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Everyone cheered at this romantic interpretation of their cold-blooded contract, and when Tiago turned to look at her she could almost believe it too.
Putting his arm around her shoulder, he led her out of the spotlight to a crescendo of cheers, and then his men distracted him, coming up to shake his hand, while the women and children of the ranch clustered around Danny.
‘And now I have a special gift for my bride,’ he announced.
Taking hold of her hand, he led her through the crowd to the space beyond the dance floor.
‘Another gift?’ Danny stared up into Tiago’s rugged face. ‘You don’t have to.’
‘But I want to.’
His sharp whistle of command caused a commotion in the crowd, and everyone fell back at the sound of thundering hooves. Danny gasped as the young colt galloped towards them.
‘Is there anything else you’d rather have?’
‘Nothing,’ she said. ‘But—’
‘Then accept him and be gracious,’ Tiago advised. ‘You have to think like a businesswoman now, Danny. This colt will be a valuable stud one day.’
It would have been better if she could have thought like a businesswoman from the start, Danny reflected, stunned by Tiago’s gift. Her marriage was an advantageous merger for them both, nothing more—just as this young colt, Firefly, was an advantageous acquisition.
‘Thank you.’ She moved quickly to the young horse’s head, to soothe him and to speak to him gently, wanting him to focus on her and be calm, rather than focus on the noisy crowd.
‘I’m glad he gives you pleasure.’
‘There’s nothing you could have given me that I would treasure more.’ Nestling her face against the colt’s warm neck, she breathed in the familiar scent and wished, just for a moment, that one day she would ride him with Tiago at her side.
The colt was led away to a round of appreciative applause. Everyone on the ranch understood the significance of such a gift. It was a pledge from Tiago to his people that this marriage would be good for them.
But they didn’t know the ins and outs of it, Danny fretted as she smiled to show that she couldn’t have been happier with her gift. There could be no certainties in life, she told herself firmly as Tiago spoke to some of the men. Surely every bride-to-be felt this way—that to be so happy must come at a cost?
‘It’s official, Danny.’
She tried to close her heart to Tiago, but when he took hold of her hands to draw her close she failed miserably. Even when he dipped his head to kiss her she suspected it was for the sake of the crowd.
‘We’ve made everyone happy tonight,’ he said.
‘Yes,’ she agreed.
Sensing her unease, Tiago led her out of the crowd. ‘Is that all you have to say?’
He had every right to expect her to be bouncing with happiness after his announcement of their engagement, the upcoming wedding, and now his wonderful gift, but she couldn’t fake it.
Why must she always pick holes in perfection? Why wouldn’t the fairytale work for her?
* * *
He ground his jaw, seeing the tension in Danny’s back as she walked away with a group of women who were keen to help her organise their wedding. Nothing must go wrong now. His lawyers were standing by. Full ownership of the ranch was a matter of hours away.
He was as tense as he had ever been, Tiago realised as a group of his fellow gauchos encouraged him to stay and spend the night celebrating with them. His determination to build on what he’d started with these people had never been stronger than it was today.
And Danny?
Deus! A million things could go wrong between now and their wedding day. Suddenly Friday seemed an eternity away.
* * *
This could work, Danny thought on Thursday morning as she waved goodbye to the women who had helped her to design the menu for their wedding banquet. She had left them late last night, after discussing plans for the wedding, and had felt much calmer after spending time with them. She had slept well for the first time in ages.
Maybe because there had had been no sign of Tiago, she thought now with amusement, as he stood at her side in the middle of the courtyard, supposedly surveying the decorations when he was clearly itching to go on his morning ride.
‘Happy?’ Tiago asked as the lively group trooped home.
‘Yes,’ Danny said. ‘I am now I know that this is the type of wedding we’re having. I honestly couldn’t think of anything better.’
‘Everyone wants to help because they think a lot of you.’
‘I hope that’s true.’
‘Didn’t I tell you everything would be all right?’
‘Yes,’ she murmured, wondering if once they were married she’d even see him.
It was too late to worry about that now, Danny concluded, heading for the house as Tiago turned for the stables—or so she thought.
She hadn’t realised but he was coming after her, and she exclaimed with surprise.
‘Not long now.’ He cupped her chin, and his eyes blazed into her own. ‘Is there anything that could make this better for you, chica?’
If you loved me, she thought, that would make it better. If this marriage of ours were not a sham, that would make it better still.
‘Your friends from Rottingdean?’ he suggested.
‘Lizzie and Chico are still on honeymoon, and with Hamish and Annie in charge of the house in their absence—’
‘What about your mother?’
‘If you can find her.’ Danny’s mouth twisted with regret. ‘I’m afraid I don’t even know where she is. I keep trying to contact her, but—’
‘She’s in the South of France,’ Tiago revealed, shocking her.
‘What’s she doing there?’
‘Spending the last of the money you sent her, I imagine.’
‘Did you speak to her?’ she asked urgently.
Hope soared inside her. She’d always been a dream-weaver, and if there was the slightest chance she could speak to her mother, make her understand, reassure her about this marriage...
‘Yes. I’ve spoken to her,’ he confirmed. ‘I wanted everything to be perfect for you—or as perfect as it can be. You’re doing so much for me, Danny. I don’t think you even realise what you’re doing. I would have flown your mother out here for the wedding, but there are some things even I can’t control.’
‘What did she say to you?’ She couldn’t hide her eagerness. ‘Did she get my messages?’
‘She got all of them, apparently.’
Tiago’s grim look warned her to be brave.
‘What did she say?’
‘She said they were blocking up her phone, and could you please stop?’
CHAPTER NINE (#uf3466473-cc7b-57e2-9e86-3bab36943bc7)
‘OH.’ DANNY’S VOICE was flat. The shock of what Tiago had told her cut deep. She couldn’t blame him for his candour after she’d pressed him for an answer. She guessed he’d thought a clean cut would be the best. The news that her mother wasn’t interested in Danny was old, but it hurt all the same. The fact that her mother didn’t even care that she was getting married was brutal.
‘You tried, Danny. At least you tried.’
Yes, she was certainly a trier, Danny reflected dryly. How stupid she felt now, imagining her mother would want to wish her well.
‘I can’t honestly say I expected her to be here for the wedding,’ she admitted, pinning a smile to her face.
She glanced up to find Tiago staring down at her with concern. Maybe she was wrong about him. Maybe he did have feelings but, having spent a lifetime hiding them, now found them impossible to express.
‘Don’t feel sorry for me, Tiago. I’m not a child.’
‘Maybe not,’ he agreed, ‘but my people show you more affection than your own mother. If she had been born with a title, and then squandered an old man’s fortune, I would say that your mother and mine must have been twins.’
The bitterness in his voice told her that Tiago had experience of loving someone and being rejected. She knew that that could lead down one of two roads: the road she trod, where she never stopped trying, or the road Tiago had taken, where he simply turned his back. It was another thought to unsettle her.
‘I can’t bear to see you hurt like this,’ he raged.
‘I’m not hurt. I’m—’
‘Accustomed to it?’ he spat out. ‘Why should you be accustomed to it? This is wrong, Danny. You should cut her out of your life.’
‘She’s my mother. I can’t.’
‘She’s no mother to you.’
With an impatient gesture, Tiago ground his jaw, but thankfully said nothing more on the subject.
‘Don’t worry,’ he said at last. ‘Everyone on the ranch will be here to cheer you on.’
‘And that’s all that matters,’ she said with conviction.
She only had to remember how touched she’d been when a selection of treasured veils and wedding dresses had been brought out of lavender-scented storage for her to choose from to know how much Tiago’s people meant to her.
‘They’re your people now, Danny,’ he said, reading her.
‘Our people.’
That thought made her feel strong. Whatever happened in the future, the bond she was building here with the people of Fazenda Santos would support her as surely as any strong family could.
‘They’ve done so much in the short time they’ve known me to make me feel welcome,’ she said, glancing round the courtyard, which was already dressed for the wedding, ‘and I’m honoured to have been accepted here.’
‘You’ll be happy. I’ll make sure of it,’ he said.
But when Tiago put his arm around her shoulders and drew her close she thought, Yes, but for just one year.
She was certain that Tiago would do his best to make her time in Brazil trouble-free. It wasn’t in his interest to do otherwise. He would never risk this marriage of convenience being challenged by anyone.
‘One last drink before we part?’ he suggested.
‘Why not?’ She smiled.
Tomorrow was their wedding day. It hardly seemed possible. Closing her eyes briefly, she drank in his strength, wishing with all her heart that they were a normal couple, with a normal relationship. But what was normal? Could any couple enter into marriage with complete certainty?
Shaking off her doubts, she walked with him towards the outdoor area at the back of the ranch house, where Tiago loved to stand and look out across his property. She reminded herself that for some married couples it wasn’t even possible to guarantee a happy year.
* * *
The hunter had become the protector. His cold-blooded plan to marry Danny at all costs had been brought to its knees by the way she was treated by her mother. No one should be treated like that. Hot blood surged through his veins as Danny stood beside him. There was anger, and there was lust—and something else he refused to name. Twenty-four hours ago he had held her in his arms—and that seemed too long.
Glancing down, he saw how pale she was. The conversation he’d had with her about her mother had hit her hard. He should have found some gentler way to break it to her. He shouldn’t have been surprised by her resilience, but he was. He poured her a drink—orange juice, as she’d requested. She was determined to keep a clear head, he concluded, quelling his disappointment at the thought that temptation would have to be resisted for another night.
‘Why are you smiling?’ she asked him when he took the empty glass from her hand.
‘You’re wearing a dress, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen your legs before.’
‘Liar. You saw me at the wedding in a bridesmaid’s dress.’
‘Which trailed around your ankles.’ He tipped the neck of his bottle of beer in Danny’s direction.
She shook her head. ‘It did not trail.’ And then she said, ‘Shall we drink a toast to your grandfather?’
‘My grandfather? I’m surprised you’re even thinking about him.’
‘Why wouldn’t I? We wouldn’t be here without him,’ she pointed out.
His lips pressed down with amusement as he shook his head. She was right. His grandfather might have done a lot of things he disagreed with, but he had given Tiago the chance to change his life.
Easing onto one hip, he told her a little more about his history. ‘I never imagined my grandfather would deny me full ownership of the ranch, but he was cunning, and he never liked my playboy antics. He said it reminded him too much of my mother—the feckless socialite, as he called her. That’s why he constructed his will as he did. He knew how much I loved this place. He knew I wouldn’t let the people down.’
‘Whatever it took?’ Danny observed dryly.
‘Whatever it took,’ he agreed, meeting her stare head-on. The one thing he would never do was lie to her.
‘To your grandfather,’ she said softly, chinking her glass against his bottle. ‘Manuelo told me your parents were never around, and that when they were they only came here to beg for money from your grandfather. Once they got that, he said they left—sometimes without even seeing you. So what’s the sequel to this story, Tiago? I know there must be one, because Manuelo thinks the world of you—as does everyone else on this ranch.’
