THE VALQUEZ SEDUCTION Page 15

  She hadn’t wanted him. Not the real him. She’d wanted a fling, an experience to look back on, just like all the other women who trailed after him.

  It infuriated him to think that all those chatty little exchanges to get him to reveal his innermost secrets had been a ruse. She’d probably been laughing at him the whole time. She’d had no intention of continuing their affair. Not with her posh school board turning their noses up at her choice of partner. She probably had some stuck-up merchant banker by now. Someone her father approved of.

  His gut twisted at the thought of her in another man’s arms. It sickened him to think of another man kissing her. Touching her. Marrying her. Having babies with her.

  He spun away and raked his head with his fingers. He had to stop thinking about her. It was over. He had to accept it. He thumped his fist on the lockers as if it would drum it into his skull. He. Had. To. Accept. It.

  The crowds were milling into the stands. Alejandro and Teddy were being entertained in the sponsors’ corporate marquee while he prepared for the game. The game he had spent years of his life training for; the game he was expected to win. The trophy was as good as his if he could just force himself to get out there and do what needed to be done.

  He swore as he kicked his boot against the bench seat. What was the point of playing when the one person he was playing for wasn’t here? Wasn’t this for Daisy? Everything he had worked for he now wanted for her. She had shown him the shallowness of his life. His endless pursuit of pleasure without strings had all but strangled everything that was good in him.

  Could he be wrong about her motives? Hadn’t she made him see how much richer life could be when you lived it for others? Like she did. Devoting her life to the education of children. Sacrificing what she wanted so they could have what they needed. So different from his mother, who hadn’t bothered to sacrifice anything for anyone.

  Was he foolish to think he could try again with her? That this time he could ask her—beg her—to see him instead of assuming she would drop everything? She was proud and defiant. Hadn’t he loved that about her from the moment he’d met her? She wasn’t a pushover. She wasn’t yet another sycophant. She was a genuine girl with a big heart who wanted the fairy tale. A fairy tale she deserved.

  She had spent most of her life being controlled by her father. Why hadn’t he realised his approach was exactly the same? He hadn’t given her a choice. He had told her what he wanted as if she had no say in the matter. Of course she would cut him loose. Why would she sign up for more of the bulldozing tactics of her overbearing father?

  Alejandro suddenly appeared in the doorway. ‘There’s someone here to see you.’

  Luiz turned his back as he leaned his hands on the washbasin. He couldn’t give a press interview now. Not now. Not while his emotions were so churned up inside his chest he couldn’t breathe without it hurting. ‘Tell them to go away.’

  ‘I’m not sure she’ll appreciate being told what to do.’

  She?

  His heart skipped a beat as he whipped back around. ‘Who is it?’

  ‘It’s me,’ Daisy said, stepping forward.

  Luiz stared at her. He opened his mouth to speak but he couldn’t get his vocal cords to respond. They were jammed by emotion so thick it paralysed his throat.

  She was here?

  He blinked to make sure he wasn’t imagining her standing there. Like all those times as a kid, pressing his nose to the glass as he waited for his mother, only to have his heart plummet in disappointment when she didn’t show up.

  His mouth was dry. His heart was pounding so hard he could feel the echo of it beating in his fingertips.

  ‘Aren’t you going to say something?’ Daisy said.

  ‘Hello.’ Hello? Is that the best you could do?

  ‘I liked it when you said it in Argentinian.’

  Luiz cleared his throat. ‘Hola.’

  ‘I really like your brother.’

  ‘He’s married.’

  ‘I know. I like his wife too. She’s awfully sweet. You didn’t tell me she was Theodora Marlstone, the brilliantly talented children’s book illustrator. I’ve got all of her books. I use them in my class. My kids love them.’

  Luiz swallowed again. Best not to get too ahead of himself. He wasn’t going to let her rip his heart out again. ‘Why are you here?’

  ‘Why do you think I’m here?’

  He searched her expression but she was playing him at his own game. He thought he was good at a poker face but she took it to a whole new level. ‘I have no idea.’

  For the first time a tiny crack appeared in her composure. ‘Really? No idea at all?’

  ‘You wanted to see a polo game?’

  She let out a little breath. ‘I guess you’re still angry.’

  ‘What gives you that idea?’

  She chewed at her lip. ‘You’re not making this easy for me…’

  ‘Did my brother set this up?’

  ‘No. I came because I wanted to see you.’

  ‘Why?’

  Her blue eyes meshed with his. ‘I wanted to ask you something.’

  ‘Ask.’

  She pressed her lips together for a moment, her gaze lowering slightly. ‘Do you love me?’

  Luiz watched the way her throat tightened, just as his had earlier. He watched as her teeth tugged at the inside of her mouth as if trying to control the urge to cry. His heart swelled in his chest until he could feel it pushing against his lungs. ‘Yes.’

  Her eyes flew back to his. ‘Yes?’

  He smiled and closed the gap between them, reaching for her and hugging her close to his chest. ‘Yes, you little goose. How could you think I didn’t?’

  ‘But my father—’

  ‘Was right to warn me to keep my hands off his little princess, but do you think I could do it?’ He cupped her face in his hands. ‘I fell in love with you that first night. You put your nose in the air and gave me such a haughty look I was instantly smitten.’

  ‘Really? That early on?’

  He laughed as relief and joy spread through him. ‘Of course it only made it worse when you did that stripper routine. What hope did I have after that?’

  Her cheeks flushed in the way he adored so much. ‘I think I fell in love with you when you came to my rescue. I didn’t want to admit it, but when you stayed up all night watching over me I saw you in a completely different light. Of course, the way you kept plying me with delicious food only made it worse.’

  He stroked her face. ‘I’m sorry for how I handled things back in Vegas. It was such a crass offer. Not one of my proudest moments, that’s for sure. I wanted you to stay but I didn’t think of how you would take it. I stupidly assumed you’d jump at the chance. I should’ve known you’d do the opposite.’

  She looked at him earnestly. ‘It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be with you. I did. So much. But I couldn’t bear to be just another one of your girls. I wanted to be special.’

  He held her by the upper arms. ‘You are, mi amor. So special I can barely find the words. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Say you’ll marry me.’

  She gave him a teasing smile. ‘Are you asking me or telling me?’

  He grinned back. ‘I’m begging you.’

  ‘Well, that’s different.’

  ‘Is that a yes?’

  Daisy linked her arms around his neck. ‘How could I ever say no to you?’

  He kissed her for a long breathless minute before pulling back to look at her glowing face and sparkling eyes. ‘So, you’ve come all this way to see a polo game. I guess I’d better go out there and get that trophy.’

  She gave him a look of mock reproach. ‘Aren’t you being terribly arrogant to assume you’re going to win?’

  He pr
essed another kiss to her lips. ‘It would be if I was playing for myself.’

  * * *

  Daisy stood next to Teddy and Alejandro in the stands as Luiz came round for a victory lap after the thrilling game. He held the trophy high above his head as he sought her gaze in the stand, his dark eyes glinting as he mouthed the words, ‘This one’s for you, querida.’

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for a special excerpt from HEIRESS’S DEFIANCE by Lynn Raye Harris.

  Ten years ago one devastating night changed everything for Austin, Hunter and Alex. Now they must each play their part in the revenge against the one man who ruined it all.

  Austin Treffen has the plan… Hunter has the money… Alex has the power!

  Read each of their stories in the captivating Fifth Avenue trilogy,

  only from Harlequin Presents:

  Avenge Me by Maisey Yates (June 2014)

  Scandalize Me by Caitlin Crews (July 2014)

  Expose Me by Kate Hewitt (August 2014)

  And don’t miss the Fifth Avenue prequel that started it all, Take Me, by Maisey Yates!

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  SPECIAL EXCERPT FROM

  Harlequin® Presents® welcomes you to the world of THE CHATSFIELD

  Synonymous with style, spectacle…and scandal!

  Read on for an exclusive extract from Lynn Raye Harris’s stunning conclusion

  to this exciting eight-book series:

  HEIRESS’S DEFIANCE

  * * *

  “YOU HAVE NO CONTROL over me, Christos, no matter what you think. Yes, you control The Chatsfield empire, and you control access to my trust fund. But you won’t intimidate me the way you’ve intimidated my family.” She walked over and put her palms on his desk, leaned over until her eyes were at the same level as his. She was all in now, her emotions whipped to a furious froth that had been bubbling for weeks, ever since this man showed up and started giving orders like a despot.

  Christos’s eyes glittered. He stood very slowly, and Lucilla straightened. Even in her heels, she wasn’t as tall as he was. He looked down on her as if she were a bug beneath his custom shoe.

  “You’ve been wanting to say that for a while, have you not?” His voice was mild, amused, and yet it also managed to be hard and unflinching.

  Her heart raced, her skin heating from the inside out. Yes, she’d been holding it in and, yes, it felt good to finally say what she’d been thinking. But she also felt as if she’d committed an error. She’d admitted to the enemy that she cared very much about his elevation over her when what she really needed to do was be quiet and take him down from the inside.

  “I have, indeed. You might be congratulating yourself on dispersing my siblings on your errands, but don’t think you’ll handle me quite so easily.”

  His eyes slid over her then, and her stomach tightened. “I wouldn’t dream of handling you, Lucilla. But if I did, rest assured, you would do as I wished. And you would enjoy every moment of it.”

  * * *

  Step into the gilded world of THE CHATSFIELD!

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  December 2014

  Copyright © 2014 by Harlequin Books, S.A.

  ISBN-13: 9781460341797

  The Valquez Seduction

  Copyright © 2014 by Melanie Milburne

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

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