by Abby Green
She raised her brows. ‘I also remember Mum telling us years ago that it isn’t wise, or fair, to listen to gossip or hearsay, that we should make our own minds up about other people.’
‘If Mum were here, I have no doubts she would also tell you that there’s nothing in the least wise in being attracted to a man like Darius Sterne,’ her sister stated with certainty.
Both girls sobered at the mention of their mother. At the time of their parents’ deaths the sisters, Kim twenty-one, and Andy eighteen, had been absolutely devastated by the loss, but with the passing of time they had both come to appreciate the years they had been able to spend with their parents. Andy had always been grateful that at least they had lived long enough to see Kim happily married to Colin, and they had also been present the night Andy had appeared in the lead of Giselle with England’s most reputable ballet company.
Andy’s own accident, just six months after their death, had meant that she would never dance in public again.
Andy determinedly shook off the sadness that realisation still gave her, even four years later. She had her studio, was slowly, sometimes too slowly, making a success of it. She also conveniently lived in the flat above the studio. It was so much more than a lot of people had.
‘I really wouldn’t worry about it, Kim; I’m never likely to so much as set eyes on Darius Sterne again, so it really isn’t an issue,’ she pointed out ruefully. ‘As you said, it’s nice to window-shop.’
‘You ladies are never going to believe what just happened to me in the Gents,’ a red-faced Colin announced as he arrived back at their table before plonking himself back down into his seat to look at them both expectantly.
His wife raised her eyebrows. ‘Do we want to know?’
‘Oh, yes.’ He nodded with certainty. ‘It was nothing like that, Kim!’ He frowned at his wife as her eyebrows had risen even higher. ‘Honestly, sometimes I wonder if your mind isn’t constantly in the gutter.’
‘I think we just had this conversation.’ Andy chuckled as she gave her sister a pointed glance. ‘Kim’s just been regaling me with lurid tales of the licentious behaviour of the Sterne twins,’ she explained at Colin’s questioning glance.
‘One of the Sterne twins,’ Kim defended. ‘I’m sure that Xander is every bit as deliciously gentlemanly and uncomplicated as he appears to be.’
Andy gave a disbelieving snort; Xander Sterne might not be as obviously brooding as his twin brother, but there was no way a man of his age and wealth, and with those Adonis good looks, could possibly have remained single if he was as gentlemanly and uncomplicated as Kim claimed he was.
Admittedly, with that much money, the Sterne brothers could no doubt pick and choose when it came to women. As it would no doubt be difficult for either of the brothers to ever know if a woman wanted them for themselves, or their billions. But even so, it was unusual for two brothers, aged in their early to mid-thirties, never to have married.
Or at least Andy assumed neither of them had ever married; she really knew very little about them. They could both be married for all she knew, but had left their wives and half a dozen children at home this evening.
If that was true, it made Darius Sterne’s earlier flirtation with her decidedly questionable.
Andy decided there and then to look the Sterne brothers up on the Internet as soon as she got home. With special emphasis on learning a lot more about Darius.
‘Do I take it from that remark that it’s Darius Sterne you’ve been gossiping about?’ Colin gave Kim an irritated glance. ‘You do realise that he’s one of my employers? That we wouldn’t even be here this evening if he wasn’t? Talk about biting—literally—the hand that feeds you!’ he added crossly.
Kim’s cheeks coloured guiltily. ‘I was only repeating what I’ve read in the newspapers and magazines.’
‘Those glossy magazines you read that rave about a couple’s marital bliss one month, and then unashamedly write about their break-up the next?’ her husband came back scathingly.
‘He has you there, Kim.’ Andy smiled.
Her sister adopted a look of hurt superiority. ‘You were going to tell us what just happened to you in the men’s room, Colin?’
‘Oh. Yes.’ His youthfully handsome face lit up excitedly again as he sat forward. ‘Anyway, I was just drying my hands, when who do you think walked in the door?’
Andy’s heart suddenly skipped a beat, her breath once again ceasing in her lungs, as she suddenly knew exactly who had entered the men’s room.
The same person who, just minutes after Colin, had also disappeared down that marble hallway in the direction of the loo.
‘Darius Sterne,’ Colin confirmed excitedly. ‘Not only that but he actually spoke to me. I’ve worked for the brothers for seven years now, seen them around the building of course, but I’ve never spoken to either one of them before tonight.’
Kim gave Andy a narrow-eyed glance before turning back to her husband. ‘What did he say?’
‘You’re never going to believe it!’ her husband assured her. ‘I can hardly believe it myself.’
‘What did he say, Colin?’ Kim bit out through gritted teeth.
‘Well, if you stopped interrupting me maybe I’d have chance to tell you,’ he teased, obviously enjoying himself now that he had their full attention.
‘Andy, you can bear witness to just how annoying my husband is being right now—because I am seriously going to strangle him if he doesn’t tell us what Darius said to him, in the next thirty seconds.’ Kim’s hazel-coloured eyes sparkled warningly.
Andy was too transfixed by Colin’s air of excitement to take her sister’s threat in the least seriously. Especially when she was sure that Kim had to be just as eager as she was to hear what Darius had said to Colin to make him look so excited.
Copyright © 2015 by Carole Mortimer
WELCOME TO
Dear Ms Abby Green,
We are delighted that you have booked your rooms to stay at The Chatsfield. And because we pride ourselves on creating the most unique and bespoke services during your stay, we have a few questions that we’d like to ask.
What time will you be checking in? 3 p.m.
Will you be checking in alone? Yes.
What morning paper would you like delivered?
Financial Times
Hello
InStyle
The Guardian
The Times
We would like to arrange some music for your listening pleasure. Is there a particular album or selection of music you would like to listen to in your room during your stay?
Ellie Goulding
The Gloaming
London Grammar
We know that you may be working during your stay, and we are aware of how important it is for you to have all your creature comforts around you. In order to ensure that your stay is as fulfilling as possible...
We have a wide selection of food available for room service delivery. What would your most decadent meal be and why?
I would have very plain but beautifully cooked pasta with pesto sauce and a glass of white wine. I’m a cheap date!
Do you have any special requests for your stay at our hotel?
No disturbance in the morning, I like a quiet lie-in to read ;)
What is your worst habit when writing?
Messing about on the Internet.
Do you have a writing routine? If so, could you share a bit about it with us?
Start early before the distractions of the day creep in.
We’re always looking to expand the Chatsfield Library and welcome recommendations. What are the last two books you read and why?
I’m currently working my way through Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series and just finished A Breath of Snow and Ashes, Book
6. Now I’m reading An Echo in the Bone. I love the love story between Claire and Jamie Fraser, and the whole complex world that Gabaldon has built around them. I could keep reading and re-reading them.
If you could write anywhere in the world, where would it be?
A little white-washed cottage in Greece by the sea on one of the islands.
We can tell from your recent published book that you have a vested interest in our very own hotels! So (curious minds want to know!) are you team Chatsfield or Team Harrington?!
Well, in this book I’m Team Harrington at the start and then I switch to Team Chatsfield. Very fickle of me.
What did you most love about writing this story?
I loved how my heroine did her best to repel the hero.
What has been your best hotel experience and what made it memorable?
My best hotel experience was when a boss paid for me and my best friend to stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel in LA, and we were picked up and taken there from the airport in a chauffeur driven limousine.
What has been your most unusual hotel experience and why?
Most unusual experience would have to have been in a hotel in Belfast when all the lights went out one night, it wouldn’t have been so bad if I hadn’t just been to the cinema to see The Blair Witch Project!
If you could have given your hero or heroine a piece of advice before they started on their journey in your story, what would it have been?
Hero: Look beneath the surface. Heroine: Don’t underestimate your enemy
Thank you for answering our questions. We very much hope you enjoy your stay!
WELCOME TO
Dear Giancarlo Delucca
To ensure that your stay at the Chatsfield is as exclusive and private as possible, we will need to ask you a few questions of perhaps a delicate nature, to ensure that our private security team will be best placed to support you.
If you had to pick your most public scandalous moment, what would it be?
I don’t have any personal scandals, my main aim in life is to avoid that at all costs.
Was there an even more scandalous event that didn’t make it into the press?
No.
What is your biggest secret?
That my father was in the mafia and that I might be like him—rough and raw.
What do you love most about Keelin?
She drove me so crazy that I didn’t even notice I’d fallen for her. Witch. I love her spirit and her bravery, and integrity.
What were your first thoughts when you saw you Keelin?
Not my type at all!
If your house was on fire and you could only save one thing, what would it be?
Nothing is as important as making sure my wife and family are safe.
What is the naughtiest thing you did at school?
Didn’t you read the first answer?
What is your guiltiest pleasure?
Locking myself and wife away in our villa in Umbria for a week with no one else there.
What is your worst habit?
I can be a little domineering. According to my wife.
What is your favourite film?
Ice Age 2. (*coughs*) It’s my son’s favourite film.
What present would you put beneath the Christmas tree for Keelin?
An eternity ring to remind her that she’s mine for ever, just as I am hers.
How will you spend your first anniversary as a couple?
In bed. Doesn’t matter where.
Thank you for your candour. We will endeavour to ensure a scandal free time during your stay with us!
ISBN-13: 9781460349847
Delucca’s Marriage Contract
Copyright © 2015 by Harlequin Books S.A.
Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Abby Green for her contribution to The Chatsfield series.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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