Bridal Bargains (56 page)

Glancing downwards, she saw Suzanna appear, with Carol and Leon in tow. They were dressed for swimming, with towels draped around their necks. Hand in hand, they walked off towards the swimming pool area.

‘She has them wrapped around her little finger,’ Mia drily remarked.

‘I know the feeling,’ Alex murmured. ‘Her mama has me tied up the same way.’

Mia smiled and said nothing, her gaze following the trio until they disappeared out of sight, then she lifted her gaze to the larger view of this, her new home. Out beyond the gardens the sea was shimmering lazily, and beyond it stood the misted green-grey string of smaller islands.

‘Which is your island?’ she asked.

He didn’t answer for a long moment, seemingly much more interested in tasting her. Then his dark head came up. ‘The one you can see directly in front of us,’ he said, ‘with the two crescent-shaped patches of golden beach …’

Is that why he had bought this villa, she wondered, because it looked out on his true home?

‘Your vision,’ she sighed. ‘I’m so sorry you lost it.’

‘I’m not,’ he replied, with no hint of regret. ‘Visions can change. Mine has changed. All I want is right here with me, in my arms.’

‘Still,’ Mia said sadly, ‘it seems so very unfair that you have to break a promise to your father because my so-called father is such a dreadful man.’

‘I have you,’ he said. ‘I have my child, growing inside you.’ His hands splayed across her abdomen in a gesture of warm possession. ‘And I have a miniature version of you in Suzanna, who worships the very ground I walk upon
because I rescued her from your father. I am very content, believe me.’

‘Well, your contentment is going to fly right out of this window if you move your hands much lower,’ she informed him quite pragmatically—then tilted her head, her green eyes twinkling wickedly up at him.

And he laughed, a deep, dark, very masculine sound that had her turning in his arms to face him. That was all it took. Their bodies fused … so did their mouths … and they were lost in each other.

All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.

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Published in Great Britain 2013
Mills & Boon, an imprint of Harlequin (UK) Limited,
Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR

BRIDAL BARGAINS © Harlequin Enterprises II B.V./S.à.r.l. 2013

The Tycoon’s Bride
© Michelle Reid 2000
The Purchased Wife
© Michelle Reid 2005
The Price of a Bride
© Michelle Reid 1998

eISBN: 978-1-472-01156-5