Mia’s Scandal

by Michelle Reid

  ‘But you love me to be old-fashioned and possessive.’

  ‘I also think you should know that over there—’ she pointed to another rail packed with clothes ‘—is another Jessica Rabbit dress, as you call it, just waiting for me to put on if you don’t watch your step!’

  Caught like a rat in a trap, Mia watched his smile disappear and his eyes narrow to scan the indicated rail. ‘I will burn it.’

  ‘Before or after you see me wearing it?’

  He took a minute to think about that, then he responded with a lusty growl, ‘Afterwards. Private viewing.’ He captured her already kiss-blushed lips.

  ‘So what are you planning to wear?’ he demanded long minutes later.

  ‘You,’ Mia whispered. ‘Later,’ she added in a soft invitation. ‘In our bed, where it is my solemn duty to keep scaring your nightmares away.’

  Nikos could have taken objection to her remarking on the nightmares, but he no longer hid anything from this beautiful creature he had won as his wife. It was healthier to keep everything—good or bad—right out there in the open.

  ‘You know, I believed my life was all mapped out,’ he confided softly. ‘No U-turns, no diversions, just me in absolute control of me. Then I met you,’ he husked. ‘I did not want love. I did not want commitment. I did not want to pass on my family genes to another generation. Or to watch my children’s disappointment in me grow each time I did not come up to scratch as a father. Now I want it all.’ His fingers framed her upturned face, his eyes so dark Mia smiled because she just loved to drown in them. ‘I want the marriage, the commitment and the children. I want you to love me. I need you to love me. It’s crazy, frightening.’

  ‘I’m not going anywhere,’ Mia promised. Then, to lighten the sudden intense atmosphere, she begged, ‘Just one more tiny kiss before I go and dress.’

  Flat black eyebrows rose in disdain. ‘I don’t do tiny,’ Nikos drawled arrogantly.

  More About This Book

  The Balfour Brides

  Too Beautiful, Too Rich, Too Pampered…

  Sisters synonymous with style, glamour and now scandal, the Balfour sisters have some hard lessons to learn…

  The Balfour dynasty needs urgent help to save their reputations and show the world what they are worth:

  The Father

  Oscar Balfour must somehow make his daughters appreciate their charmed lives. Will they learn from his mistakes in love?

  The Daughters

  Eight sisters by four different mothers. Each must take a new direction in life to find out who she really is.

  The Rules

  Passed down through generations, the Balfour Family Rules offer the guidance Oscar’s daughters desperately need.

  Read on to discover morel

  The Balfour Dynasty

  The Balfour Family

  The Balfour girls are a British institution, the last of the society heiresses. Oscar’s daughters have grown up in the limelight and the Balfour name is rarely out of the tabloid newspapers. Having eight very different daughters is not without its challenges.

  Olivia and Bella: Oscars eldest daughters are non-identical twins, born two minutes apart, and couldn’t be more different. Where Bella is wild and exuberant, Olivia is practical and sensible. Olivia’s maturity is matched only by Bella’s sense of fun and both twins epitomise key Balfour qualities. The death of their mother when they were young still affects them, although they show their feelings in very different ways!

  Zoe: The youngest daughter of Oscar’s first wife, Alexandra, who tragically died giving birth to her. Like her elder sister Bella, Zoe has a tendency to walk on the wild side and is forever looking for her next social engagement. Her looks are striking, with her green eyes setting her apart from her sisters, but behind her glamorous façade hides a good heart and guilt over her mother’s death.

  Annie: As the eldest of Oscar and Tilly’s daughters, Annie has acquired a good business brain and a kind-hearted and practical outlook on life. Enjoying spending time with her mother at the Balfour estate, she has eschewed the glitterati lifestyle and concentrated more on her Oxford education than her looks.

  Sophie: The middle child is usually the quietest and Sophie Balfour is no exception. In comparison with her dazzling sisters, Sophie has always felt overlooked and is uncomfortable with being ‘a Balfour girl’! Despite her shyness Sophie is artistically talented and has hidden passions that manifest themselves in her creative interior designs.

  Kat: The youngest of Tilly’s daughters has been wrapped in cotton wool her entire life. Since the tragedy of her step-father’s death, she has been fussed over and compensated for by everyone. Her wilful and spoilt behaviour make her born to run from tough situations and she is adamant that she will never commit to anything or anyone!

  Mia: The most recent addition to the Balfour family comes in the shape of Oscar’s illegitimate, half-Italian daughter Mia. Born after a one-night stand between her mother and the head of the Balfour clan, Mia was raised in Italy and is hard-working, humble and naturally beautiful. Discovering her new family has been tough for Mia, the social poise of her blue-blooded sisters is difficult to master!

  Emily: The youngest of Oscar’s daughters and the only child of his one true love, Lillian. As the baby of the family Emily is adored by her older sisters, claims the favourite spot in her father’s heart and has always been well protected. Unlike Kat, Emily remains down-to-earth and determined to make her dream of being a prima ballerina come true. The combined pressures of her mother’s death and the revelation of Mia as her new sister take their toll on Emily and she has enough strength to leave her father’s house and strike out on her own.

  The Balfour Estate

  The Balfour family’s property portfolio is extensive, covering several stunning residences in the most exclusive areas of London, a breathtaking apartment on New York’s Upper East Side, a chalet in Klosters and a private holiday island in the Caribbean which is always in high demand with celebrities…although Oscar is very choosy about who can hire his retreat – no Z-list celebrities allowed!

  However, the family seat is Balfour Manor, nestled in the heart of the Buckinghamshire countryside. It is this house that the girls all call home. With such a disrupted family life, this is the one place that represents security to each of them. It is here that the family spend Christmas together and, of course, they all gather again for the Balfour Charity Ball – the event of the year, attended by the crème de la crème of glittering society, in the heavenly setting of the gardens of the Balfour Manor.

  Letter From Oscar Balfour To His Daughters…

  To my dear girls,

  At best I have been an inattentive father to you all and it has taken recent tragic events to open my eyes to the trouble such carelessness has caused.

  Our old family motto was ‘Validus, Super-bus quod Fidelis’, or ‘Powerful, Proud and Loyal’. By enforcing the ten principles above, I begin to make amends; not only will I endeavour to find these qualities in myself, I pray that you girls will do the same. Over the next few months, I shall expect all of you to take these rules to heart, for each and every one of you needs the guidance they contain. The tasks I shall set you and the journeys I shall send you upon aim only to help you to find yourselves – to achieve change, to develop and learn how to become the strong women you have it within yourselves to be.

  Go forth, my beautiful daughters, and discover how each of your stories ends…

  Oscar

  The Balfour Family Rules

  These ancient Balfour Rules have been passed down through the generations of the family. In the wake of the scandal revealed at the one hundredth Balfour Charity Ball, Oscar realised that his daughters lacked direction and clarity in their lives. Once discarded by Oscar, as a young and reckless man, the Family Rules were revived, revamped and re-instituted to offer the guidance his young daughters were in dire need of.

  Rule 1 – Dignity: a Balfour must strive never to bring the family n
ame into disrepute through unbecoming conduct, criminal activity or disrespectful attitudes towards others.

  Rule 2 – Charity: the Balfours must not take for granted their vast family wealth. True riches are measured by how much one gives to others. Compassion is by far the most valuable possession.

  Rule 3 – Loyalty: you owe loyalty to your siblings; treat them with respect and kindness at all times.

  Rule 4 – Independence: members of the Balfour family must strive to achieve their own personal development and not rely on the family name to get them through life.

  Rule 5 – Courage: a Balfour should be frightened of nothing. Face your fears with courage and they will lead to further self-discovery.

  Rule 6 – Commitment: run away from your problems once and you will run forever.

  Rule 7 – Integrity: don’t be afraid to adhere to your principles and have faith in your own convictions.

  Rule 8 – Humility: there is great strength in admitting your weaknesses and working to overcome them. Do not discard another’s point of view merely because it does not agree with your own. A true Balfour can accept advice as well as offer it.

  Rule 9 – Wisdom: do not judge appearances. True beauty lies beneath the skin. Honesty and integrity are worth far more than simple surface charm.

  Rule 10 – The Balfour Name: being a family member is not merely a privilege of birth. The Balfour name entails supporting one another, valuing your family as you value yourself and carrying the Balfour name with pride. To deny your heritage is to deny your very essence.

  More About the Author

  More About the Author: Michelle Reid

  Reading has been an important part of Michelle Reid’s life as far back as she can remember and was encouraged by her mother, who made the twice-weekly bus trip to the nearest library to keep feeding this particular hunger in all five of her children. In fact, one of Michelle’s most abiding memories from those days is coming home from school to find a newly borrowed selection of books stacked on the kitchen table just waiting to be delved into.

  There has not been a day since that she hasn’t had at least two books lying open somewhere in the house ready to pick up and continue whenever she has a quiet moment.

  Her love of romantic fiction has always been strong, though she feels she was quite late in discovering the riches Mills & Boon has to offer. It wasn’t long after making this discovery that she made the daring decision to try her hand at writing a romance for herself, never expecting it to become such an important part of her life.

  Now she shares her time between her large, close, lively family and writing. She lives with her husband in a tiny white stone cottage in the English Lake District. It is both a romantic haven and the perfect base to go walking through some of the most beautiful scenery in England.

  An Interview With Michelle Reid

  What did you enjoy about writing a continuity title?

  This was my first attempt at writing for a continuity series and I enjoyed the challenge of creating a story from someone else’s ideas. However, the real challenge for me had to be disciplining myself to keep the story within continuity guidelines when my writer’s head wanted to shoot off in all different directions!

  Did you identify with the Balfour sister you were writing about?

  Oh gosh, no. Mia Balfour was born and brought up in Italy, so I had to teach myself to think like an Italian heroine! I do this all the time with my Italian heroes but it felt somehow quite different climbing into the head of an Italian heroine. And Mia was so young and sweet and vulnerable and brave, I admired her from the beginning and I loved “learning” to understand her.

  Which sister’s hero did you find most appealing?

  Besides Mia’s hero, Nikos Theakis? I thought long and hard about this question but each time I decided on an answer I instantly changed my mind. So I suppose I have to say that I found them all appealing!

  What do you think makes a great hero/ heroine?

  Because our heroes are so strong, a great heroine must be able to stand up for herself even when feeling desperately vulnerable. Likewise our forceful heroes must be in touch with their softer side around our heroines, no matter how tough and passionate their conflicts are. It’s a kind of essential balance.

  When you are writing, what is a typical day?

  Usually I wake up each morning with a new scene buzzing inside my head, so my first priority (with a cup of coffee!) is to get that scene down fast, in case I lose it. Then I set to and read through what I’ve written the day before. I tweak, if it needs it, and sometimes fight with it because it wasn’t doing what I had intended it to do. I like to leave the previous day’s work with an unfinished sentence or a couple of word bites to remind me how I want to move the story on. Lunch is quick, a slice of toast and a glass of fresh juice, then the real work begins. If I’m working well I will write without noticing the hours passing by, until my neglected husband dares enter the lion’s den (my office) and make rumbling noises about dinner.

  If things are not going well I will break off halfway through the afternoon to do something really mindless like shopping or ironing, but I often have to race back to my computer halfway through because a solution to the problem I was struggling with has appeared out of nowhere! If the story is really grabbing hold of me I will work again after dinner and late into the night. I confess, the story rules me, not the other way around!

  Preview

  Feisty Kat Balfour has been sent to Carlos Guerrero’s yacht. It’s only when she’s handed an apron that she realises she’s there to work, not play. Brilliant businessman and thrill-seeking dare-devil, Carlos is an enigma. Trapped in the middle of the ocean with the most fiercely sexy and powerful man she has ever met, Kat is way out of her depth!

  Carlos is amused by his new housekeeper – he’ll put her to work, but he’d rather put her to bed! First he must tame the wilful beauty…

  KAT’S PRIDE

  The room in which she now stood was the polar opposite of the poky cabin she’d just been shown. This had the enormous dimensions she was used to – a grand dining salon set out on almost palatial lines. Inlaid lights twinkled from the ceiling – but these were eclipsed by the blaze of natural light which flooded in through sliding French windows which opened up onto the deck itself.

  There was a dining table which would have comfortably seated twelve people, though Kat noticed that only two places had been laid and used. Various open bottles were lined along the gleaming surface and candle wax had dripped all over a bone-china plate. At its centre was a beautiful blue-glass platter of exotic fruits and next to it sat a crystal goblet of flat champagne, along with a carelessly abandoned chocolate wrapper.

  Kat’s lips pursed into a disapproving circle – wondering why on earth a member of staff hadn’t bothered to clear it away. “What a disgusting mess,” she observed quietly

  “Isn’t it?” agreed Mike, laughing. “The boss sure likes to party when he parties!”

  So at least she now knew that the “boss” was a man. And an untidy man, by the look of things. With a sudden smooth purring of powerful engines, the boat began to move – and Kat’s eyes widened in surprise. But before she could register her inexplicable panic that they were setting sail so soon, something happened to wipe every thought clean from her mind.

  The first was the sight of a bikini top – a flimsy little excuse for a garment in a shimmering gold material which was lying in a discarded heap on the polished oak floor. It was a blatant symbol of decadence and sex and, for a couple of seconds, the blood rushed hotly into her cheeks before she allowed herself to concentrate on the second.

  Because the second was a photo of a man.

  Kat’s heart thundered as she stared at it, recognition hit her like a short sharp slap to the face.

  The man in the photo must have been barely out of his teens, yet already his face was sombre and hardened by experience. Black eyes stared defiantly straight into the lens of the camera and his sensu
al lips curved in an expression which was undeniably formidable.

  He was wearing a lavishly embroidered, glittering jacket, skin-tight trousers and some kind of dark and formal hat. It was an image which was unfamiliar and yet instantly recognisable and it took a few moments for Kat to realise that this was the traditional garb of the bullfighter. But that realisation seemed barely relevant in the light of the horror which was slowly beginning to dawn on her.