he was being forced to marry by his father’s ridiculous clause in his will. As a child he’d witnessed the destructive side of marriage—a side he knew lurked beneath every claim of love.
Love. He knew it didn’t exist. It was a false and misleading emotion that could destroy any man, woman or child. It was open for exploitation. Never would he allow any woman close enough to manipulate him. Marrying Georgina was a necessity, nothing more.
‘Lucky I asked when I did,’ she said, and flashed a smile at him. But sadness clouded her eyes.
Was she thinking of her first husband? Had she loved him? Had he been manipulated just as easily? Fool, he told himself, fighting back irrational emotions that were completely alien to him. Don’t even go there.
‘Lucky for who, querida?’ He couldn’t resist the urge to provoke her, wanting to see those soft brown eyes spark with passionate fire, as they had done the very first time he’d seen her in his office.
She raised her brows at him. ‘For you. I could have just encouraged Emma and Carlo to slip off and get married without anyone knowing. So I suppose you have the most to lose, Santos, and you have the most at stake.’
His name sounded hard on her lips, fierce. He wanted to go over to her and kiss them until they softened, until every last drop of restraint disappeared. Instead he focused his mind, because if one thing was true it was the fact that he did have the most to lose.
But he’d never admit that.
‘We both have things at stake, Georgina.’ Impatience crept into his voice. ‘So I have had a mutually beneficial agreement drawn up.’
‘Ah, the pre-nup.’ She picked up her drink, ice clinking, and took a sip, all the while maintaining eye contact with him. ‘I’ll sign whatever is needed. I made that clear when I first put the proposition to you.’
‘In that case, now would be a good time to do it.’
He saw the colour drain from her face, watched as she took a deep breath and met his gaze.
‘Okay.’
That one word shook with fierce determination.
‘We can finalise the formalities of our arrangement so that we can enjoy a relaxed evening out.’ His business mind took over, insisting he secure everything before going any further with this deal—because a deal was all it was. One struck for the mutual benefit of both parties.
A flicker of guilt flashed into his mind. A moment ago she’d looked vulnerable, outside her comfort zone, but now she was as dignified and collected as she could be. Was she trying to throw him off balance in a bid to secure more for herself out of the marriage?
‘Let’s just get it done, Santos.’ Her shoulders straightened and the spark of fire flared in her eyes, leaving him in no doubt that she meant every word.
He nodded his approval and admired her undaunted tone. ‘The agreement is on my desk.’
He led the way to his study. For the first time in his life he was anxious about the outcome of a deal. Normally he would be in total control, able to steer deals his way, manoeuvring people like pieces on a chessboard.
But not with Georgina.
It wasn’t her rigid sense of purpose or her defiance that left him second-guessing where their conversations would lead, but the woman herself. The soft curves of her delicious body, the passion in her eyes in those rare unguarded moments, always left him feeling distracted.
He wanted her.
But she was unlike any woman he’d wanted before. He sensed she was different, sensed that he had to play it cool. He knew she was like a proud lioness, knew that she would show her strength, her courage, but if she needed to she’d turn and flee, leaving him in the dust. And if she did that all would be lost. She was, after all, his last hope—his legal team had made that clear—but, like a card player, he’d keep his hand close to his chest and certainly wouldn’t be revealing the full extent of the will just yet...not when he was still trying to get his head around it himself.
He clenched his hands and drew in a deep breath. Damn Carlo. His rush to marry had forced him to contemplate things he never would have entertained before.
He gestured to a chair on one side of his desk, taking in the graceful way she sat and noting the guarded expression on her face. He had to handle this as he would with any deal—ruthlessly. It was the only way. Otherwise he risked being weakened by her smile or, worse, by the undercurrent of something passionate that always seemed to surround them. How much of that was an act on her part he wasn’t sure, but he had to fight hard against the way his body responded to her.
‘My legal team have drawn up an agreement in Spanish and English. I think it will be beneficial to us both.’ He kept his voice controlled as he took his seat opposite her, then he turned the document round and slid it across the desk towards her.
Their eyes met and a simmer of tension passed between them. She lowered her lashes and with slender fingers drew the document closer to her. He watched as she read the conditions, certain she’d be happy with his generous terms.
‘It looks very comprehensive.’
She glanced up, but he wasn’t sure if he was relieved or not to see a teasing smile on her lips.
‘You obviously feel the need to protect yourself from my scheming ways.’
‘It protects us both.’
He tried unsuccessfully to keep the irritation from his voice. Did she have to remind him of her past right at this moment? Was she proud of all the men she’d dated within weeks of her husband passing away? He pushed to the back of his mind all he’d learnt about her after that first visit to his office.
She raised her brows at him suggestively. Damn, was the woman deliberately trying to provoke him?
He stood and walked round the desk and leant down, one hand flat on the hard polished surface, bracing his arm. With pen in hand he pointed at the contract. ‘As my wife you will be entitled to a substantial allowance to do with as you please.’ Her perfume invaded his senses and he realised his mistake in coming close. ‘Any children the marriage produces I will stand by and support, regardless of the outcome of our marriage.’
At least he’d touched on the subject of children. It was hard to believe that he, a man who’d never wanted to be married and certainly hadn’t wanted to father a child, now sought both. Or at least was being forced to.
‘Children?’
There was no doubting the shock in her voice. He looked down into her eyes, bright and wide. ‘Yes. Children.’
He watched her slender throat as she swallowed and guilt sliced at him. He should tell her that a child might well become essential to secure the business, but something kept him silent. He wasn’t sure if it was the fear of spooking her or the still raw anger at his father for creating such a clause. He had mentioned he wanted a real wife—surely that left her in no doubt.
He hoped he’d never have to go that far. It went against everything he believed in. As a mistake himself, he did not want to bring a child into the world unless he could give it love and security. The latter wouldn’t be a problem, but love...?
