by Douglas, Michelle; Gordon, Lucy; Pembroke, Sophie; Hardy, Kate
‘Well, if you’re not going to buy brotherly affection, I doubt you’ll go for family loyalty either.’ He shrugged. ‘I’m far more interested in what our fathers said to get you to agree to marry the Great Pretender.’
‘Don’t call him that,’ Thea snapped. ‘It wasn’t funny when we were kids, and it’s not funny now. And is it so hard to believe that I might actually want to marry Flynn?’
‘Yes,’ Zeke said automatically. And not just because she wasn’t marrying him, whatever his business partner, Deb, said.
‘Well, I do.’ Thea stared at him mulishly, as if she were barely resisting the urge to add, So there!
Zeke leant back against the sunny yellow stone of the hallway, staring down through the arches towards the terrace beyond and the green vines snaking up the trellis. Clearly they were no longer in a hurry to get to the meeting, which gave him a chance to find out what had been going on around here lately.
‘Really?’ he said, folding his arms across his chest. ‘So you’re saying that the fact that your marriage will merge both sides of the business for all time, and give your heirs total control, hasn’t even crossed your mind?’
Thea pulled a face. ‘Of course it has.’
‘And if it hadn’t I’m sure your father would have made it very clear.’ Thomas Morrison was always very good about making his daughter understand the implications of her actions, as Zeke remembered it. Especially when they could benefit him—or threatened to inconvenience him.
‘But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t my decision,’ Thea said.
And suddenly all Zeke could think about was the last decision Thea had made, right before he’d skipped out on the family, the business and the rest of his life.
‘Of course not,’ he said, with a sharp, bitter taste in his mouth at the words. ‘I know you like to weigh your decisions very carefully. Make sure you’re choosing the most beneficial option.’
Thea’s jaw dropped slightly. What? Had she expected him not to notice exactly how mercenary her behaviour was? Maybe eight years ago she might have fooled him, but he knew better now. He knew exactly what mattered to her—and it wasn’t him.
‘What, exactly, are you trying to say?’ She bit the words out, as if she were barely holding back a tirade of insulted pride. ‘And I’d think very carefully before answering.’
Zeke gave her his most blinding smile. ‘Exactly what you think I’m trying to say. That suddenly it makes an awful lot of sense why you chose to stay here instead of coming away with me eight years ago. What was the point once you knew I wasn’t the heir any more?’ He shrugged, nonchalantly, knowing it would irritate her even more. ‘Gotta say, though...I’m surprised it took you this long to bag Flynn.’
* * *
She was going to explode. Literally just pop with rage and frustration, spilling bitterness and anger all over the expensively rustic scrubbed walls of this beautiful villa.
Except that would probably make Zeke Ashton smirk even more. So, instead, Thea took a deep breath and prepared to lie.
‘As hard as it may be for you to believe, I am in love with your brother.’ Her voice came out calm and cool, and Thea felt a small bubble of pride swelling up amongst all the fury. There’d been a time when any words Zeke had spoken to her had provoked an extreme reaction. When they were kids it had usually been annoyance, or anger. Then, when they were teenagers, that annoyance had suddenly become attraction, and then anger, arousal... By the time he’d left...all sorts of other complicated reactions had come into play.
But not any more. Now she was an adult, in control of her own life and making her own decisions. Zeke Ashton’s barbs and comments had no power over her any longer. It felt incredibly freeing.
‘Love?’ Zeke raised an eyebrow. ‘You know, I’m starting to think you’ve got your definition of that word wrong.’
‘Trust me, I know exactly what it means.’ Love meant the incredible pain of loss when it was gone. Or the uncertainty of never knowing if it was returned. It baffled Thea why so many people thought love was a good thing.
‘Really? Well, I’m sure I’m just thrilled that you’ve finally found true love. Guess I was just a practice run.’
Thea’s stomach rolled at the reminder. It wasn’t that she’d thought he’d forgotten their teenage fling, or even forgiven her for the way it had ended—he’d made it very clear in the half-hour he’d been in the villa that neither had happened. But she hadn’t expected him to want to actually talk about it. Weren’t men supposed to be strong and silent on matters of the heart? Suffering in silence, and all that?
Except Zeke had always loved the sound of his own voice. Apparently that hadn’t changed, even if nearly everything else had.
‘That was a long time ago, Zeke. We were kids.’ Too far in the past to bring up now, surely? Even for Zeke, with his ridiculous need to talk about everything. ‘We’ve both moved on. We’re different people now.’
‘Want to throw in a few more clichés with that?’ Zeke shook his head. ‘Look, you can rewrite history any way you like. And, trust me, I’m not here to try and win you back—even to get one over on Flynn. But you’re not going to convince me that this is anything but a business deal with rings.’
‘You’re wrong,’ Thea lied. ‘And you’ll see that. But...’
‘But?’ Zeke asked, one eyebrow raised again in that mocking expression that drove her crazy. ‘But what?’
‘Even if it was a business deal...what would be wrong with that? As long as we both know what we’re getting into...’ She shrugged. ‘There are worse reasons to get married.’
‘Maybe.’ Zeke gave her a slow smile—the one that used to make her insides melt. ‘But there are so many better reasons, too.’
* * *
‘Like love,’ Thea said, apparently still determined to stick to her story.
Zeke didn’t buy it, and knew he wouldn’t, no matter how hard she tried to convince him. He knew what Thea in love looked like, and this wasn’t it.
At least not his Thea. The old Thea. He shook his head. He couldn’t let doubt in now. The only thing in his life that had never let him down was gut instinct. He had to trust himself, especially since he couldn’t trust anyone else. Not even Thea.
‘Love’s the big one,’ Zeke agreed. ‘But it’s not the only thing that counts. Trust. Respect. Common values—’
‘We have those too,’ Thea broke in.
‘Sexual compatibility,’ Zeke finished, smirking when her mouth snapped shut. ‘That’s always important for long-term happiness, I find.’
Her gaze hardened. ‘Really? And how’s that working out for you? I can’t help but notice you’ve come to my wedding alone, after all.’
He had a comeback for that somewhere, he was sure. But since Flynn arrived at that moment—cool, collected, and always an inch and a half taller than Zeke—he didn’t have to search for it.
‘Zeke! You made it.’ Flynn stepped up and held out a hand, but before Zeke could even take it Thea had latched on to her fiancé’s other arm, smiling up at him in a sickeningly adoring manner.
Keeping the handshake as perfunctory as possible, Zeke moved out of their circle of love and into his own space of scepticism. ‘How could I resist the opportunity to be the best man for once? Might be the only chance I get.’
Flynn’s smile stiffened a little at that, but he soldiered on regardless. Always so keen to play up the family loyalty—to be a part of the family he’d never really thought he belonged in. Zeke would have thought that their father choosing Flynn over him would have gone a long way to convincing his brother that there was only one golden boy in the family, and that blood didn’t matter at all.
‘I wouldn’t want anyone but my brother beside me on such an important day,’ Flynn said.
He didn’t even sound as if he was lying, whic
h Zeke thought was quite an accomplishment.
‘Really? Because I have to admit I was kind of surprised to be asked.’ Zeke glanced at Thea, who gave him an I knew it! look. ‘Not as surprised as Thea was to see me here, of course,’ he added, just because he could. She glared at him, and snuggled closer against Flynn’s arm. There was absolutely no chemistry between them at all. And not a chance in hell they’d ever slept together. What on earth was Thea doing with him?
‘You said he wasn’t coming,’ Thea pointed out—rather accusingly, Zeke thought.
‘I wasn’t sure he would,’ Flynn admitted, glancing down at Thea with an apologetic smile.
Zeke wasn’t sure he liked the idea of them talking about him in his absence. What had she said? How much had she told him?
‘But, Zeke, you were the one who left us, remember? Not the other way round. Of course I asked you. You’re my brother.’
‘And that’s the only reason?’ Zeke asked. An uncomfortable feeling wriggled in his chest at the reminder of his disappearance, but he pushed it aside. He hadn’t had a choice. His father had made his position very clear, and that position had taken any other options Zeke might have had off the table. He’d only hung around long enough to waste his time talking to Thea that same night, then he’d been gone. And nobody looking at Zeke now, at how far he’d come and how much he’d achieved, could say that he’d made a mistake by leaving.
Flynn didn’t answer his question. With a sigh, he said, ‘Dad’s got a dinner planned for tonight, by the way. To welcome you home.’
Zeke appreciated the warning too much to point out that a luxury Tuscan villa belonging to some client or another wasn’t actually ‘home’, no matter how many swimming pools it had. ‘A prodigal son type thing? Hope he’s found a suitably fatted calf.’
‘I’m sure there was some poor animal just begging to be sacrificed on your behalf,’ Thea said. ‘But before then don’t we have a meeting with the wedding planner to get to, darling?’
The endearment sounded unnatural on her tongue, and Flynn actually looked uncomfortable as she said it. Nobody would ever believe these two actually loved each other or wanted to see each other naked. Watching them, Zeke couldn’t even see that they’d ever met before, let alone been childhood friends. He could imagine them on their wedding night—all unnatural politeness and a wall of pillows down the middle of the bed. If it wasn’t Thea doing the marrying, it would be hilarious.
‘She had to leave,’ Flynn said. ‘But I think we sorted out all the last-minute details. I said you’d call her later if there was anything you were concerned about.’
‘I’m sure it’s all fine,’ Thea said, smiling serenely.
Even that seemed false. Shouldn’t a woman getting married in two days be a little bit more involved in the details?
A door opened somewhere, slamming shut again as Hurricane Helena came blowing through.
‘Are you guys still here?’ she asked, waves of blonde hair bobbing past her shoulders. ‘Shouldn’t you all be getting ready for dinner? Thea, I had the maid press your dress for tonight. It’s hanging in your room. Can I borrow your bronze shoes, though?’
‘Of course,’ Thea said, just as she always had to Helena, ever since their mother had died.
Zeke wondered if she even realised she did it.
‘Come on, I’ll find them for you now.’
As the women made their way down the corridor Helena spun round, walking backwards for a moment. ‘Hope you brought your dinner jacket, Zeke. Apparently this welcome home bash is a formal affair.’
So his father had been sure he’d come, even if no one else had. Why else would he have set up a formal dinner for his arrival?
Helena turned back, slipping a hand through her sister’s arm and giggling. Thea, Zeke couldn’t help but notice, didn’t look back at all.
Beside him, Flynn gave him an awkward smile. He’d always hated having to wear a bow tie, Zeke remembered suddenly. At least someone else would be miserable that evening.
‘I’ll see you at dinner,’ Flynn said, setting off down another corridor.
‘Can’t wait.’ Zeke’s words echoed in the empty hallway. ‘Gonna be a blast.’
CHAPTER TWO
THEA SHOULD HAVE known this wasn’t just about shoes.
‘So...Zeke coming home. Bit of a shock, huh?’ Helena said, lounging back on Thea’s ridiculously oversized bed.
‘Yep.’ Thea stuck her head in the closet and tried to find her bronze heels. Had she even packed them?
‘Even though old Ezekiel Senior has planned a welcome home dinner?’
‘I told you—Flynn didn’t think he’d come,’ Thea explained. ‘So neither did I.’
‘So Flynn was just as shocked?’ Helena asked, too innocently.
‘Probably,’ Thea said. ‘He just hides it better.’
‘He hides everything better,’ Helena muttered. ‘But, to be honest, he didn’t seem all that surprised when I told him Zeke had arrived.’
Thea bashed her head on the wardrobe door. Rubbing her hand over the bump, she backed out into the room again. ‘Then maybe he just had more faith that his brother would do the right thing than I did. I really don’t think I brought those bronze shoes.’
‘No? What a shame. I’ll just have to wear my pewter ones.’ Helena sat up, folding her legs under her. ‘Why don’t you trust Zeke? I thought you two were pretty close before he left.’
Thea stared at her sister. She’d known all along she didn’t have the stupid shoes, hadn’t she? She’d just wanted an excuse to quiz her about Zeke. Typical.
‘We were friends,’ she allowed. ‘We all were. Hard not to be when they were over at our house all the time.’
‘Or we were there,’ Helena agreed. ‘Especially after Mum...’
‘Yeah.’
Isabella Ashton had quickly taken pity on the poor, motherless Morrison girls. She’d been more than happy to educate fourteen-year-old Thea in the correct way to run her father’s household and play the perfect hostess. At least until Thea had proved she wasn’t up to the task and Isabella had taken over all together. Thea would have been relived, if she hadn’t had to bear the brunt of her father’s disappointment ever since.
And been made to feel like an outsider in my own home.
Thea swallowed and batted the thought away. Helena probably didn’t remember that part of it. As far as she was concerned Isabella had just made sure they were supplied with any motherly advice they needed. Whether they wanted it or not.
Thea moved over to the dressing table, looking for the necklace Isabella had given her for her eighteenth birthday. The night Zeke had left. She’d wear it tonight, along with her own mother’s ring. Isabella always appreciated gestures like that.
‘And you’ve really not spoken to Zeke at all since he left?’ Helena asked.
Thea wondered how much her sister suspected about her relationship with Flynn’s brother. Too much, it seemed.
‘Not once,’ she said firmly, picking up Isabella’s necklace. ‘Not once in eight years.’
‘Strange.’ Helena slipped off the bed and came up behind her, taking the ends of the chain from her to fasten it behind her neck. ‘Do you think that’s why he’s come back now? Because you’re getting married?’
‘Well, he was invited, so I’m thinking that was probably the reason.’
‘No,’ Helena said, and something about her sister’s quiet, firm voice made Thea look up and meet her eyes in the mirror. ‘I meant because you’re getting married.’
Thea swallowed. ‘He didn’t come and visit the last time I almost got married.’
‘Or the time before that,’ Helena said, cheerfully confirming her view of Thea as a serial fiancée. ‘But then, those times you weren’t marrying his brother.’ The words And you did
n’t go through with it... went unsaid.
Thea dropped down onto the dressing table stool. Wouldn’t that be just like Zeke—not to care that she might marry someone else as long as it wasn’t a personal slight to him? But did he even know about the others? If he did, she predicted she’d be subjected to any number of comments and jibes on the subject. Perfect. Because she hadn’t had enough of that at work, or from her friends, or even in the gossip pages.
Only Helena had never said anything about it. Her father had just torn up the pre-nups, asked his secretary to cancel the arrangements, and said, ‘Next time, perhaps?’ After the last one even Thea had had to admit to herself that she was better off sticking to business than romance.
It was just that each time she’d thought she’d found a place she could belong. Someone to belong to. Until it had turned out that she wasn’t what they really wanted after all. She was never quite right—never quite good enough in the end.
Except for Flynn. Flynn knew exactly what he was getting, and why. He’d chosen it, debated it, drawn up a contract detailing exactly what the deal entailed. And that was exactly what Thea needed. No confused expectations, no unspoken agreements—this was love done business-style. It suited her perfectly.
Zeke would think it was ridiculous if he knew. But she was pretty sure that Zeke had a better reason for returning than just mocking her love life.
‘That’s not why he’s back.’
‘Are you sure?’ Helena asked. ‘Maybe this is just the first time he thought you might actually go through with it.’
‘You make me sound like a complete flake.’ Which was fair, probably. Except she’d always been so sure...until it had become clear that the men she was supposed to marry weren’t.
Helena sighed and picked up a hairbrush from the dressing table, running it through her soft golden waves. Thea had given up wishing she had hair like that years ago. Boring brown worked fine for her.