The Twelve-Month Marriage Deal Read Online Free PDF Page B

however, be prepared to wait until you are ready.’
    Her eyes widened. As far as she was concerned it was an empty promise. Hadn’t he just seen how easily she responded to him? No way would Vidal wait. He was a hot-blooded male who needed a woman.
    ‘And—I’ll tie you to the marriage for one year only. At the end of it you’ll be free to walk away and carry on with your life as though it has never happened.’
    Her eyebrows rose. ‘How very noble of you.’ And how easy he made it sound. One year wasn’t very long. On the other hand she couldn’t bear to think that she would be losing her freedom for twelve whole months. It sounded like for ever. In the normal run of things it would fly by, but married to Vidal, no matter that she found him gut-wrenchingly attractive, it would feel like a life sentence.
    She was in an unenviable situation and wasn’t sure that she could cope. It wasn’t simply the fear of their impending marriage. There were other issues. Had anyone given any thought to her business? Who was going to look after that in her absence? Why would everyone think she could give it up just like that?
    Except that she had a very capable assistant. Kate could run the business single-handed. She was making excuses here. There was no solid reason why she couldn’t marry Vidal.
    Elena flew back to LA the next day, shocking Kate with the news that she was going to get married.
    ‘Can you look after the business for a while?’ she asked, not daring to tell her assistant yet that it would be for a whole year.
    ‘Can I?’ Kate’s face was radiant. ‘Take as much time off as you like. You know everything will be in safe hands. Oh, I’m going to love this. You’re sure you trust me?’
    ‘Completely.’
    ‘Was it love at first sight? Oh, my God, it’s so romantic. Did you ever envisage planning your own wedding?’
    Elena shook her head. ‘I was never going to get married. Believe me, it’s as much a shock to me as it is to you.’
    The shock lasted until she returned to Spain and Vidal turned up at the house saying he had come to take her out to dinner. Her heart went into overdrive. Her mother, out of hospital by this time, was flustered, her father grateful, but Elena couldn’t even look at him. This was the man she was going to marry, this was the man she was going to live and sleep with for the next year. Was it any wonder her heart felt as though it were trying to escape from her ribcage?
    Vidal himself showed no sign of hysteria. In fact, his composure was admirable. ‘You’ll excuse me if I take Elena away from you,’ he said to her parents. ‘We have a wedding to plan.’
    Elena hated the nonchalant way he said it. A wedding to plan. He made it sound as ordinary as if he had said they were going out to dinner. Except that her mother’s eyes shone. ‘Of course, Vidal. Of course. And thank you. Thank you very much.’
    Once in his limousine, sharing the back seat, there was no escape.
    ‘Look at me, Elena.’
    Up until that point she had rigidly refused to meet hiseyes. It was enough feeling his presence, feeling a sense of shock that the attraction she’d tried to tell herself she had imagined was still there, still very real. She had thought about him constantly all the time she’d been in LA. The image of the strong lines of his face, those dangerously attractive eyes, would not go away. They had penetrated her dreams as well as her daytime thoughts.
    Reluctantly she turned her head and instantly wished that she hadn’t when she met the silver intensity of his gaze. And once their eyes met she couldn’t look away. There was something in their depths that electrified her soul. He did not even have to speak to make her feel like this. Simply looking at him, feeling the magnetic power in those amazing eyes, stealing a glance at his beautifully moulded mouth, wondering what it would be like to feel those lips against hers in a deeply passionate kiss—not the sort he had given her