Читать книгу The Tycoon's Trophy Wife - Miranda Lee - Страница 8

THE organ player breaking into the wedding march signalled the bride was ready at last. She was only fifteen minutes late, Reece realised as he glanced at his gold Rolex. Long enough, however, for the groom next to him to get fidgety.

‘It’s showtime!’ Reece said, smiling over at Richard who’d gone ramrod straight at the change of music, his hands clasped tightly in front of him.

‘Have you got the rings?’ Richard whispered out of the side of his mouth.

Reece patted the right pocket of his black dinner jacket. ‘Of course. Relax, Rich,’ he said, and reached out to touch him reassuringly on the arm. ‘I’ve done this before.’

‘So has he,’ Mike muttered under his breath from the other side of Reece.

Reece’s head whipped round to throw him a reproachful glare. Mike was a good bloke at heart, but his eternal cynicism over romance and relationships could be exasperating. It was also out of place today. Blind Freddie could see that Richard and Holly were deeply in love. This would be a much better marriage than the one Richard had had with Joanna, who, quite frankly, had not been Mrs Perfect.

Reece would never forget the night she’d made a play for him, something he’d never told Richard, but which had bothered him greatly at the time.

He’d avoided Joanna after that.

When she’d been killed in a car accident a couple of years back, he’d felt very sorry for Richard. But Reece sometimes wondered if it was a case of fate being cruel to be kind.

Whatever, Richard’s first marriage was past history. Today was a new day and Reece finally felt optimistic for his best friend’s choice for his second wife.

Despite an initial concern that Holly, at twenty-six, was too young and naive for a man of Richard’s age and status—Richard was thirty-eight and the CEO of a merchant bank—Reece could now see that Holly was exactly what Richard needed after Joanna. She was a genuinely sweet, caring, loving girl. Very pretty, too.

She was going to make a lovely bride.

Reece’s eyes narrowed as he peered down to the back of the church, curious to see what the girls were wearing. But the church doors were open and the late-afternoon light was streaming in. All he could see were silhouettes.

The first bridesmaid eventually came into view, looking elegant in a long, straight red dress and carrying a bouquet of white roses. She was tall, with auburn hair, a nice enough figure and an attractive face.

Reece didn’t know her. She was a florist friend of Holly’s. In her thirties. And married, Alanna had told him last night.

Reece hoped happily so, given she was being partnered by Mike today.

Reece glanced to his left at Mike, who was looking surprisingly debonair, a far cry from his usual dishevelled self. Amazing what a haircut, a shave and a tuxedo could achieve. Most days, Mike looked as if he’d walked out of a spaghetti western. Acted like that, too. Very tough and gruff.

Strangely, some women seemed to fancy him like that. Lord knew why. Reece thought Mike’s clean-cut image today was infinitely more attractive. But what was one woman’s trash was another woman’s treasure, he supposed.

On Mike’s part, he went for any good-looking female who made the chase easy for him and who agreed with his rules, his rules being he would take her out for one reason and one reason only. Sex. There would be no real relationship. No romance. The only promise he gave was not to be a two-timer.

But when it was over—meaning when he got bored—it was over.

Mike was an obsessively compulsive computer genius with a very low boredom threshold. His last girl friend…an exotic dancer…had lasted all of a month.

It still never failed to astonish Reece just how many takers Mike got. And how many of his ex-girlfriends remained friendly with him, afterwards. Damned if it made sense to him.

‘Behave yourself with your partner today,’ he whispered in Mike’s direction. ‘She’s married.’

‘That never seems to stop them,’ Mike returned drily. ‘But don’t worry. I avoid married women like the plague. They’re nothing but trouble.’

‘Sounds like you’ve had some experience.’

‘Only once. It was a close call, but I managed to escape.’

‘Anyone I know?’

‘I don’t think this is the time to discuss it,’ he bit out.

Reece stared at Mike, who gave a slight nod in Richard’s direction. Fortunately, Richard wasn’t taking any notice of them, his eyes fixed straight ahead.

‘Joanna?’ Reece whispered.

‘Yep.’

‘She hit on me, too,’ Reece admitted.

‘No kidding. What a bitch.’

‘Stunningly beautiful, though.’

‘It’s always the stunningly beautiful ones you have to worry about,’ Mike muttered.

Just then, the chief bridesmaid came into view, dressed exactly the same as the girl walking a few metres in front of her.

Every male hormone in Reece moved from stationary into overdrive. Now that was one stunningly beautiful woman.

But, of course, he already knew that. He’d been married to her for nine months.

Reece struggled with a perverse jab of jealousy as he watched the eyes of all the male wedding guests slavishly following Alanna’s graceful progress down the aisle.

Perverse, because he’d never felt jealous before, not even when she was showing off her model-slim figure in one of the revealing evening gowns he liked her to wear.

By comparison, Alanna was very modestly dressed today. Yet for some reason, the effect was sexier. Maybe it was true that what was hidden and hinted at was more provocative than what was on open display.

Or maybe it was the colour.

Alanna had never worn red before. She preferred softer, paler shades. But Holly had chosen red for the bridesmaids for some sentimental reason. Something to do with a bunch of red roses having brought her and Richard together.

The colour actually looked magnificent against Alanna’s porcelain skin and creamy blonde hair.

The style was quite simple. A full-length sheath, it skimmed rather than hugged Alanna’s figure. The neckline was wide. Almost off the shoulder, but not low-cut. The sleeves were straight and long, no doubt in deference to the weather. It was, after all, June. And June in Sydney was wintertime.

The day outside was pleasant enough, but inside this rather old church the air was crisp and cold.

The first bridesmaid reached the end of the aisle and turned away to the side, giving Reece an even better view of his wife, especially her face.

And what an exquisite face it was. Classically sculptured, with a delicately pointed chin, high cheekbones and a fine, fair complexion. Her eyes were a smoky green, almond-shaped and lushly lashed. Her nose was small and straight with an elegant tip. Her mouth was full, her lips looking even fuller painted scarlet.

Reece’s gaze moved down further, his mind stripping her of that dress and seeing her as he liked seeing her best of all.

Alanna had the kind of body that had always attracted and aroused him. Slender and firm, with long legs, a tight butt and small, high-set breasts.

Body-wise, she was very similar to Kristine.

That was one of the reasons Reece has chosen Alanna for his wife. He would never have considered marriage to a woman he wasn’t physically attracted to, regardless of his motivations. The other, more vengeful reason for choosing Alanna was that she was even more beautiful than his ex-fiancée.

Her willingness to have his children was merely a bonus.

As these thoughts tumbled through Reece’s head he tried to revive the vengeful feelings that had inspired his marriage to Alanna last year.

But astonishingly, they just weren’t there!

Reece’s shock was soon replaced by an overwhelming sense of relief as he realised he didn’t give a damn about Kristine any more.

Let the devil take her, which he would.

The only woman he cared about these days was the woman in red, coming down the aisle. His wife. The stunningly beautiful, extremely enigmatic, very intriguing Alanna.

A few years ago, Reece might have believed his uncharacteristic jealousy a minute ago meant he’d fallen in love with Alanna.

But Reece had turned thirty-six this year, past the age when an intelligent man mistook male possessiveness for love. He did like and respect Alanna. A lot. But love?

No. Love wasn’t what he felt when he looked at her.

Which was just as well, because love hadn’t been part of their deal. In fact, it had been the one thing Alanna had been very adamant about. No love.

She’d been madly in love before, she’d explained. With her dead husband. The love of her life, killed in a tragic road accident.

She didn’t want to tread that path again.

During their first dinner date Alanna had confided that she’d once believed she would never marry again, but as she’d approached thirty she’d realised she still wanted a family. What she didn’t want, she insisted repeatedly, was romantic love, and all the emotional torment that went with it.

Which was why she’d become a client of Wives Wanted, an introduction agency that specialised in matching professional men of substance with attractive, intelligent women who were happy to be career wives. Although falling in love sometimes happened—according to the woman who ran the agency—on the whole, these were marriages made with heads and not hearts. Marriages of convenience, they were called in the old days.

A marriage of convenience was exactly what Reece had in mind when he had become a client of Wives Wanted a year ago. Love hadn’t been on his agenda, either.

At the time, he’d got exactly what he’d wanted in Alanna. The ultimate trophy wife for him to display on his arm. The perfect salve for his bruised male ego. A visible token of his professional survival as well as a none-too-subtle weapon of personal revenge.

To this end, he’d made sure that photographs of his wedding had been printed in every paper and glossy magazine in Australia.

Not a difficult thing to arrange. He was a high-profile property developer, after all. What he did and whom he married made the news. Photos of every glamorous party he’d held since his wedding—and there were many—had found their way into the media as well, with Alanna always dressed to show off her physical assets.

For quite some time it had given Reece perverse pleasure to think of Kristine thinking of him with his beautiful blonde wife whilst she was having to service her ageing sugar-daddy, the one she’d dumped him for. He liked imagining his ex-fiancée feeling regret that she’d bailed out of their relationship prematurely. No doubt she hadn’t expected him to go from near bankruptcy to billionaire status within three short years of her desertion.

Poor Kristine, came the caustic thought. If only she’d had some faith and loyalty, she could have had her cake and eaten it too. Instead, she’d thrown her lot in with an ageing playboy film producer who had a reputation for replacing his starlet girlfriends every year or so.

There’d been a time when Reece had waited to hear such news with baited breath. Somewhere along the line, however, he’d stopped thinking about—and caring about—what happened to Kristine.

In hindsight, Reece could not put a date on this miracle. But it had to be some months ago. He supposed it was difficult to keep pining for another woman when you were married to someone as fascinating as Alanna.

Aside from her breathtaking beauty, Alanna was an amazing woman to live with. She never nagged at him or questioned him. There were never any scenes when he came home late, or had to go away unexpectedly on business. She kept his house beautifully, was an accomplished hostess and never said no in bed. What more could a man in his position want? When you thought about it, their marriage was perfect.

Frankly, falling in love would have spoilt it.

But as he continued to gaze at his beautiful wife Reece recognised that he had fallen in lust with her.

He’d always desired Alanna. Right from the moment he’d set eyes on her. But his desire seemed to have taken a darker, more intense turning today.

It was that damned dress’s fault, he decided.

Not the style. The colour. It had to be the colour. Red was the devil’s colour. The colour of desire, and danger.

Whatever, Reece could not wait for Richard’s wedding to be over. Could not wait to get that dress off her.

What a pity he was the best man and she was the chief bridesmaid. They would have to attend the reception afterwards, plus stay till it was finished. There was no excuse they could give to leave early.

Not that Alanna would. She would think him mad to suggest such a thing. She’d been helping Holly with the wedding preparations for weeks and had been very excited this morning.

Another dark thought intruded. Maybe he’d be able to persuade her to slip away with him somewhere for a few minutes. A powder room perhaps?

Reece had never done anything like that with her before. Their lovemaking had always been confined to the house. Actually, now that he came to think of it, it had also been confined to their bedroom.

Time to widen their sexual horizons, Reece decided with a rush of blood. Before she got pregnant.

They’d been trying for a baby for three months now. Surprisingly, with no success. But sooner or later, he’d strike a home run.

Reece imagined that once Alanna was having a baby, she might not be overly keen on having sexual adventures.

Suddenly, Reece became aware of Alanna frowning at him as she approached the end of the aisle.

Had his darker thoughts been reflected in his face?

Probably.

He swiftly summoned up one of his warmly winning smiles, the kind he used at work every day and which had become second nature to him.

‘You look incredible,’ he mouthed to her.

When she beamed back at him, his flesh tightened further.

Reece gritted his teeth and kept on smiling till she turned away to join the other bridesmaid, at which point his sigh of relief was swiftly followed by a jab of guilt. Damn it all, he was here today to be Richard’s best man. Not to think and act like some depraved roué, consumed by uncontrollable lust.

The trouble was Reece had always been given to strong emotions. People thought he was an easygoing man, but underneath his charming facde he was often a maelstrom of emotion. Ever since he was a boy, his needs and wants had ruled his life. When he’d wanted something, he’d wanted it too much. When he’d fallen in love, he’d loved too much.

When Kristine had first left him, he’d gone wild with despair and jealousy. To the world, he’d presented a coolly positive, never-say-die image, whereas underneath he’d been eaten up by a compulsive need to strike back in whatever way he could; to have his revenge on the woman who’d spurned him. First, by regaining his wealth. Secondly, by marrying.

It had been sheer luck that his marriage to Alanna had worked out as well as it had. It could very well have been a complete disaster.

Now that Reece realised Kristine was out of his head and his heart for ever, no way did he want to risk spoiling things. He decided that, no matter how frustrated he was feeling at this moment, sex with Alanna could at least wait till they were home. Whether they got as far as the bedroom, however, was another question. He rather fancied the idea of undressing her in the living room. Or perhaps not undressing her at all.

He began to wonder what she was wearing underneath that red dress…

The arrival of Holly walking down the aisle was a well-timed distraction, dragging Reece’s mind back from the erotic possibilities of later tonight to the sweetly romantic present.

He’d been right. Holly did look lovely.

Hearing the groom suck in sharply at the sight of his beautiful bride brought a wry smile to Reece’s lips. Underneath his ultra conservative, buttoned-up, banker facde, Richard was a total softie. A romantic and an idealist.

A visionary, as well.

For which Reece was grateful. If it hadn’t been for Richard’s ability to think outside the box, he’d be stony-broke today. Richard had backed Reece when not one other financial institution would touch him. He’d given him every loan he’d needed till the slump in the real-estate market had changed to a property boom, extending his hand in friendship as well.

Reece thought the world of him.

‘I admit I was wrong, Rich,’ he murmured to his friend. ‘She’s definitely the girl for you.’

‘Too young for him, I reckon,’ Mike muttered, grunting when Reece jabbed him in the ribs.

‘Okay, okay, she does love him,’ Mike grumbled. ‘I can see that. Even worse, I think he loves her.’

‘What’s wrong with that?’ Reece said sharply.

‘Hush up, you two,’ Richard commanded. ‘I’m getting married here.’

Reece gave Mike another savage glare. Mike just shrugged.

When Richard stepped over to take his bride’s hand, Reece caught a glimpse of Holly’s face through her veil.

The expression he saw in her eyes should have pleased him. For it was undoubtedly the look of a girl very much in love. Why, then, did Reece suddenly feel out of sorts? Surely he didn’t envy Richard, did he?

Perhaps.

No woman had ever looked at him quite that way, with such gloriously blind adoration. Not even Kristine when she’d supposedly been in love with him. And certainly not Alanna.

Alanna, again…

Reece glanced over to where his wife was standing on the other side of the bride. But he couldn’t make eye contact. Holly’s veil was getting in the way.

Maybe it was just as well, he thought. Because he knew he’d never see anything like that expression in her eyes. The most he could hope for was a degree of mindless desire.

There was no doubt Alanna got carried away sometimes when Reece made love to her.

Reece vowed he would at least see that in her eyes later tonight. It wouldn’t be quite as good, but it would have to do.