‘I never wanted Enrique’s money, but I did want to meet my two half-brothers,’ he informed her, more seriously.
‘I still don’t understand,’ she sighed.
‘It’s simple—stop glaring at me. Enrique demanded certain—things from me before I could meet my half-brothers.’
‘A wife and a baby,’ she whispered bleakly.
‘No, querida,’ Anton said gently. ‘He demanded I take you as my wife and we produce a baby—no, don’t look sad again,’ he chided. ‘This is not a sad occasion, I promise you. Enrique was a cruel bastard, but I think he must have known that we would not be able to fulfil his demands. I hate having to do it, but I will even say that he planned things to conclude this way.’
Cristina crossed her arms. ‘I wish I knew what this conclusion is that you keep walking circles around!’
‘You and me finding each other, ending up here like this,’ Anton explained. ‘He wanted me to dance to his tune. He wanted me to fight tooth and nail to marry you, but he didn’t want me to do that while still lying to myself that I was only marrying you to fulfil his wishes and not my own. And here is his cruelty, cara. He built a knockback into his plans to force me to face myself.’ Anton grimaced. ‘He didn’t need to do that. I’d faced what I still felt for you within the first twenty-four hours of seeing you again.’
‘The knockback was the baby I cannot give you.’
‘I think he also knew that once I had met my half-brothers I would tell his lawyer where to put his money. So he made certain that I wouldn’t have the option to refuse. Instead it would go to you, and I would be forced to take care of it.’
‘I can take care of my own money.’ Her chin came up.
Anton sent her a rueful smile. ‘I hope not, Cristina. In fact I’m banking on you handing over full control of all your business interests to me.’
He took the letter from her and made her read the final paragraph.
You are invited to attend a meeting at the office of Estes and Associates at four p.m. on February fourteenth, to hear the final reading of the last will and testament of Enrique Ramirez, in the presence of the other main beneficiaries.
‘Your half-brothers.’
‘If they have jumped through the hoops I don’t doubt Enrique set for them, as he did for me.’
‘Your brothers…’
It was beginning to dawn on her. He could see the light beginning to glow in her eyes. ‘You are going to attend the meeting in my place, because you are so full of machismo, so domineering and arrogant and…you love me for it, hmm?’
Cristina laughed. Anton laughed. The watching wedding group on the other side of the room gave a communal sigh of relief.
Champagne corks popped. The day moved on in a slow and easy romantic kind of way neither Anton or Cristina were in rush to bring to an end.
Eventually it did, though, and they went to their suite and to bed. Being officially man and wife added a delicious new level to their loving. Later, Anton was in his usual wide-awake relaxed sprawl while Cristina lay on top of him like a second skin.
‘Valentine’s Day,’ he murmured thoughtfully.
‘Mmm?’ Cristina really did not want to raise herself out of the sated haze she was drifting in right now.
‘February the fourteenth—Valentine’s Day. I wonder who the die-hard romantic is that picked that particular date for me and my brothers to meet?’
‘Your father?’
‘Hmm, no.’ He shook his head. ‘I had several more months left to fulfil his wishes. I have to assume—hope—that having the date of the meeting brought forward like this means that, like me, my brothers must have hit their required targets earlier than expected.’
‘You did not hit your target. You defaulted,’ some imp made Cristina remind him.
‘But I made sure I hooked in the woman who was going to get my share of the booty.’ He smiled. ‘I’m a winner—always have been.’
‘And arrogant.’
‘That too.’
‘I can still remove my permission for you to attend that meeting in my place.’
‘But you won’t.’
‘No.’ She cuddled closer. ‘I wonder if your brothers will look like you?’ she pondered curiously. ‘Can you imagine not one but three tall, dark, arrogant men strutting around as if they own the world?’ She affected a shudder.
‘We will probably hate each other on sight.’
Cristina lifted up her head and touched a gentle finger to his mouth. ‘You are worried about meeting them?’
Anton tried for a macho indifferent shrug, but ended up sighing out a much more honest, ‘Yes…And hellishly excited about it too. In fact—’ he moved, using an arm to haul her further up his body ‘—too excited. I need a diversion.’
‘Sex is going to be a diversion?’
‘Making love to my beautiful demanding wife,’ he corrected. ‘The best diversion there is…’
The Brazilian’s Blackmailed Bride - The Ramirez Brides 02 Page 17