Page 63 of Bought For The Marriage Bed

‘And you think you have the market cornered on trust?’ he sneered. ‘You, who lied to me every time you could? Why should I believe a single word you say?’

‘I wanted what was best for Georgia. That was my only motivation. I don’t care if you don’t believe me; you can’t make it untrue just by not believing what I say.’

He gave her a brittle look. ‘I would prefer it if I did not have to see you again. I will arrange for a car to take you to the airport tomorrow but as far as I am concerned I never want to set eyes on you again.’

Nina knew she was beaten. She saw it in the hard glitter of his eyes and in the tight set of his mouth. Hatred seeped from every pore of his body towards her, stinging her in its intensity.

She stalked past him, refusing to allow him to see how broken she really was. She kept her expression blank, her shoulders straight and her head at a devil-may-care angle.

She made it to her room just in time, the tears flowing from so deep inside her she couldn’t stem the flow. She lay face down on the bed and sobbed until her throat was raw and her eyes swollen. After a few minutes she dragged herself up and, stuffing what she could into a small bag, hoisted it over her shoulder. She crept into Georgia’s room and stood looking down at her for a few heart-wrenching moments.

She touched the baby’s petal-like cheek with her fingers. ‘Goodbye, darling, I will never forget you as long as I live. I’d do anything to keep you, but Marc…’ She bit her lip. ‘Marc doesn’t want me.’ She choked back a sob and continued. ‘He loves you, sweetie. He loves you a lot. I know he will be a wonderful father to you. I know that with every beat of my heart.’

Nina closed the door softly and made her way down the stairs and, with barely a sound, walked out of the house and out of Marc’s life as if she had never been.

Marc had returned to the salon, where Nadia Selbourne was helping herself to a large tumbler of his best brandy. She gave him a seductive smile and raised her glass in a toast as he came in.

‘Sorted out everything, Marc? Did she confess?’

He compressed his lips and ran a hand through his hair in a distracted manner without answering.

‘She’s always been jealous of me, you know,’ Nadia continued. ‘I’ve always been the one with the boyfriends but no one takes a second look at her because she’s too shy. Pathetic, don’t you think? I mean she’s still a bloody virgin, unless you’ve dealt with that. At twenty-four! Can you believe it?’

Marc froze.

Nadia sat down and crossed her long legs, her eyes running over him speculatively. ‘I take it you want to keep Georgia?’

He finally located his voice. ‘Yes.’

She gave him a look from beneath her lashes, the glass in her hand making a slight ringing noise as she ran her fingertip around the rim. ‘I can’t give her what you can give her.’ She made a little moue with her lips. ‘But if you want to adopt her…well…’ She gave a streetwise smile. ‘I won’t stand in your way if the price is right, so to speak.’

Marc forced himself to concentrate on what she was saying, even though his mind was flying off at disturbing tangents.

‘Name your price.’

She named a figure that would have shocked him under any other circumstances.

‘I’ll have the legal papers drawn up in the morning,’ he said.

Nadia uncrossed then re-crossed her legs, a little smile still playing about her mouth. ‘Why not give me an advance right now? I need to find somewhere to stay—unless you have a bed I could use?’

Marc ground his teeth behind his cool polite smile. ‘How much?’ he asked, reaching for his wallet.

She got up from the sofa and floated over to him, her talon-tipped fingers taking the wad of notes he held out to her. ‘You know…’ She tiptoed her fingertips up the front of his shirt. ‘You are so much nicer than your brother. He wouldn’t give me anything in the end.’

Marc removed her hand. ‘He gave you a child.’

She gave another pout. ‘I never wanted her. I only went through with it because Nina insisted.’

Marc fought with himself not to physically throw her out. He couldn’t believe how two sisters, and twins at that, could be so different. Nadia was everything Nina was not. And, fool that he was, he hadn’t realised it till now.

‘I will call you a cab,’ he said, moving towards the phone.

‘Are you sure you don’t want me to stay and keep you company?’ She gave him a little wink as she slid a hand down her hip in a seductive manner.

‘No.’ He held the door open for her. ‘I will see you out.’

Once Nadia had left, Marc went upstairs in search of Nina, his apology already rehearsed in his head. How could he have got it so wrong? Of course Nina would have done whatever she could to protect Georgia—including marrying a man she didn’t know—rather than allow her niece to suffer being brought up by a totally selfish mother.

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