Читать книгу The Magnate's Marriage Demand - Robyn Grady - Страница 6

CHAPTER ONE

TAMARA KENDLE couldn’t seem to keep her eyes off the darkly attractive man who sat alone in the chapel’s front pew—he was like a rock, unmoving, staring dead ahead.

Guilt pricked each time her attention wavered from the minister at the lectern. She was here to say goodbye to someone special. A person she missed so much, her heart physically ached. She felt clobbered, stuck somewhere between reality and hell.

And yet, to the left of the rosewood casket and waterfalls of perfumed lilies, broad-jacketed shoulders continued to intrigue. Though they hadn’t met in person, Tamara knew the man by more than reputation.

Armand De Luca, Australia’s multimillionaire steel magnate, the last of his bloodline.

Or so he thought.

Tamara had already been seated when De Luca had entered the funeral home chapel. Throughout the service the classic lines of his profile had exuded the confidence men admire and women fall immediately in love with. Square-cut jaw, well-proportioned nose and lips, those eyes…high noon blue, heavy-lidded, yet all-knowing.

“Thank you all for attending.” Tamara’s attention slid back to the minister; a solemn smile alleviated his long thin face. “There will be a wake in the adjoining building for those who wish to come together and remember Marc Earle.”

Tamara crossed herself, recited a private prayer, then eased out a defeated sigh. Marc had been her dearest friend. They’d laughed together, confided in each other. And a few months ago, when a string of unfortunate events had threatened to pull her under…

Tears prickled and stung her eyes.

God knew she was a fighter. Growing up, she had to be. But that night she’d needed someone and, as always, Marc had been there.

As Tamara pushed to her feet, an icy shiver trickled down her spine. While others shuffled into the aisle, up ahead Armand De Luca was crossing the maroon carpet, headed for the casket. His face a stony mask, he gazed down then reached out to touch the gleaming wood.

A wave of nausea surged in Tamara’s belly. Sweeping aside her long dark hair, she closed her eyes, gently pressing a hand below her waist. She breathed all the way in, then slowly out. When the morning sickness faded, she looked over again. De Luca was gone.

Suddenly chilled, she hugged herself then followed the majority’s lead, drifting through ethereal shafts of light that crisscrossed down from parallel arched windows. Outside, she slid on dark glasses to shield her gritty eyes from a screen of mostly nameless faces that milled around like ghosts slow-waltzing to receding organ music.

Two of Marc’s friends gravitated over. Identical in every way but their hair, twins Kristin and Melanie had often called upon their kind-hearted neighbor to help with handyman chores or settle sibling squabbles. Now the pair looked lost.

Kristin slowly shook her cropped blond head. “I’m still in shock.” Her brows flew together. “I told him not to get that stupid motorbike.”

Melanie’s rust-colored locks quivered when she blew her nose. “This should never have happened to someone as good as Marc.” She sighed then blinked at Tamara. “Can’t imagine how you’re coping. With your business going under, then the fire, now this.”

While Tamara struggled to form words, Kristin snapped at her sister. “Great going, Mel. She doesn’t need reminders.”

“I only meant that three knocks in a row…” Melanie looked sheepish. “Well, it must be tough.”

Three knocks?

Tamara swayed.

Make that four.

Others joined the trio. Half-listening, Tamara stared off at the distant cityscape sprawled below the funeral home’s high vantage point. The glass-and-metal structures, poised like sentinels around Sydney Harbor’s stretched-silk waters, normally charged her with energy and excitement. None of that registered today.

When her queasiness grew and mourners meandered off toward a room where triangular sandwiches, hot tea and more anguish awaited, she slipped away to the nearest bathroom. Moments later, she clutched the comfortless rim of a porcelain sink.

Oh, Lord, she was going to be sick. But at least she was alone in the private room available for anyone who needed time to gather their thoughts or composure. Bowed over, brow embedded on a forearm, she submitted to rolls of discomfort and the image that spun an endless cycle through her brain—Marc’s face the night he’d learned he would soon be a father. He’d said that he loved her. Wanted to get married. How could she confess she loved him too—just not that way.

The scent of pine antiseptic and freshly cut gladioli hauled her back. A heartbeat later, her ears pricked and she straightened. Had she heard something—a knock?

She slumped again. No, just ragged nerves and imagination. Groaning, she cupped shaking hands under the running faucet. Another splash on her clammy face could only help.

“Excuse me, Ms. Kendle?”

At the sound of that rich, honey-over-gravel voice, Tamara’s heart jumped to her throat. Hair lashing her cheeks, she wheeled around to face the room’s only exit and the masculine silhouette filling it. Palm pushed to the pounding beneath the bodice of her black dress, she swallowed and recovered her power of speech. “Good Lord, you scared me half to death!”

One dark brow flexed as an indolent grin kicked up a corner of her guest’s mouth. “My apologies. When you slid in here, and stayed so long, I worried that I’d missed you.” Beneath the impeccably tailored jacket, his sizeable chest inflated. “I’m Armand De Luca. Marco’s brother.”

Long-lost brother, she silently amended, though it was apparent they had nothing in common, not manner or build. And while Marc’s eyes were blue, too, his gaze had been trusting, whereas this man’s appeared, well, almost predatory. Perhaps not so surprising given what she knew of his upbringing. A strict childhood, dominated by an overly ambitious father, no mother on the scene. She might feel sorry for him, but De Luca was not a man in need of pity. Ruthless intelligence and celebrated charm, which radiated off him now in tangible waves, was proof enough of that.

Tamara sucked down a cleansing breath and, cutting off the faucet’s flow, found a polite smile. “Marc spoke of you.”

He smiled. “I’m glad. I’d hoped you and I could talk now.”

He held her eyes, his expression amicable yet potent, and some unknown impulsive part of her felt compelled to nod and agree. But a lengthy conversation was out of the question. Not today, in any case. Not when she felt ready to collapse. When her world had all but collapsed around her.

She tore paper from the chrome-plated dispenser to blot her hands. “It’s been an exhausting day, but I’m sure others would love the chance to talk with you about Marc.”

“I don’t have a lot of time, Ms. Kendle. I wish only to speak with you.”

She tossed the paper wad into a nearby bin, her smile strained and curious now. “That sounds rather ominous.”

“Marco said you were bright.”

Her heartbeat stuttered, not only at his words, but also his gaze, probing, analyzing, as if he were hunting out her most precious secret. As if he somehow suspected the news she wasn’t quite yet ready to share.

Expression cool, she collected her purse from the vanity and slung its strap over a shoulder. Truth told, he intimidated her, but damned if she’d let him know.

She met his gaze square on. “You don’t look the type to play games. So tell me, what’s this all about?”

He regarded her for a long moment then stepped from the slanted shadows of the doorway into the room’s harsh artificial light. A subtle widow’s peak complemented his high brow. Above a strong, stubborn jaw, unyielding brackets framed a masculine yet sensually sculptured mouth. Armand De Luca wasn’t merely attractive. He possessed raw animal magnetism barely contained beneath a highly polished air. The overall effect went beyond arresting. It was downright dangerous.

A pulse jumped in his jaw. “You’re pregnant,” he stated, “with Marco’s child.”

His announcement winded her like a blow to the stomach. Her knees threatened to buckle as questions pummeled her brain. Morning sickness had taken a firm hold, but she wasn’t showing yet. Did De Luca own a crystal ball?

She narrowed her eyes. “How can you know? I only told Marc an hour before the accident.”

His impassive expression didn’t change. “He rang to share the news. Since our reunion, my younger brother occasionally kept in touch.”

Tamara didn’t know much about their history, other than their parents had separated when the boys were quite young. Marc never said why his mother had taken him but not Armand when she’d left, or why as adults the brothers hadn’t been in touch until after their father’s death over a year ago. Marc never wallowed in the past, another reason she’d respected him. Emotional baggage, skeletons in the closet…it dragged a person down and dredged up doubts, if revisited too often.

Yet today Marc’s past had caught up with the present while Tamara’s future grew safe and treasured inside of her.

Maternal pride lifted her chin. “Yes, I’m pregnant. But there’s no need to track me down like this. I’m not leaving the country.”

“I am. My jet departs for Beijing in a few hours. I’ll be gone two weeks.”

She forced a cordial smile. “Then we’ll talk in two weeks.”

As she finished the sentence, an idea struck. She had nothing keeping her in Sydney. Perhaps he was worried she’d disappear, not caring if he saw the baby, his little niece or nephew. The last thing she wanted was to cut him from her child’s life as he had once been cut from Marc’s. She knew how destructive those kinds of divisions could be.

Her greatest wish was to give her child a happy, balanced home. That meant one day marrying the man who loved them both and whom she loved in return, not merely as a friend, but as a wife should love her husband. More immediately, however, her baby’s interests would be best served by including extended family.

Her expression softened. “Look, if you’re concerned about visits, please don’t be. I want my child to know his uncle. Family is important.” She hesitated, then confessed, “More important than anything.”

The line between his brows eased even while he appeared otherwise unaffected. “Please, share five minutes with me, Ms. Kendle, away from here.”

The dark edge to his voice, that shiver racing through her blood…

She hadn’t been certain before, but these last few seconds she felt it as surely as the hair rising on the back of her neck. Something was very wrong.

Her heartbeat slowed then thudded low in her chest. Was there a hereditary disease she needed to know about? Epilepsy, allergies, heart conditions…some problem that might need immediate attention?

Her throat closed around a lump as her head prickled hot and cold. “Whatever this is about, if it concerns the child I’m carrying, I want to know.” She swallowed hard. “And I want to know now.”

One large tanned hand flexed by his side before he drew up tall and gradually closed the distance separating them,’ til her senses swam with his hot, woodsy scent and she couldn’t escape the resolve hardening in his eyes.

“It does concern the child, Ms. Kendle, as well as both of us.” De Luca’s broad shoulders squared. “I want to marry you.”

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Armand sat with one arm slung over the back of a shaded park bench, Tamara Kendle in a daze at his side. Despite the salty breeze lifting the hair off her cheek, her face looked whiter than the styrene cup her delicate hand clutched. Jaw slack, she stared at an endless procession of waves, which crashed and ebbed on the foam-scalloped shore a few meters away.

Clearly she was still in shock. When he’d let loose his bombshell proposal at the funeral home earlier, her legs had given way. He’d swooped to catch her and in the instant her warm body had slumped against his, damned if his blood hadn’t sparked and caught light. Then had come a blinding flash of guilt.

That guilt burned low in his gut now, but he clenched his jaw and pushed it aside. He’d seen Marco exactly eight times in the last fourteen months, including the reintroduction at their father’s funeral. Now the brother he’d barely known was dead.

Marrying the woman Marco had loved might sound insensitive, perhaps even shameless to some. Armand understood the sentiment but he wouldn’t let that color his decision. He played by his own rules, no one else’s. To wish things were somehow different was useless. Nothing changed the past, there was only the future, and a union would benefit them all—Tamara, the baby, as well as himself.

Easing out a breath, Armand leaned forward. Forearms resting on thighs, he dropped his threaded hands between his knees. “Would you like more water or are you okay to talk?”

The timing was worse than bad. If that issue in China weren’t calling him out of the country, he’d have approached this differently and merely introduced himself today, following it up with visits over the next few days until she felt more comfortable. Although their meeting was awkward, perhaps it was better this way. Much needed to be organized—and quickly— particularly the effects of a betrothal upon his business and late father’s legal trust.

With great care, Tamara set the cup on a slat between them and looped stray hair behind an ear. “If you want to talk about weddings, there’s nothing to say.”

As the information filtered through, he saw suspicion pool in her eyes and renewed tension ratchet back her shoulders.

“My…situation?”

His tone was nonconfrontational, yet firm. “You’ve been out of work two months, since your business failed to trade out of cash flow problems.”

“Thanks to a big company that refused to pay an invoice.” Uncertainty furrowed her brows. “How did you know? Marc wouldn’t have told you. It had nothing to do with you.”

“Now it does.” He met her glistening gaze, green eyes filled with shifting light.

He rubbed his bristled jaw, laid his arm along the back of the bench again and set his thoughts on track. “You don’t have private insurance.”

She blinked as if the idea hadn’t occurred to her. “No, I don’t.”

“But you’d obviously want the best doctor to care for you and the baby.” She sank back, her pallor even more pasty. “What about the delivery? If you need a caesarean, don’t you want to know who’s holding the knife?”

“We have a good public system in this country.”

“You know where and who you’d want to care for the baby, and it’s not waiting hours in a medical clinic, seeing a different, overworked doctor every time.” He passed on a jaded look. “In today’s triage world, if you want to be certain of having the best, you need to pay for it.”

Her pointed gaze skewered his. “I’ll ask again. How do you know all this?”

He shrugged. “A few phone calls.” The best medical care wasn’t the only thing money could buy. By comparison, information was cheap.

Her cheeks flamed red as a volcano built inside of her—again, not unexpected.

“You had me investigated?”

“I looked in to my late brother’s affairs.”

“You mean his love affair.”

He tipped closer and willed her to understand. This wasn’t pleasant for him, either. “You have no income and no family to speak of. I want to help.”

“By proposing marriage. Isn’t that a bit extreme? What about something simple, like writing a check?” She crossed her arms and tucked in that cute cleft chin. “Not that I want your money.”

“That’s noble, but in your predicament, perhaps impractical.”

Although by no means wealthy, Marco had been in more of a position to reject the De Luca legacy, even laugh off the suggestion that the brothers might finally unite and build together. Tamara’s situation was somewhat different.

Mottled pink consumed her neck. “I’m more than capable of holding down a job.”

“Like being a receptionist at your local budget hairdressers.” Her jaw dropped. “You’ll be up and down, sweeping floors, helping out, on your feet eight to ten hours a day. From what I saw of you bent over that sink, early pregnancy doesn’t agree with you. How will you cope?”

Pride pinned back her shoulders. Despite her stubbornness, he had to admire her. An educated guess said if anyone could make it through this difficult situation on her own and do it well, she could. But he’d keep that to himself.

“I’m grateful for the job, even if it is a stopgap,” she told him. “I plan to finish a business degree then relaunch my special events company.” She tilted her head and conceded, “Or, if need be, I’ll take a position with another firm and work my way up.” She sent him an almost impish look. “But you might already know that, too.”

His mouth twitched. Minx. Quite a change from the gushing society princesses he’d dated—women of a mold who flattered, simpered and left him tepid, as far as sweethearts or long-term relationships were concerned.

Ah, who was he kidding? He didn’t believe in romantic love and hadn’t for some time, though clearly others did.

He studied a patch of sandy ground, searching for the right words. “I know you and Marco were in love. He said you were going to marry and have more children. Obviously it will take time to recover from your loss—”

“Whoa! Hold on.” Tamara waved her hands. “Marc might have been in love with me, but I hadn’t agreed to marry him. I thought of him only as a friend. A very dear friend.”

Armand froze. Every muscle, every thought locked in black ice. Finally he raked a hand through his hair. He wasn’t a saint, but this idea refused to compute. “Do you often sleep with friends, Ms. Kendle?”

She jerked back as if slapped. Grabbing her bag, she shot to her feet. “I’ve heard enough.”

As she spun on her heel, he snared her arm. They weren’t finished yet.

He hauled her back. The skin-to-skin contact jolted a physical response that pumped through his arteries, scorching his flesh, just as it had an hour ago when he’d proposed and she’d buckled against him. Completely aware, he slowly stood and tried to absorb this sensation’s deeper meaning. From her startled gaze, she felt it, too—that current, popping and pulsing like a live wire between them.

His gaze skimmed a hot line over her lips as a dormant beast yawned and stretched inside him. “You weren’t sexually attracted to Marco?”

Yet an unmistakable attraction simmered between the two of them. For obvious reasons, he hadn’t expected this. Didn’t quite know what to do with it—a first for him, in many ways.

Regaining control, she shrugged out of his grasp. “Marc was kind and thoughtful and put everything on hold if a friend needed him. It happened once.” Her bruised heart sat like a shadow in her eyes. “I don’t expect you to understand.”

His chest burned, but he pushed ahead. He had no time to dwell on who the better man had been.

“You’ve had a bad run.” He knew about her house and the fire, too. “But today you have an opportunity to turn things around.”

A hapless smile twisted her mouth. “A marriage of convenience?” The open vulnerability, the innocence of her face, worked to find a way under his ribs and he nodded once. She seemed to digest the sincerity of his offer before fresh wariness dawned in her eyes. “What’s in it for you?”

He didn’t hesitate. “This child will have two parents.”

She waited. “And?”

“You need another reason?”

Tamara Kendle came from a broken home, one far less privileged than his own had been. An absent father and uneducated mother. Tamara’s childhood made his gripes look like too little cake at a Sunday picnic. Surely the security in providing this child a decent family life should be persuasion enough.

A clutch of grounded seagulls scattered as she left him to wander toward the beach fence. The breeze, stronger here, combed her hair, turning it to dark ribbons that danced down her back.

She rotated to face him, her expression perceptive now. “You said I was bright, Mr. De Luca. Please don’t dodge my question.”

After a moment, he exhaled and joined her. Resting both palms on the chest-high railing, he perused the rolling sea. “Yes, there is another reason.” She’d need to know anyway.

She propped one elbow on the railing and cupped her cheek. “I’m listening.”

He clenched the wood. “I need to obtain the controlling interest in my late father’s company. His will left the balance in trust.”

“And I fit in how…?”

“A stipulation must be met before the interest can revert to me. I must produce offspring—a child—by my thirty-third birthday. In other words, I need a legitimate heir seven months from now.”

“My baby?” A disbelieving laugh escaped. “Can people actually do that in their wills? It sounds medieval.”

“Dante, my father, was very much old guard. I’d known for years he wanted to ensure that his legacy continued through me into the next generation.” His jaw shifted as he rationalized. “It’s understandable.”

“And if you don’t produce an heir by the deadline?”

“The controlling interest will remain with my father’s closest friend, the company’s legal advisor.”

A man with no children of his own. Someone Armand had admired and called uncle growing up. A person he trusted and whom he believed would pass on the balance anyway. But he’d rather comply with his father’s wishes, and, in doing so, avoid placing Matthew, an ethical man, in a not-so-ethical position. Convincing Tamara to marry him would eliminate those glitches and lead to a win-win situation for everyone, including the child.

She looked skeptical. “This doesn’t add up. A man like you would have zero problems finding a more than willing bride. Why leave it ’til now?”

He refused to feel. Refused to remember. Instead he twirled the heavy ruby ring on his right hand. “Let’s just say, true love has eluded me.”

“You want to find true love?”

The visible tension in her jaw eased before she slowly straightened and gave in to her first real smile. The expression was like a candle flickering to life on the inside, making her glow like an angel. He almost smiled back.

“Then you’d understand why this can’t possibly work,” she said. “Why you’ll have to find another way. I want to find that right one, too, just like you.”

He studied her. She was far more attractive than he’d first thought, with creamy skin, long regal neck and a small gold cross shining from the hollow of her throat. And for a cock-eyed moment, he wanted to steal some of her starry-eyed enthusiasm. But he’d tossed believing a long time ago.

Prying his gaze from the curve of her cheek, he focused again on the sea. “You misunderstand. I don’t believe in fairy tales.”

She fell back against the fence, emitting a soft gasp. “You mean you don’t believe in love?”

He bit down, suddenly irritated, but nevertheless well-versed for the argument. Not that this discussion need include an analysis of his personal regrets; he took as his right the discretion of one mistake. He would stick to broader statistics.

“I have a friend who’s a divorce lawyer, but it’s no secret. Half the people who marry for love separate. That’s compared to four percent of arranged marriages. In some parts of the world, such betrothals are considered a privilege.”

She blinked twice. “Good Lord, you’re serious.”

“What I propose is a partnership built on honesty and respect.”

“What you propose is out of the question!”

He held up a hand. “I understand it’s not the best time.”

“Darn right it’s not. Your brother was buried today.” She backed up, disgust dragging on her mouth. “And, whatever you might believe, I’m not a piece of property you can buy to better your business standing, and neither is my baby. Yes, I want honesty and respect from the man I marry. But I also want a history and commitment and passion.”

Her green eyes were all sparks and fire now, all conviction and courage. No interest in material gain…only ideals. “Passion?” he asked, all the more curious.

Her eyes widened as if she’d read his thoughts and wasn’t sure how to take them. “Every woman wants that.”

His gaze roamed her face. “Most men, too.”

He didn’t make choices lightly. He’d lain awake last night and had sat in that chapel today analyzing the pros and cons of marrying a woman he’d yet to meet in order to fulfill the terms of the will and give her child—his blood—the De Luca name. Yet, not once had Armand anticipated this pull, the impulse to frame her face and test her warmth.

The tug in his chest, the heat down below…

Hell. He wanted to kiss her.

She broke their gaze. Combing back hair that waved like a pennant across her face, she looked down at her feet, then over to the busy road. She still avoided his eyes when she said, “You have a plane waiting and I need to go home and get over this day.”

He snatched a glance at his watch. Damn. Where had that hour gone? But he still had time. He’d make time. “I’ll give you a lift.”

He reached for her elbow, but she weaved away. “I’ll take the bus. I mean it,” she insisted when he began to protest. While he reluctantly stepped back, she seemed to gather her thoughts. “I also meant what I said about not excluding you from our lives.” After a hesitant moment, she fished around in her purse. “I suppose you already have my phone number.”

The tension, which had locked his shoulder blades these past few days, eased slightly. He did have her number, but he wouldn’t object if she gave it to him. She was giving him an inch. For now, that was all he needed.

After she’d retrieved a notepad and pen, his gaze settled on the motion of her writing…left-handed, skin smooth, fingers long and slender, made for jewelry. Diamonds, emeralds, maybe even rubies.

She handed him the paper, shot out a quick goodbye and was gone, swift as a frightened hare. Watching her move through the shade of bobbing palm fronds toward a bus stop, he shifted his weight to one leg and scratched his temple. Fourteen days and nights in China suddenly seemed like a very long time.

Walking to his car, Armand opened her note. He stopped in his tracks to read the message three times.

Give me some space!

His grin was slow. He’d give her two weeks. After that, he couldn’t promise anything.