When she says “I do,” her plan is set in motion...

An arranged marriage to Galen Horvath is step one in Peyton Earnshaw’s revenge against his family. For his part, the CEO only agreed to an arranged marriage to provide a stable home for his young ward. When desire ignites between them, Peyton starts to dream of a future with Galen. But what will happen when her secrets resurface?

Award-winning USA TODAY bestselling author YVONNE LINDSAY has always preferred the stories in her head to the real world. Married to her blind-date sweetheart and with two adult children, she spends her days crafting the stories of her heart. In her spare time she can be found with her nose irmly in someone else’s book.

Also by Yvonne Lindsay

Honor-Bound GroomStand-In Bride’s SeductionFor the Sake of the Secret ChildArranged Marriage, Bedroom SecretsContract Wedding, Expectant BrideTangled VowsInconveniently Wed

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Vengeful Vows

Yvonne Lindsay

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09226-5

VENGEFUL VOWS

© 2019 Dolce Vita Trust

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

MILLS & BOON

Before you start reading, why not sign up?

Thank you for downloading this Mills & Boon book. If you want to hear about exclusive discounts, special offers and competitions, sign up to our email newsletter today!

SIGN ME UP!

Or simply visit

signup.millsandboon.co.uk

Mills & Boon emails are completely free to receive and you can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send you.

To my blind-date hero,

thank you for all your years of

support and encouragement.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

About the Publisher

One

Alice Horvath—matriarch of the Horvath family, former CEO of Horvath Corporation and creator of Match Made in Marriage—surveyed the candlelit, flower-bedecked room and tried to ignore the trepidation that filled her. She didn’t know why she was so nervous about the union of her third-eldest grandson, Galen, to a woman who was so perfect for him it had actually brought tears to her eyes when she’d made the match. But for some reason, despite all her usual attention to detail, she felt as though she didn’t have quite her usual grip on what would happen next.

Their future happiness was her only goal, but for once she couldn’t see that far ahead for them as clearly as she did with the others. If they made it, it would require hard work and commitment from them both. Had she taken an unnecessary risk? Galen had said he didn’t want a grand passion, but everyone deserved that, didn’t they?

She thought of her late husband, Eduard, and tonight missed him more keenly than she had in a long time. But she wasn’t ready to rest in peace with him yet. She still had too much work to do, and the success of this marriage was a part of that, no matter what secrets it brought out of the woodwork.

* * *

Galen closed his eyes briefly then started as he felt a small hand take his and give it a squeeze.

“It’ll be okay,” Ellie whispered. “She’s going to love you.”

He squeezed back gently. “She’s going to love us,” he affirmed.

He flicked an imaginary piece of lint from his suit sleeve and looked sideways at his best girl. Ellie grinned back up at him, and Galen felt his heart swell. Both his brother, Valentin, and his cousin Ilya had offered to stand here at the altar with him but this wasn’t about a traditional marriage. This was about providing security for nine-year-old Ellie, so it made sense that she stand up with him as he married a total stranger. Poor kid; she deserved so much better than him, but he was doing his best by her, and would continue to do so for the rest of his life.

When he’d assumed guardianship of Ellie after her parents’ shocking and sudden deaths in a car crash just over three months ago, his life as he’d known it had come to a screaming halt. No more wild parties. No more playboy lifestyle. All the commitment he’d dodged for most of his adult life had come to him in one complete package. He hadn’t been ready for it, but then neither had his best friends, Ellie’s mom and dad, expected to die, either.

He cast one more look around the room, ensuring everything was as it should be. He wouldn’t be the CEO of Horvath Hotels and Resorts without triple-checking everything all the time. He knew how to keep people happy—all kinds of people. Surely, that would help when it came to keeping his new wife happy, too?

“She’s here!” Ellie whispered hoarsely. “And she’s so pretty.”

Galen looked to the door at the end of the carpeted aisle in the function room and, honest to God, felt his breath catch in his lungs. Pretty? No, that didn’t even begin to describe the woman paused there at the end. Her face was a picture of serenity, her head poised on a long, graceful neck. Her hair was pulled back in a loose updo that made his fingers itch to extract each and every pin and let her hair fall down over the slender bare shoulders exposed by her strapless gown. Her skin glowed. A diamond drop necklace sat low on her décolletage, drawing his eyes to the rapid rise and fall of her chest—to the hint of the soft swell of her breasts, framed by the gown’s neckline. His gaze drifted lower, to the tiny waist cinched in a satin sash with a cluster of silk and diamanté flowers and then to the three tiers of flowing shimmering fabric that spread like a cloud around her.

“She looks like a princess,” Ellie said, loudly this time so that everyone in the room turned their heads and a collective gasp of awe filtered through the air.

“Let’s make her our queen, shall we?” Galen said and, still holding Ellie’s hand, he walked toward his bride.

As they drew closer, he noticed the flickering pulse in her neck. So perhaps she wasn’t quite as serene as she projected. That was fine by him. In a way, he’d have felt some reserve about marrying someone who wasn’t just a little rattled at the prospect of meeting their future life partner for the first time at the altar. And while he’d seen his brother and his cousin make successful matches that way, he’d never for a moment considered it for himself. Truth be told, he’d never even considered marriage before Ellie.

The woman’s eyes flared slightly, her bluish-gray irises almost consumed by her pupils in the candlelight.

“My groom, I presume?” she said in a voice that was a tiny bit husky and a whole lot of nervous.

“Galen Horvath, at your service,” he said, taking her free hand and lifting it to his lips.

Her skin was warm and lightly scented. Something sweet, with a hint of vanilla and a slightly headier spice. A slight tremor of her hand made him release his hold.

Never one to be shy, his best girl piped up. “And I’m Ellie. Will you marry us?”

A smile tweaked the woman’s lips. “Both of you? Now, there’s a bargain,” she said as her smile widened and her eyes sparkled with obvious delight. “The answer is yes. I’m Peyton Earnshaw, and I would be delighted to marry you.”

Galen felt something shift deep inside as he watched her. Her smile, her manner, her scent. It all coalesced into something powerful inside him. Lust, he told himself. Pure physical attraction; that was all it was. And it was far, far more than he’d anticipated experiencing on meeting his bride. The tension that had gripped him all day began to ease. This was going to be okay. They were going to be okay, he corrected himself.

* * *

Peyton had done a lot of things in the pursuit of investigative journalism, but she’d never gotten married before. When she’d decided to do an exposé on Alice Horvath she’d been delighted to discover an old college acquaintance among Alice’s staff. And when she’d learned the matriarch’s own grandson was searching for a bride, she’d called in an old debt and secured Michelle’s assistance gaming the system to match Peyton’s profile with the grandson’s. The fact that the matchmaking results could be manipulated like that lent weight to Peyton’s argument that Alice Horvath’s company was a complete fraud in the first place.

Peyton swallowed her nerves as, flanked by Galen Horvath and Ellie, she walked down the aisle toward the celebrant, who waited with a benevolent smile. She’d been prepared to do anything to achieve her goal—even marry a stranger—and now here she was.

Acutely aware of the warm strength of Galen’s hand holding hers, she tried to calm the unaccustomed racing of her heart. He was just a man. Seriously, her groom could have been anyone—but he wasn’t. He was one of Alice Horvath’s many grandchildren. He could have been short, tall, thin, full figured, hirsute. He was tall, more handsome than any star she’d seen at the movies lately, and he exuded a charisma that she felt pulling on her in ways she’d never expected. And his touch was doing weird things to her insides. Things that she prided herself on not feeling. Things she’d inured herself to—by choice. She wasn’t some naive creature full of unrealistic expectations. Oh sure, she knew you could fall in love, but she also knew the pain of a stupid decision made in the heat of the moment, and she wasn’t going to make that kind of mistake ever again.

“Everything okay?”

A soft whisper of breath caressed her ear as Galen leaned close to her.

“Just peachy,” she said with a bright smile that she was far from feeling.

His eyes met hers and he stared at her a moment before his face broke into a smile that literally stole the breath from her lungs. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze before letting go. She was going to have to be careful around this guy, she told herself as she composed her features and faced the celebrant.

The service was simple. She’d have liked to have said it was honest but she was here under false pretenses. It gave her a moment’s pause when she considered that what she planned to do would not only affect the man she was marrying, but also the little girl, who looked up at him with trust and adoration. Well, she just wouldn’t let anyone, herself included, become too attached; that was all there was to it. And when her in-depth article exposing Alice Horvath for the manipulative and cruel woman she truly was hit the newsstands, no one would be hurt but the woman who’d destroyed Peyton’s father and, in turn, her entire family. Even the baby she’d been forced to give away.

Peyton blinked back the sudden burn in her eyes. Show no weakness. That had been her mantra then and it remained her mantra now.

“Congratulations!” the celebrant announced with warmth and enthusiasm—as if this was a real wedding and as if they were planning a real future together. “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Oh, no.

Peyton froze as Galen took both her hands in his and leaned toward her. A sense of inevitability seeped through to her bones as she instinctively closed the final gap between them and allowed his lips to brush hers. Except it was more than a brush—it was an enticement. The gentle press of his mouth against hers sent her pulse thudding out of control, and when she parted her lips—to protest, she would tell herself later—he took advantage and tasted her with a practiced sweep of his tongue. She should have pulled back, she should have ended it, but she didn’t. Instead, like some sappy lovestruck teenager, she leaned even closer and kissed him back as if this was a real marriage and they’d been anticipating this moment for months.

When he withdrew she felt oddly bereft, even shaken. She looked up at him and saw the same kind of expression reflected back at her and instantly knew keeping Galen Horvath—her husband—at arm’s length was going to prove a great deal more challenging than she’d hoped.

“Yay, we’re a family!” Ellie said excitedly as she wrapped her skinny little arms around them both and gave them a big squeeze. “Nothing bad can happen now.”

“Nothing ba—” Peyton started.

“I’ll explain more later. Right now we have some celebrating to do.”

And they did. They took photos with their guests, including a few of her friends from college she’d kept in touch with. The Horvaths had been suitably sympathetic when she’d explained that her mother had died when she was a child and her father was unable to make it for the wedding.

After they were done with the formal photos, they toasted and ate and danced and toasted some more. And with every step perfectly in tune with her new partner, Peyton kept a smile on her face and acted as if this was exactly what she’d wanted all her life.

When the lights dimmed in the reception room and the music slowed to a dreamy romantic number, Galen took her back into his arms and led her out onto the dance floor.

“Don’t you ever get tired?” Peyton teased. “You haven’t been allowed to sit down yet.”

He flashed a brief grin at her before his expression grew more serious. “I wanted to let you know what was behind Ellie’s statement earlier.”

“Do tell,” she encouraged when Galen fell silent.

If she wasn’t mistaken, a shimmer of moisture appeared in his eyes. He tilted his head back slightly and blinked hard before meeting her gaze again. Then he drew a deep breath and his words came in a rush.

“Ellie’s my ward. Her parents died in a car crash at the beginning of the year. They were my best friends.”

Galen’s voice cracked and Peyton was instantly flooded with compassion. She knew what it felt like to have your world ripped apart unexpectedly. But to lose both parents at the same time? That was almost too awful to contemplate. She waited, not wanting to fill the new silence between them with platitudes.

After a couple of minutes he continued. “I think she’s done really well coping with her loss. Often, she’s coped better than me. She’s had grief counseling and we haven’t made any changes to her lifestyle that she wasn’t ready to make. In fact, it was her idea I buy a house in her old neighborhood for us both to live in. She said being at her old family home made her too sad.”

“So you did that?”

“Well, it’s a work in progress. For now we’re staying here in my apartment at the hotel. I hope you can help us choose our home together.”

“Our home together. Right. That’s a big thing to ask when we’ve only just met, don’t you think?”

He nodded. “True, but if we’re going to make our marriage work properly, we need to be living under the same roof, right?” When she didn’t answer, he continued. “Anyway, I thought Ellie and I were doing okay but she blindsided me one day. I found her crying in her room and when I managed to get to the root of the problem it floored me. It wasn’t something I could just throw money at, or tease a smile out of, or distract away.”

“What was it?” she prompted.

“She told me she was terrified about what would happen if I died like her mom and dad. If one day she was completely alone.” He drew in a deep breath and looked around the room at the revelers. His voice was low and intense when he spoke again. “I knew then that I needed to get married, to find a wife who wanted to share Ellie’s life with me. To help her feel secure and loved and needed, the way her parents did. I want to be totally honest with you, Peyton. This marriage didn’t start out in a traditional sense, but I’d like to think we can work together to achieve that eventually. We’ve both come to Match Made in Marriage with the same goal. Finding a life partner. I’m being clear and up-front about my reasons for needing to find a wife. Right now Ellie is the most important person in my world, and I will do whatever I can to make her happy. I need to know you’ll commit to that, too.”

Two

Peyton didn’t know where to look or what to think. She was consumed by guilt. Suddenly, this assignment was skewing out of her control. Not only did she feel like she was constantly fighting with her instincts to just let go and enjoy being with the man who held her so capably in his arms as they did another turn around the dance floor. This also wasn’t what she’d signed up for. She’d expected an uncomplicated union, a chance to dig for more dirt on Alice Horvath and eventually the opportunity to extract from her the apology her father and her late mother had been due for far too long.

And now what? Now she was married; that was what. It wasn’t the wedding she’d dreamed of as a child, where her father would proudly walk her down the aisle, but one engineered by a stranger so she could marry a stranger. She had been confident she could handle it. How hard could it be?

But now she was a stepmom, too. And not just a stepmom, but to a child who already knew far too much about loss and how the whole world could be upended in the blink of an eye. Already Peyton felt a pull toward the girl—how could she not? Ellie was bright and engaging and demonstrative. Everything she herself had been at that age. Except when Peyton’s world had turned upside down she’d retreated into herself. She’d been nothing like Ellie. Did she dare risk crushing Ellie’s spirit? Could Peyton enter into this debacle of a marriage and then exit it without causing harm? It was doubtful. And she was in, whether she liked it or not, for at least the next three months under the terms of the agreement she’d signed only a few weeks ago. Signed, secure in the belief that this would be a simple matter of going through the experience, writing her story and leaving without looking back.

Galen watched her, obviously expecting some kind of answer. He’d been open with her about his expectations and it was only fair that he expected openness in return. But honesty was something she couldn’t give him, even if she wanted to. Her entire adult life she’d been gearing up for this moment. To exact the revenge for Alice’s unfounded accusations against her dad of improper record keeping and misappropriation of funds. Accusations that had cast a permanent pall on his professional career and made him untrustworthy in the eyes of every potential new employer. Accusations that had put additional strain on her mother’s diminishing health—she’d developed complications from her multiple sclerosis—which had subsequently drained what little they had in the bank and left them living on handouts and whatever sporadic income her father could earn. They’d been unable to pay medical bills for treatment that might have eased her mother’s condition and had ended up having to move from California to Oregon, where the cost of living was lower, but which put her mom even farther from the medical team who’d overseen her care.

A little of the anger that had driven Peyton all these years sparked back to life, blanketing the guilt so there was little more than a pang left.

“I committed to marrying you, Galen. I will do my part.”

He tensed as if waiting to hear more, but she wasn’t prepared to outright lie and make false declarations. She was here to do a job and to close a chapter in her and her family’s life. And then there was the other reason. The reason she barely allowed herself to think of. The child she’d been forced to give away. Had her family’s circumstances been different, she would have been able to keep her. Circumstances she could lay fully and completely at the feet of the woman walking toward them right now. With no money left in her college fund, Peyton had had to take out student loans to go to college. No matter how carefully she’d crunched the numbers there was no way she could afford food, rent, utilities and childcare on top of her loan repayments and her parents had had no way to help physically, emotionally or financially. After all these years, and all her painstaking planning, it was coming to fruition now. She couldn’t afford to take her eye off her goal, for anyone.

“I guess that’s all I can ask,” he said. “And look, here’s Nagy to check on her new chick.”

“Nagy?” Peyton asked, quietly bristling at the idea of being one of Alice Horvath’s anything.

“It’s Hungarian. A diminutive of nagymama, for ‘grandmother.’”

And then Alice was upon them. Though she was slightly built and petite, there was a steeliness to her gaze, and her back was ramrod straight. It was clear this woman didn’t suffer fools gladly; Peyton could tell the woman who’d controlled the Horvath Corporation at its head office in California for many years after her husband’s death was formidable. But as Alice drew nearer, a smile appeared on the old woman’s face. It softened her and made her look entirely approachable. This wasn’t the face of the monster Peyton had always believed her to be.

Galen’s arm tightened around her waist and she involuntarily nestled closer. She had to look and act the part of newlywed, no matter what. And it wasn’t so difficult, was it? He was hardly unattractive and the lean, hard lines of his body beneath his suit felt uncommonly right against her, confusing her even more.

“Congratulations, you two,” Alice said warmly as she reached up and kissed Galen on the cheek then took Peyton’s hands in hers. “You look wonderful together. I’m sure you’ll be very happy.”

Peyton smiled, or was it a snarl with her nemesis standing right in front of her? She couldn’t be entirely sure. “Thank you,” she managed, her voice sounding stiff and unnatural.

“We’re a bit overwhelming en masse, aren’t we?” Alice said with a conspiratorial smile. “But you’ll get used to us. Everyone does.”

By decree of Alice Horvath, Peyton thought bitterly. Get used to them and play by their rules, or get out. She forced herself to hold that smile on her face and took in a deep breath of relief when Alice let go of her hands and turned once again to her grandson. Peyton watched, intrigued by the genuine affection between them. There was nothing stilted or fake about the fondness they showed one another. She let their conversation wash over her and surveyed the rest of the room. It almost looked like the celebration of a real wedding as people laughed and danced and ate and drank. And yet she felt completely separate from all of it. Had she bitten off more than she could chew by taking this assignment?

* * *

Galen sensed his new bride’s disengagement and hastened to end the conversation with his grandmother. It was important to him that Peyton feel she’d made the right decision. He was very good at making other people feel good—about their choices, about themselves, about him. He aimed to please, always, and it had stood him in good stead with his career choice and drew a lot of people to him. But he had the distinct impression that Peyton was not going to be an easy sell. He wouldn’t be able to simply waltz her off into this new happily-ever-after life. There was a reserve about her, even though she was going through all the motions and smiling in all the right places. And he was determined to break that wall down, brick by brick if he had to.

He stroked the curve of her waist but her body remained rigid. Maybe his touch was too much, too soon. He told himself to let her go but the thought of doing so held no appeal at all. He was genuinely attracted to her and mentally gave his grandmother a thumbs-up for their pairing. And he’d have bet that Peyton was attracted to him, too, though she was doing her best not to show it. As soon as this party was over, things would be different. They could all relax. He thought about the Horvath resort in Hawaii where they’d be heading by private jet tonight. Hopefully there, soothed by the balmy breeze and the lush beauty of the landscape, Peyton would unwind a little more and allow him to get to know her better.

“Nagy, could you give Peyton and I a little time alone? We’ll need to get ready to leave soon. Perhaps you could mind Ellie for me and we can collect her before we head to the airport?”

“Of course. It would be my pleasure. Ellie is such a delight. When you’re back from honeymoon, I’d love it if she could stay with me in Ojai for a weekend.”

His grandmother gave Peyton and him both a kiss on the cheek and went off in search of the nine-year-old.

“Ellie is coming with us?” Peyton asked with a surprised expression on her face.

“I hope that’s okay. She’s on spring break right now, so it made sense to me to include her and, as we weren’t permitted contact between one another before the wedding, I couldn’t exactly ask you.”

“No, it’s not a problem at all,” Peyton answered, looking more than a little relieved.

Was it because she wouldn’t be left alone with him, that they’d have Ellie as a buffer between them? Galen gave an internal shrug. Whatever; it didn’t matter as long as this worked out. Ellie already liked his new bride. She was a bright kid and knowing she liked Peyton was half the battle won. If they could cement that into something strong and lasting—a family unit that would make her feel loved and secure for the rest of her childhood—then he would have succeeded in fulfilling the promise he’d made to his two dead friends as they were laid to rest. Failure was not an option.

“Are you curious about where we’re going?”

“I’m assuming it’s somewhere warm. I was told to pack light clothing and swimwear.”

“It’s perpetually warm. We’re off to a Horvath resort a little over two and a half thousand miles east-southeast of here,” he teased.

“That would be your resort on Maui, right?”

“You’ve been doing your research on us,” he answered, surprised at her very specific response.

Her cheeks colored. “Research? What makes you think that?”

She sounded defensive. Definitely not what he’d been hoping for just before they left to change for travel.

“Let’s just say I’m not used to people being as well-informed about my business as you apparently are,” he said, attempting to soothe her.

“Information is my business,” she said smoothly, her demeanor relaxing slightly.

“And your business is?”

“I’m a reporter, freelance.”

“A travel reporter? We’ve been featured in quite a few magazines and blogs. Maybe you’ve been our guest before?”

She shook her head. “No, not travel. Didn’t you say we needed to go and change?”

Her subject switch was about as subtle as dropping an old typewriter from the top of a tall building onto the pavement below. But he wasn’t slow to take a hint and he had plenty of time to get to know her better.

“We do. A chopper is taking us to SeaTac in about an hour.”

“It doesn’t take me an hour to get ready,” Peyton answered with a gurgle of laughter. “Do I look that high-maintenance?”

Her laugh was intoxicating, the first sign of unfettered emotion he’d seen in her so far. He knew he wanted more of it, more of her being natural, being herself.

“Well, we might be able to go earlier, provided we can say goodbye to our guests without too many holdups. It won’t change our departure time from SeaTac, though—the flight plan has already been filed. We’re taking one of our company jets.”

“How the other half lives, huh?” she said, softening her words with a smile.

“You’re a part of that now. Flight time is about six hours once we’re wheels up.”

“How late will it be when we arrive?”

“Hawaii’s three hours behind us, so, all going smoothly, about seven p.m.”

“It’s going to be a long day for Ellie.”

“She’ll be okay. She was used to traveling with her parents and can sleep on the flight if she wants to. You can, too.”

She shook her head. “Sadly, I’m one of those who can never sleep on a plane.”

“Always vigilant?”

“Something like that. Well, I guess we’d better get on our way, then?”

“Let me see you up to your room,” he said, taking her arm. “Did you want to throw your bouquet first?”

She shrugged. “Sure.”

“Give me a minute to get it organized.”

“I’ll go get the bouquet.”

He watched as she glided across the room toward the main table where she’d left her flowers. The gentle sway of her hips totally mesmerized him.

“Nice wife,” his brother, Valentin, said as he approached.

“It’s a good thing you have your own, or I’d be making you keep your eyes off mine.”

“And I wouldn’t trade her for the world.”

Galen heard the intense emotion in Valentin’s words. He and Imogene had been married once before, and until Nagy had reunited them in a Match Made in Marriage wedding, they’d both been unhappy. Now they were together again, for good this time, and Galen felt a glimmer of envy—wishing he, too, could experience the kind of relationship they had. But his bed had been made for him when he’d agreed to be Ellie’s guardian and then signed up to find a wife so Ellie could feel safe again. He wasn’t expecting romance and roses. What he needed for his best girl was stability, and hopefully, he could achieve that with Peyton.

“Peyton’s going to toss her bouquet soon. I need to let the emcee know so he can make the announcement.”

“Watch out for the stampede of cousins.” Valentin laughed, but then his expression grew serious. “Galen, I just wanted to say a few private words.”

“And they are?”

“We only get one shot at life, so we need to make the most of every minute. You’re going to hit some roadblocks in this marriage, that’s a given, but you need to be prepared to work through every one of them.”

“I’m not afraid of hard work. You know that.”

“Yeah, I know. I wish you a lifetime of happiness.”

Valentin wrapped his arms around him in a fierce hug and Galen gave him back as good as he got. “Thanks, Val,” he said, his voice suddenly thick with emotion. “I’m going to do my best.”

“You’re going to need to. Marrying someone you already know and love isn’t always easy, but marrying a stranger...”

Galen looked across the room to where Peyton had been corralled by some of his aunties. “Yeah, but what a stranger, right?”

His brother slapped him on the back with another laugh then left him to find the emcee.

Valentin hadn’t been wrong about the stampede. All their female cousins together with several women he’d never met before tonight, mostly Peyton’s guests, jostled for the moment she released the bouquet. The scramble was both undignified and highly amusing, but Galen was shocked when he saw his nerdy IT expert cousin, Sophia, emerge triumphant at the end. He took advantage of the ensuing chaos to take Peyton by the hand and, calling out a good-night to everyone, lead her away.

“Ellie knows we’re coming back for her, right?” Peyton looked worried.

Galen was touched at her concern for a child she’d only just met. “Of course. Her suitcase is already in the chopper. She knows I won’t leave her behind. Ilya, my cousin, and his wife, Yasmin, will bring her to the helipad just before we’re due to depart. For now she can party it up a little with my younger cousins.”

“You do have a big family,” Peyton commented.

“Yeah, I do. And you? Brothers? Sisters?”

She shook her head. “Just me...and my dad,” she added.

“He couldn’t come today?”

Her lips firmed into a straight line. “It’s difficult—we barely talk. I’d rather not discuss it.”

He wanted to press for more details, but one look at her face made him file that away for another time. Bit by bit, he was learning there were going to be a hell of a lot of layers to peel through to get to the core of what made up his new wife. It was probably a good thing that he was a patient man.

Three

Peyton pushed her hair off her face for the hundredth time. The onshore breeze delighted in tangling her hair at every opportunity, but it wasn’t all bad. At least the wind was warm and gentle, not damp and biting cold like it so often was back home in Washington. After their arrival last night she’d been bone weary and had barely paid any attention to their luxurious surroundings. She didn’t know what she’d expected exactly, when Galen had said they’d be honeymooning at a Horvath resort, but this certainly hadn’t been it. It wasn’t a hotel, although there apparently was one here somewhere in the many sprawling acres of the complex, but a large and airy house that faced the water and was full of dazzling sunshine. She’d been relieved to discover they each had their own bedroom, too, along with their own private beach, where Ellie was busy digging holes and creating roads and moats and tunnels, and squealing happily at the rising tide as it demolished her hard work.

“Can I braid your hair for you?” Galen asked from the sun lounger beside her.

“You?” Peyton was surprised by the offer.

“I’ll have you know I’ve become quite adept at styling long hair. I don’t even have to use a vacuum cleaner hose to get Ellie’s ponytail perfect anymore.”

“A what?”

“Check it out online. I tell you, YouTube is king when it comes to learning new skills.”

She couldn’t help but laugh at the idea of Galen even knowing how to use a vacuum cleaner, let alone having the skills to use a vacuum cleaner to tie Ellie’s hair in a ponytail. But she was always up for a challenge and, heck, let’s face it, she was curious to see how he proposed to tame her tangled locks.

“Okay, then. Show me your talents,” Peyton said, sitting up on her lounger and turning her back to him.

“Now, there’s an invitation I don’t get every day,” he said, his voice dropping an octave.

She couldn’t help it; her body reacted with a shimmer of desire. She had no words to describe it, this stupid reaction to a tone of voice, but suddenly she was hyperaware of the man as he moved closer behind her. She dug into her beach bag for her hairbrush.

“You might want to use this first,” she said, passing it back to him. “There’s a hair tie on the handle, too.”

He took the hairbrush, and the next moment his fingers were working their way through her hair, touching her scalp and skimming the back of her neck as he eased the hairbrush through the knots. She’d never in her life believed that having her hair brushed by a stranger could feel erotic. But there was something deeply sensual about the way Galen followed each stroke of the brush with the touch of his fingers on her scalp. It made her want to sigh with pleasure.

When he was done, she was on the verge of becoming putty in his hands. She felt a moment’s relief that she was facing away from him so he couldn’t see the way her nipples had become taut peaks against the thin fabric of her one-piece swimsuit in response to this most innocent of touches. But then he started to run his fingers through her hair again and every muscle in her body clenched.

“You okay? I’m not hurting you, am I?” Galen asked.

He was so close she felt his breath on her shoulder and shivered a little.

“I’m fine,” she said in a voice that was tight with control.

He was simply doing her hair, for goodness’ sake. Not seducing her. How this normal, everyday act could be playing such havoc with her senses was beyond her but she needed to get herself under control. She focused her gaze on Ellie and for a moment envied her the freedom of not caring who she was or what she looked like or what hurts had been visited upon her. Instead, she could just be carefree and in the moment. Industrious one minute, lying flat out on the sand the next, then laughing as she got to her feet and plunged into the water to wash off the sand five seconds later.

Galen began sectioning her hair.

“Do you want under or over?” he asked.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Your braid. Under, so it sits flat, or over, so it sits on top?”

“I never knew there was a difference.”

“Your mom never did this for you?”

“My mom was sick for a long time, and my dad, well, let’s just say he didn’t have the benefit of online videos when I was growing up.”

She swallowed against the surprising wave of emotion that choked her. There’d been days when her mom could meet her at the front door of their rented home with a smile and then there’d been others when she couldn’t even raise a hand to wipe a tear from her cheek. The disease that had plagued her had taken its toll on everyone, and the fiercely guarded memories of those times always shook Peyton to the core.

“Anyway, does it matter?” she said a little more sharply than she’d intended.

“Over it is. And tomorrow we can go into the intricacies of the herringbone braid. Now, be still. I need to concentrate on this.”

He fell silent as he worked. When it was over, he rested his hands on top of her shoulders. His palms were warm and his fingers gentle, but to her they felt like brands on her bare skin.

“Admiring your handiwork?” she asked with a note of sarcasm.

“Something like that. Did you know that you have these really soft curls of baby hair that grow at the nape of your neck?”

She shivered as he touched them, winding one around a finger. His knuckle brushed the back of her neck, sending her body into sensation overload. Who knew the back of her neck was so sensitive? Then her whole body went into shock as she felt the imprint of his lips right there at her nape. She bolted up from her lounger in an instinctive attempt to create more distance between them and adjusted her sunglasses on her face as she turned around and looked down on him.

Galen looked up at her unashamedly. “Sorry, couldn’t help myself.”

He flashed her another of those devil-may-care grins and rose from his lounger before jogging along the beach to where Ellie was fashioning a turtle sand sculpture. Peyton watched him join his ward with an enthusiasm she envied. Even in the short time she’d begun to get to know him, she recognized he had a knack for making everything look so uncomplicated. No doubt he was the life and soul of every party he attended, she thought with a touch of venom. The charmed billionaire who never had a care in his privileged world. He’d never had to come from school to a quiet house and wonder if today would be the day that he’d discover his mom dead in her bed. Or that the next knock on the door was from the sheriff to evict them from another home.

And then again, he’d known loss, she reminded herself with an effort to be fair. Ellie’s parents’ deaths had obviously affected him, and her research had uncovered he’d lost his own father when he was in his early teens. That must have been hard. Maybe his carefree act was just that. An act. She shrugged, picked up her sarong and knotted it at her hip before pushing her feet into a pair of crystal-studded thongs and walking along the beach to supervise the sculpting. Whether it was an act or not, it didn’t matter to her because she wasn’t here to enjoy Galen Horvath’s company. She was here to do a job and she needed to remember that.

* * *

It was midnight, and Galen was mentally worn out and physically uncomfortable. There ought to be a law against suits and ties in tropical climates, he thought as he unknotted his tie and entered the villa that was home for the duration of their honeymoon.

“Good of you to come back.” An acerbic voice came from the depths of the overstuffed couch facing the moonlit water. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d left us for good.”

“Did you miss me?” Galen said, refusing to rise to Peyton’s bait.

The woman had been so intent on keeping her distance from him that he’d almost begun to wonder if she’d even miss him when he had to work. Of course, working on honeymoon was not ideal, but the resort was on the verge of signing an agreement for a major expansion with an overseas partner, and certain things needed to be dealt with right here, right now.

“Ellie missed you,” Peyton said, rising from the couch and facing him with her hands on her hips.

Galen’s throat went dry as he took her in. She was silhouetted in the light behind her, exposing the slim, lean lines of her body beneath the sheer cream on the lemon-patterned sundress she wore. He’d seen her in her swimsuit and, yes, she was incredible to look at. But like this? She was mystery and mayhem all in one package. The sharp sound of her voice dragged him into reality.

“I was beginning to wonder if you’d married me just so you could have a babysitter. I have to say, if that’s your parenting style, I feel sorry for Ellie because she deserves better than that.”

Deserved better than him, too, perhaps? Galen felt his anger rise but, as ever, he pushed a lid down firmly on it and deflected her words with a smile. “Ellie knew I would be tied up all day.”

“It doesn’t mean she didn’t miss you. She gets really anxious when you’re not around. Did you know that?”

A shaft of guilt struck him in the chest. The last thing on earth he ever wanted to do was cause Ellie any distress. “What do you mean exactly?”

“She sounded tense at dinnertime, asking when you’d be back. I tried to distract her. Let her beat me at cards.”

“Let her?” He cocked a half grin. The kid was a demon at cards.

“Okay, so she thrashed me. But when you weren’t home by bedtime she got really upset. She was terrified something had happened to you, no matter what I said.”

Galen nodded, accepting that he should have reached out to let her know he wouldn’t be home until very late. Even though she’d been in his care for several months now, he was still adjusting to the responsibility. But they’d already been here on Maui for three days and Ellie had seemed equally happy to be with Peyton as with him—he’d been certain she’d be okay. Clearly, he’d been wrong.

“I’m sorry. I’ll talk to her about it tomorrow.”

“Would that be before or after your next business meeting?”

A kernel of warmth sparked to life deep inside him. Peyton might be angry at him but she was very firmly in Ellie’s corner and that was what he’d hoped for all along—that he’d marry a woman who’d be comfortable in a maternal role with Ellie.

“There won’t be any more business meetings. I promise. Not while we’re on honeymoon, anyway.”

“Until the next emergency arises and you need to offload your responsibilities again?”

He fought to keep his features neutral as he replied. “I don’t make a habit of offloading anything. I’m sorry if caring for Ellie was such a burden to you.”

Color flamed in her cheeks and her eyes grew bright. She looked like she was about to light off like a firecracker. Before she could respond, he put up a hand.

“Look, I’m sorry—that was uncalled for. I shouldn’t have assumed that you’d look after Ellie when I couldn’t.”

“You don’t even know me,” Peyton said, a grimace twisting her beautiful face.

Galen walked closer to her and took one of her hands. “You’re right. I don’t know you, yet. I do, however, know you’re trustworthy. We wouldn’t have been matched if you weren’t.”

Peyton nodded ever so slightly. “She was upset tonight, Galen. I hated it.”

Compassion flooded him and he squeezed her hand gently. “You feel so helpless, don’t you?”

The anger that had been holding her rigid dropped out of her just like that.

“Yes, and I didn’t like it. I’m sorry I took it out on you. But don’t think I’m letting you off the hook.”

“I know, and I’ll make it up to both of you. I am a man of my word, Peyton. No more business on this vacation.”

“Thank you.”

She pulled her hand free and started to gather up her things, including some handwritten notes and a laptop computer.

“You were working?” he asked.

“Not until Ellie went to bed, which was only a couple of hours ago because she was so upset.”

“I didn’t mean it like that—no need to be defensive.”

She raised her brows at him.

“I didn’t. I’m merely interested. Is this a new article you’re working on?”

“I don’t discuss my work until it’s published.”

Peyton hugged her things to her as if hiding them from his gaze. Fair enough, but she was making it very difficult for them to find common ground for discussion and to get to know one another. So far both family and her work were off-limits. So what did that leave them? Not a lot.

“I can respect that. Your work is sensitive, then?”

“Usually, and this is particularly so. I’m not being obstructive. It’s just the way I work. Okay?”

“Like I said, no problem. Hey, would you like to put your things away where my prying eyes can’t see them and come and join me on the patio for a nightcap?”

She hesitated. He was beginning to brace himself for a flat no, when she nodded and said she’d be right back. Galen shrugged out of his jacket and yanked the tail of his tie through his collar. Valentin had been right. This marriage thing wasn’t easy, especially when you were married to a stranger.

The other day, brushing her hair, he’d felt as though they’d reached a new level of closeness. But apparently going to work today had thrown all of that out the window and he was back to square one. He had to make this work, for Ellie. He felt a pang of guilt as he threw his things on a chair and went down the hallway toward Ellie’s bedroom.

Since her parents’ accident she’d been sleeping with a night-light and her door slightly ajar. He entered her room and settled gently on the edge of her bed. Ellie’s eyes flashed wide open in an instant.

“You’re home!” She sat bolt upright and her little arms wrapped around his neck.

His heart squeezed tight and he hugged her back. “Yeah, I’m home, so no more worrying, okay? I thought we had a deal. You’re supposed to talk to me about the things that make you feel upset.”

“I know,” she said softly as she pulled away. “It’s just hard when you’re not here.”

“I’m sorry I was gone so long today. It won’t happen again while we’re on vacation, I promise, but it will probably happen again when we’re home. But I promise you this, too. I’ll make sure you’re never alone and you can always get whoever is with you to text me at any time.”

“Even when you’re in an important meeting?”

“Even then. Nothing and no one is more important to me than you, Ellie. I’m here for you. Always.”

“Okay,” she said on a yawn.

“Now, back to sleep, young lady. Tomorrow is a new day.”

“Thanks, Galen. I love you.”

“I love you, too, kiddo.”

Galen pressed one more kiss to her forehead and then rose from the bed. She was already asleep by the time he got to the door. He looked back on her, his heart so full of love for this little girl it sometimes took his breath away. Moments like this reaffirmed he had done the right thing in marrying Peyton. Ellie had endured more upheaval than any child her age should have to bear. She deserved a family that could love and support her through life. He only hoped that Peyton’s defensiveness on Ellie’s behalf this evening showed she felt exactly the same way.

Four

Peyton slipped back into her room, worried that she might be caught eavesdropping on the tender exchange between Galen and Ellie. She hadn’t expected it of him, and that shocked her a little.

She reached for a tissue and brushed away her tears. Theirs appeared to be a very special relationship and for some stupid reason it left her feeling as if she was very much an outsider. That had never bothered her before. She’d always been an outsider after the shame of her father’s dismissal from Horvath Corporation. Then in the new town they eventually settled in on the Oregon coast, she hadn’t fit in, either. She’d had city girl written all over her in the tight-knit community where fishing and tourism were the main industries. Even when she’d gone to Washington for college she’d been an outsider, a fact that had worked in her favor when she’d hidden her pregnancy and subsequent adoption of her baby. Being an outsider came naturally to her now. It afforded her powers of observation she wouldn’t have enjoyed otherwise. She even preferred it, she told herself as she reapplied her lipstick before returning to meet Galen for that drink.

But then why did it still have the capacity to hurt so much? Was it that her own child would be around Ellie’s age? Was it because each day she was facing all that she’d given away? Peyton slammed a lid on those thoughts before they could drive her crazy. She’d made her choice, the best one she could for her child at the time. Even in the years immediately after the adoption there was no way she could have supported a child. Things had changed now, of course. Her work had paid extremely well at times. And the payday from the exposé on Alice Horvath would be huge, too. Horvath Corporation was global, but the company itself had never been her target. Just Alice. She’d been the one to arbitrarily destroy Peyton’s father’s career and, consequently, everything about Peyton’s life that she’d held dear.

Keep focused, she told herself, sealing away her emotions behind the virtual locked door she always kept them in. She didn’t have time to dwell on the child she’d given away; she didn’t have time to dwell on the sense of living on the outside edge of everything she’d thought she’d wanted as a child. She had a job to do and she was going to do it. She straightened her shoulders and gave herself a brief nod in the mirror. She had this.

The night air out on the patio was balmy and redolent with the scent of frangipani. Peyton inhaled deeply and sighed out loud.

“Is it always this blissful here?” she asked.

“Yes. Even in the worst weather there’s a raw beauty about the place that always gets to me and soothes me deep inside. It’s my refuge when life gets too crazy.”

“I had no idea you needed one,” she commented as she lowered herself into a rattan chair and stared out at the dark purple and midnight blue sea.

“Everyone does from time to time. It’s all about having a coping mechanism.”

“Then you’re luckier than most to have this.” She flung her arm out to encapsulate the view beyond them. “I’m sorry about before,” she said, deciding to take the bull by the horns. “For implying you were derelict in your duty toward Ellie.”

“Apology accepted.”

“I was pissy because I missed you, too.”

Where the heck had that come from? Peyton swallowed hard, barely able to believe the words she’d just spoken. But she knew they were true. She hated realizing that she’d come to look forward to seeing his sunny smile. The man was addictive and she now totally understood his popularity with her sex. It didn’t mean she wanted to jump his bones, but she’d be lying to herself if she didn’t admit she found him attractive.

Okay, she was lying to herself that she didn’t want to jump his bones. If their circumstances had been different, a brief fling with Galen Horvath would have been an amusing breath of fresh air. But that wasn’t possible and she needed to keep her mind on the game.

“I’m flattered,” Galen responded with a slight duck of his head.

Was that a flush of color on his cheeks she discerned in the gentle patio lighting? Surely, she hadn’t embarrassed him with her unexpected honesty. Definitely time for a subject change. “So, what do you recommend for a nightcap?”

“Whatever you fancy. I like to unwind with a good cognac from time to time but an Irish whiskey cream on ice works, too.”

“I’ll go with the Irish whiskey cream on ice.”

She watched him as he moved to the small bar off to one side of the covered patio. All his movements were inherently masculine yet graceful at the same time. Her insides clenched on an unexpected wave of need. No matter how sternly she spoke to herself, it seemed her body had a completely different agenda.

Staring at the sea was infinitely safer than staring at her husband, so she turned her gaze back to the water. The clink of ice against the side of a glass heralded his return.

“Tell me more about you,” Galen said as he handed her a drink, then pulled a chair up close to hers and sat.

All she had to do was point her toes and she’d be touching him, she realized as she accepted the glass. It would take a minimum of effort to run her foot up his calf, then higher still. She curled her bare toes tight against the warm tiled floor of the patio before she could act on her imagination.

“What do you want to know?” she hedged before taking a sip of her drink.

“Where did you grow up?”

This could be tricky and potentially lead her into a discussion she wasn’t ready to have. “Oh, California for a bit, then Oregon.”

“I grew up in California, too, not far from Santa Barbara. You?”

“Oh, nowhere near there,” she lied. “Is everyone in your family expected to work for the Horvath Corporation?” she asked, changing the subject.

“Not necessarily, but we all benefit from the company’s successes, so it makes sense to contribute to them, too. Some of my cousins work in other fields, though, like Dani. She’s a vet in Ojai. But you were supposed to be telling me about yourself.”

Peyton had the grace to look abashed. “Sorry, I have a habit of taking charge of conversations. Occupational hazard.”

She’d gone too far, too quickly, and hastened to lighten the mood before he closed up on her completely.

“You have a big family. Have you all always been close? I can’t imagine what that’s like. Part of me envies you. The other part shrinks in horror at the thought of having to share everything with everyone and not having privacy.”

Galen laughed. She liked the sound and wanted to make him laugh more. “Well, the only thing, or person, we ever had to share was Nagy, and our grandfather, too, when he was alive. We all lived fairly close to one another, so it was normal for us to cross each other’s paths at school or be on the same sports teams. Every Sunday Nagy had an open invitation for everyone to come and visit and eat with her. Still does. It’s always slightly chaotic, but it’s good to be together when we can attend—to be around the people you know will always have your back, no matter what.”

“That must be nice,” Peyton said with a touch of envy.

It was one thing to grow up with privilege like Galen had, but another to have that close sense of family, too. Her father had alienated his own family in the early years of his marriage to her mom, who had in turn been disowned for marrying him. Once her mom was gone there had only been the two of them. Her father’s bitterness about the circumstances of his life had made him a hard man to live with. Happiness didn’t come easily to him even now. Peyton had always hoped that she’d get glimpses of the man he’d used to be before he was let go from Horvath Corporation. The one who’d played with her before dinner and tucked her into bed at night. But after her mother’s diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, he’d changed. He’d become intense and driven and distant—and he’d never shaken those traits off since. His bitterness had become such an intrinsic part of him she’d almost forgotten the lighthearted man he’d been so long ago.

“Deep in thought?” Galen prompted her.

“Yeah, not good ones, either. My upbringing was very different from yours. My mom became ill when I was still in elementary school. It changed things at home. Then when we moved to Oregon she got worse.”

“I’m sorry.”

His simple words, genuinely spoken, struck at her heart. He was a good man. Empathetic without being intrusive.

“It was all a long time ago. I coped.”

“So what made you want to be a journalist?”

She laughed. “I used to drive my parents nuts by always wanting to know the why of everything. That need to know and expose everything at its root has never left me.”

“That would explain your interrogation style,” he teased.

“Hey, I apologized for that.”

“No problem. It’s good for people to be passionate about what they do.”

Passionate. She could so easily be passionate about him. He was a good listener, all too easy on the eye, and he made her want to do things with him she hadn’t done in a long time. Her relationships with men were usually short-lived. She didn’t give a lot of herself. Physically, sure, no problem, but she wasn’t into emotions. And yet, with Galen, she’d already begun to run the gamut of them. She’d expected this to be a very personal assignment and she’d taken strength from the fact that she’d never had trouble keeping her mind on the job before. But there was something about Galen that all too easily distracted her.

She swirled the melting ice in her drink then lifted the glass to her lips to finish it off. “Well, I’m feeling tired. I think it’s time to call it a night.”

“Yeah, me too. Thanks for helping me unwind. I appreciate it.”

“It was a tough day?”

“Yeah, but tomorrow’s all about you guys. We’d better get some sleep so we can make the most of it.”

“Good idea. What were you thinking for tomorrow?”

“Not sure. Maybe we can let Ellie plan the day.”

“She’d like that.”

They both stood and Peyton took their empty glasses to the kitchen.

“Leave it,” he said, following her. “We do have staff.”

“I know, but I’ll never get used to people picking up after me. It was drilled into me from an early age to take responsibility for myself. It stuck.”

She rinsed the glasses and put them in the dishwasher.

“Good night,” she said as she straightened from the dishwasher and started to leave the kitchen.

“Yeah, see you in the morning.”

As she passed close by him, she caught the faint scent of his cologne and felt her body react to it. That all-too-familiar tingling in her muscles. The hyperawareness of his proximity. All she had to do was stop in her tracks and turn and face him and she had no doubt he’d do the rest. Instead, she kept walking until she reached her room. Her heart pounded in her chest as she closed the door and leaned against it, trying to understand his effect on her. He was just a man, right?

Peyton pushed away from the door and got ready for bed with the words Yeah, right echoing in the back of her mind.

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.