Page 30 of Modern Romance Collection December 2024 Books 1-4

He pushed her gently towards the woman, who was now smiling and saying, ‘Come with me, please.’

Sadie had no choice but to let herself be led into a luxuriously carpeted inner room, where there were rails of clothes—everything from jeans to evening gowns.

The woman stood back and looked Sadie up and down assessingly. Then she said, ‘Okay, let me see what we have for you...’

‘Her story stacks up, Quin. She is who she says she is, and it’s a miracle she survived. This organised crime gang was one of the most sophisticated and deadly in the world. They signed their own death warrants, though, when Almady murdered someone in his own home. He was getting complacent...arrogant...and that led to his ultimate downfall.’

Quin was standing outside the boutique, where he had gone to take this call from his friend. A heavy weight lodged in his gut. Sadie’s story was true. He would trust Claude with his life.

But not the mother of your own child?prompted a voice.

Quin pushed it aside.

Quin had told his friend that Sadie was Sol’s mother. He asked, ‘Is there any danger now?’

His friend sighed. ‘No—and I’ve checked it out thoroughly, with contacts who would know. Anyone who wanted her gone is dead or disappeared now. She has no relevance any more, thankfully. But I should tell you that one of Almady’s associates was in Sao Paulo just over a year ago, sniffing around, showing people her picture, so they were intent on finding her. She did the right thing, leaving.’

Quin went cold. It had come that close? The danger? ‘Could I have protected her and Sol?’ he asked. ‘If she’d told me?’

Claude was deadly serious when he answered, ‘Three moving targets are easier to find than one.’

For the first time Quin had to wonder what he would have done in Sadie’s situation. The thought of harm coming to Sol—his skin went clammy. Of course he would have done whatever it took to ensure his son was safe.

Even if that meant walking away?

His friend’s voice cut off that uncomfortable question.

‘Quin, I can’t emphasise enough how real the threat was. And she’d witnessed a murder, so she had the trauma of that on top of the trauma of being on the run. If the gang hadn’t imploded the way they eventually did, who’s to know if she could have ever settled down again? The fact that she lost her memory and was blissfully unaware of the danger she was in, unwittingly putting you and her baby in, is frankly a little terrifying. It’s sheer luck they didn’t track her down in that year.’

‘I swear it could have been made just for you. I knew you’d look amazing in it.’

Sadie smiled weakly at the boutique owner—Monica. She’d already tried on an array of day wear, and the woman was so nice and friendly that Sadie hadn’t had the heart to refuse when she’d said she had an evening dress for Sadie to try on.

Sadie was almost afraid to look at her reflection in the mirror, very aware that the dress was made of some kind of gold lamé and clung to her body like a second skin.

But the other woman said, ‘Look at yourself, please...you are stunning.’

Sadie gave in, and for a second didn’t recognise her own reflection. She’d never worn an evening dress in her life—apart from when she’d gone to that party to try and see Quin. And calling that dress an ‘evening dress’ had been a stretch.

But this...this was Cinderella territory.

Sadie glowed with a golden light. Her skin looked almost translucent next to the gold. The dress was simple, with two thin straps and a low-cut vee that ran between her breasts, making them look more ample than they were. It was a feat of engineering that Sadie would never be able to figure out.

It hugged her neat waist and clung to the flare of her hips, making her look far more shapely than she really was, and then fell in what could only be described as a waterfall of gold to the floor in soft, shimmering folds.

Her back was bare to the top of her buttocks.

Sadie had never been a girly girl, but this dress was evoking a multitude of things inside her. Yearnings and memories. The only other dress she’d ever had was the simple white broderie anglaise sundress she’d worn on the beach, while pregnant with Sol, when she’d married Quin.

Or, as he’d reminded her,notmarried Quin.

A sound came from behind them—a discreet cough. Monica went to the curtain and pulled it back, saying, ‘Senhor Holt, please tell your girlfriend how stunning she looks.’

Girlfriend.

Sadie immediately froze. That couldn’t be further from the truth of what was happening here. She was already anticipating the censorious look on Quin’s face—he hadn’t brought her here to play dress-up in gold lamé dresses! Maybe he’d suspect that she’d introduced herself as his girlfriend.

At the last second she reached for her neck, where her engagement ring would be hanging from the chain she’d put it on. But she let out a breath of relief when she remembered she’d left it in a drawer by the bed in the guesthouse for fear she’d lose it while cleaning.

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