An Heir Made in the Marriage Bed

by Anne Mather

  As she was about to depart, Elsa appeared. ‘I’m sorry to intrude,’ she began. ‘Is everything all right here? The baby—’

  ‘The baby’s fine,’ said Matt, approaching the bed. ‘Will you let Elsa take him for a while, Jo? I’m worried about you. You look exhausted.’

  Joanna gazed across at Elsa with tears in her eyes. ‘Don’t let Matt’s mother take my baby away, will you?’ she begged. ‘He’s all I’ve got.’

  ‘You’ve got me,’ exclaimed Matt, uncaring what his mother thought now. He sat down on the side of the bed and cupped Joanna’s face between his hands. ‘And nobody’s going to do anything without your say-so.’ He paused. ‘But perhaps you should let Elsa take him for a while.’

  ‘I can look after him,’ said Adrienne at once, but Matt gave her a warning look.

  ‘Not now,’ he said forcefully. ‘I think you’ve done enough.’

  ‘I was only thinking of you, Matt,’ she protested, but Matt ignored her.

  ‘Just go,’ he said. ‘You’ve got packing to do.’

  ‘Matt!’

  Her voice was loud with protest and Dr Rodrigues, who had appeared behind his wife, came into the room.

  ‘I can hear your voices in the study, Mr Novak. I told you, Joanna needs to rest.’

  Matt sighed. ‘I know. And I’m sorry.’

  ‘Yes, well, whatever it is you need to say to one another, surely it can wait until Joanna is stronger?’

  Now Matt took charge. ‘You were just leaving, weren’t you, Ma?’ he said, looking at his mother, and Adrienne was not prepared to say any more in front of the doctor and his wife.

  To Joanna’s relief, Matt saw them all out of the door and closed it. Then he turned back to the bed. ‘I’m sorry about that,’ he said huskily, resuming his seat beside her. He stroked her cheek with gentle fingers. ‘I’m sorry for a lot of things. I never meant for you to discover the truth about your dad. And the timing couldn’t have been worse!’

  Joanna lifted a hand to cover his, looking up at him with anxious eyes. ‘But it is true, isn’t it? He had a gambling addiction, didn’t he?’ she whispered. ‘It explains so much.’

  ‘Yeah, well, the old man made me promise not to tell you.’ Suddenly Matt didn’t want to talk about it anymore. ‘Do you believe me now, Jo?’

  Joanna sniffed. ‘Matt, ever since I came to the island, I’ve found myself wanting to put the past behind me. You must know that. I haven’t exactly pushed you away.’

  ‘I hoped that was so. But I was afraid I was getting the wrong message,’ said Matt huskily. ‘When something means so much to you, you tend not to believe it.’

  Joanna squeezed his hand. ‘I’ve been such a fool. Can you ever forgive me?’

  ‘We’ve both been fools.’ Matt groaned. ‘Why the hell do you think I wanted you here? I wanted to take care of you. I wanted us to be together. I—hoped you might want to stay.’

  Joanna met his eyes. ‘I do want to stay,’ she said eagerly. ‘I never thought I’d say that when you insisted on me coming here, but I do.’

  Matt shook his head. ‘When I left your apartment in London, I was convinced that was the end of us.’

  Joanna nodded. ‘So was I.’

  He grimaced. ‘That’s not to say I wouldn’t have tried again. You know I love you. I never stopped loving you, no matter what garbage came out of my mouth at the time.’

  ‘Do you mean that?’ Joanna caught her breath, looking up at him through tear-drenched lashes. ‘You love me?’

  ‘Of course, I love you,’ he muttered thickly, raising her hand to his lips. His tongue brushed her knuckles with the utmost tenderness. ‘I want us to be married again. I never want to let you go.’

  ‘Oh, Matt, I love you, too.’ There was so much more she wanted to say to him, but it could wait. ‘I was so stupid to let anyone come between us.’

  ‘Hey, he was your father,’ said Matt gently. ‘I just kept on hoping that sooner or later the truth would come out.’

  ‘Will you forgive me for doubting you? If I promise to spend the rest of my life making amends?’

  ‘I may keep you to that,’ said Matt, looping one hand at her nape and pulling her towards him. Then, after kissing her until she was breathless, he added, ‘I just wanted to hear you say you love me. That’s all I ever wanted. And to be with you and our son.’

  ‘I’m so glad you were there at his birth. When he’s older, you’ll be able to tell him so.’

  ‘We’ll be able to tell him so,’ Matt amended with some satisfaction, before kissing his wife again.

  EPILOGUE

  A WEEK LATER Joanna wheeled the baby down the path to the jetty.

  Matt had gone out in his dinghy earlier that morning for the first time since the baby was born. He hadn’t wanted to leave her, but Joanna had insisted she could manage on her own. Well, with Callie’s help, she appended. Teresa and Henry’s granddaughter had proved her weight in gold since the baby’s birth.

  Adrienne and Oliver had gone home the day after the baby’s birth, and Oliver seemed satisfied that he had played some part in Joanna’s and Matt’s reunion.

  For her part, Joanna knew that she and Adrienne would never be friends. But Matt’s mother had apparently accepted that, as they were getting married again, there was no point in depriving herself of her grandson by trying to keep them apart.

  Jealousy was a terrible thing, and Joanna guessed Adrienne would have been jealous of any woman who took her son away from her. Discovering Joanna was Angus Carlyle’s daughter must have been doubly distressing. Particularly when her husband had announced he was going into business with her old lover. She must have lived in fear of their previous relationship being made public.

  Joanna wondered now if Angus had sought to destroy her and Matt’s marriage to hurt Adrienne. As with so much else, his actions were hard to forgive.

  To be charitable, Joanna knew her father’s illness had changed him. Learning he was suffering from terminal cancer had made him brooding and resentful of other people’s happiness. Even her own.

  But that was in the past. Matt and Joanna were planning to get married again as soon as they could. And then, later, they’d agreed to return to Miami for the baby’s christening.

  Joanna had destroyed Adrienne’s letter. That was one piece of poison that would never again see the light of day. She and Matt were together and that was all that mattered. She really hoped that her father had forgotten the letter was there.

  She could feel the sun’s rays on her shoulders as she emerged from the shadow of the palms, but she didn’t mind. It was so good to be out and about again, so good to be able to wear an outfit that didn’t outline the swollen curve of her stomach.

  Their son lay on his back in the stroller, protected by the shade cast by its hood. Matt had had the baby carriage flown over from Nassau the same day the baby was born. Along with baby clothes and equipment of every kind.

  It was a thrilling time for Joanna. And Matt, too, she knew. Their son was a constant delight to both of them but, more importantly, they were rediscovering every aspect of their love for one another.

  Joanna heard Henry’s voice and a moment later she saw her husband vaulting onto the jetty. He hadn’t been out very long, she thought humorously. Evidently, since he’d become a father, sailing had lost much of its appeal.

  Matt saw Joanna at once, and, leaving Henry to moor the craft, he came striding towards her. ‘I’ve missed you,’ he said huskily, slipping his arm about her shoulders, uncaring who was watching them. He bent his head and covered her lips with his. Then, with some concern, ‘Should you be out in this heat?’

  ‘Well, if I’m going to live here, I’ve got to get used to it,’ replied Joanna, slipping her arm about his waist. ‘We are going to live here, aren’t we?’

&
nbsp; ‘I like the way you say “we”,’ murmured Matt, his eyes devouring her. ‘How did I ever live without you?’

  Matt bent to bury his face in the curve of her shoulder and Joanna cupped his neck with gentle fingers. ‘I should have believed you all along.’

  Matt lifted his head. ‘Yeah, you should,’ he agreed roughly. ‘I’ve never lied to you, and I never will.’

  Joanna gnawed on her lower lip. ‘Will you believe me if I tell you that soon after I got here, I was prepared to put all that behind us and ask you if I could stay?’

  ‘Because of the baby?’

  ‘No, because of us,’ exclaimed Joanna huskily. ‘I didn’t want you to think I had any ulterior motive for being here, but perhaps I had.’

  Matt stared at her. ‘Do you mean that?’

  ‘Of course, I mean it.’ She paused. ‘But after—after that—that time on the beach, you seemed so—remote.’

  ‘I wanted to see you; of course, I did.’ Matt groaned. ‘But it was hard to know what I was going to say. Then my parents being there meant we couldn’t have a private conversation.’ He paused. ‘But surely it was obvious how I felt? I couldn’t keep my hands off you.’

  There was another satisfying moment, and then Henry’s hearty voice broke into their embrace. ‘Would you like me to take your son back to the villa?’ he asked, peering into the stroller and making goo-goo noises at the baby.

  Matt grinned at Joanna. ‘I didn’t know you were a nursemaid, Henry,’ he said, and the older man lifted his head to pull a face.

  ‘I thought you might like a little privacy, that’s all,’ he said innocently. ‘Particularly with Mrs Sophie coming this afternoon.’

  ‘God, I’d forgotten that. She’s dying to see her nephew, I know.’ Then Matt looked at Joanna. ‘So, what do you think? Have you got time to take a walk along the beach with me?’

  ‘A walk?’ she echoed, handing the stroller into Henry’s capable hands. ‘Why, Mr Novak, I do believe I have. Do you mind if I take your arm?’

  ‘I’m hoping you’ll take every part of me,’ murmured Matt in an undertone, and Joanna was still giggling when Henry disappeared from view.

  * * * * *

  EXCLUSIVE EXTRACT

  Natasha Pellegrini and Matteo Manaserro’s reunion catches them both in a potent mix of emotion, and they surrender to their explosive passion. Natasha was a virgin until Matteo’s touch branded her as his and when Matteo discovers Natasha is pregnant, he’s intent on claiming his baby. Except he hasn’t bargained on their insatiable chemistry binding them together so completely!

  Read on for a sneak preview of Michelle Smart’s book

  CLAIMING HIS ONE-NIGHT BABY

  The second part of her Bound to a Billionaire trilogy

  ‘For better or worse we’re going to be tied together by our child for the rest of our lives and the only way we’re going to get through it is by always being honest with each other. We will argue and disagree but you must always speak the truth to me.’

  Natasha fought to keep her feet grounded and her limbs from turning into fondue but it was a fight she was losing, Matteo’s breath warm on her face, his thumb gently moving on her skin but scorching it, the heat from his body almost penetrating her clothes, heat crawling through her, pooling in her most intimate place.

  His scent was right there too, filling every part of her, and she wanted to bury her nose into his neck and inhale him.

  She’d kissed him without any thought, a desperate compulsion to touch him and comfort him flooding her, and then the fury had struck from nowhere, all her private thoughts about the direction he’d taken his career in converging to realise he’d thrown it all away in the pursuit of riches.

  And now she wanted to kiss him again.

  As if he could sense the need inside her, he brought his mouth close to hers but not quite touching, the promise of a kiss.

  ‘And now I will ask you something and I want complete honesty,’ he whispered, the movement of his words making his lips dance against hers like a breath.

  The fluttering of panic sifted into the compulsive desire. She hated lies too. She never wanted to tell another, especially not to him. But she had to keep her wits about her because there were things she just could not tell because no matter what he said about lies always being worse, sometimes it was the truth that could destroy a life.

  But, God, how could she think properly when her head was turning into candyfloss at his mere touch?

  His other hand trailed down her back and clasped her bottom to pull her flush to him. Her abdomen clenched to feel his erection pressing hard against her lower stomach. His lips moved lightly over hers, still tantalising her with the promise of his kiss. ‘Do you want me to let you go?’

  Her hands that she’d clenched into fists at her sides to stop from touching him back unfurled themselves and inched to his hips.

  The hand stroking her cheek moved round her head and speared her hair. ‘Tell me.’ His lips found her exposed neck and nipped gently at it. ‘Do you want me to stop?’

  ‘Matteo…’ Finally, she found her voice.

  ‘Yes, bella?’

  ‘Don’t stop.’

  Don’t miss

  CLAIMING HIS ONE-NIGHT BABY

  By Michelle Smart

  Available September 2017

  PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY

  www.millsandboon.co.uk

  Copyright ©2017 Michelle Smart

  ISBN: 978-1-474-05271-9

  AN HEIR MADE IN THE MARRIAGE BED

  © 2017 Anne Mather

  Published in Great Britain 2017

  by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

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