Shock Marriage For The Powerful Spaniard (Mills & Boon Modern) (Passion in Paradise, Book 5)

by Cathy Williams

  She shivered and laughed unsteadily.

  ‘What is it?’ Rafael quizzed, not looking at her. ‘I’m merely going over all the practical details.’

  ‘I know. It’s strange,’ she said slowly, ‘But for a while, when you first arrived at the Walters’ house, when you were pretending to be a gardener, I actually felt comfortable with you. I hadn’t expected to, but I did. You were...different. More easy going, light-hearted. I suppose that was just a persona and this is the real you.’

  Rafael flushed darkly. ‘I don’t have a split personality, Sofia.’

  ‘You weren’t cold and distant like this...’

  ‘I’m being practical,’ he offered brusquely. ‘It’s the best way of dealing with this situation. This is not Argentina and it’s better for the both of us if we approach it from the same perspective. We’re in an arrangement and we need to view it as such.’ He looked at her, at her smooth, stunningly sexy profile, the gentle curve of her neck, the sweep of her dark hair, and his body stirred in unwelcome and definitely inappropriate response. ‘It’s essential, in fact,’ he felt compelled to stress in a roughened undertone.

  Sofia didn’t say anything but she was sitting next to a stranger.

  ‘It’s just a little weird to think that I’m about to embark on a wedding and a marriage to a guy who is more of a stranger now than he was when I first met him.’

  ‘Not such a great idea to go there,’ Rafael said, picking up pace now that the airport surroundings had been left behind and they were shooting away from the city. ‘This is what we both signed up for and we both had our reasons. Let’s just hit Acceptance Road and keep on it.’

  ‘But don’t you feel just a little bit sad that you’re not getting married for all the right reasons?’ She laughed lightly to cover up the sincerity of what she was saying. Funny thing was, she’d always considered herself the sort of practical girl who didn’t have a romantic bone in her body. Not really. Yes, she believed in love, but a sensible sort of love. Not the sort of tempestuous carousel of emotion that had plagued her mother and driven her into relationships that had been doomed before they got off the ground.

  ‘The right reasons being...the starry-eyed business of true love?’ Rafael laughed shortly. ‘In a word, no.’ And just like that he thought of times past and his brief and disastrous foray into married life. Hell, he thought he’d relegated that slice of insanity to the past! Too young to know better and too green round the gills to realise that some women loved money more than they loved the men they claimed to adore. He shut the wayward memory down. You learned from the crap that was thrown at you and you moved on. He’d learned from having rich parents who hadn’t given a damn about him and he’d moved on. He’d learned from that costly, juvenile mistake when he’d married in haste and he’d moved on.

  ‘You’re very cynical, aren’t you?’

  ‘Very realistic. I’ve seen where so-called true love ends up and it’s not in a happy-ever-after scenario. I’m comfortable with this arrangement. And you should be too because, as we’ve agreed, there is a time limit to it.’

  ‘I remember,’ Sofia said dryly. One year, he had concluded, during which time the relationship with David could be forged, the business of Freddy would be concluded and thereafter she would be free to divorce and pick back up her life, but as a wealthy woman.

  ‘I didn’t take you for the romantic kind,’ he eventually remarked to break the silence and kill the remnants of uninvited memories. ‘In fact, you were pretty spiky when we first met.’

  ‘I’m not the romantic kind! And you were pretty arrogant when we first met, which was probably why I was spiky.’ It was suddenly unnerving because he’d lost the cool voice, and that glimpse of the sexy, easy guy she’d found herself attracted to was back. It was just a glimpse but it was still enough to make her skin tingle. This time, though, she was prepared and she quickly changed the subject because there was no way she was going to lose her head a second time round. He’d turned the charm on when he’d descended in his fake role as gardener because he’d needed to suss her out, get to know her, and that had been the most efficient way of doing itt. But charm was inherent in his personality and she guessed that it would be far too easy to fall victim to it again. It was something she wasn’t about to do.

  ‘When...er...do I get to meet...er...?’

  ‘David?’ Rafael half-smiled. ‘Scheduled for the day after tomorrow. Saturday. He’ll be back in his house and up to visitors, although any visit will have to be brief. And the big day...the following Saturday. It’ll be a suitably small affair. Thereafter, we’ll be man and wife—although, as I’ve said, I’ll be working in London during the week and on weekends you might want to travel down and stay in my apartment...handy for setting up a routine of visits to David once he’s home.’

  No time together was what Sofia read into that statement of fact, and it came as no great shock, as he’d previously sketched out that scenario.

  ‘So I’ll be out in the sticks during the week.’ She would carry on with her studies. She’d enjoy the discipline, even though she wouldn’t need the job at the end of it. She would explore her surroundings, maybe do something crafty with her spare time, volunteer somewhere or maybe just see what sports were on offer. It would be a life she had never envisioned but she would need something to do for herself while she was here.

  ‘Unless you prefer my apartment. It’s more than big enough for the both of us.’

  ‘Won’t that be an intrusion?’ Sofia murmured inaudibly, because she’d already worked out that if Rafael spent the week away from her it would give him ample opportunity to continue uninterrupted in whatever life he had involving the opposite sex.

  She thought of him with another woman and was shocked at the raw sting of jealousy that swept through her in a tidal wave.

  ‘Come again?’

  ‘Nothing,’ she said brightly. ‘Just...enjoying the scenery and...being somewhere different.’

  The car ate up the miles and, despite the flurry of nervous tension inside her, she really did enjoy the scenery as the roads became less congested and the land more open, rolling in a patchwork quilt of different colours on either side of the dual carriageway until they cut away from the main drag.

  Then they drove up smaller roads, narrower streets that opened into tiny villages announcing themselves with a single signpost. She saw lots of greenery and lots of trees and then, eventually, the car swerved slowly through electronically controlled wrought-iron gates.

  This wasn’t what she’d been expecting. The drive opened out to a small courtyard and then an elongated cottage that was picture-perfect. White walls, clambering ivy, roses.

  ‘You own this house?’

  Rafael drew to a stop and flashed her a smile of such utter charm that for a few seconds she struggled to breathe.

  The worst of it was that he didn’t even realise the effect that smile could have on her.

  ‘Investment,’ he said succinctly. ‘Apparently out here old and quaint sells. As it happens, I’ve hung onto it far longer than I originally planned, because David’s always enjoyed coming out here, but in the meantime it’s done very nicely indeed pricewise. That answer your question?’

  ‘Perfectly.’

  There was a snazzy black car in the drive and now an attractive blonde in her mid-thirties emerged and walked towards the Range Rover.

  ‘The ring selection,’ Rafael murmured, reaching across her to snap open the door and pausing before withdrawing his arm that was inches from her breasts. ‘For the love-struck couple, giddy after their whirlwind romance.’

  ‘Is that what everyone thinks?’

  Rafael shrugged. ‘David knows the ins and outs, and Freddy has already begun to make outraged noises, but I’d say the rest of the world probably think that this is the real deal. Why wouldn’t they? I honestly don’t care but it might be easier a
ll round for you to give as few people as little to talk about.’

  Sofia was trying hard to concentrate on every word he was saying but her eyes were compulsively looking at his well-defined, sensual mouth and her body was way too aware of that arm of his almost but not quite brushing her breasts.

  She barely saw the rings, which were a blur of diamonds and gold, small, glittering objects that mocked all the principles she had ever stood by. They nestled against the black velvet and all she could think was this should be for real. In front of them, the attractive blonde was positively throbbing with excitement.

  Sofia pointed to the smallest and least ostentatious and felt the light touch of Rafael’s hand cupping the nape of her neck, gently massaging beneath her mane of hair. Time felt suspended. She inhaled and then found it almost impossible to exhale because every nerve in her body, every pulse, was caught in a whirlpool of dark, swirling sensation.

  ‘Way too small, my darling,’ he murmured, leaning forward, his hand still massaging her neck, to point at a far bigger diamond. Then he drew back and his hand dropped, but only to lightly rest on her waist.

  ‘Lucky you,’ the blonde whispered when the ordeal was at an end and rings had been selected, ready for adjustments before the big day.

  ‘Oh, yes.’ Sofia glanced to where Rafael was now standing to one side, on his phone talking work, safely out of range of her rebellious body. ‘I’m the luckiest girl in the world.’

  As she said that, he looked at her, dark eyes tangling with bright green, and hot colour crawled into her cheeks.

  Did she look like a genuine blushing bride-to-be? She hoped not and, to dispel any such illusion, she stood up briskly, smile pinned to her face, and ushered the woman out. Then she asked whether she could explore her surroundings.

  ‘Take your time,’ Rafael drawled. ‘I have some work to do. I’ll be in the kitchen.’

  He vanished through one of the opened doors towards the back and Sofia knew that this was how it was going to be until such time as the marriage drew to its inevitable conclusion, leaving her a rich woman free to go her own way.

  She did as told and explored. She took her time and, in the process, she fell in love with the sprawling, well-decorated house. She never imagined that she would actually live in a place like this. The proportions of the rooms were perfect, the muted tones exquisite, the furnishings luxurious. Whatever she’d traded, whatever dreams she’d locked away, she knew that the deal done had given her all sorts of advantages she could never, ever have achieved on her own.

  She didn’t even have to pretend to be head-over-heels in love with Rafael. Mutual respect was what was on the table.

  And what, exactly, had she left behind? Her infrastructure in Argentina had been almost non-existent thanks to all the travelling she’d done with her mother over the years. She’d lost touch with school friends. She only had her aunt and her cousin. Her heart constricted when she thought about them because she would miss them but, as she’d told Misa, it wasn’t going to be for ever and she would be able to do so much for Miguel.

  ‘Love isn’t the be all and end all,’ she had said with genuine honesty. ‘Mum had her heart broken because of love and then spent the rest of her life trying to relocate it and failing. Life would have been a lot easier if she’d just focused on...other things. Financial security. A steady job.’

  She had already set up a standing order and had told her aunt to start looking around for a better property, suitably adapted for Miguel. She’d explained the situation, the practicalities of it. She had fought down the lump in her throat that somehow her aunt would be disappointed she had told herself that this was what mattered. Not big dreams of fairy-tale romances but the solid advantages of financial security.

  She still believed all of that and it was frustrating to find herself doubting those long-held convictions.

  On the spur of the moment, she dialled her aunt’s number, gently pushing the door to the upstairs bedroom behind her.

  The minute Rafael had come clean about his intentions, she had slammed down the shutters and any temptation to confide further details of her private life had screeched to a halt.

  She’d always been so protective of her privacy and she had been appalled that she’d begun opening up to a complete stranger who had turned out to be a fraud.

  Her aunt answered on the first ring and, just like that, Sofia was transported back to Buenos Aires and the gruelling, repetitive life Misa led, doing her utmost to make everything more comfortable for Miguel.

  It was a life that was so different from the one she now found herself transported to that it was scarcely believable.

  In a low voice, smiling when she thought of all the possibilities that would open up to the only relative she knew and someone she loved, Sofia described the very house in which she was standing, describing the trip over and the car that had collected her. She peered through the window, down to a rambling garden that matched the house.

  Trees fringed the back and beyond those trees were rolling fields. Borders of flowers and shrubs were artfully entwined and under a drooping willow was a wooden bench, perfect for reading.

  Still smiling, she turned to find Rafael standing in the doorway, his expression unreadable, his dark eyes cool and speculative.

  She ended the call, flushing and annoyed with herself, because she had nothing to feel guilty about and yet she did.

  ‘Personal call?’ he asked, strolling into the room and joining her by the window through which he peered absently before turning around to look at her. ‘Call you felt you had to make with the door shut?’

  Sofia opened her mouth to tell him that she had been touching base with her aunt but stopped herself.

  She’d decided to share as little as possible, hadn’t she? She had no intention of telling him how she planned to use some of the money that had landed into her account. He had made it clear that this was purely a business transaction, that he would lead his life as he saw fit just so long as he kept the details of what he was up to to himself.

  Confidences were the business of friends. He wasn’t her friend, despite what she might originally have thought.

  Besides, what if he decided to have a say in where her money went? Could he do that? Did he care one way or the other? It was best not to risk anything.

  She couldn’t trust him and it was just as well to remember that.

  She shrugged, slipping the mobile phone into her over the shoulder bag.

  ‘If you have any ties you think I should know about,’ Rafael drawled, with just the tiniest edge in his voice, ‘then you should think about telling me now.’

  ‘Ties?’

  ‘I asked you once whether you were involved with anyone out there and you told me that you weren’t.’

  ‘Oh, I see what you mean, Rafael. Men.’ She lowered her eyes, torn between telling him the truth and protecting a life she felt he had no right to know about, just as there would be huge tracts of his life he felt she had no right to know about, whatever their marital status.

  ‘No men. At least...’ She thought of Miguel and hardened her jaw. ‘You don’t have to worry on that front, although if I recall you did say that we could lead separate lives...err...when it came to that kind of thing.’

  She began moving away and he caught her by her arm, halting her.

  ‘That’s what you intend on doing?’ he asked softly, stepping fractionally closer to her.

  Her heart was beating fast. Her pulses were racing and her whole nervous system was in free fall.

  A passing touch and she was going to pieces! She couldn’t tear her eyes away from his mouth and the feel of his hand on her arm was electric.

  ‘I... I don’t know what I intend on doing,’ Sofia said breathlessly, inching away as much as she could.

  ‘I won’t tolerate any affair being flaunted in my face,’ he said fla
tly.

  ‘Nor will I!’ Her green eyes flashed and suddenly there was an outpouring of emotion only weakly held in check by the stern lectures she had given herself ever since she had embarked on this road. ‘Whatever you might think of me, this was never what I envisaged for myself when it came to marriage! Yes, I know all about those million and one reasons for going through with it, and yes, I know it’s not going to last for ever and I’ll walk away with lots of money in my bank account. But it still hurts to know that I’m going to tie the knot with some guy who will play around with other women and do his own thing!’

  She looked at him fiercely. She felt herself gathering momentum. ‘Furthermore, this is your territory. You’re established here and you don’t care what the world thinks of you or the choices you make! But I... I don’t belong here, so just try and imagine what it’ll feel like if I ever walk into a room to be confronted by some woman you’re bedding behind my back!’

  ‘You have quite the imagination...’

  ‘Have I? You might not intend on flaunting anything but are you going to tell me that that world you occupy isn’t a really small one?’

  ‘It’s small,’ Rafael admitted in a roughened undertone. His grasp on her arm had slackened but he had also closed the tiny distance between them so that she could feel the heat radiating from his body.

  ‘Women can be vicious,’ Sofia muttered, looking down and thinking of the nasty digs that had plagued her teenage years and the bitchiness of jealous girls who had always guarded their stupid boyfriends against what they’d seen as a possible threat. As if she’d ever been interested in any of them. But still she knew what it felt like to be attacked through no fault of her own.

  She shuddered at the thought of having to deal with some woman Rafael might be seeing.

  ‘Are you speaking from experience?’ he murmured, dropping his hand to his side and stepping back as he stared down at her with his head tilted to one side.