His Bride In Paradise. Joanna Neil

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      She felt behind her for the mobile phone on the bedside table.

      ‘As I said, I really wouldn’t advise you do that,’ he murmured, his gaze following her actions. ‘You might find yourself having to explain to them what exactly you’re doing in my house.’

      Her jaw dropped a fraction. ‘Your house?’ She frowned, then shot him a steely glance. ‘No … no, that can’t be right. You’re the intruder, not me. I’ll tell them so.’

      There was a glint in his dark eyes. ‘Okay, let’s get this straight—I’m Connor Blakeley, and this has actually been my home for a number of years. My brother lives here too, from time to time, but it’s a fact that it’s my name on the deeds of the property.’ He studied her. ‘So, would you like to tell me who you are and what you’re doing here?’ His mouth moved in a wry smile. ‘Or perhaps I can hazard a guess. This is bound to be something to do with Ross. You must be his latest girlfriend.’

      She stiffened. He made it sound as though there had been a stream of them. Deciding to ignore his comment, she shook her head so that her bright curls tumbled about her shoulders. This man had to be an imposter, surely? Doubts were beginning to creep in, but she said cautiously, ‘Connor’s away for the next six months. Ross told me so. His brother’s in Florida, helping to organise a new medical emergency unit over there.’

      He nodded briefly. ‘That was true. Unfortunately an urgent situation occurred right here in the Bahamas, and I was asked to come back and take over the accident and emergency department at the hospital. So I’ll be working here and at the same time I’ll be keeping an eye on the Florida unit from a distance.’

      Her indrawn breath was sharp and audible. What he said sounded plausible enough. Could it be that she’d made a mistake in doubting him? He did look a bit like Ross, now she came to think of it.

      Carefully, she replaced the phone on the table and straightened up. Now what was she to do? Her cheeks burned with colour. How could she have ended up in such a humiliating situation? Hadn’t she put up with enough of those back in England? This was meant to have been a fresh start, and now it looked as though her expectations of spending a relaxed, trouble-free few months out here were being rapidly consigned to the rubbish bin.

      She lifted her chin, determined to pull herself together. It was a setback, that was all. Somehow she would sort this out and find herself another place to stay. She just had to hope that the cost wouldn’t be way beyond her means. It had only been Ross’s conviction that she could stay in this house rent-free that had persuaded her she could afford to come out here in the first place.

      ‘I’m really sorry,’ she said. ‘I’d no idea … I wasn’t expecting anyone else to be here tonight.’ She hesitated, drawing in a calming breath. ‘I’m Alyssa Morgan. Your brother invited me to stay here.’

      ‘Was he planning on staying here with you?’

      She frowned. ‘Not with me, exactly. He said he would take the upper-floor accommodation, and I could have the downstairs apartment.’ She looked across the room to where her suitcases stood against the louvred doors of the wardrobe. She hadn’t even had time to unpack. ‘But, of course, it’s all changed now. I’ll get my things together and find somewhere else to stay.’

      ‘At this time of the evening?’ He raised a dark brow. ‘Even supposing you could find anywhere at such short notice, I couldn’t let you do that. I’ve a feeling that an attractive young woman alone in the city would be far too great a temptation for some of our, shall we say, less civilised, male citizens?’

      She straightened her shoulders. ‘I can take care of myself.’

      His glance moved over her. ‘Really?’

      His obvious disbelief stung. She felt his dark gaze linger on her slender curves, and she hugged the towel to herself in a defensive gesture. With so much pale golden skin on display she felt she was at a distinct disadvantage. ‘Anyway, I should get dressed,’ she said, with as much dignity as she could muster. ‘If you wouldn’t mind …?’

      He nodded. ‘Of course.’ He started to walk across the room but stopped by the door to look back and say, ‘You seem a bit flushed. Perhaps I could get you an iced drink and maybe something to eat? Or have you already had supper?’

      Her eyes widened. She wasn’t expecting such generosity, given the circumstances, and it only made her feel worse, after the way she’d spoken to him. ‘No … um … I haven’t had time … I only arrived here a short time ago, and I was feeling hot and dusty after the flight and so on, so I decided to have a shower before I did anything else. Ross and I were going to have supper when …’ She broke off, then added, ‘He had to go to a meeting.’

      ‘Hmm.’ Connor was frowning as he looked at the suitcases. ‘I take it from your accent that you’re English. Is that right? Did you and Ross meet over in the UK? I know he was over there scouting for talent for his latest film project.’

      ‘Yes, we did.’ Connor was American-English, she knew, as his father had been born in the United States and his mother was from London. ‘We … uh … have a mutual friend over in Florida … my cousin, Carys … and she suggested he look me up.’

      ‘Oh, yes. I know Carys.’ He made a faint smile as he studied her. ‘I expect Ross was glad he took the time to follow up on that.’ He started to turn back towards the door. ‘Well, maybe I’ll make a start on preparing some food and then Ross can join us when he gets here.’

      ‘I … Yes, that would be good. Thank you.’ Her head was reeling. How on earth would Ross react on finding that his brother was here? One way or another, he was in for something of a shock.

      Connor left the room and Alyssa pulled in a deep breath. It wasn’t the best way for her to have met Connor, was it? She’d heard quite a bit about him from Ross, and her overall impression was that Ross was a little in awe of his older brother. Now that she’d met him, she could certainly understand why. There was that quality about him, something that suggested he would always be in complete control of any situation, that nothing would faze him. Everything about him underlined that. He was supple and lithe, his body honed with latent energy, and a calm, inherent sense of authority oozed from every pore.

      She dressed quickly, choosing a pale blue cotton dress with narrow straps, cool enough for the warmth of the evening. It wasn’t much in the way of a defence, but at least being fully dressed made her feel more in command of herself.

      A few minutes later she walked into the kitchen and found Connor busy at the table, adding tomato paste and grated cheese to a large pizza base. He looked up as she entered the room. ‘You look fresh and cool,’ he murmured. ‘That colour suits you.’

      ‘Thank you.’

      ‘Sit down,’ he said, waving her to a chair by the pale oak table. ‘Would you like mushrooms with this? And peppers?’

      ‘Yes, please.’ She nodded, watching as he deftly cut and sliced mushrooms and then sprinkled them over the cheese.

      She glanced around. From here, by the deep, broad window, she could look out over the ocean, and closer to home there was what seemed to be a small kitchen garden just beyond the veranda. The light outside was fading now, but solar lamps sent a golden glow over a variety of vegetables and a small grove of trees laden with plump, ripe oranges.

      She turned her attention back to the kitchen. ‘You have СКАЧАТЬ