CHAPTER ONE

      RETURNING from his morning hack beneath the dazzling Palermo sunshine, Pascual Dominguez cantered into the relative cool and shade of the stables and dismounted. Patting his steed on the rump as a groom promptly materialised, he ordered the young man to turn the pony out into the field after he had seen to him.

      He was in good spirits. After a family party last night in honour of his forthcoming marriage he was looking forward to having his fiancée Briana to himself again in a couple of hours, after she had finished work.

      There had been far too many people there last evening for them to grab even one moment together, but tonight they would be having dinner at his favourite restaurant, and afterwards he fully intended that she would be spending the night with him, prior to enjoying a few days together before the wedding. Time alone away from no doubt well-meaning family and friends…just the two of them.

      Briana had turned Pascual’s well-ordered world upside down and that was a fact! Never having dreamed that such a powerful instant connection with a woman would ever come his way, every day he woke and counted his blessings.

      From practically the moment he had set eyes on the young English nanny his friends Marisa and Diego de la Cruz had hired to take care of their baby girl, Briana Douglas had become the sole focus of all his hopes and dreams. She had consented to become his wife, and now he found himself counting the days to their wedding.

      Whistling softly beneath his breath, he found his housekeeper waiting for him as he strode through the opened double doors of the main house. A frown puckered the friendly, still smooth olive-skinned features that belied her years.

      ‘What is it, Sofia?’ Pascual arched a dark brow, an inexplicable dart of apprehension shooting through him and making him feel suddenly cold.

      ‘Señorita Douglas came by while you were out riding…’ the older woman began.

      ‘Where is she?’ he interrupted, gazing impatiently round the stunning marble vestibule.

      ‘She did not stay, señor.’

      The housekeeper was delving inside the pocket of her long black skirt for something. In the next instant she handed Pascual a slim white envelope. The cold feeling inside him deepened to ice.

      ‘She told me to give you this letter.’

      ‘Gracias.’ He all but snatched it from her hand and headed towards the grand winding staircase, taking the steps two at a time before she’d barely finished speaking.

      In his personal suite of rooms, he started to rip open the envelope, now frankly hating the presentiment of doom that seemed to be clutching his vitals in a vice. What was wrong with him? Was he coming down with something? With his wedding only days away, he sincerely hoped not. Standing by the opened balcony doors of his sitting room, he felt a gentle welcome breeze that carried the enticing scents of jasmine and honeysuckle