The Billionaire's Contract Bride

‘Classical?’ he asked, in the snobbiest most derisive of tones.

‘A—a bit,’ Tabitha stammered. ‘But mainly modern. Every now and then I even get to do a poor man’s version of the Can-Can.’ The bitter edge to her voice was obvious, even to herself, and she blinked in surprise at her own admission.

A sliver of a smile moved his lips a fraction and his eyes languorously drifted the length of her long legs. ‘Is that the sound of a frustrated leading lady I hear?’

‘Possibly.’ Tabitha shrugged. Hell, why was she feeling like this? Why did one withering stare from him reduce her to a showgirl? ‘But, for your information, I’m actually very good at what I do,’ Tabitha flared. ‘You might mock what your brother and I do for a living, but you don’t have to pull on a suit to put in an honest day’s work. We happen to give a lot of people a lot of pleasure.’

‘Oh, I’m sure you do.’ Again those black eyes worked her body, and again Tabitha mentally kicked herself at the opening she had given him.

For something to do Tabitha drained her glass and accepted another from a passing waiter. But still Zavier’s black eyes stayed trained on her, making even the most basic task, such as breathing, seem suddenly terribly complicated.

‘Don’t worry.’ He smiled at her for the first time, but just as Tabitha felt herself relax his cutting voice set the hairs on the back of her neck standing to attention. ‘I mean, once you get that ring on your finger you’ll be able to hang up your dancing shoes for ever.’

Her jade eyes flashed with anger at his inference. ‘I’ll have you know that I happen to enjoy my job—very much, in fact. If you really think I’m seeing Aiden for the chance to marry into his charming family—’ she flashed a wry smile ‘—you couldn’t be more wrong.’

Her fiery response to his provocative statement did nothing to mar his smooth expression, and he stood there irritatingly calm as Tabitha flushed with anger.

‘We’ll see,’ he said darkly. ‘But something tells me I’m not going to be pleasantly surprised.’

Aiden appeared then, oblivious of the simmering tension. ‘Glad to see you’re getting along.’ He smiled warmly. ‘Isn’t she gorgeous, Zavier?’ He squeezed Tabitha around the waist as he haphazardly deposited a kiss on her cheek.

‘Gorgeous,’ Zavier quipped, his smile belying the menacing look in his eyes. ‘Now, if you two will excuse me?’ He flashed the briefest of nods vaguely in her direction as Tabitha stood there mute. ‘It was a pleasure meeting you.’

Not a pleasure, exactly, Tabitha mused as he walked away, but it had certainly been an experience; the only trouble was, she couldn’t quite decide whether it was one that she wanted to repeat.

CHAPTER TWO

THE meal seemed to go on for ever, the speeches even longer. Tabitha spent most of the time smarting over Zavier’s comments, pushing her food around her plate and drinking rather too much. She hated Zavier Chambers for his cruel suggestion that she was some sort of gold-digger when the actual truth was she was doing his damn family a favour: saving Jeremy Chambers from the news he didn’t want to hear.

Aiden was unusually on edge—an inevitable by-product, Tabitha guessed, of being in such close proximity to his family. His promise to stay by her side all night diminished with each drink he consumed, and rather too much of the night was spent sitting like the proverbial wallflower as Aiden worked the room, only returning to reclaim his glass every now and then.

‘Go easy, Aiden,’ Tabitha said as Aiden knocked back yet another drink.

‘I need a few drinks under my belt to face this lot.’ He gave her an apologetic grin. ‘Sorry, I’m not being very good company, am I? They just set my teeth on edge. How are you finding it?’

Tabitha shrugged. ‘Not bad, but then I’ve only got to deal with it for tonight. I didn’t realise your family was so well heeled—I mean, from what you’d told me I’d guessed that they were wealthy, of course, but nothing like this. You should have warned me.’ She gestured to the room.

The Windsor Hotel was Melbourne’s finest, and the ballroom where the wedding reception was being held was quite simply breathtaking. Everything was divine, from the icy cold champagne and the canapés that had been served as they entered, to the lavish banquet they were now finishing up.

‘Why would I do that? I had enough trouble getting you to come in the first place. If you’d known it was going to be like this wild horses wouldn’t have dragged you here.’

Aiden was right, of course. Here amongst Australia’s élite, with vintage champagne flowing like water, Tabitha felt way out of her depth.

Aiden hiccoughed softly, staring moodily into his drink. ‘Tab?’ he said gently. ‘What’s the matter tonight? And before you say “nothing”, just remember that we’ve been friends too long to pretend everything’s all right when it clearly isn’t. It’s not just the wedding that’s upsetting you, is it? What’s going on?’

She didn’t answer, her long fingers toying with her red curls, coiling them around her fingers in an almost child-like manner.

‘Is it your grandmother?’ As she bit into her lip Aiden knew he’d hit the mark. ‘What’s she done now?’ There was a touch of humour in his voice as he tried to lighten the mood and cajole the problem out of her. ‘Sold the family jewels?’

Tabitha’s eyes weren’t smiling as she looked up. ‘My family’s not like yours, Aiden; we don’t have “family jewels”. Sorry,’ she added, ‘this isn’t your fault.’

‘What isn’t? Come on, Tab, tell me what’s going on.’

‘She remortgaged her house.’ Tabitha let out the long breath she had inadvertently been holding. ‘To pay off all her gambling debts.’

‘You already told me that—last month, if I remember rightly,’ Aiden pointed out. ‘You went to the bank with her and helped organize it. Can’t she manage the repayments?’

‘She withdrew the loan,’ Tabitha started in an unusually shaky voice, ‘and promptly fed it back into the poker machines at the casino.’

‘All of it?’

Aiden’s open mouth and wide eyes weren’t exactly helping, and Tabitha nodded glumly. ‘So now she’s got all the old debts that were causing so many problems plus a massive new one, and it’s all my fault.’

‘How on earth do you work that one out?’

‘I shouldn’t have left her with access to so much money. She’s like a moth to a flame where the casino’s concerned; I don’t even think it’s the gambling she’s addicted to, more the company. I should have made her pay off her bills…’

‘She’s not a child,’ Aiden pointed out, taking Tabitha’s shaking hand.

‘She’s all I’ve got.’ Tears were threatening now, and Tabitha put her hand over her glass as the waiter returned, but Aiden had no such reserve. ‘Just leave the bottle,’ he ordered while waiting for Tabitha to continue. ‘Gran brought me up after Mum and Dad died, devoted her life to me, and now she’s old and lonely and terrified and there’s nothing I can do. I’ve asked the bank for a loan, but the second you put “dancer” down as your occupation you might just as well rip up the application form.’

‘Let me help you.’ He ignored her furiously shaking head. ‘Come on, darling, it would be a drop in the ocean. I haven’t told you my good news yet. I sold a painting yesterday.’

‘Aiden!’ Despite her own problems, Tabitha’s delighted squeal was genuine and, wrapping her arms around Aiden’s neck, she planted a kiss on his cheek. ‘That’s fantastic news.’

‘Please let me help you, Tabitha. You can always pay me back. We’re on our way, darling.’ Aiden grinned. ‘I can feel it.’

But Tabitha shook her head. ‘You might be, Aiden, but in my case “on my way out” would be a more apt description.’ Her gloom descended again, but she did her best to keep the bitter note from her voice. ‘I’ve been asked to audition for the next production.’

‘So?’ Aiden shrugged. ‘You’ll walk it.’

‘Maybe, but it’s always been automatic until now—I’ve always had a part. It’s because I’m getting older.’

‘You’re twenty-four years old, for heaven’s sake.’

‘I’m twenty-nine,’ Tabitha corrected, grinning despite herself. ‘And twenty-nine-year-old dancers have a lot to prove. I can’t borrow money from you when I’ve no idea if I’ll be able to pay it back.’

‘Please,’ Aiden insisted, but Tabitha was adamant.

‘No; I mean it, Aiden. I’m going to have to work this one out for myself.’

‘You’re sure?’

She nodded resolutely, and after a brief shrug Aiden let it go. ‘I know it’s abhorrent, seeing all this wealth when your grandmother’s so broke, but money can be a curse, sometimes. The people here are so busy looking over their shoulders, sure everyone’s after their last dollar, they honestly don’t know who their real friends are. For all the highbrow people here you could count the true friends on one hand. If the money disappeared tomorrow so would ninety per cent of the guests, and that’s probably a conservative estimate.’

‘Your brother seems to have the impression that I’d be amongst them.’

Aiden’s eyes narrowed. ‘Tab, I’m sorry if he’s been giving you a hard time, but, though I’m loath to defend him for treating you appallingly, out of everyone here Zavier’s got the most reason to be suspicious of people’s motives, especially where women are concerned. He was let down pretty badly recently.’