Page 3 of How To Tempt The Off-Limits Billionaire

Hey, she was a teacher, it was her job to be suspicious.

“Digby is my best friend and I’m tight with his family,” Muzi replied, running his big hand over Livvie’s head. “Digby has known my grandmother Mimi forever and Bay and Mimi have struck up a friendship. I was inspecting the vineyards next to Mimi’s house today and Liv and Bay were there, lunching with her. Liv walked a part of Mimi’s vineyard with me and Mimi’s dogs while Bay and my grandmother chatted. Bay needed to see a client on the other side of the city this afternoon, so I offered to hand Liv over to Digby.” He rubbed his right ear and grimaced. “She talked nonstop for the hour-long journey back.”

Ah, okay. That made sense.

Ro watched as Liv rubbed her eyes and before she could tell Muzi that the little girl was exhausted, he took her and propped her on his hip. Liv immediately rested her head on his chest, eyes fluttering closed. Liv never seemed to run out of energy so seeing her fade was a surprise. “How much walking did she do?” Ro asked.

“A lot,” Muzi told her. “She felt morally obligated to keep up with Mimi’s dogs.”

Muzi adjusted the pink backpack on his shoulder and lifted his chin in the direction of the wide French doors that led onto a wraparound veranda. “Digby messaged me to meet him on the back lawn. I presume you are heading in that direction?”

Ro nodded. “Yes, I’m having afternoon drinks with my—”

Ro stopped abruptly, shocked that she’d almost told this man that Digby and Radd were her brothers. The fact that she was Zia and Gil’s natural daughter, and that she’d inherited their extensive estate, was highly classified information. If her identity became public knowledge, her life would become intolerable.

“I know that you are Digby and Radd’s sister, Ro.”

Ro stared at him, her heart in her throat and dread rolling over her. “How do you know that? Nobody knows that!”

Muzi placed his hand on her lower back and gently pushed her out of the way of a group of Italian women, exquisitely dressed. “Digby and I have been best friends since we were thirteen. He knows all my secrets and I know his.”

Ro squeezed her eyes together, tasting panic in her throat. “When did he tell you?”

Muzi frowned as he reached past her to open a French door for her. He gestured her to precede him. “Uh...a while back? When he went on that bender, shortly after he discovered who you were.”

Digby had taken a while to come to terms with the fact that his girlfriend’s nanny was also his sister and the beneficiary of his estranged parents’ large trust.

“You can’t tell anybody!” Ro placed her hand on his bare, muscled forearm and tried to ignore the heat of his skin, the sparks of desire burning her. “God, why did he tell you?”

Frost touched Muzi’s black eyes. “I have yet to break a friend’s confidence and I never will.”

It was obvious that her lack of trust in him annoyed him but she’d only met the man ten minutes ago! And if her boyfriend of eight years could betray her, she didn’t put much faith in the goodness of strangers. Oh, Digby was going to get an earful from her for running his mouth. He had no right to divulge her secrets.

Ro was aware of the wary glances Muzi sent her as they made their way down the stone pathway that meandered through the extensive grounds of The Vane. A gentle breeze blew strands of her long hair into her face, and now and again she inhaled the scent of fynbos drifting down from the mountain, combined with the sweet scent from the many rosebushes and Muzi’s earthy, sexy cologne.

It was a potent combination and one designed to make her head swim. Add a sexy, virile, hot-as-hell man to the mix and she was a jumbled mess of desire, resentment, fear and confusion.

Really, being an heiress shouldn’t be this hard.

Approaching the tables under the large oak trees, Ro looked for her brothers and on seeing them, headed in their direction. Radd and Digby stood up as she and Muzi, carrying little Liv, threaded their way through the tables. Like her, Radd and Digby were tall, dark-haired and blue-eyed. When the three of them were together, Ro couldn’t help wondering how people didn’t notice that she was a feminine version of her big, burly brothers.

Ro accepted their hugs—her brothers were super affectionate—and Radd pulled out a chair for her while Digby took a now sleeping Liv from Muzi’s strong arms. He looked down at his soon-to-be daughter, his knuckle sliding over her cheek. Then he looked at Muzi and grinned. “Did you make her train for one of your triathlons? She is only three, Triple M.”

Triple M? On seeing her confusion, Digby smiled. “Three M and Triple M are Muzi’s nicknames from school, since all his names begin withM.”

Muzi, Miya, Matthews...right, that made sense.

“I take it you two introduced yourselves?” Digby asked, sitting back down in a comfortable chair, Livvie curled up against his chest.

Muzi dropped into a seat and stretched out his long, long muscled legs. “We did. Although your sister is deeply unhappy that I know she is the Tempest-Vane heir.”

Digby caught Ro’s eye and winced. “Sorry, Ro, but Muzi, well...he kinda knows everything about me.”

That’s what Muzi said earlier. It didn’t assuage her fears. “All it takes is one slip of the tongue and I will become a media sensation. I donotwant to become a media sensation.”

Digby winced again, looking apologetic. Muzi’s face remained impassive and when her eyes hit her older brother’s face, she saw sympathy in his dark blue eyes.

“Muzi can be trusted to keep your secret, Ro,” Radd assured her. “I trust him, and you know how few people I trust.”

---