by Penny Jordan
‘Serves you right for poaching on their preserves,’ Campion teased him.
* * *
They were married at the end of the month, with Guy’s mother still looking rather surprised to discover that her eldest son was soon to make her a grandmother. They were going to look for a house in Dorset, but not until after the babies were born. Until then, they would live in Campion’s small cottage.
‘I know why you don’t want to move,’ Campion teased him mischievously, after the wedding was over and they were alone. They had elected not to go away. Why should they? They had all the privacy they needed right here at the cottage. ‘You’re getting to like this small bed.’
‘Mmm—and it’s getting smaller by the day,’ Guy complained. ‘It wasn’t even designed for two, never mind four…’
* * *
The twins arrived safely at the end of August. Guy stayed with Campion throughout the birth.
‘I’d better go and ring Meg,’ he told her wryly, glancing down into the small bundles nestled in his wife’s arms.
His brother-in-law answered the phone.
‘Twin girls, I knew it!’ Meg crowed when Tait replaced the receiver. ‘Two adorable little girls. I can see them now, dressed in pink.’
‘Er—no—not girls.’
‘Not girls?’ Meg glanced sharply at him. ‘You mean—’
‘Boys,’ Tait told her gravely. ‘Twin boys. But don’t worry, Guy said he’d do his best for girls next time.’ He grinned at his wife. ‘You know what I think?’
‘No, and I don’t want to, either,’ Meg said crossly.
‘Mmm—pity. My aunt Jane had three boys, you know, and then on the fourth attempt—bingo!’
‘A girl?’ Meg breathed, perking up.
‘Triplets,’ Tait told her solemnly, ducking as Meg threw a cushion at him.
‘Well, you never know… It might work. Worth having a try…’
‘Tait Drummond’ she warned him direfully. ‘If we have another boy…’
* * *
In the hospital, Campion waited for Guy to rejoin her.
‘Told Meg the bad news?’ she asked with a smile.
‘Not Meg! I’m not that brave. I spoke to Tait instead.’ He caught hold of her hand. ‘Happy?’
‘Blissfully,’ Campion assured him. ‘More than I ever imagined possible.’ She frowned, and then said thoughtfully, ‘Guy…as my agent, what would you think about me writing a sequel to my book, telling the story of Dickon and Lynsey’s children?’
‘I think that’s a very good idea… But as your husband, I don’t give a damn. I love you, Mrs French,’ he murmured against her mouth. ‘Have I told you that?’
‘Yes, but you can tell me again—I’ll never get tired of hearing you say it,’ Campion whispered back.
* * * * *
Now, read on for a tantalizing excerpt of USA Today bestselling author
Dani Collins’s new release,
XENAKIS’S CONVENIENT BRIDE
The second book in The Secret Billionaires trilogy!
Stavros Xenakis refuses to marry—until deliciously tempting Calli proves that a wife is exactly what he needs! Stavros’s proposal gives Calli the chance to find her stolen son. But she doesn’t expect life as Mrs. Xenakis to be quite so satisfying…
Read on to get a glimpse of
XENAKIS’S CONVENIENT BRIDE
PROLOGUE
STAVROS XENAKIS THREW his twenty-thousand-euro chips into the pot, less satisfied than he usually was postchallenge, but it had nothing to do with his fellow players or his lackluster hand.
His longtime friend Sebastien Atkinson had arranged his usual après-adrenaline festivities. It had wound down to the four of them, as it often did. Many turned out for these extreme sports events, but only Antonio Di Marcello and Alejandro Salazar had the same deep pockets Stavros and Sebastien did. Or the stones to bet at this level simply to stretch out a mellow evening.
Stavros wasn’t the snob his grandfather was, but he didn’t consider many his equal. These men were it and he enjoyed their company for that reason. Tonight was no exception. They were still high on today’s exercise of cheating death, sipping 1946 Macallan while trading good-natured insults.
So why was he twitching with edginess?
He mentally reviewed today’s paraski that had had him carving a steep line down a ski slope to a cliff’s edge before rocketing into thin air, lifted by his chute for a thousand feet, guiding his path above a ridge, then hitting the lower slope for another run of hard turns before taking to the air again.
It had been as physically demanding as any challenge that had come before and was probably their most daredevil yet. Throughout most of it, he’d been completely in the moment—his version of meditating.
He had expected today to erase the frustration that had been dogging him, but it hadn’t. He might have set it aside for a few hours, but this niggling irritation was back to grate at him.
Sebastien eyed him across the table, no doubt trying to determine if he was bluffing.
“How’s your wife?” Stavros asked, more as a deflection, but also trying to divine how Sebastien could be happily married.
“Better company than you. Why are you so surly tonight?”
Was it obvious? He grimaced. “I haven’t won yet.” He was among friends so he admitted the rest. “And my grandfather is threatening to disinherit me if I don’t marry soon. I’d tell him to go to hell, but…”
“Your mother,” Alejandro said.
“Exactly.” They all knew his situation. He played ball with his grandfather for the sake of his mother and sisters. He couldn’t walk away from his own inheritance when it would cost them theirs.
But “settle down?” His grandfather had been trying to fit Stavros into a box from the time he was twelve. Lately it had become a push toward picket fences. Demands he produce an heir and a spare.
Stavros couldn’t buy into any of that so, yet again, he was in a power struggle with the old man. He usually got around being whipped down a particular path, but he hadn’t yet found his alternate route. It chewed and chewed at him, especially when his grandfather was holding control of the family’s pharmaceutical conglomerate hostage.
Stavros might be a hell-raiser, but his rogue personality had produced some of the biggest gains for Dýnami. He was more than ready to steer the ship. A wife and children were cargo he didn’t need, but his grandfather seemed to think it would prove he was “mature” and “responsible.”
Where his grandfather got the idea he wasn’t either of those things, Stavros couldn’t say. He upped his ante to a full hundred thousand, despite the fact his hand had not improved. He promptly lost it.
They played a little longer, then Sebastien asked, “Do you ever get the feeling we spend too much of our lives counting our money and chasing superficial thrills at the expense of something more meaningful?”
“You called it,” Antonio said to Alejandro, tossing over a handful of chips. “Four drinks and he’s philosophizing.”
Sebastien gave Stavros a look of disgust as he also pushed some chips toward Alejandro’s pile.
“I said three.” Stavros shrugged without apology. “My losing streak continues.”
“I’m serious.” Sebastien was the only self-made billionaire among them, raised by a single mother on the dole in a country where bloodlines and titles were still more valuable than a bank balance. His few extra years of age and experience gave him the right to act as mentor. He wasn’t afraid to offer his opinion and he was seldom wrong. They all listened when he spoke, but he did get flowery when he was in his cups. “At our level, it’s numbers on a page. Points on a scoreboard. What does it contribute to our lives? Money doesn’t buy happiness.”
“It buys some nice substitutes.” Antonio smirked.
Sebastien’s mouth twisted. “Like your cars?” he mused, then flicked his glance to Alejandro. “Your private island? You don’t even use that boat you’re so proud of,” he said, m
oving on to Stavros. “We buy expensive toys and play dangerous games, but does it enrich our lives? Feed our souls?”
“What are you suggesting?” Alejandro drawled, discarding a card and motioning for it to be replaced. “We go live with the Buddhists in the mountains? Learn the meaning of life? Renounce our worldly possessions to find inner clarity?”
Sebastien made a scoffing noise. “You three couldn’t go two weeks without your wealth and family names to support you. Your gilded existence makes you blind to reality.”
“Could you?” Stavros challenged, throwing away three cards. “Try telling us you would go back to when you were broke, before you made your fortune. Hungry isn’t happy. That’s why you’re such a rich bastard now.”
“As it happens, I’ve been thinking of donating half my fortune to charity, to start a global search-and-rescue fund. Not everyone has friends who will dig him out of an avalanche with their bare hands.” Sebastien smiled, but the rest of them didn’t.
Last year, Sebastien had nearly died during one of their challenges. Stavros still woke from nightmares of reliving those dark minutes. He’d wound up with frostbite burns on his fingers, but he’d been frantic to save Sebastien, unable to watch a man die again. A man whose life he valued. He felt sick recollecting it and took a sip of his whiskey to sear away the nausea.
“Are you serious?” Alejandro charged. “That’s, what? Five billion?”
“You can’t take it with you.” Sebastien’s shrug was nonchalant. “Monika is on board with it, but I’m still debating. I’ll tell you what.” He leaned forward, mouth curling into the wicked grin he always wore when he proposed cliff diving or some other outrageous act. “You three go two weeks without your credit cards and I’ll do it.”
“Starting when? We all have responsibilities,” Alejandro reminded.
After a considering pause, Sebastien canted his head. “Fair enough. Clear the decks at home. But be prepared for word from me—and two weeks in the real world.”
“You’re really going to wager half your fortune on a cakewalk of a challenge?” Alejandro said.
“If you’ll put up your island. Your favorite toys?” He took in all three men. “I say where and when.”
They all snorted with confidence.
“Easy,” Stavros said, already anticipating the break from his grandfather’s badgering. “Count me in.”
Copyright © 2017 by Dani Collins
Don’t miss
XENAKIS’S CONVENIENT BRIDE
by USA Today bestselling author
Dani Collins,
available June 2017 wherever
Harlequin Books and ebooks are sold.
www.Harlequin.com
If you enjoyed this story by
NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author
PENNY JORDAN,
you will love
Harlequin® Presents!
Do you want alpha males, decadent glamour and jet-set lifestyles? Step into the sensational, sophisticated world of Harlequin® Presents, where sinfully tempting heroes ignite a fierce and wickedly irresistible passion!
Look for eight new stories every month!
Recommended Reads for June 2017
Sold for the Greek’s Heir
The Prince’s Captive Virgin
The Secret Sanchez Heir
Xenakis’s Convenient Bride
Her Sinful Secret
The Prince’s Nine-Month Scandal
The Drakon Baby Bargain
The Greek’s Pleasurable Revenge
ISBN-13: 978-1-488-03207-3
A PASSIONATE AWAKENING
Originally published as FORCE OF FEELING by Harlequin Mills & Boon in 1988
This edition published 2017
Copyright © 1988 by Penny Jordan
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All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
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