by Jennie Lucas
Annabelle shivered. They would have to go back to Buenos Aires sometime and actually remember to leave their hotel suite. All she’d seen of the city had been from their veranda at midnight, when she’d gone out to see the twinkling lights and feel the cool breezes of the Rio de la Plata against her skin. But even then, she’d been swiftly distracted when her new husband followed her on the veranda wearing only a robe. He’d kissed her passionately in the darkness and, well, one thing had led to another….
She blushed. Stefano was an amazing lover. And even more—an amazing partner. He’d worked well as her assistant as she’d photographed the Pampas, and seeing his innocent wonderment over the beautiful landscape had given her such pleasure. Though hardly an equal recompense to the pleasure he gave her at night.
Annabelle’s smile spread to a grin. She would accept fewer photography jobs from now on, taking only the truly fascinating assignments. She craved time nesting at Santo Castillo. She was even, at this moment, feeling the strange urge to learn how to sew and bake.
Her old assistant, Marie Thompson, had sent flowers to the Buenos Aires hotel yesterday when she’d heard of their marriage. Annabelle had immediately telephoned her in Cornwall for a nice chat. Just six weeks ago, she’d envied Marie for being loved by an adoring husband. Now she knew what that felt like.
And she would soon know something else Marie had experienced, as well …
Annabelle’s legs bounced with nervous energy as she glanced out the airplane window. She looked down at the scattered, wispy clouds over the green continent of South America beneath them. She tried to gather her thoughts, but her heart was soaring higher than the plane.
Stefano stopped the bounce of her legs by putting his hand on her knee. “Are you really so nervous?” he murmured, smiling. “Just by the thought of going back to Wolfe Manor?”
“I am excited to see my brothers again,” she admitted. “We haven’t all been home together for almost twenty years. I can’t wait to see how Jacob has fixed up Wolfe Manor. And tell them all the news.”
Stefano’s smile spread into a grin. Putting his arm around her, he kissed her on the temple. “You mean the news that you’re my wife?”
“Yes.” She looked at him with a sudden smile. “And there’s more.”
“More?” he said lazily, stroking her knee. “You mean that I can’t keep my hands off you? They’ll see that for themselves.”
“More than that.” She took a deep breath. “We’re going to have a baby.”
Stefano’s jaw dropped as he stared at her.
Then his joyful shout reverberated across the first-class cabin as he gathered her in his arms.
“Oh, querida … Are you sure?”
She nodded, smiling through tears of happiness. “It must have been our very first time … after.”
“A baby.” He looked awestruck, then adorably anxious as he demanded, “But how are you feeling? Can I get you anything? Should you be resting?”
She wiped tears from her eyes. “I’m wonderful.”
“You’re crying,” he said accusingly.
She shook her head, laughing. “I’m pregnant.” Reaching up, she stroked his cheek and looked up into his ruggedly handsome face. “But I’ve never been so happy.”
Pulling her into his lap, Stefano kissed her, so long and hard and passionately that it made the people around them in first class smile. When the kiss ended, Annabelle closed her eyes as he held her in his arms, tenderly against his heart.
She’d once been warned about Stefano Cortez.
Be careful, Miss Wolfe, they’d said. You won’t be able to resist him. No woman can.
All the warnings had been true. He’d taken her body. Her heart. Her soul.
“I love you, Annabelle,” Stefano whispered. Lowering his mouth over hers, he breathed, “I will love you forever.”
As he kissed her tenderly, his hands resting protectively over her flat belly, she had never felt so cherished, so adored. The plane flew them back to England, back to Wolfe Manor. And it was somewhere over Brazil that Annabelle knew for certain that she would be safe, and loved, for the rest of her life.
2010: Jacob faces his past …
Curious after his meeting with his brother Rafael, Jacob begins to wonder about his siblings he left behind … what are they doing with their lives? Intrigued, Jacob begins to following their adventures in the newspapers and on the internet. At first Jacob was content to observe them all from a distance, and certainly wasn’t ready to walk back into their lives. How could he after abandoning them all so terribly so many years ago?
But then he receives a call that changes everything … Wolfe Manor, the home he has spent his life trying to escape, is crumbling. Jacob’s first instinct is to tear the dilapidated building down. His second is that he couldn’t allow such a landmark building to be destroyed. And finally, he’s starting to feel his past closing in around him. It’s time to go home …
Now Jacob is ready to face crumbling Wolfe Manor and reunite the family he abandoned. He knows this won’t be easy and his homecoming rekindles all the nightmares from the past he has tried desperately to run from. But Jacob cannot run forever and hiding has left him feeling empty.
Can Jacob heal his black soul, and reunite his siblings? Will the Wolfe dynasty rise again?
BEHIND THE SCENES AT WOLFE MANOR …
Share a secret about Stefano or Annabelle?
Everyone thinks that Annabelle Wolfe really has it together—that she is so independent and powerful with her international photography career. The truth is that she is insecure and has a broken heart, at least until Stefano forces her out of her shell.
Who is the biggest, baddest Wolfe?
Ooh—I think I’d have to go for Jacob. Kate Hewitt wrote his story, which follows mine and is the eighth book, the culmination of the whole series
Which Wolfe brother did you most fancy?
Jacob. Naturally I’d be attracted to the biggest, bad-dest alpha.
Which is Annabelle’s favourite room in Wolfe Manor?
Annabelle grew to despise the manor as a prison, after so many years feeling trapped there when she was scarred after her father’s attack. But she has fond memories of playing in the woods and streams on the estate as a child.
How did your hero pop the big question?
In the dark Spanish night, beneath stars scattered like diamonds.
JENNIE’S WRITING SECRETS …
What do you enjoy most about writing as part of a continuity series; how does it differ from writing a single title?
It’s more social—I loved collaborating with the other authors of the series.
What do you think makes a great hero/heroine?
I think a great heroine is someone I can identify with and sympathise with, maybe a woman who works really hard and takes care of others, but who doesn’t feel very valued or adored. And I love it when a hero really shows her how beautiful she truly is.
When you are writing, what is a typical day?
I write when my kids are napping or at pre-school. If I’m close to deadline, I might also write during nights and weekends, although I prefer not to do that. I work on a laptop while sitting on the sofa or stretched out on the floor listening to music. I drink lots of coffee in the morning and diet soda in the afternoon, and snack constantly while I work—a habit I’m trying to break! But I feel so lucky and that I truly have the best job in the world writing love stories.
