Blackmailed into marriage...by Christmas!

Genealogist Lydia Carter-Wilson is horrified by the debts her father has run up in her name. Then magnate Raul Valdez approaches her with an outrageous proposition. If she helps him claim his inheritance, he’ll pay off her debts and save her tarnished reputation. But there’s a catch. If she fails, she will marry Raul on Christmas Eve!

No matter their instant and electrifying attraction, Lydia knows Raul’s proposal amounts to blackmail. Yet faced with an impossible choice—risking ruin or becoming Raul’s bartered bride—Lydia finds she cannot resist her desire to make a deal with the dark-hearted billionaire!

‘Don’t you dare laugh at me!’ Indignation hurtled out with those words, all but lashing at Raul, and he reluctantly pushed away the image of this woman in his bed.

‘Maybe a little laughter is how we need to deal with this situation. Now, please sit down. The poor waitress has no idea if we are staying or going.’ He tried to instil some order into their meeting—which didn’t feel anything like a business lunch.

He liked the way Lydia’s brunette hair moved: slipping over her shoulder, those loose curls bouncing with the movement, and the way she tucked it back behind her ears. There was an air of vulnerability about her, but he didn’t buy into that at all. There was no way this fiery creature was vulnerable. Spoilt and used to getting her way, yes, but vulnerable? No.

‘I’m not entirely sure being forced into marriage is a laughing matter.’

She fixed those gorgeous eyes on his face, her full lips pouting slightly, making him briefly wish this was a date and that by the end of the evening he would be able to kiss them.

Savagely he pushed those thoughts aside. This was not a time to become distracted. ‘Then on that we agree.’

Introducing a sizzling and sexy new duet from Rachael Thomas

Convenient Christmas Brides

Estranged brothers Raul Valdez and Maximiliano Martinez are about to unlock some dark and hidden secrets. But with Christmas around the corner first comes seduction!

Lydia Carter-Wilson finds herself blackmailed into an engagement by Raul Valdez in

Valdez’s Bartered Bride

Available now!

Maximiliano’s life is turned upside down when his estranged wife announces she is carrying his heir in

Martinez’s Pregnant Wife

Coming soon!

Valdez’s Bartered Bride

Rachael Thomas

www.millsandboon.co.uk

RACHAEL THOMAS has always loved reading romance, and is thrilled to be a Mills & Boon author. She lives and works on a farm in Wales—a far cry from the glamour of a Mills & Boon Modern Romance story—but that makes slipping into her characters’ worlds all the more appealing. When she’s not writing, or working on the farm, she enjoys photography and visiting historical castles and grand houses. Visit her at rachaelthomas.co.uk.

Books by Rachael Thomas

Mills & Boon Modern Romance

The Sheikh’s Last Mistress

New Year at the Boss’s Bidding

Craving Her Enemy’s Touch

Claimed by the Sheikh

A Deal Before the Altar

The Secret Billionaires

Di Marcello’s Secret Son

One Night With Consequences

A Child Claimed by Gold

From One Night to Wife

Brides for Billionaires

Married for the Italian’s Heir

The Billionaire’s Legacy

To Blackmail a Di Sione

Visit the Author Profile page at millsandboon.co.uk for more titles.

For Marie Dry and the happy memories of the fun time we spent in Madrid and Seville.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Convenient Christmas Brides

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

EPILOGUE

Extract

Copyright

PROLOGUE

Middle of September, two months earlier

‘DO YOU REALLY expect me to go through with it?’ Raul Valdez’s voice thundered around the room, his Spanish words fluid and fast.

‘The debt needs to be repaid and, whether you like it or not, the contract your father made before his death with Henry Carter-Wilson still stands. As a member of the board I insist upon it.’ Carlos’s voice ripped through Raul, increasing his anger to an explosive level.

Raul swore savagely as he glared at the older man. ‘Come on, Carlos, we go back further than that.’

‘As a long-standing family friend, I urge you to stop looking for someone who doesn’t want to be found and marry the girl—as your father obviously intended.’

‘Marry her?’ Raul couldn’t believe he was hearing this, from Carlos of all people.

‘Repay the debt, then file for a divorce once the two years are up.’

Rage charged through Raul like a bull. How could his father have done this? But that wasn’t a question he needed to ask. He’d never been able to gain his father’s approval, had tried all his life to no avail. This was just one more stab at the son he’d never wanted.

‘You make it sound so easy.’ Raul drew in a deep breath and marched to the windows looking out over Madrid, basking in the late summer sunshine. On paper it did look easy, but marriage was the one thing he’d never wanted.

‘It is,’ Carlos replied, his tone neutral and matter-of-fact. ‘Two years living with a woman who, you’ve got to admit, is very beautiful, then you can file for a divorce.’

‘I have no intentions of marrying anyone. Ever.’ Raul strode across the office, the constraint of the walls making him feel more like a caged animal, trapped against its will. Anger at what his father had done mixed with the fear of being controlled by him still becoming a potent cocktail.

Raul stopped pacing and looked out over Madrid again, trying to control his temper. He stayed like that for several minutes, his back resolutely turned to Carlos Cardozo, the man who had been there for him more than his father ever had. His father. That was a joke.

He’d always known he’d been a disappointment to his father, but never had he expected such revelations after his sudden death. He’d never suspected his father had hated him, but then he’d never suspected his father had had another family—another son.

‘The only other option you have is to find your half-brother.’ Carlos’s calm voice brought him out of his dark thoughts and back to the present with a sharp jab of shock. ‘Which would mean sharing your inheritance—everything you have built this banking enterprise up to be.’

Raul whirled round. This had been a detail his father’s lawyer had revealed, one he’d kept secret since that day. How did Carlos know? ‘You know about him?’

‘Yes.’ Carlos looked him in the eye, challenging him to ask more.

‘How long?’ Raul took the challenge.

‘Long enough to know how this is affecting you now.’ Carlos’s voice softened a little as he walked over to him.

Raul had been in ignorance of his half-brother’s existence until his father’s will had been read out two months ago. It seemed Carlos had known the full facts of his father’s double life long ago.

‘And you didn’t think I should know?’ His anger rallied again as he glowered at Carlos, the taste of deception filling his mouth with its bitterness.

‘I never knew your father would make finding him a condition to you inheriting. Or that he would attach such a huge financial incentive to that task.’

Huge financial incentive.

That was an understatement.

‘That or marry a woman I barely know.’ Raul glowered at Carlos, suspicion rising at just how much this man knew.

‘Marriage would be the easier option.’

‘Is that so?’ Raul seriously doubted that. Besides, his brother was out there somewhere.

‘It is. You are your father’s son. Marriage will be easy for you. Far better than to share all you’ve worked for.’

Raul turned away again. His world had been tipped upside down and then inside out. In order to inherit the financial company he’d built into a world player, he had to clear one very large debt by either marrying the debtor’s daughter, or by acknowledging his half-brother and bringing him into the business as an equal, which would unlock funds that would clear the debt and keep the board of directors happy. If the debt wasn’t settled, the company would be sold to the highest bidder.

The fact that his father had even kept those funds hidden exposed the depths of calculation he had gone to, but that he was prepared to risk his company if the debt wasn’t settled, to risk the jobs of all the people who worked for Banco de Torrez, was a step too far. What the hell had he been doing loaning that kind of money and why was Carlos the only one privy to such information?

‘I could have told you my father would be so calculating, so manipulative—had I known about his other life.’ Raul found himself snarling those last two words, hating the anger that sliced through him with the sharpest of blades.

‘He’s your father—doesn’t that count for something?’ Carlos reached for him; the false show of sympathy and understanding in that gesture was too much. Raul moved away. This man was not the friend he’d always thought—not to him anyway.

‘I’m done with my father, so much so that I don’t give a damn about inheriting his company. I have built my own as well as expanded his. I don’t need this.’ Raul marched towards the door. As far as he was concerned the discussion was over; there was nothing more to say.

‘What about your mother?’ Carlos’s next words halted his steps, kept him from walking out for good.

Raul remained with his back to Carlos, breathing deep and slow, clenching his fingers into tight fists at his sides. His mother was the only reason he’d spent the last two months trying to find his half-brother, not wanting the press—or anyone else—to get to her first with the revelation of her husband’s secret life. It would finish her.

‘You can’t walk away, can you, Raul? You can’t risk her finding out by reading salacious gossip in the press?’ Carlos challenged. Again. Damn him. The man knew just how to twist the situation, how to manipulate him.

Raul whirled round to face Carlos again. ‘No, I damn well can’t. If not for my mother’s happiness, then for all the jobs which depend on me settling this debt by either finding my half-brother or marrying a spoilt little rich girl. Either way I despise my father for it.’

‘So why not take the easy option and marry this Lydia girl?’

‘That will never happen,’ Raul spat officiously at him. After the example he’d seen of marriage, he would rather welcome a stranger into his life, into his father’s company. Hell, as far as he was concerned, his brother could have it all if it kept people in work and his mother in ignorance of his father’s past actions. He didn’t need any of it.

‘The board are getting nervous, Raul. They think you’ve lost your influence, especially after the Lopez deal fell through.’ Carlos touched yet another raw nerve, ratcheting up the desire to prove him and every damn member of the board wrong. One lost deal didn’t spell the end.

‘I haven’t given up on that yet, just as I haven’t given up on the search for my half-brother.’ Raul glared angrily at Carlos, resenting the challenge the man was issuing, inadvertently or not.

‘Either way, the debt needs to be settled before the end of the year. Sooner if possible.’

‘That’s just over three months away. I’ll find my half-brother before then, settle the damn debt and keep the scandal from my mother.’

‘If you don’t, you will have to meet Lydia Carter-Wilson.’ Carlos spoke carefully. Quietly.

‘If she is anything like she was ten years ago, I would rather lose my father’s business.’ Raul baulked at the memory of the simpering sixteen-year-old girl on the verge of womanhood who’d looked at him like an adoring puppy. Was that when his father had started loaning funds to hers?

‘What about all those people who will lose jobs? Shutting down companies isn’t who you are, Raul. Saving them and building them up, giving the people who work within them, a secure life. That’s who you are and I’ve never known you to refuse a challenge yet.’ Carlos spoke the truth, but Raul was too angry to acknowledge it right now.

‘I need more time.’

‘If you haven’t found your half-brother by the end of November, I will expect you to announce your engagement to Lydia Carter-Wilson.’

‘What if the lady is unwilling?’

Carlos laughed, defusing the tension somewhat. ‘You will find a way, Raul. Your charm with the ladies has never failed you yet.’

CHAPTER ONE

Late November

LYDIA MENTALLY BRACED HERSELF for battle, because this was one fight she was not prepared to lose. Over the twenty-six years of her life, she’d perfected the art of hiding her emotions and now she intended to use it fully. Raul Pérez Valdez wouldn’t know what had hit him. Ten years ago he’d made her feel totally insignificant, like nothing more than a spoilt little rich girl, and she hated him for that. Ever since she’d gone to live with her grandmother as a child, she’d worked hard to shake off that label.

Any moment he would arrive and walk through the diners of one of London’s top restaurants to the intimate candlelit table he’d arranged, referring to it as neutral territory in his blunt email. The mood she was now in, he was going to need every bit of help he could get from the chosen venue, which was anything but neutral if his reputation of romancing women was true. It was very much a setting he would be at home in, whereas she was distinctly uncomfortable in such surroundings, having avoided anything remotely romantic after witnessing so many relationships turn sour, including her own supposed happy ever after.

Irritation filled her as the minutes ticked by. He was late. The time he’d appointed had already passed. Was the man intending to make her suffer even more? Make her so nervous she could easily jump at her own shadow? Or had he decided against the ludicrous deal his father had concocted with hers? Did this mean she was free to go back to her life and not honour the conditions of that deal she’d unwittingly been dragged into? Her father had reached an all-time low with that deal, leaving her to pay the price.

Except she’d had enough. She didn’t owe her father anything, not after all the years of ignoring her, unless it suited his latest negotiations, of course. Like the time she’d been paraded as a sixteen-year-old in front of the man she was about to meet, as if she was some sort of bait. That plan had failed—or so she’d thought.

With a huff of irritation, Lydia picked up her purse from the small round table and stood up to leave. She wasn’t wasting any more time waiting for Raul Valdez. If he wanted her father’s debt settled, he could chase around London after her.

‘Going somewhere?’ The sultry accent snared her senses and she turned and looked up into the face of a man so handsome he couldn’t possibly be the perpetrator of such dire circumstances. He’d changed, but from the intent look in his inky black eyes she knew without a doubt this was Raul Pérez Valdez, CEO of the Spanish investment bank her father had defaulted to in the most spectacular way.

Every sculpted angle of his face, from the high cheekbones to the Romanesque nose and the deep-set eyes, sent her body’s senses spinning into overdrive. Memories of being an impressionable girl on the brink of womanhood collided with that reaction and she was unable to quell the erratic racing of her pulse, or the shiver of something she quickly dismissed as nothing more than attraction.

‘We had a meeting ten minutes ago.’ Her sharp words did nothing to this specimen of cool reserve. The heavy brows lifted slightly in disbelief—or was it amusement? She couldn’t tell. The intensity in his eyes increased, but she was determined he wouldn’t use his well-known charm on her. She glared at him, hoping the icy coldness she was renowned for showed in all its glory. She wasn’t an impressionable sixteen-year-old any more.

‘For my lateness, I apologise.’ He held the back of the chair she’d just vacated, the expression on his face showing he expected her to sit back down.

Lydia tried to remain focused as she looked up at him, hating the way excitement sparked inside her as his dark eyes travelled down her body, making her display of cold demeanour extremely difficult. She stood boldly as his gaze seemed to rip the black fitted skirt and businesslike white blouse from her. Each second that ticked by increased her vulnerability, raising it higher than it had ever been, and the urge to fight back kicked in. If he was going to blatantly inspect her, she’d return the compliment.

With huge effort she dragged her gaze from the black depths of his eyes, taking in the clean-shaven face, then to the strong neck encased in a pristine white shirt collar, intensifying the olive tones of his skin. His hair was thick and as dark as coal and his broad shoulders gave her the impression they were strong enough to carry any problems. His arms flexed tantalisingly beneath the fine cloth of his suit as he stood and leant slightly on the back of the chair, his cold stare barely masking his irritation.

How would it feel to be held within the strength of those arms? Her pulse leapt at the thought and she fought hard again to quell the instant attraction that had stirred the woman in her she’d long since hidden away. This was not the time to indulge in silly romantic notions and most definitely not with this man, one who’d made his thoughts of her plain many years ago.

‘If this meeting was as important as you led me to believe, you would not have been late, Mr Valdez.’ Her anger at the way her body had reacted as she’d taken in every detail of this man, and the thoughts that had raced through her mind at the idea of being held in those strong arms, made her voice crisp and sharp.

That impressive control didn’t waver.

‘You and I are in a position which I am certain neither of us want, Miss Carter-Wilson, and, as I have the solution, I suggest you sit down.’ She saw his jaw flex as he clenched his teeth, the only sign she was challenging his outward display of patience.

‘The position we are in? You mean the bizarre conditions your father attached to the contract he forced my father to sign?’ That sensation of helplessness she’d been fighting for several weeks surfaced again and her voice rose rapidly with each word.

‘Exactly that.’ The calmness of his voice, together with the silky rich accent, jarred her senses, increasing her wildly overactive anxieties.

‘There is no way it can be enforced.’ She knew she was beginning to babble, the panic of everything almost too much, and she bit back further words. He had to think she was calm and in control, had to think he’d met his match. His equal.

‘If you sit down we can discuss this rationally.’ He gestured to the chair, his brow rising in question—or was it amusement?

Unable to keep a sigh of discontent from escaping, she sat down. The need to be in charge, to control the situation she was virtually drowning in, forced her to speak again before he’d sat opposite her at the small and inappropriately intimate table, complete with a red rose and candle.

‘I think you need to explain just what kind of business contract your father tricked mine into signing. It is inconceivable that in the twenty-first century two people can be forced to marry because of such devious tactics.’ She took a deep shuddering breath, hardly able to comprehend that this nightmare was actually happening.

‘That is why I’m here—’

Lydia cut across him, angry at the stupidity of her father for signing a contract with such dire conditions and, even more so, at this cool specimen of male splendour for being so calm and pragmatic about it. ‘Mr Valdez, I don’t care what is in the contract. I’m not going to marry you. Not ever.’

His dark brows rose and she thought she saw a hint of a smile on his lips. Even worse, his reaction sent a skitter of something she’d never experienced hurtling through her and her pulse leapt just from having that sexy hint of a smile, which had sparked briefly in his eyes, directed at her.

‘At least we agree on that.’ He sat back in his chair, his dark eyes locking with hers, full of challenge. ‘You may be assured I have absolutely no desire to make a spoilt little rich girl my wife.’

So his opinion of her hadn’t changed. ‘I am no such thing.’

She fought hard to resist the urge to jump up and walk away; only the fact that her solicitor had told her the terms of the contract her father had signed with Banco de Torrez, however bizarre, would stand up in court, kept her from doing just that—for now.

‘What about all the properties? Many of them are worth millions. Your father hid them by putting them in your name as he defaulted month after month on the agreement he’d signed with my father.’ He folded his arms across his chest, serving only to emphasise the strength in them as the dark grey suit pulled over his biceps. Since when did she ever notice such things about a man?

‘That is something I had no knowledge of, but, if they are in my name and worth that much, I will sell them to clear the debt.’ The discovery several weeks ago of what her father had done had been just another bit of her life falling to pieces. Angry at the man who was supposed to protect her, she’d maintained a stony silence with him, to show him her disappointment and anger that once again he’d risked everything, including this time her future, her happiness.

Raul looked at her and she knew he didn’t believe her. The cold lack of interest was too obvious. Was he really as ruthless in business as those reports she’d read on the Internet implied? She had hoped to strike some sort of deal with him. After all, a man who rarely dated the same woman twice was as unlikely to want marriage as she was.

‘I would be more than happy to accept such an offer—’

‘Good.’ She stood up, content that this absurd conversation was over. ‘Then you can liaise with my solicitor over the matter.’

‘Do you always talk over people?’ His question stopped her as she was about to leave for the second time and she looked down at him, stunned into silence, and the elusive sensation of being in control slipped further away with each erratic heartbeat. From the moment he’d arrived and their eyes had met, she’d lost that control.

* * *

Raul had never known such self-assured insolence from a woman as beautiful and alluring as the prim and proper Lydia Carter-Wilson. She certainly didn’t want to hear what he had to say and wasn’t prepared to listen to his suggestion for dealing with the situation they were both now in. A solution he was certain would be acceptable. Yet it was blatantly clear all this fiery beauty cared about was herself. She hadn’t changed a bit since he’d met her ten years ago. Granted, she’d become a beautiful and sexy woman, but she wasn’t any different. She was still a spoilt little rich girl. Daddy’s princess—and a liar.

He pushed down the irrational anger that engulfed him every time he thought of what his father had done. That last meddling dig at the son he’d never wanted threatened to unleash all the bitterness and contempt he’d kept hidden since his father had died five months ago. The devious old man had even known he was terminally ill and changed his will to get at him one last time.

‘No, I don’t, but then I’ve never had the dubious pleasure of lunch with a man like you.’ The hot retort fired at him and he couldn’t help but smile. It was definitely an inconvenience having to extricate himself from such an agreement with this woman, but he’d certainly not expected to find it so entertaining. She was a bundle of hot sparks and defiance. Just the mutinous tilt of her chin and the rapid rise and fall of her breasts as she glared at him fired something deeper than merely lust. Something he had no wish to get tangled in—ever.

She tempted him, daring him with that sexy body that begged to be made love to, and almost all rational thought slipped from his mind. But he was not his father. He would not be drawn by the lure of sex. His playboy reputation was deserved, but only as part of his armour, his defence in order to remain emotionally intact and very single.

‘And what would a man like me be?’ He taunted her, enjoying the fire of annoyance that flared in those green eyes, reminding him of the fresh leaves of spring on the trees in Retiro Park, in his city of birth, Madrid.

‘A man who thinks he only needs to smile at a woman to have her falling at his feet—or into his bed.’ The slight nod of her head, the little so there gesture, as she finished speaking made laughing at her impossible to resist.

‘My bed?’

‘Don’t you dare laugh at me.’ Indignation hurtled out with those words, all but lashing at him, and he reluctantly pushed away the image of this woman in his bed.

‘Maybe a little laughter is how we need to deal with this situation. Now, please sit down. The poor waitress has no idea if we are staying or going.’ He tried to instil some order into their meeting, which didn’t feel anything like a business lunch.

He watched as she turned to look at the waitress who was approaching their table for the second time. He liked the way Lydia’s brunette hair moved, slipping over her shoulder, the loose curls bouncing with the movement, and the way she tucked it back behind her ears. There was an air of vulnerability about her he didn’t buy into at all. There was no way this fiery creature was vulnerable. Spoilt and used to getting her way, yes, but vulnerable, no.

‘I’m not entirely sure being forced into a marriage is a laughing matter.’ She fixed those gorgeous eyes on his face, her full lips pouting slightly, making him briefly wish this were a date and that by the end of the evening he would be able to kiss them. Savagely he pushed those thoughts aside. This was not a time to become distracted.

‘Then on that we agree.’ He beckoned the waitress forward with a subtle move of his hand and watched as Lydia took the menu, appearing to use it as a shield. Against him or the situation? He watched her long lashes lowering as she read and took the opportunity to study her further. Her skin was pale, making it obvious she hadn’t spent the summer in one of her Mediterranean properties. The menu shook very slightly in her hands and he wondered if it was possible for such an audacious woman to be nervous. Much more likely to be anger, he decided, anger that was directed firmly at him. Anger was good, because then at least they could sort out this mess their fathers had selfishly created for them.

As she gave her order her voice became soft and gentle, not at all like the hard and sharp tones he’d been treated to so far. How would she sound if they were here as lovers? Would that softness be beguiling him to take her home and to his bed?

Alarmed by the train of his thoughts yet again, he dragged his mind back to the truth of the situation and placed his order. Employing all the charm he’d perfected as his armour, he smiled at the waitress.

‘So, how exactly do you propose to deal with this situation?’ The softness had gone and the question fired at him with force. Had she meant to use that word? Propose was the last thing he intended to do. He focused his attention back to the woman opposite him, the woman his father had decided would make him a suitable wife simply because of the substantial properties that she owned and her misfortune to have such a reckless and weak father.

He kept his gaze fixed on the pale beauty of her face, watching for any signs of compliance. ‘You have considerable property assets and these were the security used by your father. The terms are more than clear, as I have already informed your lawyer.’

‘I have said that I am more than happy to sell them in order to raise the funds required.’ She cut across him again, stemming the flow of his well-prepared proposition.

‘If that were possible, it would be the most sensible option. Unfortunately, my father has used this security as part of his conditions of his will.’ The outrageous terms his father had insisted on still infused him with rage as fiercely as the day he’d discovered what his father had done. A final jab at his son, even after his death, to get just what he wanted.

‘His will?’ The sharp intake of breath left him in no doubt this was not a piece of information she was aware of. ‘I’m sorry about your loss. I had no idea.’

‘Please don’t waste your sympathy on me.’ He pushed away memories of his childhood, of never being able to be what his father wanted, never knowing how to please him and having no idea why. At least that mystery had been solved. ‘My father and I were not close.’

That was an understatement. He’d lost all respect for his father over ten years ago when he’d taken his womanising to a new level, having affairs with young models and actresses who craved the limelight and high life his name and wealth could give them. The fact that everyone expected him to be just as much of a playboy had irritated him at first, until he’d learnt to use that as defence to keep women at an emotional distance.

The beautiful brunette who’d been dragged into the latest battle his father had set regarded him sceptically, the spell only broken by the arrival of their wine. He smiled at the waitress as he sampled the wine, aware of Lydia’s scrutiny with every breath he took. ‘Very good, thank you.’

‘Yes, I can see any sympathy would be a waste of time.’ Her barbed words flew at him and inwardly he baulked at her directness, but refused to let it show. He was more than used to keeping his emotions away from the scrutiny of others, used to putting on a show of uncaring detachment, and right now that suited him perfectly.

‘So, shall we discuss our options?’ Before she could once again talk over him or correct him, he launched directly into all that needed to be said. ‘I have no wish to marry anyone, least of all you, but the terms of my father’s will are very clear. Upon my father’s death, our marriage is the only way your father’s debt can be repaid—unless you have such a large sum of money saved?’

‘Why can’t I just sell the properties?’ Her eyes widened with disbelief and her hand came to her face, the tip of one finger dragging across her bottom lip in a very distracting way. He watched as the pink-painted nail dug into the plumpness of her lip, wishing he could sample that plumpness against his lips.

Again he urged his mind back to the situation. Perhaps he was more like his father than he’d ever imagined. The thought sickened him. ‘Although the properties are in your name, the terms of the transfer your father carried out means you cannot sell them, that they only remain yours until your marriage, at which point they will become your husband’s property.’

‘What?’ She pressed her fingertips against her mouth, as if to stem the shocked flow of words, and her neat brows furrowed into a frown. He wasn’t falling for that.

‘Hard to believe, but I’m afraid it’s true. It’s also a fact my father sought to exploit when he made his will, just months before he died. I am not happy to have inherited your father’s debt and with it you as my bride.’ He recalled his lawyer’s face, full of apology, and the words that had proved beyond doubt how much his father must have disliked him.

‘I tried to persuade him against it, but he was adamant.’

‘What century are we in?’ Her shock had turned to anger and she flung her hands out over the table, palms upwards in exasperation. ‘Just what did they think they were doing?’

‘It appears we have both been little more than pawns in their game and it’s time now to take control, to thwart whatever it was they each intended.’

‘At least now we are on the same page. I have no intention of marrying someone who wants me for what I have. I almost travelled that road and I’m not going there again.’ Her burst of irritation held a hint of passion, intriguing him in a way he was far from comfortable about.

‘Are you holding out for love, Lydia?’ It was the first time he’d used her name and it shocked him how he liked to say it as he looked into her beautiful face. If circumstances were different, he’d be tempted to reach out and push her hair back from her face, revealing her beauty. But he couldn’t go there. He didn’t seek the confines of marriage, so for now it was better to hide behind the mask of a hardened businessman.

* * *

Lydia’s pulse leapt as he said that word and looked into her eyes. The unyielding blackness of his sent skitters of awareness all over her. Every part of her body was tuned into his, every move he made only intensified it, but the mention of love halted all that, as if she’d just careered into a brick wall.

‘I have no intention of wasting my time holding out for love.’ She bristled at the memory of the man she’d thought she’d loved, the man she’d believed had loved her until she’d discovered he’d also been in the habit of loving as many other women as he could. By that point she and Daniel were engaged. This had rankled her father and, just to show him she’d make her own decisions in life, she’d accepted Daniel’s apology. Something she deeply regretted. It would have been almost preferable to have her father look at her with that I told you so expression than the humiliation after Daniel had left her because she no longer had anything to offer him, something her father had made very clear to him, although at that point she’d not understood exactly what he’d meant.

Now she did. It was the contract her father had signed with Raul Valdez’s father, using her as his leverage, his security.

‘So cynical, Lydia. Are you not in search of your Mr Right, the man to live happily ever after with?’ His accented voice sent a shiver of awareness over her and she knew a flush of colour had spread over her face.

Who was he to mock such dreams? He was a complete playboy.

‘Once bitten, twice shy, as they say.’ She couldn’t help the light and flirty tone of her voice and to hide her embarrassment she took a sip of her wine. ‘But that is not why we are here, to discuss such nonsense as love, Mr Valdez, is it?’

‘No, we are not.’ He snapped the words out, his accent sharp, and she sensed the impatience in him. Or was it irritation? ‘We are here because your father defaulted on his loan.’

Before he could say any more Lydia cut across him once more, not missing the frown of annoyance, which gave her a strange sense of satisfaction. ‘And because your father saw fit to use that default in the most devious and unethical way.’

‘I agree,’ he said and leant forward in the seat, his dark eyes penetrating hers, preventing her from doing anything other than looking into them, but they were cold and she shivered slightly. ‘That is why we are here. To extricate ourselves from a marriage I certainly don’t want and it would seem you share that view.’

‘I still don’t see why I can’t just sign some of the properties over to you, or sell them and clear the debt.’ She wished now she’d had a proper meeting with her solicitor instead of the rushed phone call. She hadn’t understood all he’d told her and in all honesty she couldn’t believe what her father had done.

‘You do not own them, Lydia. They are only yours until you marry, at which time they will pass into the legal possession of your husband.’

She recalled an argument with her father almost a year ago, one of those rare meetings of father and daughter. He’d been smugly pleased with his latest plot to manipulate her into marriage for the good of his company. He’d told her he had found her a husband and that this time she would have no choice but to do as she was told. She’d refused, telling him she and Daniel were engaged, but that had been no deterrent to the lows her father had stooped to in order to save himself from financial ruin. She’d had no idea his vast property portfolio had been put into her name until her marriage.

‘By that you mean you.’ She put down her wine glass and glared at him, everything clear at last. ‘Your father added the marriage clause in his will to trick my father.’

‘I consider it more of a shrewd tactic to safeguard the considerable amount of money he had loaned to your father’s business. He must have been sure your father wouldn’t obtain such levels of funding through the usual channels and added the extra condition in his will, should the debt remain unsettled in the event of his death.’

‘I hardly think forcing either of us into marriage is shrewd or businesslike. It’s medieval.’ She stumbled over the words as she realised how futile they were and when a smile tugged at the corners of his lips she wished she were bold enough to get up and walk away.

‘After our marriage, all the properties will become mine and therefore the debt will be repaid and the board of directors satisfied. The only issue is that we must remain married for two years—living together.’

‘Are you actually suggesting we get married, just to clear the debt? I thought you were against any such idea as much as I am.’ Lydia couldn’t take it in. Married. To this man. For two years.

‘That depends on how much you want to help your father.’

Lydia didn’t have to think very hard on that one. She didn’t want to help her father, but she did want to protect his mother, her grandmother. The woman who’d cared for her, loved her as a daughter. She was the only reason she was still here having this discussion.

‘Of course I want to help my father, but I will not marry anyone to do that.’ She wasn’t about to enlighten Raul Valdez to the fact that her father had tried several times to push her into a marriage that would financially benefit him. The fact that this man’s father could possibly succeed where hers had failed was not a pleasant prospect.

‘In that case you will be interested to hear of my solution.’ Her attention was caught not only by his words, but by the tone of his voice.

‘Which is?’

‘I suggest we make the marriage and clear the debts. We can lead separate lives whilst living in the same place. After two years, I will not contest a divorce.’ He sat back in his chair, the expression on his handsome face close to being smug.

‘Is that the best you can do?’ Irritation surged through her. Had he met her here to put forward a suggestion that was at the moment the only obvious conclusion? She was so angry with her father. He could have warned her of this, months ago. He must have known he couldn’t make the repayments. Now she understood why he’d made it so easy for her to keep up her annoyed silence. He’d gone to ground, hiding like a coward. ‘Why have you left it five months to contact me? You must have been made aware of the will conditions months ago.’

‘I had other, more pressing issues to deal with.’

‘Such as?’

He looked at her as if assessing her ability to be trusted and, just as when he’d first swept his gaze over her, the scrutiny did strange things to her. ‘I have been trying to contact a family member whose existence I only discovered upon the reading of the will. If found, that person would offer a very different option for both of us and there is a large financial reward which can be used to clear your debts, but I have as yet been unable to find that person.’

‘So, in the meantime, you thought you’d come and force me into a two-year marriage.’ Irritation rushed through her. They weren’t getting anywhere.

‘I am still intending to search for that person, but your father has not made any further payments and has managed to evade all attempts at a meeting. I now have no choice. The board is calling for settlement of the debt. They will not wait any longer. Our engagement must be announced.’

He sat back and sipped the last of his wine, the calm and unruffled exterior unsettling her more than she cared to admit. ‘There are agencies for such things.’ The confusion on his face as she derailed the topic was priceless and for a brief moment she wanted to laugh. ‘Finding missing family members, that is.’

‘If you wish to make it public, then yes, there are.’ He clenched his jaw as he finished speaking.

‘You want to find someone yet keep it secret?’ That made no sense whatsoever and at the same time intrigued her. Who did this power-hungry man wish to contact and why?

‘It is not something I want the press to get hold of.’ The annoyed growl of his voice gave her immense satisfaction but as she took a sip of wine an idea filtered through her mind. Genealogy was something she was very interested in and she’d spent long happy hours helping friends trace their family roots back many generations. Was it possible she could provide what this man wanted? Maybe there was a deal to be made here?

‘That sensitive, is it?’ She toyed with him, like a cat who had stumbled upon a mouse, enjoying the sensation, even if only briefly, of power.

‘Yes, as a matter of fact it is, but it bears no relevance to our discussion.’ The curt tone of his voice blended with his accent and she wondered what he would sound like if he were whispering words of love. Except a man like him didn’t indulge in love—only lust.

‘Supposing I was able to find this family member—discreetly, of course.’

‘You?’ The surprise in his deeply accented voice sent a smile of satisfaction spreading across her lips. He obviously thought she was nothing more than an empty-headed socialite, who did nothing but party and shop.

‘Yes, me. It could clear the debt and relieve us of the need to get married.’ It was also far more than that for her. She wanted to hold on to all she’d worked for in life and if this man could sweep in and demand the properties her father had put in her name, would he then want all she had? Her business?

‘Go on.’

‘I happen to have a passion for genealogy.’

‘A passion?’ His brows rose and a shiver of awareness spread all over her as he said the word, giving it a totally different connotation from the context she’d meant. ‘Now you have aroused my interest. But how can it help with this matter?’

Much to her disgust heat rushed to her cheeks and yet again she lifted her chin and fixed him with a piercing glare. She couldn’t let it show just how much he was affecting her, how he was making her stomach flip and her heart pound like a lovesick teenager. Not when she’d sworn she’d never indulge in such nonsense. Hadn’t her time with Daniel been enough to warn her off?

‘I’ll make a deal with you, Mr Valdez. If I find this person, all the debts will be cleared without the need for marriage.’

‘That’s a massive charge for such a service when I could hire an agency, as you say.’

‘But would you have the confidentiality you require?’ She waited, hardly able to breathe, the anticipation immense. Had she actually managed to dig her way out of the mess her father had landed her in?

‘It’s still a high price, Miss Carter-Wilson. Are you sure you can deliver?’ He leant forward, his forearms on the table, his long tanned fingers holding the stem of the wine glass.

‘Yes.’ She crossed her fingers beneath the table and smiled boldly at him.

‘How long?’

‘That depends on many things. Months at least.’

‘You don’t have months.’ The brittleness of his tone made her blink rapidly.

‘Weeks, then.’

‘Four at the most.’ He assessed her again and she wondered if he sensed her panic.

‘In that case you have yourself a deal—but be warned, if this is leaked before I am ready, or you are not successful, then I will want full and immediate payment of the debt, which would mean you as my wife.’

‘That threat won’t be necessary, Mr Valdez.’ She kept her voice firm as she put out her hand to shake on the deal. ‘I suggest we meet again as soon as possible, then you can give me any information you already have before you return to Spain.’

‘If you are investigating my family, I will be keeping a close watch on what you are doing. Which means, Miss Carter-Wilson, you will return to Madrid with me.’

CHAPTER TWO

RAUL COULD HARDLY believe the surprising deal he was about to agree on with this woman. He’d been immediately captivated by her beauty, but had pushed that aside, unable to think past the terms of his father’s will or the fact that it appeared ever more likely that he was going to have to do the unthinkable and marry.

He had no desire to get married to any woman. Least of all one his father had tricked him into marrying. The last thing he needed right now was the constant temptation that this woman would represent if she came back to Madrid with him. From the moment he’d first seen her, annoyed and angry at his late appearance, he’d been fighting the pull of attraction that insistently demanded satisfaction.

He couldn’t act on it, not when it was the one thing his father had wanted, obviously considering him as much of a womaniser as he had been. Did his father recall the time he and Lydia had met? Had she been part of his plans even then? But what was there to gain from two years of marriage? That was the part that didn’t yet make sense.

As he’d arrived at the busy London restaurant, decked out for Christmas, the one thing he hadn’t anticipated was that Lydia would hold cards of her own—and be more than willing to put them into play.

Had she sensed how much he needed to track down Max? Did she really have the connections to trace people or was family history just the passing fancy of a rich girl with too much time on her hands? He had little option but to trust her now and cursed himself for having confided in her. Her offer of a deal, even one as outrageous as that, was one he wasn’t able to refuse. Not now she could walk away and spill the long-kept family secret he’d only recently discovered. There would of course have to be a back-up plan, one that would mean he wasn’t about to risk his business reputation now that he’d finally proved he was not the same man as his father to those that mattered in the business world.

Until recently, he’d been unable to work alongside his father and had started buying up small and struggling businesses, turning them around and either selling them on or trading their shares. It was far more than just the banking business his father had operated. It was a way of helping people and now the Lopez deal was back on the table. His biggest yet.

‘You want me to come to Madrid? To drop everything at this time of year just so that you can trace a long-lost relative?’ Lydia’s shock-infused words dragged him back to the hustle and bustle of the busy London restaurant.

‘And what keeps you so busy, Lydia? Parties? Shopping? All of that happens in Madrid too.’ Annoyance filled each word. He hadn’t expected instant compliance from her, but he had anticipated she’d be ready to do anything to avoid her father’s debts.

‘Don’t assume you know me.’ Her eyes sparked angrily at him.

‘I don’t assume anything other than you will come to Madrid, trace the person I am looking for and settle your debt. Unless you wish to be married before Christmas?’

‘I will not go to Madrid on your whim.’ She pulled back her hand before he could shake on the deal and he had to suppress the urge to smile. He liked the anger that sparked in her eyes brighter than the Christmas lights of London. He liked the way her lips parted in almost total contrast to that anger. What he didn’t find so appealing was his questionable urge to kiss those lips until desire replaced the anger in her eyes.

‘Then there is only one alternative open to us.’ He let his words hang heavily between them and for the briefest of seconds it was only the two of them. The noise of the other diners slipped away and all he could hear was the rhythmic thump of his heart. He couldn’t let her walk away now. He had to find Max as discreetly as possible—and quickly.

‘Which is?’ The brittle words snapped from her and he became aware of everyone around them once more.

She scowled at him, suspicion in those sexy green eyes, and he decided perhaps it wouldn’t be so very bad to be bound in marriage to such a fiery beauty. Two years living as her husband would at least be entertaining.

‘You or your father must settle the debts—in full. By the end of the year.’

‘By the end of the year? That’s little over a month away.’

‘The debt must be settled, Lydia, by either full payment or marriage.’

‘Believe me, Mr Valdez, if I could make the payment I would, but I can’t.’

A spark of fury rose in her voice and a smile pulled at his lips. Instantly her mouth pressed into a firm line of annoyance, which only made the urge to smile at her greater.

‘Then you have no alternative but to come back to Madrid and either find the person I am looking for, quickly and discreetly, or announce our engagement. The terms of my father’s will state there is a financial reward for finding that person. Enough to cover the debt.’

She shook her head in denial, her soft dark hair bouncing invitingly on her shoulders, snagging his attention all too easily. ‘No, I won’t leave London now. I can’t.’

‘A lover?’

‘Not that it’s any of your business, but no.’

‘Then you will become my wife and settle your father’s debts—unless your claim is true.’

He wouldn’t enlighten her yet to the fact that they would have to be seen as a couple, seen to be preparing for their nuptials. Carlos had insisted that would be the only way to satisfy the board of directors that he was calling in the debt, that his bride was willing.

‘If I am not about to waltz off to Madrid with you, I am hardly likely to agree to a marriage, whatever the conditions attached to the deal my father signed.’

He watched as her eyes narrowed with anger and her lips pressed together and as much as he wanted to kiss those lips until they softened he knew he never could. That would be indulging a side of him he had no wish to explore, be it playboy or something more emotionally involved.

However, her father’s debt was to be settled, she was well and truly off-limits and he certainly didn’t need the complication of having to resist an ill-timed attraction. He needed the board off his back, to know the debt would be settled. Then he could resume his search for Max, which now seemed much more hopeful if Lydia Carter-Wilson did really have a passion for family history. But what would she make of his family, of the tangled web of deceit that had corrupted recent generations?

More to the point, could he trust her? If this got out it could undo all the good work he’d done to prove to the business world he was a man of morals and high values. A man to be trusted.

‘I can of course call in the debt right now.’ He could almost feel the angry vibe coming across the table at him and wondered what her reaction would be if they hadn’t been having this conversation in such a public place. Would she have given vent to her anger or would she have been as controlled as he was?

‘You wouldn’t dare.’ The whispered words had a hiss of anger in them and his body responded wickedly, the earlier urges to kiss her returned in full force. Only the desire to be different from his father had made him accept the somewhat desperate bargain Lydia had made. It would be a high price, but one worth paying if it avoided the messy tangle of marriage.

‘Don’t underestimate me, Lydia.’ He knew he sounded hard, more of a snarl, but he had to instil such aggression. He needed to make this deal, because he had never expected to be filled with lustful need for the woman he might well have to make his temporary wife.

‘It is you who underestimates me, Mr Valdez.’ Despite the anger that still simmered in her eyes he detected a hint of compliance in her voice.

‘I never underestimate anyone I do business with and you are certainly no different.’ He wouldn’t tell her that he’d done his homework on her, found out all he needed to know about the woman who could become his wife. ‘Whatever deal we strike, it is for business and nothing more.’

‘Nothing at all?’

‘No, nothing. It will be a marriage in name only and will end in exactly two years.’

‘Before I commit myself, I think you had better tell me exactly who it is I am locating for you.’ The frivolous tone of her voice belied the inner turmoil he could see playing out in those expressive eyes. He doubted she could hide anything from him and he certainly hadn’t missed that spark of attraction that had briefly showed through all the irritation he’d witnessed in their depths. Her pretty face was so expressive he could read every emotion that crossed it, including the attraction that had sprung as instantly to life as when they’d first met.

Whatever it was sizzling between them, she was as aware of it as he was.

‘I am not sure I can trust you yet.’ He veered towards caution. She could take the secret he’d uncovered, which would blow his family wide open, and sell it to the press for a huge amount. Maybe not enough to clear her father’s debts, but it would still damage his business and his father’s, which was precariously positioned with share prices falling since his sudden death. He would not allow it to happen—whatever the cost. He was more than prepared to sacrifice his bachelor status—temporarily—to calm the nerves of the board.

‘Then you have wasted my time and yours.’ The crispness of each word jarred his senses and he quickly tried to rationalise the situation.

With one call to the press she could destroy his family and his business, but it would ultimately drag her father into the limelight. She appeared to have as little desire for an arranged marriage as he did and even professed to have the skills and knowledge he needed to trace his half-brother. But would she be discreet?

His father had been manipulative to the end. If Lydia successfully found Max, the half-brother he’d never known anything about, then he could claim the money, clear her debts and release them both from the need to marry. His father had excelled himself this time, but had his plan been to force him to marry or bring his unknown half-brother into the business?

‘Your father has a debt to pay, Lydia, and I am collecting it—from you. If you can indeed trace the person I am looking for, make contact without arousing the suspicion or interest of the media, then your father’s debt will be cleared immediately. Marriage in any form will not be necessary.’

‘If you are so against the idea of marriage too, why don’t you just pay it off now?’ That was exactly the question he’d put to Carlos and his legal team and even now he could feel the cold fear sink through him as he recalled Carlos’s reply.

‘Such an action will invalidate the will and your father’s business will no longer be yours. Failure of any kind to clear the debt will result in the business being sold.’

He had to convince Lydia. There was no way he was letting anyone get his hands on a company he’d painstakingly expanded. ‘When I find the person I am looking for it unlocks funds, more than enough to clear your father’s debts.’

‘So this is all about money? Silly me, I thought you had sentimental reasons for wanting to find this person.’ The accusation in her eyes was clear, but she could think what she liked. He’d never have to see her again after this.

‘Yes, it’s about money—as all business is.’

‘So, who is this person? Is it a love child you abandoned and now want to bring out into the open?’

Such an accusation made it clear she’d researched him too and believed him to be as much of a playboy as his father had been. Maybe that was for the best. She didn’t seem the type to enter into brief affairs merely to satisfy a sexual attraction. This was a woman who would demand so much more from a lover, whatever her earlier protestations had been.

‘It is a love child, yes.’ He flaunted the truth before her, aware of the conclusions she was making.

‘I hate men like you.’ She snapped the words at him and he smiled lazily. He hadn’t fathered any children. That was something he’d been extremely careful of, but he enjoyed seeing the anger mix with contempt, filling her eyes, again letting him know exactly what she was thinking.

‘Not as much as I dislike women who jump to conclusions.’ He sat and watched the questions race across her face. ‘It is not my child.’

‘So if it’s not your love child, whose is it?’ Her fine brows rose elegantly in question and the satisfaction that danced in her eyes told him she thought he was lying.

‘As I have said, it is not mine.’ He wasn’t ready to give her the secret that had stayed hidden for so many years. All the times he’d tried to be the son his father had wanted had been in vain and now, with the discovery of Max, his half-brother, it had all become perfectly clear why.

‘You are going to have to tell me, if I am to trace this person.’ A haughty note had entered her voice. She thought she’d got him on the run, thought she now held the power. Never. But he’d allow her to think that. For a while at least.

‘It is my father’s son I wish to find.’

* * *

Lydia’s stomach plummeted. She’d been challenging him, pushing him to reveal his true self to her, and it had just backfired spectacularly. The fierce expression on his face warned her she’d gone too far, pushed too hard. Would he now revoke the offer, force her to find an extortionate amount of money to settle her father’s debt? Or worse, marry him?

Suddenly she was that awkward sixteen-year-old again being introduced to Raul by her father. She’d smiled at him, pleased to know that someone closer to her own age would be at the dinner party her father had insisted she attend with him, but Raul had looked down at her with barely concealed lack of interest.

Not that that had stopped the heady attraction she’d instantly had for him and she’d been glad she’d chosen the fitted black dress that had made her feel taller, more attractive and much more grown up. Stupidly, she’d hung on every word Raul had said as they’d been placed next to one another at the dinner table. She’d liked him—more than liked him—and had wanted him to notice her, to like her too. She’d wanted to be more than friends and had already wanted him to be the one she experienced her first kiss with.

All evening she’d tried everything to get his attention, even trying to use her classroom Spanish.

‘If you can’t say it correctly, don’t bother.’ The high and mighty put-down had done just that, crashing all the dreams of a friendship, or more, with him.

‘I don’t have much call to use the language,’ she’d retorted, her cheeks flaming with embarrassment. How had she thought him nice? How had she even begun to imagine that he might like her, might want to be friends, go on a date?

‘Then I suggest you stick to your usual shopping and partying and give languages a miss.’

‘But I’m going to study languages at university,’ she’d replied with a gauche smile.

He’d looked at her then, his dark eyes locking with hers, and she’d held her breath, wondering if he was teasing her—teasing her because he liked her.

‘Don’t. You clearly don’t have any talent for Spanish, exactly what I’d expect from Daddy’s little princess who does nothing other than look pretty.’ The scathing tone of his voice as his gaze had travelled down her had left her in no doubt that he didn’t like her, that he despised her and all he thought she was.

She’d bit back a temper-fuelled retort and vowed that one day, she’d tell him exactly what she thought of him and she’d do it fluently in his language. If he thought she was a spoilt little thing, that was fine by her, but her sense of injustice didn’t leave her, not even when she and her father left the dinner party. It had stayed with her, adding to all the insecurities her father had instilled in her.

Now she looked at Raul, ten years older, anger at what her father had done mixed with sympathy for this proud man. Her father’s deception, the way he’d forced her mother to leave with his detached and cold ways, his constant need to make the next million before losing it again, seemed minor compared to the family secret Raul had just revealed.

‘I’m sorry, I had no idea.’ Her voice softened, but it did nothing to the feral expression on Raul’s face. He was a man who didn’t show softer emotions, that much was clear.

‘I have only just discovered the existence of my half-brother. He and I are due to inherit from my father’s estate.’

‘I don’t understand.’ She was perplexed by the unveiling of the last few minutes. ‘Your father must have known about him, to have included such conditions in the will.’

‘He knew. He also knew that I wouldn’t want to marry anyone, least of all the daughter of one of his debtors.’

‘We have both been set up.’ Shock set in and the full implications of the situation she was in finally hit home. How could her father have been so cruel? How could he have used her like this? She could almost imagine him concocting this strange deal with Raul’s father. Two heartless men together.

‘It would appear so. My father knows that money will motivate me over marriage.’

She tried not to feel insulted, tried not to feel glad that there was a way out of this mess and once she was out of it she’d insist her father sold the properties to repay the debt that, as far as she was concerned, he would still have to Raul. Debts had to be honoured.

‘I need to find my brother, preferably without any media attention. I have no wish for the circus they can create or to expose my father’s weakness, which will push the company further into the wrong kind of spotlight, not to mention destroy my mother.’ His eyes were harder than ever, like a heavy thundercloud about to unleash its fury. Did he hate the brother he’d never met?

Questions raced through her mind, but one had to be asked. ‘So why trust me, someone you barely know, with such sensitive information?’

‘Because you’re as against the idea of marriage as I am and claim to have what I need. Added to that, you are your father’s only hope of clearing his debt without dragging his long-standing family name through the bankruptcy courts. That in itself should ensure your compliance with my request.’

He was right about that. If there had been another way to settle this she wouldn’t have even met with him today. Her relationship with her father was strained to say the least, but she didn’t want the family’s name brought into disrepute. Her grandmother might be elderly, but it would break her heart and after what her mother and father had done to her with their selfish actions she would never do anything to upset the only person in the world who had shown her genuine love and affection.

‘And there is no other way?’

He paused for a moment and, although those dark eyes were focused on her, she was sure his thoughts were far away. A pang of sympathy zipped through her for him. How would she feel if she suddenly discovered that she had a half-brother or sister?

‘I either find my half-brother or we must marry.’ His accented voice was sharp as he set out the alternative and totally obliterated that misguided sympathy.

At least any marriage that did have to be made would be purely for the purpose of transferring her property assets to settle the debt. The fact that he wouldn’t contest a divorce went some way to settling the unease that still ran through her. He obviously didn’t have any intention of making her truly his wife.

So why did disappointment filter through her? Surely she had got over that teenage crush? He might be handsome and possess a lethal charm, if the waitress’s reaction to him was anything to go by, but succumbing to his looks and charm was unthinkable. She would never give him the satisfaction.

As if to prove the point, their meals arrived and that skilful charm once again melted the waitress into a puddle. Lydia shook her head in disbelief and looked down at the food she suddenly had no appetite for.

‘I don’t need to go to Madrid with you. I can work from here.’ She had her own business to run and in the final weeks before Christmas it would be busy. Added to that the idea of going to Madrid with this man was not one she welcomed, but the prospect of marriage, even if it was only on paper, was infinitely more unappealing.

‘Your enthusiasm for my company warms me.’ He mocked, but there was a hint of a mischievous smile on his lips, which she couldn’t help but respond to. ‘But you will come to Madrid. That is non-negotiable.’

* * *

Raul watched the battle play out in those expressive eyes. He could see every twist and turn of her doubt

and reluctance, mirroring all he’d felt when he’d realised just what his father had done.

‘Neither of us have much choice in this arrangement.’ He tried to avoid becoming sidetracked by her long lashes as they lowered over her eyes, shielding his view into her soul. He hadn’t expected to find a solution to the problem of tracing his half-brother when he’d made arrangements to meet her, just as he hadn’t expected to find the spark of desire from the very first moment he’d seen her, anger sparking from her as she prepared to leave.

‘Before I go anywhere with you, or make any kind of formal agreement, I will need a written contract, Mr Valdez. I need it in writing that if I find your brother, my father’s debts will be settled.’ She hesitated. ‘And if the worst happens and we have to marry, it will be nothing more than a deal on paper.’

So she didn’t trust him either. He admired her courage to sit there and demand a contract for the repayment of her father’s debt. ‘I will have it drawn up and you can sign it as soon as we arrive in Madrid.’

He’d already decided they would leave tomorrow as he had no intention of giving her too much time to begin enquiries into the whereabouts of his half-brother, Max. He might not yet have given her any details, but he couldn’t risk her discovering the full extent of his father’s treachery, not until he could be sure she wouldn’t leak the story to the press. He had no intention of putting his mother, the only person to have shown him genuine love, through such a public humiliation.

His father had treated him and his mother badly. For eight years he’d led a double life, deceiving not only his wife and son, but another woman and child. Raul remembered the day his mother had found out about his affair. He could still hear the hurt echoing from the past as she’d told his father the marriage was over, that he could do what he liked but she and her son were staying where they belonged. That was the start of the coldest example of marriage he’d ever seen. What if he too was destined for the same?

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