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Rafael's Contract Bride
Nina Milne
A proposal of convenience!Rafael Martinez is determined to prove his worth to the aristocratic family who disowned him. He’s one step away from a business deal that will seal his success, but first he needs an aristocratic wife!Cora Brookes knows exactly how much family disapproval can hurt—and accepting Rafael’s unexpected proposal is her chance to finally redeem herself. It was only supposed to be a paper marriage, but as Rafael helps Cora step out of the shadows, suddenly it seems possible their wedding vows could last a lifetime…
“I want you to marry me.”
Marry him? The idea was so ludicrous, so incongruous, so impossible that Cora could only stare at Rafael, her brain unable to coordinate with her vocal chords or inform her feet to get her the heck out of there. Forget the Spanish Mafia, Rafael Martinez was obviously nuts. Loop-the-loop. A few bricks, a bucket of cement and a shedload of mortar short of a wall.
Then anger rushed in on a tide of outrage. “Is this your idea of a joke?” Some kind of mad reality TV show where billionaires humiliate the aristocracy?
“Of course it isn’t a joke.” There was that near amusement in the rich treacle of his voice.
Curiosity broke through and surfaced the haze of anger. “Why? Why would you even suggest something so insane?”
“Because I think marrying you will change Don Carlos’s mind.”
“I told you that I am not for sale. Nor is my title. End of.” Finally her body caught up with events and she pushed her chair back and rose to her feet. Tried to ignore the stew of hurt that bubbled under the broth of rage. There was no need for hurt. Why should she care that Rafael Martinez was only after her title? She’d already known that—but somehow the idea he would marry her for it made her feel … icky.
“Wait.” The word was a command. “Please.”
Rafael’s Contract Bride
Nina Milne
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
NINA MILNE has always dreamed of writing for Mills & Boon—ever since as a child she played library with her mother’s stacks of Mills & Boon romances. On her way to this dream, Nina acquired an English degree, a hero of her own, three gorgeous children and (somehow) an accountancy qualification. She lives in Brighton and has filled her house with stacks of books—her very own real library.
To all the wonderful Dog Rescue charities and organisations who work so hard to find loving homes for dogs (like those included in this book!)
Contents
Cover (#u915355fa-8125-59f0-8b3d-4ae703cd6cf3)
Introduction (#ua76faa67-1900-53b3-98cd-d0a076e470e0)
Title Page (#u1b45cd1e-6245-5fa4-a117-24cfff3335e9)
About the Author (#u2f5f34be-8538-5a7a-9665-11ae248c06a8)
Dedication (#u34da1faa-e7be-5ed0-acef-15ef5ea826d3)
CHAPTER ONE (#u91f719a6-1448-5f40-acc3-f8224dd169d1)
CHAPTER TWO (#u69aebbce-37aa-53fd-a177-e4eb73950af4)
CHAPTER THREE (#u0f5fce99-761f-526b-8640-0f3060aadfa9)
CHAPTER FOUR (#ud01fc7d8-98b2-58b7-938c-bba8fdbac057)
CHAPTER FIVE (#u4295528a-f138-5600-a884-ae2517edfa7d)
CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FIFTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIXTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
EPILOGUE (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE (#ulink_5367e6fc-4f35-5d7c-8d23-1ca48f1e35a1)
CORA BROOKES LEANT down to ruffle the Border Collie’s head, and flopped down on the park bench. She adored Flash, just as she adored all the dogs she walked, but piled onto her day job, and on top of the extra accounts work, it meant exhaustion stretched her every muscle—physical and mental.
Still, she should look on the bright side—she had landed an excellent day job—an administrative position at Caversham Castle Hotel, part of Caversham Worldwide Holidays, and Ethan and Ruby Caversham were generous employers. So with her salary and all the extras one day she would be able to pay off the enormous debt that burdened her soul.
Determination banded her chest—she knew that repaying her parents wouldn’t buy their love, or even their affection, but it would make Cora feel a whole lot better about how badly she had let her family down.
Don’t go there, Cora.
Flash’s sharp bark was a welcome relief from her thoughts and she squinted through the light spring mizzle at the tall, lean figure headed purposefully towards her.
Relief made a rapid exit as her forehead scrunched into disbelief. That couldn’t possibly be Rafael Martinez. What would a billionaire Spanish-vineyard-owning playboy be doing in a park in the depths of Cornwall on a drizzly Saturday evening?
For a stupid second her heart skipped the smallest of beats. Hardly surprising—Rafael Martinez no doubt had that effect on the entire female population. Though in her case it wasn’t attraction that caused the skitter effect—it was nerves. Logic told her that he wouldn’t remember her—he’d shown no glimmer of recognition in the handful of times he’d seen her at the Cavershams’. Hadn’t once indicated that he recognised Cora Brookes, Administrative Manager, as being Lady Cora Derwent, daughter of one of aristocracy’s premier families.
And why should he? Cora had never been in the public eye. She had left that to her charismatic siblings, with their good looks and charm. She had kept her carroty-red hair, non-descript features and gaucheness out of the spotlight. Her only claim to distinction was the turquoise-blue of her eyes, and that hardly made her memorable. Plus, she and Rafael hadn’t even been introduced at that one party years ago.
And yet she hunched down on the bench, busied herself with Flash, and prayed he would walk on by.
No such luck. Out of the corner of her eye she espied a pair of denim-clad muscular legs.
‘Cora.’
The deep voice that always seemed laced with a tinge of amusement sent a shiver over her skin. Bracing herself, she straightened and looked up. Midnight-black hair. An aquiline face with eyes dark with a depth you could drown in. The jut of his nose spoke of determination and his jaw said the same thing. His lips charmed and allured, but his aura was one of danger.
This was a man who knew what he wanted and would take it. Not by force, but that only made him all the more dangerous—because what came with beauty was charm and arrogance. Her family demonstrated that in spades—and in clubs, diamond and hearts—the belief that they could succeed at anything because it was their God-given right.
‘Rafael.’
‘Evelyn told me I would find you here.’
Mentally Cora cursed Ethan’s PA, but she could hardly blame her. Rafael Martinez was Ethan Caversham’s business partner and friend, after all, plus Cora had little doubt that Rafael had charmed the information out of her. The question was why? Even if there was some admin work to be done on the Caversham-Martinez Venture surely it could wait until office hours.
‘Is there a problem?’ she asked. ‘I assume you know Ethan isn’t here?’
‘I do. I understand he has whisked Ruby off to Paris.’
His deep tone was neutral, but the lines of baffled disdain on his face stoked her irritation further.
‘It’s very romantic.’
A shrug denoted indifference and caused her eyes to glance off the breadth of his shoulders.
‘I’ll bow to your greater knowledge. I thought it a bit of a clichе myself. But I’d be the first to admit romance isn’t my forte.’
No, but dalliance is. Cora bit back the words, though she couldn’t eradicate her frown—there was nothing clichеd about Ethan and Ruby’s palpable joy in each other.
‘Paris is the romantic capital of the world and I’m sure they’re having a fantastic time.’
Heaven knew why she had turned into a romance cheerleader—her experience on that particular playing field was nil.
‘Anyway, romance is not what I came here to discuss.’
Of course it wasn’t. The idea of a romance between them was laughable.
‘So what did you come here to discuss?’
Irritation fluttered inside her; she was not on the Caversham clock right now. Annoyance escalated as she caught herself in the act of smoothing her hands down her jeans, aware of a desire to smooth down her frizzed-by-drizzle hair.
‘How can I help? I assume it must be urgent to bring you here in person?’
Wariness made her neck prickle. This didn’t make any sort of sense.
His lips twisted in a sudden wry moue as he lowered himself to the bench next to her. ‘You could say that.’
To Cora’s surprise Flash sat up and put his chin on Rafael’s knee.
‘Flash—down.’
‘It’s fine.’ Rafael patted the black and white dog; his strong fingers kneaded the exact spot the dog liked best. ‘Is he yours?’
‘No.’
The thought of her own beloved dogs rekindled the tug of missing them. But she’d had no choice but to leave Poppy and Prue behind on the Derwent estate—it wouldn’t have been fair to bring them with her.
‘I’m a dog-walker in my spare time. Flash is a rescue dog and he needs a lot of attention. His owner is working long hours on a freelance assignment so I’m walking him. He doesn’t usually like strangers.’ Her tone was snippy but she couldn’t help herself.
‘Dogs like me.’
Of course they did. In a moment of silence, as Rafael focused his attention on the dog, Cora realised that she appeared to be mesmerised by the movements of his fingers. The small growls of pleasure Flash emitted pulled her attention away and she shifted apart from Rafael, suddenly all too aware of him—the strength of his body, the way he filled the space with an aura of...of...something she had no wish to analyse too closely.
‘So, as I said, how can I help?’
‘Ethan mentioned he is about to send you on secondment to another Caversham enterprise.’
Cora nodded. ‘He and Ruby want to focus on Caversham Castle, so he thought I would be better deployed elsewhere.’
‘How about the Caversham-Martinez venture? Working directly for me?’
‘You?’ Her jaw dropped kneewards.
‘You sound surprised.’
‘I am. Or rather I’m confused.’ She was an excellent administrator—it might not be the job of her heart and dreams, but she was darn good at it—but... ‘Why not just email me and set up an interview? Turning up in person seems extreme.’
‘I think it’s eminently sensible. I like the element of surprise and this way what I see is what I get.’
His dark eyes rested on her face and Cora resisted the urge to squirm in her seat. The prolonged scrutiny made her uncomfortable—too aware that compared to his usual eye candy she wasn’t anywhere near to measuring up. Especially kitted out in mud-spattered jeans, hiking boots and an oversized hoodie, with her red hair scraped back into a frizzy ponytail. But she forced herself to maintain eye contact, to keep her back straight and her gaze cooler than iced water.
‘Or don’t get,’ she pointed out.
‘So you wouldn’t be interested in working for me?’
Cora tried to think, swallowed the instinctive no that had leapt to her vocal cords. Surely by now she had learned not to blurt out the first thing that came into her mind? How many times had her mother sighed and wrinkled her face in lines of distaste at her younger daughter’s lack of social grace?
The constant refrain of her childhood had been, ‘Why can’t you be more like your sister?’ Why, indeed? Cora had always wondered. What cruel fate had decreed that her twin should be so beautiful, vibrant and perfect and that she, Cora, should be so different? So average, so invisible—Kaitlin’s pale shadow.
As if in reminder, she tugged at a strand of her hair and looked at it. Carroty-red whereas Kaitlin’s hair was a beautiful red-gold that caught the light with magical hues. If Kaitlin were here she’d lean forward, enthral Rafael Martinez with her smile, her throaty voice and a hint of cleavage. She’d lead him on to tell her more, and then decline in a way that somehow robbed her refusal of all sting.
Well, Kaitlin wasn’t here, and Cora didn’t want to work for Rafael. Every instinct told her that Rafael Martinez was every bit as lethal as her very own family. Well, she couldn’t choose her family—but she could choose who to work for.
‘I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think that is the right move for me.’
‘Why not? I haven’t even told you about the role I have in mind for you.’
‘It doesn’t matter. Really, I don’t want to waste your valuable time.’
Please don’t let her have put a sarcastic inflexion on ‘valuable’.
