was the fact that Georgia was in his arms. Her tiny starfish hands were clutching at the stark whiteness of his business shirt, her little elfin face looking up at him as if in wonder, her brown-black eyes so like his own with their thick fringe of lashes.

Nina saw the struggle he had to control himself playing out on his features as he stood before her. The line of his mouth was grim, his jaw tight with suppressed anger and his eyes sparking at her as if he wanted to torch her to the ground right then and there.

The intercom on his desk broke the brittle silence.

‘Mr Marcello?’ Katrina’s cheerful tone entered the room like a light being switched on in pitch blackness. ‘Your father is on line two.’

Marc handed Georgia back to Nina without meeting her eyes. ‘Excuse me.’ He turned his back to attend to the call.

Nina reached with one hand for the baby pouch where she’d left it earlier when she heard the first few words of Marc’s conversation with his father. Even though he spoke his native tongue rapidly she had studied the language long enough to pick up on the general gist of the exchange.

‘Yes,’ Marc said. ‘I have found a solution. I am marrying her on the fifteenth.’

Nina couldn’t hear what his father said in response but she could more or less piece together the rest on Marc’s reply.

‘No, she insists she does not want any money or anything to do with Andre’s estate … I am not sure but I suspect she is trying to butter me up by pretending to be a changed person. Yes, I have arranged an allowance but it will not take her long to work her way through that, I am sure. Yes, I know she is everything that Andre said and more. I know, I know … she is an unprincipled whore …’

Nina had trouble keeping her reaction disguised. She silently fumed and vowed revenge on his insulting assessment of her as she eased Georgia back into the pouch.

‘Yes … I know, I will watch my back, and yes.’ Marc gave a distinctly male chuckle ‘… my front as well. Ciao.’

Nina smiled guilelessly as she turned back to face him. ‘So, where are we going shopping?’

A short time later, as they began trawling the department stores as well as exclusive designer boutiques, Nina had cause to wonder if she had catapulted herself into some sort of shopaholic’s dream. Marc’s credit card was flashed so many times she thought she was going to go blind with the amount of currency going past her eyes as he bought item after item for his niece. Beautiful clothes, expensive toys, special feeder cups for when she came off her bottle—all were parcelled off to be delivered to his office.

When it was time for Georgia’s next feed Marc suggested they go to a quiet café where she could feed the baby whilst they had a coffee and a sandwich.

Nina wished she wasn’t starving so she could refuse, but she’d missed breakfast due to Georgia’s crying bout and her stomach was letting her know in no uncertain terms it was well and truly time for a pit stop.

They were soon seated in a booth in a café overlooking the lively shopping mall below. The rushing lunchtime crowds and talented buskers performing below added to the high energy of the city.

Georgia’s bottle was soon heated and brought back to the table by a young waitress. Once she’d gone, Nina was about to offer her niece the bottle when she caught Marc’s dark gaze on her.

‘Would you like to feed her?’ she found herself asking him. His dark eyes held hers for a brief moment of silent hesitation. ‘Sure, why not?’ he finally answered and, standing up, reached across the table to gather Georgia in his arms.

Once he was seated, Nina handed him the bottle and a soft cloth she used to catch any drips. She leaned back in her own seat and watched as he positioned the teat for Georgia’s searching mouth.

Seeing the way he held the child set off a funny reaction deep inside Nina’s belly, like the sudden unfurling of a tightly wound ball of string. She shifted in her seat and forced herself to look at the menu the waitress had left for their perusal but the words all seemed a blur to her as her thoughts shot off in all directions.

Marc was so at ease handling his niece and she wondered if he had ever wanted children of his own. If so, why was he tying himself to her in a loveless paper marriage?

She knew Italians had a deep sense of family, and the value of children in their lives was high. But surely marrying a stranger, even though she was supposedly the mother of his brother’s child, was going a little too far in terms of familial duty?

It had occurred to her that he might annul the marriage at some point in the future and apply for full custody of Georgia. It was an uncomfortable scenario as she knew she wouldn’t stand a chance once her true identity became known. She would be seen as a scheming, manipulating liar and no magistrate would hand her niece to her, even for access visits, let alone assign her full or partial custody.

Suddenly her earlier gnawing hunger faded and she pushed the menu away with a slump of her shoulders.

‘Not hungry?’ Marc’s eyes met hers across the table.

‘I’ll just have coffee.’ She shifted her gaze from his. ‘Black.’

The waitress came over and took the order from Marc, lingering to hover over the baby who had by now finished her bottle.

‘How old is she?’ the young girl asked. ‘Four months,’ Nina answered.

The waitress smiled as she looked between the baby and Marc. ‘She’s like her daddy, isn’t she?’

It was on the tip of Nina’s tongue to say that Marc wasn’t actually Georgia’s father but something stopped her at the last minute.

‘Yes,’ she said instead, shocked that she hadn’t seen it before now.

Georgia did have a look of Marc about her, seemingly more so as each day passed. Her olive colouring was one thing, so too the dark eyes and silky black hair. But she could also see evidence of herself and Nadia in the rosebud mouth and the slightly retroussé nose and wondered if he could too.

The waitress bustled off to get their coffee and Nina watched as Marc eased Georgia up against his shoulder, gently patting her tiny back as if he’d done it a hundred times before.

‘Have you given any thought to having a child of your own some time in the future?’ she asked before she could stop herself.

Marc’s expression gave little away but Nina was sure she saw a flicker of regret pass through his dark-as-night eyes before he quickly disguised it.

‘No.’ He shifted Georgia to his other shoulder. ‘I had not planned on marrying and doing the whole family-rearing thing.’

His answer intrigued her. She knew there were plenty of sworn-in life members of bachelordom about the place, but somehow Marc didn’t seem the type.

‘Was this your father’s idea for us to marry?’

His eyes met hers, holding her questioning gaze intently. ‘What makes you say that?’

‘I …’ She fiddled with the edge of the tablecloth, doing her best to avoid the full force of his all-seeing eyes. ‘A hunch, I guess. I’ve heard Italians are pretty big on kids.’

‘I suppose that is why you sent him that letter to twist the knife a bit,’ he said, leaning forwards on the table so the other diners couldn’t hear his harsh accusation. ‘Did you ever consider how much you were hurting an elderly man who is already doing his best to cope with unbearable grief?’

Nina wished she could tell him the truth. It hurt so much to have him think so poorly of her when in fact it had been her sister who had acted so unthinkingly.

‘No.’ She let the edge of the tablecloth go and raised her eyes to his condemning ones. ‘No, it was very insensitive of me. I’m sorry.’

Her answer seemed to surprise him. If it had come from Nadia, it would have surprised even her, Nina thought wryly. She couldn’t recall a single time when her sister had apologised for anything; ‘I’m sorry’ just wasn’t in her twin’s vocabulary.

‘Sometimes sorry is not enough,’ he said, leaning back again, settling Georgia more comfortably against his shoulder. ‘Once the damage is done there is no going back to undo it.’

Nina felt sick at the truth of his curt statement. How much damage had she already done with all the lies she’d been forced to tell on her sister’s behalf?

‘Yes, I know.’ She stared at the salt and pepper shakers standing side by side like small china soldiers on the table in front of her. ‘I guess I was so confused at the time. I hardly knew what I was doing.’

There was a small silence broken only by the soft gurgling of Georgia, who had found the breast pocket of Marc’s business shirt, her tiny fingers clutching at the fabric in delight.

‘You deliberately tried to trap my brother, did you not?’ he upbraided her. ‘By using the oldest trick in the book.’

She wished she could deny it on Nadia’s behalf but knew that too would be yet another lie. Her sister had deliberately set about to snare Andre Marcello by fair means or foul. Nina had been appalled when Nadia had told her of her plan to trap him, casually revealing the way she’d sabotaged a whole box of condoms in order to bring about a pregnancy as if it was all a game, not real life with the potential for irreparable damage to occur. Nina still tortured herself with her own guilt at not being able to talk her sister out of it. Maybe if she’d spent more time with her, had counselled her to think a little further ahead than the next moment of pleasure.

‘It was a stupidly impulsive thing to do …’ she finally said, her voice low, her eyes downcast. ‘I had no idea of how it would backfire on … me.’

Again her answer seemed to surprise him. She chanced a look at him and found his hard accusatory expression had softened slightly as he looked across at her, the child in his arms nestling against him preparatory to sleep.

‘There are few of us who get through life without one or two regrets,’ he offered.

Nina gave him a rueful smile. ‘Don’t tell me the great Marc Marcello admits to getting it wrong now and again?’

He held her gaze for a moment before looking down at the child in his arms. ‘I have made one or two errors of judgement in the past but I have no intention of ever doing so again.’

Nina wondered if he bore the internal scars of a broken relationship which had made him wary of emotional commitment. The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. What better way to take himself out of the game than to marry for convenience, not love? He would be free to liaise with whomever he chose without the pressure of formal commitment due to the piece of paper that would soon be documenting her as his wife.

His wife.

She swallowed a lump of panic as she thought about all such a relationship would entail. Even though he’d stated implacably that the marriage would not be consummated, they would still be living in the same house which would force certain intimacies on them both regardless.

She imagined seeing him in less formal attire, perhaps in sports gear or after a shower with a towel around his waist, his long strong body exposed. Or seeing him unshaven in the morning, his chiselled jaw dark with stubbly growth, the sort of growth that tingled female skin if it brushed up against it …

Nina pulled back from her thoughts with a little jerk in her chair, her guilty glance meeting Marc’s questioning one.

‘Is something wrong?’ he asked. ‘No, of course not.’

‘You do not seem yourself,’ he observed.

‘Oh, really?’ She gave him one of Nadia’s scathing looks. ‘And you know me so well after, what is it—’ She checked her watch for the date and looked back at him. ‘Less than a week?’

‘Suffice it to say I am familiar with your type,’ he answered smoothly.

‘So you think one size fits all?’

His smile was cynically lopsided. ‘I have been around long enough to recognise danger when I see it.’

‘Danger, eh?’ She arranged her lips into a smirk. ‘You see me as dangerous? What exactly are you threatened by? My sex appeal?’

His mouth tightened and she knew she’d scored another hit. It struck her as ironic that he was fighting an attraction to her when she was pretending to be someone else. What chance did she stand of him being attracted to her as Nina—the real Nina? The Nina without the reputation or the Nina without the baggage? Not to mention the Nina without the designer wardrobe. The Nina who was in very great danger of falling in love with a man who despised the very sight of her.

‘Your ego no doubt has had considerable stroking over the years but I refuse to join your band of avid admirers,’ he said. ‘If you are looking for compliments I am afraid you will have to go elsewhere.’

Nina gave him an arch look. ‘But you do find me attractive, don’t you? Go on, admit it.’

‘I admit nothing.’

She laughed. ‘You’ll get sand in your eyes if you bury your head too deeply.’

She saw his jaw tighten another notch. ‘Women like you think they are irresistible but let me tell you, you are not. Do you think I am so easily swayed by full breasts and pouting lips and come-to-bed eyes?’

She pursed the said pouting lips and affected a super-confident pose. ‘I can feel your interest from right over here,’ she said in a breathy undertone. ‘I bet if I slipped my hand under this table and examined the evidence for myself you’d have some serious back-pedalling to do.’

Black eyes met grey in a challenge that rocked Nina to her very core but she was determined not to back down. She held his look with a spirited defiance she hadn’t thought herself capable of.

Although he tried to disguise it, she noticed he shifted backwards in his chair as if he didn’t trust her not to do exactly as she’d said. Her mind began to wander of its own volition. What would he feel like fully aroused? Would he shudder at the touch of her fingers around his length or would he groan with deep out of control pleasure? And what would his reaction be if her mouth were to close over him, drawing from him a response that would spill his life force out of his body in an explosion of pleasure?

‘It’s time to leave.’ His announcement was curt as he got stiffly to his feet.

Georgia gave a soft rumble of protest about the sudden movement but soon settled back against his chest, her tiny eyelids fluttering closed, her miniature fingers still grasping his breast pocket.

Nina rose with less speed, taking her time to gather up the baby’s changing bag and her own handbag, shooting him a glance from across the width of the table.

‘Do you think it’s worth disturbing her to put her back in the pouch?’ she asked.

Marc looked down at the tiny infant against his chest and shook his head. ‘No.’ He lifted his gaze back to hers. ‘I will carry her.’ He scooped up the bill the waitress had left and added, ‘Is there anything else we need to buy?’

It was the ‘we’ that really got to her. Seeing him with Georgia cradled so tenderly in his arms, she couldn’t help feeling a deep sense of regret over how circumstances had led them both to this. How different things might have been if they had met without the baggage of both of their wayward siblings. If the truth were known they probably had more in common than not. He was the solid dependable type, anyone could see that, and she … well, she was hardly the sleep-around town tart he thought her to be. If only he knew!

‘No.’ She carefully avoided his eyes in case he saw the glitter of sudden moisture. ‘I think we’re more or less done.’ She hoisted the changing bag over her shoulder and followed him out of the café with her head well down.

The city streets were so busy as to make conversation both difficult and unnecessary. Nina was glad of the reprieve. Guilt flooded her from every direction. Maybe she should have been firmer with Nadia, should have insisted she stay and face her responsibilities. But then, when had Nadia ever faced anything? Her policy had been to move from one disaster to the next with her twin picking up the pieces behind her. Nina had even done it for their mother in the past, becoming the parent instead of the child in an attempt to provide some level of security for them. Much good it had done in the end, she thought sadly. Her mother had still drunk and drugged herself into an early grave and there had been nothing Nina could do to stop it.

Marc pressed the pedestrian button and flicked a glance down at the silent figure beside him as they waited for the lights to change. ‘You are very quiet all of a sudden.’

Nina shook herself out of her mental anguish and sent a vacant smile his way. ‘I’m just tired.’ She yawned widely. ‘Georgia woke me early.’ She patted her mouth and forced another smile. ‘Kids; who in their right mind would have them?’

Marc was saved a reply by the lights changing. It was clear to him that money was Nina’s primary motive and she had targeted the richest man she could and had got on with the business of falling pregnant to him. But it was still somewhat of a mystery to him why she hadn’t asked for a whole heap of money when he’d offered her marriage. He’d been expecting her price to be in the millions and yet even the allowance he’d organised for her had seemingly surprised her. And, as for pretending she had no interest in Andre’s estate, what possible reason could she have other than to try and fool him into thinking she had somehow changed from a money-hungry pleasure seeker to a woman of high morals?

But he knew Nina was trouble from the top of her shiny head to the soles of her dainty feet. She had a disturbing habit of switching from sultry siren to wide-eyed innocent as if she was deliberately trying to confuse him about who she really was. If Andre hadn’t told him how manipulative she was he would sometimes be tempted to think he was dealing with someone else entirely.

He slanted a covert glance her way, instantly noting the line of her slightly anxious brow and the way her small white teeth nibbled at her bottom lip.

He gave a rough inward sigh. Marrying her was going to be the easy part; however, he was starting to think that if he wasn’t very careful, keeping his hands off her was going to be something else indeed.

CHAPTER SIX

ONCE Nina was confident there was no trace of Georgia’s bruises remaining she arranged to return to work. However, when she made to leave the childcare centre the following day, her tiny niece howled miserably, her little arms reaching out to her from the carer’s hold.

‘Don’t worry, Miss Selbourne,’ the childcare worker reassured her. ‘She’ll settle down once you leave. They all do.’

Nina bit her lip in an agony of indecision. Georgia’s little face was bright red, her eyes spilling tears and her desperate wails increasing in volume.

‘Maybe I should call work and tell them I can’t make it.’

‘Of course you shouldn’t,’ the woman said. ‘She’ll be fine. I’ll take her to look at the toys while you leave. Feel free to phone as soon as you get to work but I am sure you’ve got nothing to worry about. Come on, Georgia,’ she told the child with a smile. ‘Let’s go and look at the nice teddy bears over here.’

Nina could still hear Georgia’s cries as she made her way outside the building, her heart squeezing painfully at the thought of her niece being so upset at the prospect of being abandoned. It made her realise anew how important it was to protect her, for it was obvious the baby considered her to be her primary carer. If Marc were to find out who she really was now, Georgia would be the one to suffer, for Nina felt sure he would evict her from the child’s life as soon as he possibly could.

The library was a few blocks away and she walked there with dragging steps, wondering how mothers across the globe dealt with leaving their children in someone else’s care.

She loved her job but she loved her niece more. If push came to shove she would have to quit work, swallow her pride and accept the allowance from Marc that his lawyer had arranged in the pre-nuptial agreement.

‘Hi, Nina,’ Elizabeth Loughton, one of the other librarians, greeted her as soon as she arrived at work. ‘Hey, where have you been the last few days? Sheila said you called in sick. Are you OK now?’

Nina placed her bag in the staffroom locker in order to avoid her friend’s probing look. ‘I’m fine, just a bit tired. It’s been one of those weeks.’

‘Don’t tell me your sister has been giving you trouble again,’ Elizabeth said. ‘I don’t know why you don’t tell her where to get off, really I don’t. She takes advantage of you so much, no wonder you’re not well.’ She pursed her lips for a moment, then, moving over to close the staffroom door, turned back and handed Nina a recent edition of a popular gossip magazine. ‘I suppose you’ve already seen this?’

Nina disguised a gulp as she looked down at the magazine article Elizabeth had shown her. There was a photograph of her twin outside one of Sydney’s best known hotels, dressed in a revealing dress that left little to the imagination, her arms flung around the necks of two well known football personalities who both had dubious reputations with regard to their treatment of women. The caption hinted that, according to hotel staff sources, last Friday night Nadia and her male escorts had engaged in a drunken noisy threesome upstairs.

‘Oh, God.’ She shut the magazine and handed it back as they sat down together. ‘This is just what I don’t need right now.’

‘Are you all right?’ Elizabeth peered at her in concern.

Nina met her friend’s hazel gaze. ‘I have to tell you something but you have to promise not to tell anyone else.’

Elizabeth used a finger to zip her lips. ‘Mum’s the word.’

Nina’s mouth twisted wryly. ‘That’s exactly right. Mum is the word you now have to use when referring to me.’

Elizabeth’s eyes went out on stalks. ‘Oh, my God! You’re pregnant?’

Nina rolled her eyes. ‘Of course not! No, but I am now acting as Georgia’s mother.’

As Nina filled her in on previous events, Elizabeth’s face fell in horror.

‘Are you completely nuts?’ Elizabeth had got to her feet in agitation. ‘What the hell are you thinking? This Marc Marcello will eat you alive when he finds out! You could go to prison or something!’

‘What else can I do?’ Nina asked. ‘Georgia needs me. Nadia was going to give her up for adoption but this way I can keep her and give her the love she deserves. It’s a small price to pay.’

‘A small price?’ Elizabeth gaped at her. ‘What do you know about this guy?’

Nina couldn’t help a tiny smile. ‘I know he adores Georgia and she adores him.’

‘And what about you?’ Elizabeth gave her another probing look. ‘What does he feel about you? Does he adore you too?’

‘No.’ Nina lowered her gaze.

There was a short silence and Nina looked up to see her friend’s contemplative gaze trained on her.

‘I think I’m starting to get the picture,’ Elizabeth said. ‘You’re in love with him, aren’t you?’

‘How could I possibly be in love with him?’ Nina’s eyes darted away once more. ‘I hardly know him.’

‘You must feel something for him because, knowing you as I do, you would never agree to marry someone if you didn’t respect and admire them at the very least.’

Nina thought about it for a moment. Yes, she did respect Marc. In fact, if circumstances were different, he was exactly the sort of man she could come to love. He had qualities she couldn’t help admiring. He was fiercely loyal and protective and his sense of family was strong.

‘Come on, Nina,’ Elizabeth continued. ‘I can see it in your eyes. You’re halfway there already.’

‘You’re imagining things.’

‘Maybe I am, but I’d watch it if I were you,’ Elizabeth cautioned. ‘You’re not the hard-nosed bitch your sister is. You are going to get yourself seriously hurt if you don’t take care.’

‘I know what I’m doing,’ Nina said. ‘Anyway, I don’t have a choice. I love Georgia and would do anything to protect her.’

‘Sounds like you and that future husband of yours have rather a lot in common, don’t you think?’ Elizabeth mused as she opened the staffroom door. ‘You both want the same thing and are prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to get it.’

Nina didn’t answer. She was starting to think it might have been a mistake to tell Elizabeth the truth about her situation. Her friend was seeing things Nina herself had pointedly refused to examine too closely.

She turned to the phone on the wall and quickly called the childcare centre to check on her niece, relieved to hear that Georgia had finally fallen asleep. She hung up the phone and made her way out to the front desk, glad she had something to do other than think about Marc Marcello and how she really felt about him.

Nina had not long returned home with Georgia later that day when the phone rang.

‘Nina?’ Her sister’s voice sounded in her ear. ‘Is that you?’

‘Who else would it be?’ Nina said tersely.

Nadia laughed. ‘Well, for a minute there I thought you sounded just like me.’

Nina ground her teeth. ‘That is so not funny. You do realise that all because of your stupid actions I will be marrying Andre’s brother in a matter of days, don’t you?’

‘Lucky you,’ Nadia said. ‘I’m sure you’ll be more than adequately compensated. A billionaire to call your own.’

‘His money means nothing to me,’ she bit out.

‘Good,’ Nadia said. ‘Then you won’t mind sending it to me.’

‘What?’ Nina stiffened.

‘Come on, Nina. You’ll be loaded. We talked about this the other day, remember? I expect you to share your good fortune with me. Besides, we’re sisters, twin sisters.’

Nina drew in a breath. ‘I am not taking his money.’

‘Don’t be stupid; he’s giving it to you in exchange for marriage. You have to take it.’

‘I have no intention of doing so.’

‘Listen.’ Nadia’s voice hardened. ‘If you don’t take it I’ll tell him who you really are.’

Nina swallowed, her hand on the receiver growing white-knuckled. ‘You can’t do that. He’ll take Georgia off me.’

‘Do you think I care?’ Nadia said.

‘How can you be so callous?’ Nina cried. ‘You’re her mother, for God’s sake!’

‘If you don’t take the money and give it to me I will tell him how you’ve deceived him. Somehow I don’t think he’ll take all that kindly to the news.’

Nina could well believe it, but this wasn’t about her at all. It was about Georgia. She loved her niece and couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing her again.

She considered going to Marc and telling him the truth before Nadia got the chance but knew in the end it would be pointless. He would simply remove Georgia from her custody, would no doubt be relieved that he didn’t have to bind himself to her after all. He would have no regard for her feelings as the child’s aunt even if she was to plead with him to allow her a place in Georgia’s life.

‘I haven’t got any money yet,’ Nina said. ‘The marriage doesn’t take place for another few days. Marc told me I won’t get the allowance until the ink dries on the marriage certificate.’

‘Well, when it does I want you to send me it. All of it. I’ll give you my bank details.’

Nina put the phone down a few minutes later, the numbers on the piece of paper in her hand making her feel sick to her stomach.

Her sister had just sold her child.

CHAPTER SEVEN

NINA had not long settled Georgia for the night when the doorbell rang. She didn’t have to check through the peephole; she knew it was Marc by the way her skin had started to tingle all over.

She opened the door and stepped aside to allow him to come in, her tone reproving as she said, ‘You should have called to say you were going to visit. Georgia’s just gone down. I don’t want to unsettle her.’

‘I am not here to see Georgia right now,’ Marc said, closing the door behind him.

Nina tucked a strand of wayward hair behind one ear and did her best to hold his unwavering gaze. ‘W-what did you want to see me about?’

‘Where were you today?’ he asked.

‘Um … why do you ask?’

‘I called you for hours but you didn’t answer.’

‘I am allowed to go out, aren’t I?’ She gave him a hardened look. ‘Or is my being a prisoner part of your stipulations?’

‘No, but I would prefer it if you would keep me informed of where you and Georgia will be in case I need to contact you. Do you have a mobile phone?’

‘Yes, but I don’t have it on a lot as it wakes Georgia,’ she said half truthfully.

‘I have something else I would like to discuss with you,’ he added and, reaching into his coat pocket, took out the magazine Elizabeth had shown her that morning.

She took it from him with unsteady fingers and placed it on the coffee table without opening it to the damning page.

‘I take it you have already seen it?’ he said.

‘Yes.’ ‘And?’

She met his diamond-hard gaze. ‘That was more than a week ago. Besides, you know how these magazines like to blow things out of proportion.’

‘Did you sleep with those men?’

Nina’s stomach quivered at the steely edge to his tone but she forced herself to respond with a steadiness she was nowhere near feeling. ‘No.’

‘You lying little—’ His mouth snapped shut as if he felt tainted by even uttering the rest of the vilifying sentence.

‘I am not lying,’ she stated quietly.

His jaw tightened and his hands went to fists at his sides. ‘I am going to ask you again where you were today and I expect you to tell me the truth.’

‘I went to the library.’

‘The library?’

She lifted her chin and folded her arms across her chest. ‘Yes, it’s this really boring place full of books where you have to be quiet all the time. I thought I’d check it out, you know, to improve my mind a bit.’

‘You went there all day?’ He looked sceptical.

‘For a big part of it,’ she answered. ‘That’s why my phone was switched off. What did you do all day?’

‘I was working.’

‘Oh, really?’ She gave him an equally sceptical look. ‘Can you prove it?’

He frowned at her. ‘I do not have to prove anything to you.’

She tilted her head at him. ‘Nor do I to you.’

‘If I find out you are lying to me, Nina, you will be very sorry.’

‘I don’t have to answer to you until we are married,’ she said. ‘And even then I will not tolerate you bossing me around as if I don’t have a mind of my own. Now, if you have finished discussing what you came here to discuss, I think you should leave.’

‘I will leave when I am good and ready.’ He closed the small distance between them, one of his hands going to the wall at the side of her head, his eyes holding hers as his body pressed close.

Too close.

Nina felt the sharp nudge of desire his sudden closeness evoked, her legs weakening beneath her and her heart thumping erratically behind the wall of her chest. Her breasts seemed to swell as she pressed her back against the wall, the spicy fragrance of his aftershave teasing her nostrils as he leaned even closer.

‘P-please go away.’ Her voice came out choked.

She felt herself drowning in the fathomless depth of his dark eyes. The silence stretched and stretched until she could hear a faint ringing in her ears. She wondered if he was going to kiss her and her gaze instinctively flicked to his mouth, her heart doing another funny kick-start at the thought of those sensual lips pressed to hers.

Her eyes returned to his and instantly widened as she began to feel the metal of his belt buckle against her stomach and the potent strength of what she could feel was stirring just below. She could feel the energy of his body sending a charge of crackling electricity to hers, making her flesh prickle all over with sensory alertness.

She drew in a shaky breath, her breasts rising and falling against his chest as her heart began to race. His eyes dipped to her mouth, lingering there for endless pulsing seconds before he lifted his hand and traced the contour of her bottom lip with the blunt pad of his thumb, back and forth, slowly, tantalizingly.

Just when she thought she could stand it no longer, he dropped his hand from her mouth and stepped back from her, his expression closing over.

‘I will see you tomorrow. What time would be convenient for me to call around?’

It took her several seconds to get her brain back into gear. ‘Um … about this time is good. I’ll be out all day.’

He gave her a wry look as he reached for the door. ‘The library again?’

‘Yes … I thought I might read some books to Georgia. It’s supposed to be good for language development.’

He looked as if he was going to say something but apparently changed his mind at the last minute. Nina watched as he opened the door and stepped through, casting her one last inscrutable look as he shut it behind him.

She stared at the door while she waited for her heart rate to return to normal.

Elizabeth was right, she thought as she let out a little uneven breath. As far as falling for Marc Marcello went, she was more than halfway there already.

Georgia was even worse the next morning when Nina tried to leave the childcare centre. The pitiful cries shredded her nerves and, even though the assistant was just as reassuring and confident as the day before, Nina felt the full weight of her guilt drag her down as she made her way to the front door, her eyes stinging with the threat of tears.

She didn’t see the tall figure leaning against his car near the front entrance until it was too late. She came to a stumbling halt as Marc’s shadow blocked out the watery sunlight, her heart leaping towards her throat.

‘M-Marc … what are you doing here?’

‘I could ask you the very same thing but I already know the answer.’ His dark gaze flicked to the childcare signage behind her. ‘So this is where you relieve yourself of your responsibilities towards Georgia, no doubt so you can cavort all day with your lovers.’

‘No … no! It’s not like that at all.’

One dark brow rose in cynicism. ‘Perhaps you would like to explain to me why you have placed my niece in the care of complete strangers.’

‘They’re not exactly strangers,’ Nina said. ‘They’re highly competent childcare workers.’

His mouth tightened as he took her by the arm. ‘Then we will go and see just how competent they are, shall we?’

Nina had no choice but to follow him for his hold, though loose, was under-wired with steely determination. She could feel the latent strength in his long fingers as they circled her wrist.

It wasn’t hard for him to find where Georgia was being looked after. Her cries were echoing throughout the building. As they approached the babies’ room Nina felt the tightening of Marc’s hold as if his anger was travelling through his body to where it was joined to hers.

‘There, there, Georgia,’ the childcare assistant was cooing as she cuddled her. ‘Mummy will be back later … now, now, don’t cry … Oh, hello again, Miss Selbourne,’ she said as she turned around. ‘I’m afraid your little girl is not settling all that well this morning.’

Nina took Georgia from the woman’s arms and the howling stopped immediately, to be replaced by tiny hiccups and sniffles as the baby clung to her.

‘That’s all right,’ Nina said. ‘I don’t think I will leave her today, after all.’

‘We can try again tomorrow, if you like,’ the woman suggested. ‘As I said the other day, lots of babies find separation from mum hard at first but they soon get used to it.’

‘Miss Selbourne will not need your services any more,’ Marc announced in clipped tones. ‘We have made other arrangements.’

The woman’s eyebrows rose slightly and Nina hastily inserted, ‘This is my … fiancé, Marc Marcello.’

‘Oh … well, then.’ The woman gave a slightly flustered smile.

‘Come on, cara.’ Marc took Nina’s arm and escorted her to the door.

Nina waited until they were outside before she turned on him crossly. ‘You had no right to cancel my arrangements like that!’

He gave her a glowering look as he unlocked his car. ‘Your arrangements were putting my niece at risk. Look at her. She has obviously been crying hysterically; she is feverish and over-tired.’ He took the baby from her arms and cuddled her close, glaring over the top of her head at Nina. ‘I cannot believe you would be so insensitive to leave a clearly distraught baby with total strangers.’

‘Oh, for God’s sake!’ She let out a frustrated breath. ‘Get into the real world, Marc. Mothers all over the world put their children into childcare. They need to in order to work.’

‘But you do not work so it is not necessary for you to engage such services.’ He turned away to secure Georgia in her baby seat in the car.

‘How did you know I was here?’ she asked after a moment of silence. ‘Were you following me?’

He straightened from settling Georgia. ‘In the light of that magazine article, I decided it was wise to keep some tabs on you.’

She gnawed at her bottom lip and then began uncertainly, ‘Marc …’ She tried not to be put off by his stern expression and continued, ‘I haven’t been completely truthful to you. I … I have a job.’

‘What sort of job?’

‘One that pays me money.’

‘That certainly narrows it down a bit,’ he commented dryly. ‘What sort of work do you do?’

‘I’m a librarian.’

She saw the flicker of surprise come and go in his dark gaze as it held hers. ‘Andre did not mention it.’

‘Andre didn’t know. It’s been a … recent thing. I wanted to improve myself … for Georgia’s sake.’

‘Doesn’t one have to study at university in order to be a librarian?’

‘Er … yes, I did that a few years ago … before I … you know … went off the rails a bit.’

Nina knew she was skating on ever thinning ice. She could see the suspicion growing in his eyes as he watched her.

‘How important is this job to you?’ he asked after a small pause.

She looked at the now sleeping baby in her baby seat in the back. ‘Not as important as Georgia,’ she answered softly.

Marc drew in a breath and opened the passenger door for her. ‘Get in. We will talk about this later.’

Nina slipped into the seat and clipped on her belt, all the time wondering if she had blown it. She hoped not, for the thought of never seeing her niece again was unbearably painful.

She spent the rest of the silent journey wondering how she was going to maintain her charade. When she looked up she saw that they were not at her flat but in the driveway of an imposing looking mansion in the exclusive harbourside suburb of Mosman.

She turned in her seat to look at him. ‘This is your house?’

He looked at her for so long without responding that she wondered if she had just made another slip. She’d always assumed that Nadia had met Andre in hotels but it suddenly occurred to her that perhaps she had visited him at home—this home.

‘Do you not remember coming here?’ he asked. She disguised a nervous swallow. ‘It looks vaguely familiar,’ she hedged.

The line of his mouth thinned in anger. ‘You appear to have a very convenient memory pattern, Nina. You simply delete the things you find distasteful to recall.’ He got out of the car and came around to open her door, his expression still tight with fury. ‘Let me remind you, then. You came here the night before Andre was killed, banging on the door and making a general nuisance of yourself. God knows where you had left Georgia. My brother had no choice but to let you in and once inside you tried to seduce him.’ His dark eyes glittered dangerously. ‘Remember now?’

She opened and closed her mouth, not sure how to answer.

‘I could go into more detail if you would like,’ he added. ‘Or are you starting to remember all by yourself?’

‘I don’t need you to tell me how dreadfully I behaved,’ she said, lowering her gaze. ‘I was … upset and lonely, and I didn’t know which way to turn.’

Marc watched her in silence, wondering if he was being too harsh. There was so much about her that was confusing. Just when he thought he had her all figured out she would go and do something that would contradict his assessment of her. Lately he had even started to question all his brother had told him, wondering if Andre had deliberately painted a worse picture in order to exonerate himself from any wrongdoing on his part.

Having a baby without the support of the father was undoubtedly a stressful, worrying experience and, although her behaviour had been outrageous, a part of him wanted to find an excuse so that he didn’t have to hate her quite so strenuously. It had only been just over four months since she’d given birth; she might even be suffering from some sort of hormonal imbalance and the last thing she needed was the heavy hand of judgement. It intrigued him that she could be so shallow one minute and yet so devoted to her daughter the next. Unless it was all an act for his benefit, he knew he would have a fight on his hands convincing any magistrate she wasn’t a fit mother. The truth was, as far as he could tell so far, she was a wonderful mother. The very fact that she had tried to juggle work and childcare in order to provide for her daughter without a handout from him, even though he’d offered it, surely demonstrated that she was keen to turn her bad reputation around.

‘It is pointless discussing it now,’ he said. ‘What is done is done and cannot be undone.’

As they approached the large front door of his house a woman in her late fifties and of Italian descent appeared in its frame. She greeted her employer with deference but the look she cast Nina’s way would have curdled milk.

Marc spoke to her in Italian but, to Nina’s surprise, he didn’t say anything remotely derogatory about her. He simply informed the housekeeper of his plan to marry within the next few days and that Nina and Georgia were to be made as comfortable as possible.

The woman muttered something Nina didn’t quite catch and Marc admonished her. ‘Yes, Lucia, I do know what I am doing and why I am doing it. You will treat both Nina and Georgia with respect at all times.’

The housekeeper grunted something in reply and sidled away as Marc turned to Nina. ‘Just as well you do not understand my language,’ he said. ‘You have not made a good impression, it seems.’

‘No, I imagine not.’

She followed him inside and tried not to look too much in awe of her surroundings, but it was impossible at times not to openly gasp at the priceless works of art which hung from every wall and the plush furnishings that spoke of unlimited wealth.

‘I will have Lucia bring us coffee shortly,’ Marc informed her as he opened the double doors leading to a formal sitting room. ‘But first I would like to speak to you about the arrangements I have made for our marriage.’

Nina followed him into the room, watching as he repositioned Georgia, who was still fast asleep in his arms. He indicated for her to be seated and once she had sunk to the sofa he too sat down, his long legs stretching out in front of him as he tucked Georgia close to his chest.

‘I have to go to Hong Kong on business,’ he said. ‘I will be away until the day before our wedding.’

‘I see.’

‘I would like you to move in here while I am away to settle Georgia into her new home. Lucia can help you with Georgia so you can continue to work, if that is what you would like to do, although you will need to take some leave of absence, as the day after the wedding we will be leaving for a short trip to Sorrento in Italy to visit my father.’

Nina had to stop herself from springing off the sofa in agitation. She stared at him in shock and consternation. She couldn’t leave the country with a child that wasn’t hers! And, even if she dared to do so and wasn’t stopped, how would she cope with a long-haul flight after what had happened the last time she’d flown? Her flight home from a friend’s wedding in Auckland had hit severe turbulence during a storm. It had been the most frightening experience of her life and she had not flown since. The mere thought of boarding a plane made her break out in a sweat, but boarding it with a small child in tow could only be a hundred times worse.

‘I—I can’t go,’ she said. ‘I don’t like flying.’

‘Oh, really?’ He gave her one of his cynical looks. ‘Is this a recent thing?’

‘Yes. I had a bad experience three years ago.’

‘But I assume not bad enough to prevent you from flying to Paris last year to hound Andre,’ he observed.

Nina had forgotten all about Nadia’s trip to Paris.

‘I … It comes and goes. The fear, I mean. Sometimes I’m fine, other times I get all panicky.’

‘Well, perhaps flying in my private jet with my staff to wait on you will alleviate some of your fears,’ he said coolly. ‘I will need your and Georgia’s passports to make the travel arrangements.’

‘I would really prefer not to go.’ She got to her feet and began to pace back and forth. ‘I have to work.’

‘I think in the interests of Georgia you might consider taking leave from work. Most new mothers take a few months off. I am providing you with a generous allowance, so unless you are in particular need of any mental stimulation your job provides, I would suggest taking a break.’

Nina wished she could tell him what to do with his money but unless she went along with Nadia’s plan everything she had fought so hard for would be lost.

‘What am I supposed to do with my time?’ she asked after a moment or two of silence.

‘Look after your child,’ he answered. ‘I do not expect you to do so all on your own, of course. I will help whenever I can and so too will Lucia. She is an experienced mother and grandmother and will do an exemplary job of minding Georgia whenever the need arises.’

‘I don’t want to live here until absolutely necessary.’

‘You have no choice, Nina. I have already contacted your landlord and informed him you will be terminating your lease as of tomorrow.’

‘You had no right to do that!’

‘I have every right. I will be your husband in a matter of days. I would be failing in my duty to protect both you and Georgia if I did not ensure you were safely housed in my home as we begin our life together.’

‘You’re only doing it because you don’t trust me, so don’t insult me by pretending anything else,’ she spat.

‘You are correct. I do not trust you. As soon as my back is turned, no doubt you will be off with one of your men friends, but this way I get to keep Georgia safe.’

‘You make it sound as if I mean to do her harm.’

He held her fiery gaze with equanimity. ‘You may not intentionally mean to do so but your erratic, irresponsible behaviour of the past indicates you do not always act in her best interests.’

‘It seems I have little choice in all of this. You have organised it all without consulting me.’

‘All I have arranged was what we agreed on. We will live as man and wife and jointly raise Georgia until such time as we both feel the marriage is no longer viable.’

‘It’s not viable now! We hate the sight of each other; what sort of marriage is that going to be?’

There was a knock at the door and the housekeeper came in bearing a tray of coffee and biscotti. Marc exchanged a few words with her and she left with a black look cast in Nina’s direction.

‘Do not take any notice,’ Marc said once the housekeeper had left. ‘She had rather a soft spot for my brother.’

‘So, like you, she blames me for his death?’

Marc gave her a studied look before responding. ‘It is hard sometimes for those who are still grieving to see the other side of the story.’ He glanced down at the sleeping infant in his arms and added, ‘It cannot have been easy for you, left alone with a child to raise without her father’s support.’ He lifted his eyes to hers and asked, ‘Did you ever consider an abortion?’

‘I—I was talked out of it.’

‘By whom?’

Nina looked at her hands in her lap. ‘By someone who has done her best to support me through my difficult years.’ ‘A close friend?’

‘More than a close friend,’ she said. ‘More like … a sister.’ There was a small silence.

‘I am glad you did not get rid of her, Nina,’ he said. ‘Georgia is my last link with my brother. Thank you for having her. I know it cannot have been easy, but I cannot tell you how much it will mean to my father to hold Andre’s child in his arms.’

Nina gave him a weak smile as she reached for her cup, her stomach fluttering nervously at the thought of how complicated her life had become. Within days she would be married to Marc Marcello, living with him and jointly raising Georgia as their child.

For now her secret was safe—but how long was it going to be before he realised he had married the wrong woman?

CHAPTER EIGHT

NINA was glad Marc was absent when she and Georgia moved into his house. It was bad enough dealing with the surly housekeeper, who seemed intent on making Nina as unwelcome as possible. Her treatment of Georgia, however, was an entirely different story. Lucia cooed and smiled at the infant with great affection and looked for opportunities to spend time with her alone.

Nina resisted her attempts at first but after a while realised the older woman genuinely cared for Andre’s child so she allowed her to watch her once or twice while she attended to unpacking their things into the bedroom and nursery Marc had assigned.

She had handed in her temporary leave notice at work the day after Marc had left and was surprised how much better she felt knowing Georgia would not have to suffer the fear of separation any longer. The baby seemed happier already and, while she kept telling herself she was probably imagining it, Nina couldn’t help wondering if Georgia was intuitively aware that she was living in her loving uncle’s house and under his protection. Having grown up without a father, Nina knew Georgia would be blessed indeed to have someone as strong and dependable as Marc to nurture her throughout her childhood. It made the sacrifice she was making a little more palatable; her tiny niece would never know the aching sadness of not having a reliable parent to lean on.

* * *

On an impulse she wasn’t entirely sure she understood herself, the day before the ceremony Nina withdrew the last of her savings and bought herself a wedding gown and veil. Without a mother or father to help her prepare for the wedding she had dreamt about for most of her life, she decided that no one was going to stop her being a proper bride, even if the marriage itself was just a sham.

She stood twirling in front of the full-length mirror in the boutique’s fitting room, the soft organza floating around her like a fluffy cloud while Georgia chortled delightedly in the pushchair beside her.

‘So what do you think, Georgia?’ she asked as she lowered the veil over her face. ‘Do I look like a real bride?’

Georgia began to suck on one of her tiny fists, her black-as-raisins eyes bright with alertness as she peered at her aunt through the cloud of fabric.

‘Peek-a-boo!’ Nina crouched down and popped back the veil to expose her face to her niece, who began to chuckle again.

She felt a rush of love fill her at the happy sound and, leaning forward, pressed a soft kiss to the baby’s downy head, her eyes misting over with sudden emotion.

‘One day I hope you will marry a man for all the right reasons, Georgia, a man who will love you to the ends of the earth and back. The way every woman deserves to be loved.’

She straightened and, spreading her voluminous skirts around her, turned to face her reflection in the mirror. The magnolia creamy white of the gown made her eyes a bottomless grey and the tone of her skin like velvet smooth cream. She knew it was quite possibly as close to stunning as she was ever going to get.

Too bad it wouldn’t be appreciated, she thought with a little sigh.

* * *

Nina was still settling Georgia for the night when she heard the sound of Marc’s car returning, the low growl of the powerful engine as it pulled into the sweeping driveway making her stomach turn over in reaction.

In less than twenty-four hours she would be his wife. She would share his name and his life but not his bed.

She heard him enter the house and the sound of his tread on the marble staircase as he approached the nursery where she stood watching Georgia drift off to sleep.

Marc met her eyes in the soft light. ‘Hello.’

‘Hi.’

She stepped away from the cot so he could check on his niece but in the small space she felt the brush of his body against hers and her pulse instantly quickened. She stood to one side and watched as he gazed down at Georgia, his features softening as he listened to the snuffling sound of her breathing.

He looked tired, Nina thought. His eyes were slightly bloodshot as if he hadn’t slept well for days and his jaw looked as if it hadn’t been near a razor for over twenty-four hours. She longed to run her fingers over his face to feel the rough raspy growth through the soft sensitive pads of her fingertips. She wanted to press her lips to the line of his mouth, to make it soften in desire. She wanted to feel him reach for her and.

She jerked away from her wayward thoughts as he turned his head to look at her, his dark gaze tethering hers.

‘Is something wrong?’

‘No.’

‘You look … flustered.’

‘I’m not.’

‘Have you settled in?’

‘Yes.’

‘I would like to talk to you about our trip to Italy,’ he said, moving across to hold the door of the nursery open for her. ‘I will meet you in my study in twenty minutes. I would like to shower and shave first.’

Nina moved past him and made her way downstairs, taking the portable baby monitor with her. Lucia had left for the day so she set a tray with coffee and some cake the housekeeper had baked and carried it through to Marc’s study to wait for him.

He came in a short time later, his black hair glistening with dampness, his face cleanly shaven and his casual jeans and long-sleeved close-fitting black T-shirt making Nina’s pulse start to race.

‘How was your trip?’ she asked, disguising her reaction to him by concentrating on the coffee tray.

He took the cup she had handed him, his eyes meeting hers. ‘Am I to presume you are rehearsing your role as my wife by serving me coffee and asking me such solicitous questions?’

She turned away from the cynicism she could see in his eyes. ‘You can presume what you like. I don’t care how your stupid trip went. I was just being polite.’

‘Do not exert yourself trying to be polite to me, Nina. It does not suit you.’ He took a sip of his coffee but when he met her slightly wounded expression he instantly regretted his terse words. He put the cup down and came across to where she was standing and, taking one of her hands, slowly lifted it to his mouth and pressed a barely there kiss to her fingertips.

She stood transfixed, her heart thudding behind her breast as she held his mesmerizing gaze.

‘Why did you do that?’ she asked.

‘I am not sure,’ he answered somewhat gravely. ‘To tell you the truth, Nina, I sometimes feel when I am with you that I am dealing with two different people.’ He paused for a moment, his dark eyes boring into hers before he added musingly, ‘I wonder which one I will be marrying tomorrow.’

Nina pulled her hand out of his and put some distance between them as she tried to stem her rising panic.

‘I can’t imagine what you mean by that. You make it sound as if I have some sort of multiple personality disorder.’

‘My brother told me many things about you but I am at a loss for I do not see any evidence of those things that disturbed him the most.’

‘Perhaps I’ve changed,’ she said, deliberately avoiding his eyes. ‘People do, you know. Having a child is a very life-changing event.’

‘Undoubtedly, but I cannot help thinking there must be more to it than that.’

‘W-what do you mean?’ She gave him a wary glance, her hands twisting in knots in front of her.

Marc watched the play of emotions on her face, the shadow of worry in her eyes and the way her smooth forehead adopted that slightly anxious look that he found so incredibly engaging. He had spent the whole time he was away thinking about her, wondering what it would be like to sleep with her, to have her long blonde hair splayed over his chest, her slim limbs entwined with his, her body satiated by his. It was as if, knowing she was forbidden to him, his body had decided to crave her relentlessly. He could feel it now, the steady throb of desire pounding through his veins, making him hard just looking at her.

He wanted to hate her, needed to hate her in order to keep her at a distance, but in spite of all his efforts his hatred was slipping away to be replaced by something much more dangerous.

‘I sometimes feel as if my brother was talking about someone else entirely. It just does not add up.’

Nina was at a loss to know what to say in response. She thought of chipping back with a Nadia-type retort but couldn’t bring herself to do it.

‘Have you nothing to say, Nina?’ he asked after another long silence.

She lifted her gaze to his, deciding the only way out of this was a complete change of subject. ‘You said you wanted to discuss our journey to Italy. When do we leave?’

‘We will leave the day after the ceremony. I will get Lucia to pack for you. She will accompany us to help with Georgia.’ He reached for his discarded cup and refilled it from the pot before turning back to her. ‘I should warn you that my father will not welcome you with open arms. He is an ill man who is still grieving. I will try to protect you from any unnecessary unpleasantness but I cannot guarantee things will be easy.’

‘I understand.’

‘The ceremony will be conducted at ten a.m. tomorrow,’ he said. ‘It will be a low-key affair as befits the circumstances.’

Marc watched as she made a movement towards the door as if she couldn’t wait to be rid of him. He considered calling her back but thought better of it. It was asking for trouble to spend too much time alone with her. He was already treading a very fine line and it wasn’t going to take too much to push him over.

As the door closed softly behind her, he wondered if he was more than halfway there already.

CHAPTER NINE

MARC stood at the foot of the stairs the next morning and watched as Nina came down dressed in full bridal regalia. She gave him a defiant look from beneath her veil as she traversed the last steps.

‘You look very nice,’ he said, giving her a wry look. ‘Going somewhere special?’

She twitched her train out of his way as she moved past him. ‘Nowhere special, I just felt like dressing up.’

She was certainly dressed up, Marc thought with an inward frown. She looked absolutely stunning, just as a real bride should look. Why had she done it?

Nina stood silently beside Marc half an hour later as the brief ceremony was performed. ‘You may kiss the bride.’

Her eyes widened in alarm at the celebrant’s words, her palms sticky with sudden nerves as Marc turned towards her, his hands reaching out to lift the gossamer of her veil from her face.

‘I don’t think—’ Her hastily whispered protest was cut off by the descent of his firm mouth towards hers.

She closed her eyes and did her best not to respond to the feel of his lips moving over hers, but it was hard, if not impossible, to ignore the warmth of his mouth heating her in places she didn’t want to be heated. She felt every nuance of his mouth, his firmness against her softness, the way his skin rasped hers as he moved to gain better access.

She could feel her mouth swelling beneath the insistent pressure of his, her tongue moving forward inside her mouth as if seeking the probing warmth of his.

She felt something begin to unfurl deep and low in her belly but before she could identify what it was he lifted his head to look down at her, his dark gaze inscrutable.

She swallowed and turned back to the celebrant, who was smiling at them with indulgent approval.

For better or worse she was now married to Marc Marcello.

The reception was little more than a brief lunch with some of Marc’s colleagues at a private function centre and as soon as it was over Nina changed into one of her sister’s outfits, a silky sheath of a dress which clung to her rather too lovingly. She stood in front of the mirror in the powder room and tried to adjust the fabric so it didn’t reveal too much of her cleavage, all the while doing her best to ignore the nervous flicker of unease in her eyes.

She ran her tongue over her lips experimentally. Her mouth looked the same but it somehow felt different. Her lips felt highly sensitive now, as if the brush of Marc’s mouth on hers had triggered something under her skin, making her want more of his touch. Recalling the way his kiss had felt, his warm sensual mouth and the looming threat of his tongue about to slip between her lips, still made her stomach tilt alarmingly. Even now she could imagine how it would feel to have the rough maleness of his tongue searching for hers to mate with, arrogantly, demandingly—devastatingly.

She remonstrated with herself for craving something she could never have. What was wrong with her? What quirk in her personality made her ache for his desire, his approval, for a smile of affection or even a kind word?

She had no right to desire such things, certainly since it had been her own deception that had brought about their marriage. What would he do if he ever found out?

Once she made her way back out to the last of the lingering guests Nina found herself being escorted to where Marc’s car was waiting, Georgia already settled in her baby seat in the back.

He drove to his house in Mosman, seemingly content not to engage in conversation during any part of the journey.

Nina used the time to get her head around the fact she was now his wife. His legal wife, she reminded herself with another deep lurch of her stomach. In name only, though. The mental reassurance restored some order to her insides, but then she thought about his kiss and her belly did another somersault.

‘I have given Lucia the rest of the day off,’ Marc said as he pulled into his driveway. ‘There is a meal already prepared for later.’

Nina had never felt less like eating in her life. The thought of being alone with him in the big house with only her tiny niece as chaperon unsettled her terribly.

‘I think Georgia needs feeding and changing,’ she said once they were at the front door.

Marc held the door open and she slipped past him, holding Georgia like a shield.

‘I have a couple of calls to make,’ he said. ‘Let me know if you need a hand with anything. I will be in my study.’

She was halfway through feeding her niece a little while later when Marc came into the kitchen. She looked up to see he had changed out of his suit and was now dressed in casual trousers and a long-sleeved dark T-shirt which hugged his broad chest, highlighting his superb physical fitness.

Nina tore her eyes away to concentrate on Georgia.

‘Would you like me to take over so you can change before dinner?’ he asked.

‘No, I’m almost done,’ she said. ‘She doesn’t seem all that interested in this anyway.’ She put the spoon down and got to her feet, reaching for a cloth to wipe up a spill.

‘She looks tired,’ Marc observed as Georgia began to rub at her eyes.

‘Yes.’ Nina twisted the cloth in her hands, lowering her gaze to avoid his studied look. ‘Nina …’

She turned away and scrubbed at the bench once more. ‘I think I’ll give dinner a miss, if you don’t mind.’ She tossed the cloth in the sink and turned back to reach for Georgia in her baby chair.

Before she could unbuckle the clasp Marc’s hand closed over hers and she had no choice but to meet his eyes.

She edged her hand out from under his and straightened to her full height but he still towered over her, his body far too close for her to breathe with any comfort.

‘Even if you do not choose to eat I have things I wish to discuss with you,’ he said.

‘W-what sort of things?’

‘Ground rules, that sort of thing. I do not want you under any misapprehensions as to our arrangement.’ ‘I can’t imagine what you mean by that.’ ‘Can you not?’

‘No.’

‘Living in the same house will mean we will, by necessity, be sharing a certain level of intimacy. I would not want you to get the wrong idea.’

She elevated her chin and injected her tone with sarcasm. ‘Who exactly are you reminding of the terms of our agreement—you or me?’

His eyes hardened a fraction and a tiny nerve began to leap at the side of his mouth as if he was fighting with himself to remain civil.

‘From what my brother told me, it appears you do not always play by the rules. It would do you good to remind yourself of them just in case you are tempted to act outside the boundaries I have laid down.’

‘While we’re speaking of breaking the rules, I thought your kiss was a little inappropriate at the ceremony,’ she put in crisply.

His dark eyes hardened as they held hers. ‘There will be times when we will be required to keep up appearances.’ ‘What do you mean?’

‘We will have functions to attend occasionally and as my wife you will be expected to act in a certain way towards me.’ ‘You mean fawn over you?’ She gave him a disgusted look. ‘I would not have put it quite like that.’ ‘How would you put it?’

‘All I am asking is for you to show some level of maturity when we are in the company of others. Apart from my housekeeper and of course my father, everyone else assumes this is a normal marriage.’

‘I’ll do my best but I’m not making any promises,’ she said.

‘Good. As long as we both know where we stand.’

He turned away and left the room, the door swinging shut behind him.

Nina looked down at her niece, who was staring up at her with dark eyes bright and round with interest.

‘Men,’ she said, scooping her up into her arms. ‘Who can work them out?’

Georgia gave her a wide toothless smile.

‘Maybe I should try that,’ she mused as she cuddled Georgia close. ‘It seems to work for you. You only have to look at him and he melts.’

She buried her face in the soft down of the baby’s dark hair and sighed.

Once Georgia was asleep later that evening Nina had a shower and changed into one of her comfortable tracksuits. Her damp hair was scraped back in a high ponytail, her face free of make-up and her feet bare.

She was on her way down the stairs when the door of the large lounge opened and Marc stood in its frame, his eyes taking in her casual appearance in a sweeping glance.

‘Dressing down for the evening?’ he commented wryly.

‘One gets so tired of haute couture.’ She fabricated a bored yawn, ‘Besides, lugging all that expensive material around sapped my energy.’

‘You look about fifteen years old.’

‘Would you like me to change?’ she asked, giving him a direct look.

‘No.’ He stepped aside to let her in the room. ‘You look fine. Great, in fact.’

‘Thank you,’ she said simply, clutching the small compliment to her gratefully, hoping he wouldn’t see how much he had affected her.

‘Would you like a drink?’ he asked.

‘Something soft,’ she answered.

‘No alcohol?’

‘I don’t drink.’

He gave her an assessing glance as he handed her a glass of sparkling mineral water. ‘A reformed drinker?’ he observed. ‘How very commendable of you.’

Nina wished she had the courage to toss the contents of her glass into his arrogant face. However, given her sister’s behaviour over the last few months, she knew that his opinion, although distasteful, was probably warranted. Nadia had come in far too many times in a state of heavy inebriation for her to be under any illusions about the truth of his comment.

‘There are a lot of things I have changed in my life lately,’ she said instead.

He took a leisurely sip of his drink before responding. ‘Dare I hope Andre’s death has made some sort of impact on you to bring about these changes?’

If only he knew how it had impacted on her!

‘It would be an insensitive person indeed who wasn’t in some way affected by the untimely death of another,’ she answered.

‘Do you miss him?’

Nina stared into the contents of her glass, wondering how Nadia would respond.

‘I try not to think about it,’ she said.

‘No, of course not,’ he said. ‘If you thought about it you would have to take some responsibility for it, would you not?’

She kept her eyes down, unwilling to face the venom in his. ‘I did not have anything to do with the death of your brother.’

She heard the sharp chink of his glass as he set it back down and stepped backwards instinctively as he came towards her, his eyes narrowed into dark slits of wrath.

‘Do you think by saying that enough times it will change what you did?’ he asked.

Nina wished she could tell him the truth. The words hovered on her tongue but every time she opened her mouth she thought of Georgia and swiftly closed it again.

‘You have guilt written all over you,’ he said. ‘I can barely look at you without thinking of my brother’s final agonising minutes trapped in that car while he bled to death.’

Nina felt sick.

Marc swung away to refill his glass and she took the chance to draw in a ragged breath, her hands twisting in front of her in anguish.

She knew he was still grieving and was entitled to feel the whole spectrum of human emotions, including anger, but it didn’t help to have it directed solely at her. She didn’t have the hardened exterior of her twin to deal with such heavy criticism. Each time he berated her she felt as if another part of her was dying.

She turned to leave the room.

‘Where do you think you are going?’ he demanded as he put his own drink aside.

She bit her lip and gestured to the door. ‘I think it might be wise to leave you to brood on your own.’

He closed the distance between them in two strides, grasping her upper arms in his strong fingers, his eyes glittering with fury as they clashed with hers.

‘You think you can get off that easily? I will not let you escape unscathed. I am going to do everything in my power to make you pay for the destruction you have brought to my family,’ he snarled down at her, his fingers tightening cruelly.

Nina did her best to appear unfazed by his anger but beneath the fabric of her tracksuit pants she could already feel the betraying wobble of her legs.

‘I hardly see how marriage to me is going to help your cause. Not unless you’re going to lock me up in some tower and feed me nothing but bread and water,’ she said with a flippancy she was far from feeling.

She felt the bruising strength of his hold as his eyes bored down into hers and, unable to withstand the hatred burning there, she dipped her gaze to the harsh line of his mouth, her tongue snaking out to nervously anoint her lips.

‘Damn you!’ he growled and hauled her roughly against him, his mouth crashing down on hers for the second time that day.

Nina’s gasp of shock and surprise was silenced by the assault. She tried to use her hands to push against the hard wall of his chest but it was impossible to remove that punishing mouth from hers. She was imprisoned by his hold, his body rammed up to hers, imprinting its maleness on the soft feminine curves of her frame.

His kiss became arrogantly intimate, the full thrust of his tongue through the seam of her lips taking all the fight out of her. She felt her legs begin to buckle beneath her and the hands that had pushed him away began curling into the fabric of his T-shirt to keep her upright.

His tongue roved the interior of her mouth in a search and destroy mission that left her floundering in an unfamiliar sea of sensation. She felt the feathering of need run down her spine to render her legs useless, the solid press of his muscled thighs against hers reminding her of his indomitable strength and power.

Her breasts felt heavy and full where they were crushed against him, her lower body on fire where his hard length probed her blatantly, unashamedly.

He deepened the kiss even further, the pressure of his mouth eliciting a response from her she had not intended giving. She reprimanded herself even as she brushed her tongue along the stabbing length of his: he was the enemy, he was danger—but it did no good. Her body was on automatic pilot and acting independently of her common sense.

Suddenly it was over. He stepped back from her so abruptly that she almost stumbled, her body not quite up to the task of standing without his solid support.

His dark eyes glittered dangerously as he wiped the back of his hand over his mouth in an action that intended to inflict shame and embarrassment.

Nina refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing how close to the mark he’d come. Instead, she schooled her features into contempt and, reaching for a tissue from her sleeve, lifted it to dab at the swollen tenderness of her bottom lip where her tongue had tasted blood.

She saw his eyes follow the movement of her hand and was surprised to see a dull flush slowly ride up over his cheeks.

‘Forgive me,’ he said heavily. ‘I did not intend to go so far as to hurt you.’

She sent him a scathing look as she tucked the tissue away once more. ‘How far did you intend to go, enough to double my allowance?’

His mouth hardened. ‘I have no intention of handing you anything more than the sum we agreed on. I told you before—our marriage will not be consummated.’

‘Fine by me,’ she snapped. ‘But I suggest you run that past your body for clearance first.’ She gave his pelvis a pointed look before returning her eyes to his. ‘Somehow I don’t think it’s quite got the message.’

His eyes locked on to hers, the air between them crackling with palpable tension.

‘I would advise you, Nina, not to push me too far. You might not like the consequences.’

She lifted her chin defiantly. ‘You’ll have to try a little harder if you want to frighten me. Don’t forget I’m well used to dealing with ruthless men.’

‘I could ruin you,’ he reminded her. ‘One exclusive from me and even a city as large as this will not be big enough to hide your shame.’

Nina felt the pinpricks of fear at his chilling threat. If only she knew what her sister had been up to she might have been able to call his bluff. But she daredn’t risk it, not with Georgia’s welfare to consider.

‘I hardly see what benefit it will be to you to assassinate the character of the woman you have just married,’ she pointed out.

‘I will not act on my threat unless your behaviour falls short of the mark.’

‘How very gracious of you,’ she taunted. ‘But what about your behaviour? Does that, too, come under scrutiny?’ She touched her fingertip to her bottom lip and gave an exaggerated wince.

‘You have my word it will not happen again,’ he said, dragging his eyes away from her full mouth. ‘Not unless you ask me for it, of course.’

Nina’s eyes widened in defiance. ‘How absolutely typical! You can’t control your impulses so you blame me for inciting them!’

‘You were being extremely provocative.’

‘Oh, yeah? Well, you were being a complete and utter barbarian!’ she threw back. ‘It’s no wonder your brother had all the ladies after him. Unlike you, he at least had a certain level of finesse.’

She stalked past him towards the door, but before she could open it his hand came from over her shoulder and slammed against the door to keep it shut.

She could feel him behind her, the heat of his body seeping into hers as surely as if he were touching her again. She kept her gaze fixed on the woodwork in front of her, unwilling for him to see the bright glitter of unshed angry tears in her eyes.

‘Let me go, Marc. I want to check on Georgia.’ To her dismay her voice sounded defeated, nothing like her usual defiant tone.

His hand left the door to touch her on the shoulder, the gentle but firm pressure turning her to face him.

He was so close she wasn’t game enough to draw in a deep breath in case the expansion of her lungs brought her breasts into contact with his chest once more. She raised her eyes to his, doing her level best to control the tremble of her chin as she fought to bring her wayward emotions under control.

‘Don’t make me hate you any more than I already do,’ she said, her voice not much more than a thin whisper of sound.

He held her gaze for so long that Nina felt as if he were seeing right through her flesh to who she was underneath.

To whom she really was.

To what she really felt.

Just as her composure was threatening to crack he dropped his hand from her shoulder and stepped away from her. She watched in silence as he turned to his discarded drink and, tipping back his head, downed the contents in one deep swallow.

Nina took an unsteady breath and eased herself off the flat plane of the door.

‘Marc?’

He turned to look at her, his eyes unreadable as he removed a piece of paper from the pocket of his jeans and silently handed it to her.

She took it with nerveless fingers, unfolding the paper to find it was a bank receipt documenting that several thousand dollars had been deposited in her account that day.

Her allowance.

She stared at it for a long time without speaking, not even noticing when Marc left the room, shutting the door with a soft click behind him.

CHAPTER TEN

NINA had not long returned to her bedroom when she heard her mobile buzzing from inside her bag on the floor. She lifted it out and stiffened when she saw her sister’s name flashing on the screen. Lowering her voice to a whisper, she cupped her mouth around the phone and answered it warily. ‘Is that you?’

‘Of course it’s me,’ Nadia trilled. ‘How soon can you send me the money? I’m in a bit of bother with some bills.’

Nina clenched her teeth. ‘What about your boyfriend? Isn’t he turning out to be the dream ticket you thought he’d be?’

‘Cut it with the sarcasm, Nina. We had an agreement, remember? If you don’t follow through I will come and collect Georgia and begin the adoption process and you will never see her again. It’s your choice. You can phone bank the money to me right now or you know what will happen. Don’t forget, I only have to make one little phone call to that new husband of yours and your secret will be out.’

Nina knew she was caught in an impossible situation. It was too late for explanations to Marc about who she really was. How would he deal with the news of her deception so soon after tying himself to her in order to give Georgia her father’s name?

‘How did the wedding go, by the way?’ Nadia asked with a hint of mockery. ‘Was it everything you dreamed of?’

‘You know it wasn’t,’ Nina bit out. ‘I felt like a complete fraud the whole time.’

Nadia laughed. ‘But not for wearing white, darling. You’re one of the few brides entitled to wear virginal white. What a pity your husband doesn’t fancy you. I bet I could get him into my bed if the tables were turned.’

Something in her sister’s tone irked Nina enough to respond. ‘Actually, he does fancy me.’

Nadia’s mocking chuckle grated on Nina’s nerves. ‘Only because he thinks you’re me. If you were acting in your own personality he wouldn’t take a second look. You’re too boring.’

Nina held on to her temper with an effort. ‘I don’t think it’s such a good idea for you to call me. If someone other than me picks up my phone—’

‘I’m going to keep calling you until the money is in my account,’ Nadia threatened. ‘And if I don’t get you on this phone I’ll try the land line.’

Nina let out a sigh of resignation. ‘All right, I’ll do it. I will transfer the money.’

‘Atta girl,’ Nadia cooed. ‘I knew you’d see sense in the end. Ciao!’

Nina waited until her fingers had stopped shaking before pressing in the necessary digits to process the transaction. Once it was done she did her best to settle for the night but she found it impossible to relax enough to get to sleep. But, strangely enough, it wasn’t the money and what she had just done with it that was keeping her awake. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get the feel of Marc’s mouth out of her mind, the way his tongue had darted with male urgency into the soft recesses of her mouth, making a mockery of every single kiss she’d ever had bestowed upon her in the past.

Marc didn’t kiss tentatively or even in an exploratory manner. He kissed with ferocious intent, setting her blood instantly alight. She could still feel the pounding of it as it ran through her veins, making her heart skip as if it just couldn’t keep up with the pace of her pulse.

It was impossible to ignore her growing awareness of him, the way he made her feel when he so much as looked at her with the dark censure of his eyes. She felt her skin rise in reaction every time, the soft hairs at the back of her neck standing to attention as if waiting for his hand to reach out and touch her there.

She couldn’t believe her own foolishness. She had fallen in love with a man who had nothing but hatred for her. Even if he found out the truth about who she really was, she knew he would never forgive her for deceiving him. How could he? She wasn’t Georgia’s mother. She could not give him what he wanted because what he wanted wasn’t hers to give.

She gave the pillow another frustrated thump before flopping back down. This was hopeless. What she needed was exercise and plenty of it. She glanced at the bedside clock and grimaced when she saw it was well past midnight. Too late for a walk around the block. Then she thought about the gym and pool downstairs, and her legs were already over the side of the bed when she hesitated.

Could she risk it?

What if Marc heard her?

She rummaged for her faded bathing suit before she could change her mind. A long swim in the heated lap pool was just what she needed. It was a huge house, and besides, Marc was probably already deeply asleep.

She didn’t bother with turning on the lights; instead she put the baby monitor remote on top of her towel on one of the comfortable-looking loungers and slipped into the warm silvery moonlit water.

Her tense muscles began to unfurl as the water held her in its liquid embrace, the slip and slap of the water against the sides of the pool the only sound as she carved her way through length after length.

She stopped to re-tie her loosened hair and, blinking the water out of her eyes, looked up to see a pair of very male tanned legs standing on the pool deck. She slowly lifted her head and locked gazes with Marc.

He stood looking down at her for a long moment while the silence crawled around them.

‘What’s wrong, Nina?’ he asked. ‘Are you finding it difficult to get to sleep alone?’

She tilted her chin at him. ‘No, are you?’

His eyes dipped to where the water was lapping against her breasts and she felt a shiver of reaction pass through her as if he had just brushed her there with his fingers. She felt her nipples begin to push against the worn Lycra of her bathing suit, the bare skin of her arms and legs prickling in awareness. She tried not to stare at his lean tanned body but it was incredibly difficult to ignore the flat plane of his stomach, the rippling muscles of his abdomen and the dark trail of hair that disappeared into his black shorts.

She craned her neck to maintain eye-contact, her stomach giving a little startled moth-like flutter when he began to lower himself into the water.

‘W-what are you doing?’ She shrank away.

‘What do you think I am doing?’ he asked.

She turned to get out but her foot slipped on the steps and she went under instead. She felt Marc’s hands on her waist as he steadied her, his body so close behind her she could feel every ridge and plane as she came upright.

The air she desperately needed in order to take her next breath stopped somewhere in the middle of her throat as he slowly turned her around so she was facing him. She could feel the magnetic pull of his body, drawing her closer and closer, even as the rational part of her brain insisted she step out of his hold. His fingers spanning her waist tightened fractionally, and one of his hard muscled thighs came between her trembling ones.

‘I don’t think this is such a good idea,’ she said, hoping he wouldn’t notice the nervous up and down movement of her throat.

‘What is not a good idea?’ he asked, his eyes burning into hers.

‘Th-think of what it could cost you …’ Her eyes skittered away from his as she felt his hard thigh press even closer.

His hands slid upwards from her waist to hold her shoulders so he could secure her shifting gaze, his voice low and deep as if it had been dragged across gravel. ‘Do you think I give a damn about the money?’

She moistened her lips and then wished she hadn’t when his gaze dipped to her mouth and lingered there.

‘It’s a l-lot of money … and if it was doubled …’ She stared at the line of his mouth, wondering if he was going to allow himself to kiss her. Just one kiss. That wouldn’t be breaking his vow to keep the marriage unconsummated, would it?

His head came down slowly, his mouth stopping a mere breath away from the tingling surface of hers. Her eyelids fluttered closed as she felt herself rock towards him, her body seeking the hard warmth of his like a small iron filing did a too-powerful magnet.

At the first touch of his lips on hers heat licked like a hot tongue of flame, igniting her senses into a blazing roaring fire of need. He plundered her mouth, sending her head snapping back as his tongue thrust determinedly into her moist warmth, his arms pulling her into him where his body pulsed and throbbed.

Her hands went around his neck, her fingers plunging into the thickness of his hair, her breasts tight against his chest, their aching points nothing to the storm that had just erupted between her thighs. She could feel the dampness of need he’d awakened, the silk of sensual desire that called out for him with silent but fragrant pleas.

His hands came to her breasts, shaping them through the worn fabric, his warm palms covering her possessively, his mouth still determined on hers. He pushed the shoulder straps aside and uncovered her, the roughened edge of his fingertips running over her nipples until she ached to feel the rasp of his tongue there as well.

As if she had spoken her need out loud, he lifted his mouth off hers and bent his head to her exposed breasts, moving his mouth and tongue in tightening circles until she became unsteady on her feet.

He came back to her mouth, taking it with renewed pressure as if in tune with the fire of need he was fighting to control.

Her hands slipped down to his waist, her inexpert fingers skating over his shorts where they were distended, his erection reaching towards her, as if seeking her feathering touch.

He groaned into her mouth as she shaped him, and again, even more deeply, when her fingers slipped inside to where he pulsed with increasing urgency.

He tore his mouth off hers and stared down at her, his dark eyes burning with unrelieved need, his chest rising and falling against hers as he struggled to rein in his galloping breath.

‘This is exactly what you planned, is it not?’ he said through gritted teeth. ‘You wanted to make me eat my words, every one of them.’

‘No!’ Her hands fell away from his body with a little splash. ‘No, of course not.’

He gave a rough grunt of derision. ‘It’s another of your tricks. You like to play the innocent now and again to put me off the scent of your real motives.’ He dropped his hold and stepped back from her, his eyes still scorching her with contempt.

‘Marc … I—’

‘I know what you are up to.’ He launched himself out of the pool and turned around to glare down at her. ‘You will not rest until you have me begging. That is what you want, isn’t it, Nina? Your final triumph in the face of Andre’s rejection would be to have his older brother on his knees, offering you anything you want in exchange for your body. That is why you did not ask for payment, isn’t it? To make me think you were not after money when in fact you are after so much more.’

‘But I’m not after—’

‘Get out of my sight,’ he barked at her. ‘Take your lies and your deceptive little games out of my damn sight!’

Nina got out of the pool with quiet dignity, her sense of pride refusing to allow him to intimidate her with his fury. She could tell he was angrier with himself than with her. Angry that he wanted her in spite of all he’d said to the contrary. But she felt sure this wasn’t just about the money, it was about pride—his pride.

‘You can’t order me about like that,’ she said, standing in front of him. ‘I won’t allow you to.’

Something moved behind his eyes as he stepped towards her again. ‘You will not allow me to?’ he asked with a curl of his lip.

‘No,’ she said, holding his gaze. ‘I won’t allow you to speak to me in such a way.’

He drew himself up to his full height, his mouth tightening as he looked down at her. ‘Tell me, Nina, how are you going to stop me?’

She moistened her lips, her stomach giving a tiny quiver at the fiery intensity of his gaze. ‘I’ll think of something.’

He threw his head back and laughed.

Nina pursed her lips and frowned at him. ‘You have appalling manners. I suppose it comes from having so much money. You think you can get people to do what you want by writing a cheque or issuing autocratic demands.’

‘Well, well, well,’ he drawled. ‘Look at the pretty little pot telling off the kettle for being black.’

‘You know what your trouble is, Marc?’ she said, incensed by his attitude. ‘You don’t like yourself. You keep blaming me for your brother’s death but I get this distinct impression that you actually blame yourself. I might be a convenient scapegoat but I will not have you browbeat me to appease your own sense of inadequacy.’

It became instantly obvious to Nina that she’d hit him on a particularly raw nerve. She saw it in the sudden flare of anger in his black eyes and in the tight clench of his hands as he held them by his sides as if he didn’t trust himself not to use them against her.

He didn’t speak for a long time but his silence was more menacing than any blistering statement could be, she thought as she stood before him defiantly.

‘Tell me something, Nina.’ He tipped up her chin with one long determined finger. ‘Tell me why you fell in love with my brother.’

She froze at his words, her eyes flaring in panic, her heart ramming against her ribcage as she did her best to hold his hard penetrating look.

‘You did love him, did you not?’ he asked when she didn’t answer.

Nina lowered her gaze to concentrate on the beads of moisture still clinging to the strong column of his neck. She couldn’t bring herself to tell him yet another lie.

‘No,’ she said softly. ‘I didn’t love him.’

Marc’s dark eyes narrowed dangerously as her gaze came back to his. ‘You callous bitch. You callous little money-hungry bitch.’

She closed her eyes to block out his fury. ‘Look at me!’ He grasped her arms roughly and gave her a little shake.

Her eyes sprang open in alarm, her stomach twisting with despair at the hatred shining in his.

‘You destroyed his life!’ His fingers bit into her arms. ‘You hunted him down and destroyed him for what? For what?’ he repeated bitterly.

‘Marc, I need to tell you—’ she began.

‘I do not want to hear anything you have to say,’ he snapped, cutting her off.

‘Marc, please.’ Her eyes misted over and her tone became pleading. ‘You don’t understand—’

‘I understand all right. I understand that you were not happy that Andre left you stranded without money. That is why you twisted the knife by threatening to have Georgia adopted, was it not?’ He gave her a disgusted look. ‘You never had any intention of giving her up. You were just playing a game to get as much money as you could.’

‘I have never wanted money from—’

‘Do not lie to me!’ he shouted. ‘You have played this for all you are worth. Well, I will tell you something, Nina.’ He lowered his voice but it was no less threatening. ‘You can have your money. All of it. I will double your allowance as of tomorrow.’

She blinked up at him in confusion. ‘But—’

‘I have changed my mind about our marriage,’ he said. ‘I’ve decided we will no longer adhere to the rules I set down.’

‘You can’t mean that!’

He smiled a chilling smile. ‘Why so worried, cara? You slept with my brother without loving him. Sleeping with me will not be beyond your capabilities, I’m sure.’

‘I don’t want to sleep with you!’ She wrenched herself out of his hold and stood glaring at him, rubbing her arms where his fingers had been.

‘I think we could more or less say I have paid dearly for the privilege,’ he pointed out ruthlessly.

‘I am not for sale,’ she said. ‘I don’t care how much money you throw at my feet. I will not be bought.’

‘You have been bought, Nina,’ he said. ‘You have already pocketed one instalment.’

‘I don’t want your money, Marc,’ she insisted. ‘I never wanted it.’

She could tell from his expression that he didn’t believe her. His mouth was tight with cynicism and his eyes diamond-hard as they tethered hers.

‘If you did not want it then why is it no longer in your account?’ he asked.

Nina’s eyes flared in anger. ‘You checked?’

He gave a single nod, his expression still unyielding.

‘You had no right to do that!’ Nina could feel the panic beating like an out of time drum in her chest. If Marc was watching her so closely it wouldn’t take him long to find out the truth. She’d only transferred the money less than an hour or two ago. What if he orchestrated a paper trail of her account to see where the money had been deposited?

‘You keep saying you do not want money but what is it you do want, Nina?’ Marc said, breaking the humming silence.

She couldn’t answer. How could she tell him what she really wanted? She wanted him. She wanted him to make her feel alive as a woman. She wanted him to make her feel desirable, irresistible and precious. She wanted to feel him in the throes of uncontrollable passion for her, not for who she was pretending to be, but for her—Nina.

She held her breath as his hands ran down her arms to encircle her wrists.

‘Is this what you really want, Nina?’ he asked, tugging her up against him. ‘Is this what you crave more than money, the thing that I too crave until I cannot think straight for my need of you?’

She moistened her lips with her tongue, her heart doing a fluttery dance in her chest when she saw the way his eyes glittered with purpose.

His head came down, the heat from his mouth storming its way into hers, lighting a fire within her that refused to be banked down. She felt it crawling up her legs to pool in between her thighs, the heavy pulse of her desire for him only fanning the flames even further.

His tongue circled hers sensuously, the thrust and stab movements inciting her responses in a way she had not thought possible. Her teeth nipped at his bottom lip, her tongue delved and her hands clung where they could to hold him to her. She heard him groan, a rough low growl of male primal need that made her feel incredibly feminine and vulnerable and yet strangely powerful at the same time.

She felt herself being carried along on a tide of need so strong she had no way of resisting even if she had wanted to. This scorching physical chemistry had been crackling between them from the very first day and it seemed that, in spite of Marc’s determination to resist her, it was becoming clear he was no longer able to do so. The evidence of his desire for her was breathtakingly unmistakable; she could feel his hard male body pressed tightly against her softer one, his mouth working its magic on hers until she was like warmed honey in his arms.

She felt his hands at her bathing suit straps where they had slipped from her shoulders, and then the rush of air as he pulled the material from her like a sloughed skin. Her legs quivered as she stepped out of the pool of wet fabric at her feet, her mouth still locked with his, her heart thudding with the hectic pace of her fevered blood as he pressed her to the nearest cushioned lounger.

He came down on top of her heavily, his legs entrapping hers, his solid weight a welcome burden. She began to claw at his shorts but he shoved her hand away as he dealt with them himself. She gave a breathless gasp of anticipation when she felt him against her, the length and satin strength of him searching for the entry of her body with a desperation she could feel echoing deep within her.

He drove forward with a deep guttural groan which drowned out the sound of her bitten-off cry as he tore through her tender untried flesh. She sucked in a breath and tried not to cry out again as he thrust deeply, but her body resented the intrusion and made it impossible for her to hold back the sound of her discomfort. She gave one short sharp cry, biting down on her lip as soon as it escaped, but it was too late.

Marc stilled his movements and, easing his weight off her, looked down at her, his frown almost closing the space between his dark-as-night eyes.

Tears sprang to her eyes and her teeth sank even further into her bottom lip.

‘Cristo,’ he groaned and rolled off her in one movement.

Nina closed her eyes, her limbs suddenly feeling cold without the warmth of his. ‘Nina … I—’

‘Please don’t say anything.’ She scrambled to her feet without looking at him and reached for her towel.

‘I am assuming from your reaction that you had rather a difficult delivery with Georgia,’ he said, his voice flat and unemotional.

She wound the towel around her body without looking his way.

‘Nina?’

‘I don’t want to talk about it.’

‘We have to talk, whether you like it or not. I need to know.’

‘What do you need to know?’ She turned on him. ‘Do you want to hear how Georgia was born after fifteen hours of labour without her father present? How her father refused to acknowledge her existence? Is that what you want to know?’

Marc stared at her, all of his carefully rehearsed accusations fading away.

‘You have no right to cast judgement,’ she continued. ‘Do you have any idea of what it’s like to be pregnant and alone?

Do you?’

He drew in a breath and let it out on a sigh. ‘No, I do not. You are right. I have no right to judge.’

‘Georgia needed a father and my … I mean I needed someone to help me bring her into the world, but your brother wasn’t interested.’

‘He had not planned on having a child with you.’

‘So what?’ she asked. ‘Whatever the motive when a child is conceived, it’s up to both of the parents to jointly see to its welfare. Besides, accidents can happen.’ She gave him a pointed look and added, ‘I didn’t happen to see you put on a condom just now.’

‘I did not … you know …’ He let his words trail off, a dull flush riding over his cheeks.

She raised her brows. ‘Surely you know better than that? Pre-ejaculatory fluid contains thousands of sperm. You might very well be in exactly the same position as your brother.’

‘If I am, I am prepared to meet my responsibilities. If we have conceived a child I will not walk away.’

‘Even though you loathe me and can barely stand to look at me?’

He met her gaze without flinching. ‘I will put my personal feelings aside if need be.’

Nina felt her heart tighten painfully at his words. He was so unlike his brother, who’d had his fun and had walked away without a backward glance. She knew Marc would stand by his word, even if it cost him dearly. How she wished she could tell him the truth!

She turned away before he could see the longing in her eyes. ‘I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. I have no plans to get pregnant.’

‘If it were to happen.’ He raked a hand through his hair as he considered the prospect. ‘You will tell me?’

She met his eyes for a brief moment. ‘I would owe you that at the very least.’

His eyes fell away from hers first. ‘I will check on Georgia. You should go to bed; you look … exhausted.’

She opened her mouth to deny it but stopped as she realised it was true. ‘Thank you,’ she said softly and moved towards the door.

‘Nina?’

His voice stopped her hand from turning the handle and she slowly turned around to face him. ‘Yes?’

His eyes didn’t quite meet hers. ‘I am sorry.’

Her hand on the doorknob fell away. ‘For what?’

He dragged his gaze up to hers with an effort. ‘I wish I had known the truth about Georgia’s birth.’

She gave him a rueful little grimace and reached for the doorknob again. ‘I wish you had, too. You can’t imagine how much.’

Marc opened his mouth to call her back but the door closed on her exit, locking him inside with his guilt.

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