The Twelve-Month Marriage Deal

She told herself that it was angry resentment she felt, not a response to a magnificent body, and that she ought never to have accepted his invitation. What was the point when she had no intention of agreeing to the plan?

Actually she had no idea what Vidal’s feelings were on the matter, so in one way it would be interesting to hear what he had to say. If he had an ounce of compassion in him surely he would go ahead with the so-called merger without marriage. They could then sort out the whole sorry affair and that would be an end to it.

‘What makes you think that you are wasting my time?’

His voice was a rough, low growl, and the intent look in his eyes made her feel as though he were trying to hypnotise her. He had gorgeous eyes, sometimes grey, sometimes silver, depending on the light—or the mood he was in—with savagely thick lashes that could hide his feelings in a second.

‘I cannot think of a nicer way to start the day,’ he continued. ‘As I said last night, Elena, you’ve grown up remarkably. You are now a confident, extremely beautiful, extremely elegant young lady.’

‘Whom you almost didn’t recognise,’ she countered coolly. ‘Whereas I had no trouble identifying you.’

‘I am flattered,’ he said, but although his voice sounded sincere she caught a flare of something else in his eyes. A look that said he was furious that she should have recognised him when he hadn’t realised who she was.

‘Don’t think it’s flattery,’ she retorted. ‘I would have had to be blind not to notice you watching me the entire evening. I’m curious, though, as to what was in your mind. Were you weighing me up, wondering whether I’d be a better proposition than my sister? Don’t worry,’ she added quickly when his dark brows rose questioningly. ‘My parents have told me what the position is. I imagine this is the reason I’m here now?’

Vidal held out his hands in open submission. ‘Guilty as accused.’

‘And do you really think I’ll say yes?’ He was out of his mind if he thought that. Entirely deranged. Not in a million years would she marry this man. She had no intention of getting married, not to anyone, not for a very long time. She’d gone out with guys in Los Angeles, but never seriously. She didn’t have time, for one thing, it had been hard work building up her agency and now that she had made it she had no intention of letting anything—or anyone—get in the way.

‘No, I don’t,’ he surprised her by saying. ‘I can think of no woman who would agree to such a thing.’

Relief flooded through her, filling her body with a warm feeling of liberation, and she took a sip of her coffee. Vidal understood! She had done him an injustice! She smiled, and was just about to tell him how happy she was that he felt the same when his next words had her gasping in horror.

‘Unless, of course, she thought that there was something in it for herself?’ His voice had gone an octave lower and he looked at her from beneath half-closed lashes.

Immediately Elena flashed her magnificent eyes. ‘How dare you suggest such a thing? I need nothing from you—or indeed any man. I’m quite capable of supporting myself, thank you very much.’ It hurt that he thought she was so mercenary and she would have liked nothing better than to slap his face hard.

‘But you are going to be a dutiful daughter and help out your parents?’

‘By marrying you?’ she countered fiercely, jabbing a piece of toast with her knife. ‘You’re out of your mind if that’s what you’re thinking.’

‘But you will!’ he insisted.

His arrogant confidence angered Elena even further. ‘I’m worried about my parents’ future, naturally, but there has to be another way out of the situation. If you were half a man you would let the business deal go through without all this nonsense of uniting the banks by marriage. I was appalled when my mother told me that Reina’s was an arranged marriage. I thought she loved you. I was happy for her. But I can honestly say that I don’t blame her for leaving you. The marriage would never have worked, not without love. And neither would marriage to me work. At least you knew Reina. You and I are strangers.’

She felt like getting up and storming out, or at the very least throwing something at him. How could he accuse her of being mercenary? The man was seriously insane. But at least she now knew how much he wanted their bank. If he was prepared to marry her, a woman he’d never liked, never had time for, then he had to be desperate.

‘We could have fun getting to know each other.’ The words were dropped quietly into the air between them. There was even a tiny smile curving the corners of his mouth.

‘Fun?’ Elena wanted to scream the word at him; it was hard keeping her voice level. ‘How can you say that? How can you describe marriage between two people who dislike each other’s guts fun?’

His smile widened. ‘Perhaps we’re each interpreting it differently?’

‘Precisely,’ she snapped. ‘Mine is that it would be hell.’ She deliberately put emphasis on the word and saw the sudden change in his eyes, quickly disguised. ‘If you want to know what I think, Señor Marquez, I believe that you’re prepared to do whatever it takes to get your hands on my parents’ bank. Even if it means marriage to someone you—you despise.’ Her breathing had deepened by the time she had finished and it was all she could do to sit still.

Vidal’s face really did harden now. His eyes grew fiercely angry, his brows drawing together in a ferocious frown. ‘So that is what you think of me? Let me tell you, something, Señorita Valero, if it were not for the fact that I do not wish to see your parents in trouble I would not be doing this. Do you think I want to marry someone like you? Someone who has turned her back on her family? When they could do with your support you have not been here. Tell me, what is it that you do over there in the States? If I remember rightly all you were ever interested in was having a good time.’

Elena could not believe she was hearing this, and especially from Vidal. He certainly wasn’t doing anything to enamour her with him—in fact, he was driving her further and further away. She was tempted to get up and storm out of the restaurant, except that she did not want to give him the pleasure of seeing how much he had hurt her by his unkind comments.

‘I don’t have to tell you anything,’ she snapped fiercely, her head held high, her eyes shooting sparks of fire. ‘You can think what you like, but the fact remains that the thought of marrying a man I do not love fills me with horror. My parents are aware of this and I believe they are hoping that you will do the honourable thing and go through with the merger regardless.’

His eyes glinted shafts of steel and he sat up straighter in his chair, his body as taut as a bow string. ‘Good try, Elena, but it is not to be. If you don’t agree to marry me then the deal is off.’

Elena let out her breath on a deep sigh, feeling as though all the stuffing had been knocked out of her body. This was turning into a nightmare. ‘What are you made of, Vidal? Certainly not flesh and blood. You don’t have a compassionate bone in your body. You’re cruel and mercenary and marriage to you would be sheer hell. Do you really think I’d be prepared to put myself through that?’

‘I haven’t got where I am today by being soft,’ he growled, ‘and I certainly don’t intend to start now. You either marry me or your parents lose their business. It’s as simple as that.’

Simple? How could he say it was simple? He was using emotional blackmail. He was trying to use her to get what he wanted. Reina had thwarted him so now it was her turn. Damn the man! If he thought she was going to change her mind then he was very much mistaken.

‘You do not care who you hurt to get what you want, do you?’ she demanded, her eyes fiercely aggressive. ‘You’d marry someone you don’t even like to further your massive ego, to pile more coffers into your bank. My God, I hate you.’

Vidal shrugged indifferently, his silver eyes ever watchful on her face. ‘You’re entitled to your opinion.’

It was as though her words had meant nothing, as though they had drained away like water off a duck’s back. Hot, fierce anger pulsed and pounded inside her head. This man was unbelievable! ‘You’re not denying it?’

Vidal gave a tiny shrug, his lips pulling down at the corners. ‘I think we should forget this entire conversation and finish our breakfast instead.’

He was denying it! Only good manners stopped Elena from getting up and walking out. And the thought that her parents would be devastated if she arrived home too soon, especially if she told them that Vidal Marquez was a swine and she wouldn’t marry him if he were the last man on earth.

There had to be some other way of persuading him to go through with the deal. Maybe she ought not to have been so hot-headed? Maybe she ought to have been nice to him instead of getting his back up right from the beginning. She had played this all wrong. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to calm down. ‘I guess you’re right, we should enjoy our food.’

But enjoy was not a word she could associate with eating in front of Vidal. She merely nibbled on her toast and drank copious amounts of coffee. Neither the merger nor marriage was mentioned again, they both did their best to be pleasant and amiable, but nevertheless their hostility simmered beneath the surface, waiting for one wrong word to bring it back to life.

It never happened. Polite to the end, Vidal took her home, suggesting as she got out of the car that they meet again the next day to discuss the matter more fully. ‘I realise it was wrong of me to want to talk business over breakfast,’ he said. ‘Come to my office tomorrow and we can discuss matters there.’

Elena wanted to tell him to go to hell, that there was nothing left to talk about. Hadn’t she made herself clear? But he had gone, his powerful car roaring away into the distance. She stood there watching until he had completely disappeared and then walked slowly into the house.

Her parents were waiting and she had to tell them that they hadn’t yet reached a decision. She had never seen her mother look so disappointed and it was all she could do not to fling her arms around her and promise that she would find some other way to help them.

Not that there was a way. Even though her weddingplanner business was doing very nicely for itself she didn’t have nearly enough resources for what they needed.

The following day Elena shivered as she dressed carefully for her further meeting with Vidal. She knew that she would need every inch of armour if she was to remain cool and positive so she wore a severely tailored black suit, teaming it with a cream shirt. A pair of stiletto heels gave her the height she needed to match up to Vidal’s impressive stature and she was ready.

It was the end of the day and they were meeting in the bank’s inner sanctum reserved for boardroom meetings. Deliberately she was a few minutes late. There was no way she wanted to be there first, tapping her fingers impatiently, trying to still her racing pulses while she waited for Vidal.

Instead he was the one doing the tapping. From outside the door she could hear his footsteps as he paced up and down, and she paused a moment or two listening.

Although she had intended remaining cool and calm, as she once again denied that marriage to him would work, Elena’s heart rate increased. There was no disputing the fact that Vidal was one hell of a sexy man. Had the circumstances been any different she might have found herself actually fancying him. As things stood he was the most hateful man on earth. Nevertheless when she eventually turned the handle and entered the room she managed a neutral expression.

‘I’d begun to think you weren’t coming.’ In contrast to the business suit that she wore he was in shirt-sleeves, rolled up to the elbow, revealing strong, sinewy forearms covered with fine, silky, black hairs. His jacket was on the back of a chair, suggesting that he had been here for some time. The collar of his shirt was undone, the knot on his tie loosened. Making her almost wish that she weren’t so formally dressed.

Nevertheless she held her head high as she faced him across the boardroom table. ‘I’ve not changed my mind.’

Clearly her forthrightness shocked him because his eyes grew instantly hard, his face developing harsh angles. ‘So there’s actually no point in you being here?’ He sighed. ‘What do your parents think of your decision? Or have you not told them yet?’

Elena lifted her shoulders, pausing a moment before letting them drop again. ‘I’ve said nothing. I thought we should talk again first. I thought we might come to a mutually satisfactory arrangement.’ The moment the words left her lips and she saw the dangerous narrowing of Vidal’s eyes, Elena knew that she was wasting her breath.

‘Were you not listening yesterday when I said that it was marriage or nothing?’ There was a glimmer of steel in his eyes now, his tall, powerful body silhouetted in front of the only window in the room. ‘You’re wasting my time, Elena. If that is all you have to say then I suggest you turn right round again and go.’

‘And you’re being unreasonable.’ Elena knew that she had to make one last desperate attempt to change his mind. Unfortunately he was a man like no other and it dismayed her when a shiver of awareness ran down her spine. She wanted to avert her eyes—except that it would give him an advantage. Instead she looked boldly into his face, refusing to analyse the feelings that were creeping like an illness through her body.

‘I would suggest that you look more closely at yourself, Elena,’ he said softly, his voice all the more dangerous because of its quietness. ‘I thought my offer was very reasonable.’

Elena shook her head angrily. ‘You really think that agreeing to marry a man I do not even like is a practical solution?’ What planet did he live on?

‘It is if you want to help your parents.’ His hard eyes didn’t leave her face. ‘On the other hand why am I not surprised? You’ve done very little to help them so far.’

If the expanse of the table had not been between them Elena would have hit him. This was the third time he had insinuated that she didn’t care about them. Her eyes blazed like molten gold. ‘You know nothing, Vidal.’ And her whole body grew rigid with anger. ‘But I’ll tell you this—somehow I’ll find another way of getting them out of this mess, and it won’t be with your help. I can think of nothing worse than tying myself to a man like you.’

With that she spun on her heel and marched out of the room.

He did not try to stop her.

As she walked away, Elena heard the telephone ring and Vidal’s deep voice answering. The next second he called her name.

‘Elena!’ And then more urgently, ‘Elena! It is for you. It is your father.’

Elena felt her heart slam against her ribcage as she took the phone. There had to be something seriously amiss for him to be ringing her here. ‘Papá, what is wrong?’

‘It is your mother,’ he said. ‘She is not well. I did not want to disturb you at this crucial time, but—’

‘But what, Papá? What has happened to her?’

‘She is in hospital, mi querida. She collapsed shortly after you left. I am sorry to have to tell you this now, but I am very worried about her and I thought that you—’

‘You did right,’ she breathed, feeling her heart panic. ‘Are you with her?’

‘Sí.’

‘Then I will be there as soon as I can. Did they say what is the matter?’

‘Not yet. They are doing tests.’

Vidal had been listening to her conversation and as soon as she handed the phone back to him he insisted on taking her to the hospital himself.

‘I have my own car,’ she protested.

‘Maybe, but you are in no fit condition.’

Elena gave in reluctantly and sat quietly all the way to the hospital in the back of his chauffeur-driven limousine. Vidal held her hands tightly, trying to stem the trembling that would not stop. His hands were warm, but hers were icily cold. In fact, she felt cold all over.

‘My mother’s never ill,’ she said as they pulled to a halt and she jumped out.

‘I’m sure she’ll be all right.’ Vidal laced his arm protectively about her shoulders as she hurried along the hospital corridor and Elena did not even think about shrugging him away. She needed human contact; she needed every shred of comfort.

They met her father pacing one of the side rooms, unable to sit and wait for the news. There were tears in his eyes as he hugged Elena. ‘I’m sorry I fetched you out of your meeting.’

‘I’d have been cross if you hadn’t,’ she scolded with a faint smile. ‘Have you heard anything yet? What happened? She was all right earlier.’

Her father nodded. ‘I know, she was cooking dinner when she collapsed. I don’t know what’s wrong with her. How long are they going to be?’ He glanced at his watch for what Elena guessed was the hundredth time in the last half an hour. ‘No one tells you anything in this place.’

‘I’ll go and find out,’ said Vidal firmly.

Elena was glad he was taking charge. Her father, usually a strong, capable man, looked broken. And so sad that she wanted to hold him in her arms and comfort him. But she knew that if she did they would both break down in tears and it wasn’t what was wanted. They needed to be strong.

Before Vidal even made a move a doctor came to see them. ‘Your wife’s comfortable,’ he said quietly to her father, ‘but unfortunately we have discovered a heart murmur, which we believe has been made worse by stress. She told me that she has been under some considerable strain recently, but mentioned that she hopes it is about to be resolved. If so there will hopefully be no recurrence. But you do need to look after her, Señor Valero. No more worries, you understand?’

‘Thank you,’ he answered with a confirming nod. ‘I will take care of her.’

When the doctor left the room, Elena hugged her father, tears spilling from her eyes. ‘I had no idea Mamá had anything wrong with her. We must stop her from worrying so much.’

Her father looked from Elena to Vidal and back again. ‘You are the one with that power, my child. Is it good news?’

Chapter Three

VIDAL watched Elena’s face as she struggled to answer her father’s question. There had been times during their last two meetings when he had felt that he was in danger of bursting a blood vessel. Not only was she gorgeous to look at, but feisty too, and he loved that in a woman. Every hormone in his body jerked into life whenever they met and he wanted her with a desperation that was not good for his health.

Reina had been so different. Good-looking, yes, but he’d never felt for her what he was now feeling for Elena. He and Reina had not even slept together, although no one would ever have believed it. They had kept up the illusion of being very much in love.

‘Papá, of course it is good news. I was on the verge of telling Vidal that I would marry him when you telephoned.’ Elena turned, daring him to dispute it, fierce anger flaring in her eyes.

Vidal immediately smiled and pulled her to him, relieved that her father couldn’t see her expression. Golden daggers of light shot across the space between them, blinding him, telling him that although she had agreed to the union in principle she had no intention of sharing his bed.

How naïve she was. Did she really believe that he would settle for anything less? She didn’t know him very well if that was the case. It would be interesting persuading her to think differently. Even the thought of it sent a hot surge of desire through his loins. ‘You have done the right thing,’ he whispered in her ear. ‘I knew all along that you’d see sense.’

Her eyes flashed more arrows of fury, but when she turned back to her father they had gone.

‘Mi querida,’ he said, enfolding her in his arms, ‘you have made me so happy. Your mother, too, will be relieved. It will help her pull through this. She has been out of her mind with worry.’

‘No more,’ she told him quietly.

‘You are a good daughter.’

Elena nodded, though Vidal was well aware of the conflict raging inside her.

‘I am proud of you.’

‘I am proud of her too,’ Vidal said to her father, holding Elena against him. ‘I have to admit that she took some persuading. Which I perfectly understand since she has her own life in America. But loving daughter that she is she put her parents’ troubles first.’ With slow deliberation he lowered his head and touched his lips to hers.

Elena stiffened, though Vidal gave no indication that he was aware of it, giving a satisfactory smile instead as he lifted his head, quelling the urgent feelings that had shot like lightning through his limbs. It was going to be a fight, persuading this lady to change her attitude towards him.

At least the first hurdle was over. There would be many more, he was aware of that. He was also aware that his life, which had become rather routine and unexciting of late, was about to be turned upside down.

And how he was going to enjoy it!

It was not until they left the hospital and were on their way back to the bank to collect her car that Elena allowed herself to give full vent to her feelings. ‘Don’t think that because my mother’s health has forced me into agreeing to marry you that I’m happy about it.’

‘I never thought for one moment that you would be,’ came Vidal’s calm reply. ‘But I admire you for putting your parents first.’

‘I had little choice,’ she retorted.

‘It occurs to me, Elena, that neither of us had any choice. Not if we want to help save your parents’ bank.’

And was that really his concern? Elena wondered. Or was it the fact that he would be the one gaining? Another step towards total domination of the banking industry? ‘Maybe,’ she agreed. ‘Nevertheless there are a few ground rules I wish to make.’

One black eyebrow rose. ‘I hardly think you’re in a position to talk rules, Elena.’

She ignored his comment, fixing her stormy golden eyes onto his silver ones. Her heart struggled to beat its regular rhythm. It felt like a dead weight in her chest, desperately wanting to resume normality, but knowing that it couldn’t while her emotions ran so high.

Vidal’s brows slid up, his expression reminding her that whatever she said it would make no difference. Vidal would do what Vidal wanted to do.

She took a deep breath and spoke. ‘I need your assurance that this marriage will be in name only.’

‘Oh, no, Elena.’ It was instant denial, his steady eyes fixed firmly on hers. ‘How could I possibly marry a woman as beautiful as you and not take you to bed? What you are suggesting would be sheer torture.’

He had her over a barrel and he knew it. Elena sat in stunned silence for several long minutes. ‘I can’t believe you’re saying this. We hardly know each other. How can you—?’

‘Querida.’ His voice gentled and he slid an arm across her shoulders. ‘We have known each other most of our lives. We played together as children.’

‘No,’ she protested, ‘it was Fernan who was my friend, not you. You were too old for me. You looked down your nose at me.’

‘But I noticed you.’

‘And you used to tell me to run away. It’s what I feel like doing now.’ As far as she could possibly get. Back to America would be perfect.

‘But you won’t because of your mother’s health.’

There was a light of triumph in his eyes and Elena felt like taking a swipe at him.

‘Perhaps I should persuade you that it won’t be as hard as you evidently think?’ As he spoke, Vidal’s arm tightened, his eyes not wavering from hers.

Elena felt as though she had been turned to stone. She wanted to back away, but it was impossible; all she could do was watch in fatal fascination. Watch as his face got closer and closer, so close that she could see the pores in his skin. Study the intent in his beautiful grey eyes framed by his decadently thick lashes. Observe that his breathing got just that little bit faster. And his lips—his beautifully moulded lips—opening the merest fraction.