Rumours: The Secret Billionaires. Дженнифер Хейворд
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pop of a champagne cork startled her and Leo laughed—a sound which filled her heart with warmth—and she pushed away her doubts. For Leo’s sake she would enjoy this moment.
‘To marriage,’ said Sebastien as he raised his glass. ‘To the bride and groom—and Leo.’
Antonio raised his flute of champagne to her, his dark eyes intent and watchful, shining with unguarded emotion. ‘To my beautiful bride.’
She smiled shyly. She had been overreacting all along, getting carried away with pre-wedding nerves. Everything would be fine now they were married.
‘And let’s not forget the challenge you accepted and clearly excelled at.’ Sebastien’s voice slashed through that hope which shivered like a delicate spider’s web on a dewy morning.
‘Challenge?’ The word had left Sadie’s lips before she could stop it. What was Sebastien talking about?
Monika placed her hand on her arm and Sadie looked at her. Did she know what this was all about? ‘They’re teasing. They always challenge one another—over everything.’
‘I told you I worked in the garage to prove I could.’ Antonio’s voice jolted her attention and she looked at him, aware that Monika and Sebastien were exchanging glances with one another. They knew something she didn’t.
‘I challenged him to live for two weeks without his family name and wealth and he did.’
Sadie looked at Sebastien, her long slender fingers over her lips as she took in the full implications of what she’d learnt. ‘I had no idea.’
* * *
Antonio had seen the doubt and confusion rush over Sadie’s face and inwardly he’d berated Sebastien’s honesty. He’d watched, helpless to say anything, as Monika had tried to smooth things over with Sadie, but as usual Sebastien had calmed the situation down, telling just enough but nowhere near all the details.
Thankfully, Leo had chosen that moment to rush in from the gardens, full of excitement for his new surroundings, but now, with Leo asleep in his new room and their guests gone, it was just him and Sadie.
It was their wedding night, but the moment Sebastien and Monika had left the tension had intensified between him and Sadie, tension which was born out of the ever-present simmering sexual attraction between them. Already he was being drawn in, being forced to engage in emotions he’d long since thought withered within him—and that was just with his son. Sadie was even more of a threat to the equilibrium of his emotions.
‘I trust that our arrangement of separate rooms will continue.’ Sadie’s voice was sharp and unyielding as she sat with him on the terrace, the twinkling lights of Rome in the distance and the sounds of the night surrounding them.
Had she read his thoughts? Could she sense the turmoil within him that just having her around unleashed? He studied her as she looked out into the night, as if she couldn’t, or didn’t want to, look at him. This angry version of Sadie was not what he’d envisaged for his wedding night, but, with one disastrous marriage behind him, it seemed fate was after all casting doom over this one when it was only hours old.
‘If that is what you want.’ The granite hardness of his voice more than matched hers and she glanced at him as she stood up, obviously preparing to leave.
‘It is. Our marriage was only ever about Leo.’ Her words sliced through him, slashing the memories of the day he’d confided in Sebastien that Sadie was the only woman who’d made him want to open his heart to softer emotions, the kind which weakened even the hardest man. But he wasn’t weak and he would not be weakened. Whatever they’d once had was obviously long gone. All that remained was the spark of sexual attraction, which could easily be doused. Experience had taught him that.
‘Our marriage was about uniting for Leo’s sake, about enabling me to be there for my son.’ He couldn’t allow his thoughts to focus on what had once been. He had to remain firm. She’d accepted his terms of marriage—terms he’d made for the little boy for whom he’d do anything.
‘And how long will you be there for him?’ Finally she turned to face him, the censure clear in her voice and sparking in her eyes, even in the dim light of the evening. ‘A few days? A week or two?’
‘I intend to be there for ever for my son, so you had better get used to having me in your life.’ He bit down on the anger her words provoked but kept his gaze firmly fixed on her beautiful face.
‘I don’t believe you are up to that particular challenge.’ She glared angrily at him and he wondered if she had any idea just how he worked, how he could never envisage anything but success—in everything he did.
‘So it’s a challenge, is it?’ He couldn’t stem the amusement which rushed over him watching her expression change to one of shock when she realised what she’d done, that she’d issued a challenge to him.
‘You seem to thrive on them.’ The haughty and distinctly flirty reply fizzed in the air as the sexual tension notched up another level.
‘I do indeed.’ He couldn’t help teasing her. The only problem was that it increased his desire to kiss her, to make her his once more.
‘And, of course, getting me back in your bed is yet another challenge.’ The pointed retort found its mark, snuffing out the burn of desire which was escalating within him.
He laughed. The truth of her words made anything else impossible. She met his gaze, the green of her eyes sparking with anger. Anger which only lit the fuse of desire once more. He wanted her in a way he’d never wanted another woman, but then he wasn’t accustomed to being turned down by a woman—or wanting her all the more for that rejection.
He stood up and stepped closer to her, so close he could smell her perfume as it mixed with the heady scent of the array of flowers beyond the terrace of the villa. The urge to pull her against him, to feel her body pressed against his only exacerbated the confusion of emotions running riot within him. ‘If I wanted you in my bed, that is exactly where you would be and I wouldn’t need a challenge to achieve that objective.’
She glared at him, but, before she could say anything, he took her hand and raised her fingers to his lips. She didn’t resist as he pressed a kiss onto her fingers, his dark gaze locked with the sexy green of her eyes.
‘But I will wait for the time when you can no longer deny what still exists between us.’
SADIE’S FIRST NIGHT as Antonio’s wife had been restless and lonely. True to his word, he’d honoured her request to sleep alone, but the challenge he’d clearly laid down still sounded in her mind. She had spent much of the night staring into the semi-darkness, questioning if she’d done the right thing marrying Antonio and wondering if he would keep his word and allow her to sleep alone. Was everything, including their marriage, all part of a challenge?
Leo had been up for a while, exploring his new home with Antonio. As she stood now, at the edge of the olive grove beyond the immaculate grounds of the villa, and watched Leo and Antonio as they explored their new home, she felt herself being drawn closer and closer to the man she’d married. He didn’t look like the power-hungry billionaire she knew he was; he appeared content and happy with Leo.
Antonio glanced up and, on seeing her, took Leo’s hand and led him back towards the terrace. She expected Leo to clamber onto her lap, but he didn’t. It seemed his new home and father figure had instilled confidence in him, made him more independent. He ran across the immaculate lawn to explore further as Antonio stood beside her.
‘Leo has settled well. He is an inquisitive child.’ Antonio’s voice was gentler than normal. Was he succumbing to Leo’s charm? If so, how long would it last?
‘I am more than aware, thanks to Sebastien, that our marriage is some sort of challenge, but please remember your son