Читать книгу Modern Romance January Books 1-4 - Кейт Хьюит - Страница 17

CAMILLA WAS IN a state of shock. One that superseded the previous shocked state that had accompanied being kicked by the horse.

Because somehow in the last moment her entire ruse had unraveled around her, one thread at a time. And not only had Matías discovered her identity, but he had also asked her to be his wife. His wife.

She, Camilla Alvarez, who had not done so much as kiss a man, who had never been held so close to a man as she was being held by Matías now—in anger, rather than in passion—was being proposed to by that same angry man.

“I don’t understand...”

“I need a wife,” he said, his voice hard as rock. “My brother has acquired a wife, and if I do not then the entirety of this estate goes to him. You are one with a stake in this, as well. Because the horses will go to him. You don’t want that. Trust me. You think he’s going to keep you on? You think he’s going to care about the well-being of your beloved animals? Murderer or not, Diego is not a man given to caring.”

“Not forever,” she said. “I mean, I won’t be your wife forever.”

He shrugged. “Of course, there will be no reason for the marriage to be more than paper. But it must be legal. My grandfather will not live forever, and once ownership has been established, once everything has been settled, then you may have your divorce.”

“An annulment,” she said, “surely.”

“No.” He waved a hand decisively. “There will be nothing that shall call into question the validity of the union. I shall not take any chances of Diego contesting this in court. I put nothing past him, as I already stated. He stole my fiancée. He would think nothing of challenging the legality of this union, as he cannot take more than one wife. Otherwise, I feel he would steal you, as well.”

Camilla felt edgy, unsettled, a raft of emotion and heat careening through her. “How would he set about stealing me?”

“I assume via seduction,” Matías said. “As I assume this is what he did with Liliana, who had an extreme aversion to sharing my bed, and this makes it all the clearer.”

Those words tangled up in her brain. “Liliana didn’t...”

“I was not sleeping with her. Does that matter to you?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Only that you intended your marriage with her to be real. To be lasting, I mean. So, naturally I assumed...”

“Liliana presented herself as being quite the sheltered virgin,” he said, his voice dripping with disdain. “She said she did not know me well enough.”

“Oh.”

“I suspect, however, that the real issue was that she had given herself to my brother already.”

“Or,” Camilla said softly, “she really might have been taken, and he could have been forcing her to say those things.”

“I suppose that’s possible,” he said. “But either way, I do not have the time to wait and find out. I have two weeks to marry. And if I engage in some kind of public national search for a wife, no doubt I will find one. However, I’m not sure my grandfather will find it compelling.”

“But he’ll appreciate your brother stooping to kidnapping and subterfuge?”

Matías chuckled. “Because that is Diego’s way. He’s the gambler. The black sheep. I...I am the good one, and I suspect my grandfather would like to see me accomplish his task while sticking to my personal code of honor. More to the point, I imagine he would find it amusing if I could not. Which is why I would have him believe this relationship is real.”

“You have no trouble violating your code of honor so long as nobody knows?”

“Am I forcing you, Camilla?” he asked, her name dripping with disdain. “I believe that rather than force, what I have done is offer you a mutually beneficial deal. You want the horses, you want to be able to stay here and train them, and I will allow it, as long as you help me in this. I must be able to maintain control of the rancho in order for it to be so. I must be able to maintain control of my business. If Diego takes over the family assets in their entirety, then it is possible he will end up with a stake in the company I built myself. I will not allow that. However, if we are able to split the assets, then we can draw up an agreement that keeps him out of it. That means that half is mine. I feel very much that Diego wants to win more than he actually wants to control anything that happens here at the rancho. I, on the other hand, care very deeply about it. I am the one who has spent years here. I am the one who has cultivated a relationship with the animals, with the land. I should think that you of all people would understand that.”

She did. His passion, his need for this place, resonated inside her. It reminded her of the way she felt about the place where she had grown up. The rancho that she missed with all her soul. Those familiar grounds, the worn entryway tiles, that she once again ached to feel beneath her feet.

“I agree,” she said. “On one condition.”

“And what is that?” he asked, his expression dark.

“When we divorce, return my father’s rancho to me.”

He said nothing for a moment. “That is a rather large ask.”

She crossed her arms and gave him her fiercest glare. “As is demanding I marry you.”

“You think you’re worth millions?”

“Yes,” she said, not blinking. “Or at least I think the demand that we marry is worth that.”

He arched one dark brow. “You expect to be my wife in name only and come away with a grand estate?”

“And some of the horses. Not Fuego. I understand that you won’t relinquish control of him. But the others. The ones that will never make champions for you. I want them.”

“And additionally, you would like to continue to see Fuego. Am I right?”

“Of course. Do you have anyone else who can train him? Who can counsel a jockey on how best to handle him? No, I don’t think you do.”

“That is quite a hard bargain that you’re driving, but I have to tell you that I’m inclined to refuse. You are not offering me enough in return.”

“I am offering to be your wife for however long a term you need.”

He appraised her slowly, and it felt like a flame held close to her skin and drawn over sensitive, vulnerable areas. A thorough burn that made her feel restless and helpless.

“If you were offering use of your body, then perhaps you would be in a greater position to demand such a thing.”

Everything inside her recoiled, curled up into a ball, not out of disgust, but fear. That he had identified her shameful attraction to him, that he could see inside her. And that he was mocking her. Because surely, a man who had wanted to marry that birdlike blonde beauty would not find her attractive. Particularly not standing there in ragged boy’s clothes, with her hair cut close to her skull and sticking up at odd angles.

“No. You need a wife. And that’s all. If you want a prostitute, buy one.” She tilted her chin upward, attempting to radiate defiance, attempting to radiate confidence.

She was banking on the fact that his options truly were limited or he never would have approached her with this in the first place.

If he was shocked by her words, he didn’t show it.

“Fascinating,” he said. “You truly do possess a remarkable amount of boldness. I assumed it was because of your youth, back when I thought that’s what you were. Fourteen-year-old boys are often imbued with a sense of self-confidence that is undeserved. However, it is rare to find a woman who is the same.”

“I cannot tell if you’re flattering me or insulting me,” she said.

“Neither,” he said simply. “It is what you make of it. I am merely observing. I find it inconvenient, as a great many people would be cowed by me, and you clearly are not. However, if you will agree to be my wife, then I will give you all that you have asked for.”

Heart pounding, she stuck her hand out and met his gaze. “I agree,” she said, “I will be your wife.”

He looked down at her hand. “You expect to close this deal with a handshake?”

“Yes,” she said. “As I see it as a business transaction, and nothing more. You’re right. I am bold. And I’m feeling quite confident in my position.”

She hoped she wasn’t overplaying her hand. Because she had nothing. Nothing at all, except her person. Her gender had been the barrier to what she had wanted before, and now it was the key. She would not hesitate to use it. She could have her home back. Something she had never thought possible. All she would have to do was be his wife, and that was nothing. A simple legal matter. Then she would be free. She would be free to ride through the olive groves again, to run barefoot on hot, sundrenched grounds that spoke to her of happiness.

She had known, had felt driven and compelled to get work on this rancho, because she’d had nothing else, but she’d had no idea it might lead to this level of salvation. That it could well and truly solve all her problems.

“Then you have yourself a deal.” He reached out, taking hold of her hand and shaking it hard, the strength and heat in his grip making something tremble deep inside her. But she ignored it.

She wanted the ranch. She wanted her freedom. Wanted something more than facing a life of potential homelessness should the whims of someone else dictate it.

“Perfect,” he said. “Tomorrow I shall call my grandfather and explain there has been a change of bride. And then... We shall work at making you suitable.”

Matías was still feeling the sharp, hot effects of rage as he picked up the phone the next morning to call his abuelo.

Liliana had been perfect. And now he was to be tasked with turning this...this urchin into a silk purse. Something he doubted was even possible. She was... He imagined in some ways she could be lovely. At least, he was hoping so.

But she was not Liliana. She would never be. Also, there would have to be a way to take the story and turn it into something that didn’t sound salacious. That he had fallen for a woman dressed as a stable hand on his property during the course of his engagement to the lovely heiress would be a difficult one to spin, though not impossible.

Particularly given Liliana’s defection.

The fact that she was now with Diego made that part easier, at least. In no way would he come out of it looking the cad. Not when she had been seduced away from him.

“Hola, Matías,” came his grandfather’s rough, cultured voice over the other end of the line. The man sounded yet more ancient with each passing day, and still, he spoke with an air of authority that made Matías grind his teeth.

The old man was a puppet master. Not overtly cruel in the ways his father had been, but he had been the creator of Matías’s father, after all, and it was clear to see how a lifetime of those machinations had dulled Matías’s father’s senses to right and wrong. To any sense of human kindness.

The Navarro family had a legacy that seemed to be born of spite and nourished by blood. Matías wanted no part of it.

But his grandfather didn’t want the rancho. And he didn’t want to maintain control of his company.

“Hola,” Matías responded. “I assume by now Diego has been in touch with you to inform you that he has taken a bride.”

The old man chuckled. “Indeed. He has. Though I think in his case he has literally taken a bride. Your bride.”

“Yes. However, it was convenient for me in many ways, as I did not have to shatter Liliana’s heart,” Matías said, each word decisive.

“Really, Matías,” his grandfather said.

“Really. I have met someone else. Don’t you see? I was trapped because I needed to honor my commitment to Liliana,” he said, knowing he was spitting out a tale that gratified his grandfather’s sense of what roles he and Diego played in their lives. Good and evil.

There was never a question as to how far Diego would go, because he lacked scruples, and it was well-known. But he knew that his grandfather would be incredibly amused to see how the scrupulous grandson dealt with this.

“Is that so?” his grandfather asked. “That seems a bit convenient.”

“I suppose it is. But then things in life so seldom are, so it is nice when it all falls into place. There has been a girl working for me, taking care of the horses, and I found myself quite compelled by her skills with them. I find I had quite fallen for her before I realized what was happening. I never violated my commitment to Liliana, because of course I would never break my word. But things are clearly changed, and now Camilla Alvarez is going to become my wife. You may have heard of the Alvarez family. I know you knew Cesar Alvarez, from back in the days when you dealt in horses. From when you worked at the rancho.”

His grandfather chuckled. “Yes. Cesar. Didn’t he recently die?”

“Quite so. And I ended up taking in quite a few animals from his rancho. And that is how I met Camilla.”

“A fascinating story. One I’m not entirely certain I believe.”

“I do not require your belief. I simply wished to inform you that I am marrying Camilla within the time frame you have dictated. She will be the perfect wife for me. She will run the rancho with a great deal of skill, and with passion. She loves the horses.”

“And you?” he asked. “Does she love you?”

“Perhaps not as much,” he responded.

That made his grandfather laugh. “I do appreciate your honesty, Matías, as you are the only one of us who seems to feel bound by it at any given time. It is endlessly amusing.”

“I do live to be a punchline, Grandfather. I’m glad that my engagement can provide you with some levity.”

“You will have ample opportunity to present her to the world as your bride next week at the charity ball in Barcelona, will you not?”

“I suppose I will,” Matías said, grinding his teeth together.

“Excellent. You know, because of my health I will not be able to attend, but I will look for the photographs in the paper.”

“I should expect nothing less from you, Abuelo.”

“I should hope not.”

And with that, they ended the call. Matías felt a sense of triumph, in many ways, as he was certainly transcending the roadblocks that had been set out before him. He was not going to allow Diego to win. But at the same time, there was an element of manipulation he was having to capitulate to, and that, he would never find acceptable.

But he had work to do. A stylist to hire, a ring to procure, and he was not going to linger on anything unpleasant in view of that. There was far too much to be done.

And he would do what he always did. He would see it done.