Page 61 of Bought For The Marriage Bed

Lucia was hovering in the foyer as soon as Nina opened the door, Marc just a few steps behind.

‘What’s wrong?’ Nina asked, her blood running cold at the worried look on the housekeeper’s face. ‘Is Georgia all right?’

‘Georgia is fine.’ Lucia’s hands twisted together as her eyes flicked towards the salon leading off the foyer.

‘What is going on?’ Marc asked as he closed the door behind him.

The housekeeper sent Nina an agonised look before turning to her employer. ‘Signora Marcello has a visitor,’ she announced.

Nina felt her colour drain away, her limbs going weak and her head swimming with panic.

‘Who is it?’ Marc asked as he shrugged himself out of his dinner jacket. ‘Anyone I would know?’

There was a sound as the salon door opened and Marc looked up to see a mirror image of his wife framed in the doorway.

‘Hello, Marc,’ Nadia purred.

Nina felt the full force of Marc’s dark eyes as they sought hers, his mouth a rigid line of incredulity, shock and unmistakable anger.

‘Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on or am I supposed to guess?’ His voice was razor-sharp.

Nina gave a convulsive swallow. ‘I was going to tell you—’

Nadia stepped forward with a seductive sway of her hips, cutting her sister off mid-sentence. ‘Isn’t she a naughty little thing, Marc? Pretending to be me so she could get her hands on Georgia’s inheritance.’

Nina gasped and grabbed Marc’s arm to make him look at her. ‘That’s not true!’

He looked down at her hand on his sleeve, his expression one of distaste as he peeled it off, finger by finger.

He turned to his housekeeper and politely asked her to leave. Lucia gave Nina one last worried glance and made her way down the hall with slow steps that communicated her reluctance.

‘Both of you.’ Marc indicated the door of the salon. ‘In here—now.’

Nadia sashayed her way back into the room, casting a sultry look over her shoulder at Marc as she did so.

Nina clenched her jaw and followed stiffly in her wake, her stomach twisting in despair.

Marc waited until the door was closed behind him before he spoke. ‘Now, let us start from the beginning. Which of you is Georgia’s mother?’

‘I am.’ Nadia stepped forward. ‘I left her with Nina for a short period only to find she had stepped into my shoes while my back was turned.’

Nina’s eyes flared in anger. ‘I did no such thing! You abandoned her!’

‘Don’t listen to her.’ Nadia’s eyes glistened with ready tears. ‘I love my daughter; she’s all I have left of Andre. Nina was jealous. All she’s ever wanted was to get married and have a baby. She tricked you into marrying her.’

‘Marc!’ Nina swung to face him. ‘You mustn’t listen to her! She’s making it up!’

He looked at her for a brief moment before turning back to Nadia. ‘I would like to speak to my…Nina alone for a moment. Will you excuse us?’

Nadia lifted her chin. ‘She’ll only tell more lies to cover her back. She did it for the money, you know. In spite of what she says, that’s what she’s after.’

Marc’s hold on Nina’s arm bit into her flesh as he led her out of the room, his face tight and his usually full mouth thin-lipped.

Nina didn’t speak as he escorted her upstairs. She took one look at the rage on his features and decided to wait until they were out of earshot of her twin.

Marc pushed open the door of his room and ushered her in, snapping it shut behind them.

His eyes hit hers—hard.

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