The Marriage Pact

The Marriage Pact
Elizabeth Duke

Bride for hire?Money couldn't buy love, but would it buy Adam Tate a wife? Claire needed a plane ticket home, and money to help her sister. Adam promised to help–on the condition that Claire became his wife and mother to his two-year-old son, Jamie!Adam was rich, charming and gorgeous. And the deal was simple: one short wedding ceremony, and Claire's problems would be over! Financially, at least. But she knew Adam would be a hard man to walk away from. Was Claire ready to promise her heart for better, for worse…forever?"Ms Duke captivates readers with…intense passion, a strong emotional conflict and endearing characters."–Romantic Times

“I’m confident a marriage between us would work.” (#udeb74e2f-b6d3-56a7-a60b-f5d2908214a5)About the Author (#ue56c410f-fb87-52b1-a41a-ec88545e3db6)Title Page (#u282ed657-3f93-522e-8152-fd04d283d50c)CHAPTER ONE (#u19e22176-afff-5f29-bce0-37106b10a54f)CHAPTER TWO (#u021e62db-a0b1-5469-8fe0-cf55f8178cb9)CHAPTER THREE (#uc72a4c3e-ba44-5cca-ac1a-bcc0e1230504)CHAPTER FOUR (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)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)Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

“I’m confident a marriage between us would work.”

Adam continued, “Neither of us will be expecting romantic love, just commitment. To our marriage. To Jamie. To each other. And there’ll be no pulling out after I’ve settled your sister’s debts. The marriage will take place a month from now.”

A month from now. Suddenly it seemed alarmingly real. “How—how can you know I’ll make a good wife,” Claire stalled, her voice husky. “You hardly know me!”

“I know you’ll be a good mother to Jamie. You have a natural affinity for children—and Jamie has taken to you already. You never know, we might even want to stay together forever.”

“You’ve got to be kidding!”

Elizabeth Duke was born in Adelaide, South Australia, but has lived in Melbourne all her married life. She trained as a librarian and has worked in many different types of libraries, but she was always secretly writing. Her first published book was a children’s novel, after which she successfully tried her hand at romance writing. She has since given up her work as a librarian to write romance full-time. When she isn’t writing or reading, she loves to travel with her husband, John, either within Australia or overseas, gathering inspiration and background material for future romances. She and John have a married son and daughter, who now have children of their own.

The Marriage Pact

Elizabeth Duke

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

CHAPTER ONE

IT HAD been a dream of Claire’s to visit Venice one day. Magical, romantic Venice...the fairy-tale city floating on the sea.

Now she was here, and after only two days of a planned week in Venice, working as a nanny, the dream trip of a lifetime had turned to disaster.

She was broke, she’d lost her job and her employers were sending her back to London in disgrace!

Worse, she’d missed out on a free flight back home to Australia.

It was her own stupid fault for taking on the job in the first place. She’d had reservations from the start about the Danns, her English employers. The husband’s lingering gaze and the wife’s cold-eyed scrutiny should have warned her. But they’d been desperate for a temporary nanny at short notice, and she’d been desperate for her air fare back to Australia—which had been the lure they’d dangled—so she’d agreed.

The two children, three-year-old Holly and four-month-old Edward, had clinched it. Their big blue eyes and adorable smiles would have melted the most steely heart.

Her first two days in Venice had passed without warning of what was to come. Her employers—both London doctors—had attended conference sessions each day at their waterfront hotel overlooking the Venetian Lagoon while she’d cared for their two children.

She’d taken them for leisurely walks along the bustling boat-lined promenade, explored the Grand Canal by water-bus and had wandered round St Mark’s Square, where the impressive arcaded buildings and the Byzantine splendour of the Basilica had taken her breath away. Holly, naturally enough, had been more interested in the pigeons.

They’d even had a short gondola ride with the children’s parents, which she would have enjoyed far more if Hugo Dann hadn’t been surreptitiously eyeing her up and down from his seat opposite.

It had been in St Mark’s Square on her second day, as Holly had been waving her arms around to keep the fluttering pigeons from landing on her head and shoulders, that Claire had first met the other Englishman. The one she’d noticed at breakfast the past two mornings at the hotel, sitting at a table by himself.

On both occasions she’d tried her best not to stare at him, knowing he must be used to women ogling him and was probably conceited enough already. With his dark-eyed good looks, perfect physique and his air of easy self-confidence, he looked just the type who’d expect it.

She’d come to loathe and despise those cool ladykiller types. Nigel had been a man like that, though he’d been fair and blue-eyed—a golden Apollo with dancing eyes and a devastating charm who’d made her feel that she was the only woman in the world. Only she hadn’t been. More fool Claire Malone for falling for his slick English charm in the first place!

As the sexy Englishman had boldly approached her in the square later that second morning, she’d eyed him warily, her body tensing, stiffening in rejection. Or was it self-protection?

It had annoyed her that she had to tilt her head back and look up a considerable way to meet him eye to eye. No doubt he loved that feeling of superiority and raw macho power. She’d drawn herself up to her full height of five feet seven inches. No man, least of all this lethal-eyed English Adonis, was going to make her feel all helpless and feminine!

‘I’ve seen you at breakfast at the hotel,’ he offered as an opening gambit, a far too friendly sparkle in his wide-set dark eyes. From Quadri’s famous café nearby the outdoor orchestra struck up with gusto, the wail of violins swirling round them in the limpid morning air.

‘Oh, really?’ There was no way she was going to admit that she’d noticed him. She didn’t want to notice him now, but she couldn’t very well avoid it. He was wearing the same shirt and jeans he’d been wearing at breakfast, a casual denim shirt that showed off his broad chest and impressive shoulders and thigh-hugging jeans that showed off—

She snapped her gaze away. This man was dynamite! He positively radiated raw sexuality and strength.

She wondered what he was doing alone here in Venice.

Not that she cared. Men were out of her life from now on... Nigel had seen to that.

From the opposite side of the piazza, the orchestra from Florian’s, the equally famous rival café, sprang to life with a rousing tune of its own, flooding the square with sound.

‘You’re here in Venice on your own? Apart from your children, I mean?’ The Englishman’s gaze flicked curiously to the sleeping baby strapped to Claire’s back and to the little girl who was now clinging to her skirt. Was he wondering how she could afford a trip to Venice with two kids? Or...did he have something else in mind?

Her eyes narrowed in quick suspicion. Was he trying to find out if she was available? Available...for what?

Her chin rose a notch, her grey eyes glinting, cooling to silver ice. There was no way she was going to let this man get the idea she was on the loose! Let alone available. Available for sharks like him to pick up.

‘They’re not my children. I’m just looking after them.’ Her tone was crisp. ‘And I’m not here alone—I’m with their parents. You might have seen them back at the hotel.’

Then again maybe he hadn’t. They always came down to breakfast late, with the excuse that they needed to go through their conference notes for the day. But she suspected that they simply wanted to sleep in and have breakfast by themselves later without the distraction and demands of their children. The baby was bottle-fed so didn’t rely on his mother for feeds.

‘Ah. So you’re just helping out with the children...’ Now the stranger’s dark eyes positively gleamed.

She took an instinctive step back, her own eyes glittering with derision. I know what you’re thinking, and you can forget it. Go find some other easy female.

‘I’m their nanny,’ she told him curtly, and began to walk on.

In a neat tigerish stride, he fell into step beside her. ‘Their permanent nanny? Or were you only hired for this Venice trip?’

She paused, frowning. Why would he want to know that? Simply to keep her talking?

‘I’m just filling in for their regular nanny, who has a bad ear infection and wasn’t able to fly.’ Meredith, an old friend from Australia, had recommended her as a fill-in, knowing she’d just thrown in her job. Knowing she’d had to—to get away from Nigel.

‘At the end of this week,’ she swept on, using clipped tones to discourage him, ‘I’ll be flying back to Australia.’ Back to the problems at home.

‘Ah...Australia. So that’s the accent. I was wondering. Um... You intend to look for another nanny job back in Australia?’

Her eyelashes flickered under his coolly interested gaze. Did he have a nanny fetish?

‘I doubt it,’ she answered dryly, adding in cutting tones, ‘I’ll be looking for a job as an accountant or auditor, which is what I’m qualified for and the kind of work I was doing until just recently.’

So put that in your pipe and smoke it, buddy, she thought with another upward jerk of her chin. If you imagined I was a brainless, man-crazy bimbo, ready to jump at the chance of a hot little dalliance with the likes of you, think again!

‘Well,’ he returned in a silky drawl, revealing by his next remark that he had been thinking along those lines, ‘Living proof that brains and beauty can on occasion co-exist.’ He quirked an admiring eyebrow at her, his dark eyes dancing.