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  ‘I-it’s not?’

  He shook his head gravely. ‘No. What she wants more than anything in the world before she dies is to see me officially married.’

  ‘M-married?’ she gulped. ‘Officially?’

  ‘Yes, in front of witnesses, preferably in a church and legally binding.’

  ‘You surely don’t expect me to…’ She found it impossible to finish the sentence in case by saying it out loud it would somehow make it inescapably true.

  ‘I’m asking you to marry me, Mia,’ he said, confirming her worst fears.

  She stared at him open-mouthed. Surely she’d misheard him. He couldn’t possibly have…

  ‘Of course, I don’t expect you to do it for nothing,’ he went on evenly. ‘I will pay you a lump sum up front and a generous allowance for as long as the marriage continues.’

  ‘You want me to marry you? For real?’ She gawped at him incredulously. ‘You mean you’re actually serious about this?’

  He frowned at her stupefied expression. ‘I’m not asking you to jump off the harbour bridge, Mia, just to wear my ring until such time as it is no longer necessary.’

  Mia’s stomach felt as if she’d just jumped off Centrepoint Tower, which was a whole lot taller than the harbour bridge. How could she possibly consent to marrying a man she hated? And even worse—for money?

  ‘But marriage?’ she asked again, shaking her head in disbelief.

  ‘Yes, as in vows and rings and stuff.’

  ‘Marriage is a whole lot more than vows and rings and stuff,’ she said. ‘It’s a legally binding agreement between two people who are supposed to love one another and promise to do so until death parts them.’

  ‘So we’re not exactly up to scratch on all the particulars but we can still pull this off,’ he said.

  ‘You sound as if you’re discussing some sort of business proposal.’

  ‘That’s exactly what I’m discussing. A business proposal.’

  Mia frowned as she tried to take it all in. ‘You mean this won’t really be a real marriage?’

  ‘It will be real in the sense that it will be official and legal. I can’t risk someone uncovering it as a sham but as for us being a normal couple…’ he hesitated for a fraction of a second before adding, ‘well, of course it won’t be real.’

  She moistened her bone-dry lips. ‘So we won’t be…you know…’

  His dark eyes met hers. ‘Having sex?’

  ‘Yes…’

  ‘Not unless you want to.’

  Mia felt her cheeks burning but forced herself to hold his gaze. ‘Of course I don’t want to!’

  His expression was contemplative as he held her gaze for several moments before he responded. ‘Fine; however, I must insist that for the duration of our marriage you refrain from sleeping with anyone else. I wouldn’t want anyone to suspect things are not normal between us if you are seen with someone other than me.’

  She gave him a pointed look. ‘Do I get to insist on the same rule for you?’

  ‘I will do my best to be discreet if the need should arise.’

  ‘Then I insist on the same for myself. I, too, can be discreet.’

  ‘As you wish, but let me tell you if you put one step wrong I will be extremely angry. I don’t want my great-aunt to be upset by any rumours of impropriety.’

  ‘She won’t be upset by me,’ Mia said confidently. ‘At least I don’t have any empty-headed bimbos in my background.’

  He gave her a droll look. ‘As of today I have finished with empty-headed bimbos. You are now, for all intents and purposes, the love of my life, and I expect you to maintain that illusion for as long as is necessary.’

  ‘And I thought my four years at stage school were challenging,’ Mia muttered resentfully.

  ‘The challenging part for you will be controlling your propensity for insulting me at every opportunity.’

  She gave a cynical snort. ‘That’s rich coming from the High Priest of Insults. If you weren’t such a pompous jerk I wouldn’t find it so challenging.’

  ‘If you weren’t such an uptight little cat you would see I’m nothing like the public image I project,’ he clipped back.

  She folded her arms across her chest, her expression full of scorn. ‘I suppose you’re going to tell me you’re really nothing like the Bryn Dwyer the public has come to love and hate. Oh, please. Spare me the violins. Anyone can see you’re a self-serving egotist who would stop at nothing to achieve his ends. This crazy scheme of yours to hoodwink your great-aunt is a case in point. What kind of man would openly lie to a little old lady by marrying a woman he has absolutely no feelings for?’

  ‘I happen to love my great-aunt very dearly and I would do anything to make her last days happy, even if it means temporarily tying myself to a shrill little shrew to prove it.’

  ‘Shrill little shrew, am I, now?’ She glared at him. ‘Well, let me tell you I don’t think too much of you either. You’re hardly what I’d call the ultimate choice in husband material.’

  ‘You don’t have to think much of me,’ he said. ‘All I want you to do is marry me. We’ll sort the feelings end of it out later.’

  ‘I don’t have any feelings where you’re concerned other than unmitigated dislike.’

  ‘Good. You’d be best to keep it that way. I wouldn’t want to complicate things any further with you forming an emotional attachment to me.’

  ‘Where exactly did you go for your ego-enhancement surgery?’ she quipped in return. ‘Was it horrendously expensive?’

  Bryn struggled to hold back his amusement but in the end gave up. His face cracked on a smile. ‘I think you are definitely wasted as a serious actor. You have a real future in comedy.’

  ‘Yes, well, this little farce is definitely running along those lines. You’re asking me to act a role that is totally immoral. Acting in front of an audience is one thing but acting in front of a dying old lady is another. And marriage! It just doesn’t seem right.’

  ‘It will make her happy. That’s all I want.’

  ‘I don’t want to do this, Bryn; you can’t force me.’

  He held her gaze for an uncomfortable pause. Mia felt as if she was being slowly but steadily backed into a tight corner. She even wondered if it had been wise to mention the word force. She could see the steely determination in his darker than night eyes and her stomach felt as if something with tiny clawed feet had just scuttled across it.

  The sudden silence was like a third presence in the room, brooding and somehow menacing, making the fine hairs on the back of her neck lift one by one.

  ‘I’m hoping it won’t have to come to me actually forcing you,’ he said. ‘At this point in time I’m simply asking you to help me bring a small measure of happiness to an old woman who sacrificed her own to raise me. I am willing to pay you well. I know it will be difficult for you. I also know you hate me, but I can’t help feeling you are the one person my great-aunt will take to. She heard us on the radio this afternoon; she already thinks you’re perfect for me. There are plenty of women I could ask to play this role, but I know my aunt well enough to know that the only one she will accept as the real thing is you.’

  Mia tried not to think of how she was going to explain all of this to her family or friends. Instead she thought about an old lady who had sacrificed her life to raise a child who had been devastated by the loss of his parents. She thought too of the little boy of seven who had suffered such a tragic loss. A little boy with dark brown hair and deep blue eyes, a little boy who had become a man who, as far as she could make out, hid his childhood pain behind a façade of cocksure arrogance.

  It wasn’t as if it was going to be a real marriage, she did her best to reassure herself. After all, actors did this stuff all the time. God, how many times had Julia Roberts been married on screen? It meant nothing.

  It was all an act.

  A role to play.

  Temporarily.

  But still…

  ‘Can I have some time to
think about it?’ she asked. ‘This is totally surreal. I can’t quite get my head around it.’

  ‘Of course,’ he said. ‘But I’d like you to meet my great-aunt tomorrow; it will perhaps help you to make up your mind.’

  She captured her bottom lip for a moment. ‘What if I don’t agree to marry you?’

  His eyes locked down on hers. ‘Then you’ll be throwing away a fortune.’

  Mia gave a tiny swallow. ‘Exactly how big a fortune?’

  He named a sum that sent a shock wave through her brain. Mia came from a comfortable background and had never really wanted for anything in her life, but the amount of money he was willing to pay was unbelievably generous. The money he’d already given her had helped ease Ellie’s situation fractionally but if she could send her thousands it would mean her sister would be out of danger for good.

  But marrying Bryn Dwyer?

  ‘If you do decide to take up this offer there will be some legal documents to sign,’ he said into the silence, ‘a prenuptial agreement and so forth. And, as I mentioned in the car earlier, as my fiancée I’d like you to wear an engagement ring.’

  Mia watched as he went across the room to where a large painting was hanging. He shifted it to one side as he activated the code on the concealed safe set in the wall and, opening the safe, took out a blue velvet box before closing it again and repositioning the painting.

  He brought the box over to her, took out a solitaire diamond engagement ring and handed it to her.

  ‘It was my mother’s,’ he informed her.

  Mia turned the white-gold ring in her fingers, staring down at the simple perfection of the diamond.

  ‘Try it on,’ he said.

  She slipped it on her ring finger, not sure whether to be surprised or spooked by the perfect fit. It was nothing like she’d been expecting. There was nothing ostentatious or flashy about it. It was simply a beautiful ring that had once been worn by his mother, a woman who had been torn from his life when he was a small, vulnerable child.

  ‘If you don’t like it we can choose something else,’ he said into the silence.

  ‘No…no, I like it…it’s…beautiful…’ Tears welled in her eyes and her throat felt tight, but she wasn’t sure why she was feeling so emotional.

  ‘It’s not worth a lot of money but it’s one of the few things I have left of my mother,’ he said, turning away to hunt for his car keys. ‘Come on, I’d better take you home. It’s nearly three a.m.’

  Mia followed him out of the house in silence, the ring on her finger tying her to him in a way no priceless jewel could do.

  It’s just a stupid old ring, she chided herself, but somehow whenever she looked down at the diamond winking up at her she felt as if something elemental had just taken place in their relationship.

  He didn’t speak on the journey back to her flat. Mia stole covert glances at him from time to time but his expression was closed. She could see the lines of tiredness around his eyes and wondered what sort of day he had ahead. She knew that working in radio was not just a simple matter of turning up for the time he was on air but that hours of research and preparation had to be put in before and after. She also knew it was a fickle business. A radio personality could be the flavour of the month only to be cast aside the next. Ratings were everything and contracts were cancelled or renewed on what they revealed. But Bryn hardly needed the money. He was a multimillionaire, so whatever satisfaction he got from having his own prime-time show must be motivated by something other than monetary reward. Fame? Prestige? Power? Or was it the desire to be known as something other than who he really was?

  ‘I’ll call you later,’ Bryn said as he pulled up in front of her flat.

  Mia didn’t answer. She got out of the car when he opened her door and with her head down began to move towards her front door.

  ‘Mia.’

  She stopped as his hand came down on her shoulder and slowly turned around to face him.

  ‘You did a good job tonight,’ he said. ‘Thank you.’

  Her chin lifted in pride. ‘So you’re finally admitting I can act, then, are you?’

  He bent down and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of her mouth. ‘That’s what I’m paying you to do,’ he said as he straightened. ‘Goodnight.’

  She watched from her window as he drove away, her fingers absently playing with the ring he’d given her, a small worried frown taking up residence on her forehead.

  Yes, he was paying her to act, but what if she forgot her script and began to make up her own?

  A script that wasn’t for the temporary season he had in mind but for much longer?

  CHAPTER SIX

  ‘OH, MY God, look at this!’ Gina thrust the morning’s paper at Mia. ‘And this one…and look at this magazine! You’re famous!’

  Mia looked at the articles spread out before her and forced a stiff smile to her face. ‘Hey, I don’t look so bad, do I?’

  ‘You look absolutely gorgeous and the Press loved you,’ Gina answered. ‘Here, listen to this:

  The beautiful Mia Forrester, a struggling part-time actor and former café waitress has stolen the heart of Sydney radio personality and multimillionaire Bryn Dwyer, in a whirlwind romance that has to be seen to be believed. Miss Forrester is a radiant young woman who clearly has taken to her role as Bryn Dwyer’s future wife with enthusiasm. It is rumoured that the wedding will take place within a matter of weeks. The young couple dined and danced the night away at the St Patrick’s Children’s Charity Ball before spending the night together at Mr Dwyer’s Point Piper mansion.’

  ‘I did not spend the night with him!’ Mia said indignantly and then, seeing her friend’s raised brows, hastily tacked on, ‘or at least not the whole night.’

  ‘I know that but it just goes to show you can’t believe everything you read in the Press, now, can you?’

  Mia lowered her gaze to the photo spread and answered with more than a hint of irony, ‘No, you certainly cannot.’

  Gina put her chin on her hand and sighed. ‘You know, I really envy you, Mia. You’re so lucky you haven’t had a string of disastrous love affairs in your past like me. That’s just so special these days when just about everyone jumps into bed on the first date. Your honeymoon will be so romantic, the memory of your first time together will be something you’ll treasure all your married life.’

  Mia felt a hot, trickling sensation low down in her belly at the thought of the possibility of Bryn Dwyer becoming her lover.

  She hadn’t intentionally held back from conducting a sexual relationship with previous boyfriends but neither had she rushed into anything she hadn’t felt ready for. She’d always believed making love should be about exactly that—making love, not having sex just for the sake of it. She knew it was perhaps a little old fashioned, but a part of her was proud that she had maintained her standards in spite of peer and popular-culture pressure.

  One of her friends had been very ill with a sexually transmitted disease as a teenager and it had made Mia all the more determined to wait until she was absolutely sure it was the right step to take. Besides, she had never been in love with anyone, at least not seriously enough to consider committing herself physically.

  Gina gave another dreamy sigh as she flicked through the rest of the articles. ‘He’s just so gorgeous—look at the way he’s smiling at you in this picture. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a man more in love.’

  Mia looked over her friend’s shoulder and frowned. It was strange, as she was supposed to be the professional actor, but Gina was right; Bryn Dwyer had given a truly brilliant performance as a man totally smitten by love.

  ‘What did your parents think of your news?’ Gina asked.

  Mia faltered over her reply. ‘Um…I haven’t actually called them yet…time differences and so on. I’ll probably email them later today.’

  ‘What about Ellie? When does she get back from her wilderness trek in the Amazon?’

  Mia carefully avoided her flatmate’s
eyes. She hated lying but Ellie had expressly asked her not to tell anyone. As much as she wanted to break her promise, deep down she understood Ellie’s motivations. News had a habit of travelling and if her parents got wind of the danger Ellie was in it could trigger another heart attack for their father. It was going to be bad enough when they got to hear of Mia’s impending marriage.

  ‘I’m not sure,’ she said evasively. ‘She said something about staying on for a little longer. You know Ellie, if there’s a crusade she can put her name to, she will.’

  ‘It seems a shame none of your family is here to celebrate your engagement with you.’ Gina closed the paper. ‘Wouldn’t it be absolutely awful if they didn’t get back in time for the wedding?’

  It would be wonderful, Mia thought privately; that way I won’t have to stretch my acting capabilities to the limit. But as she responded verbally she had to yet again draw deeply on her acting experience to sound genuine. ‘You know something, Gina, I’ve always sort of dreamed of a private wedding. The only person I want there is the man I love. If the church was full to the rafters I’m sure I wouldn’t even notice a single soul except for the one waiting for me at the altar.’

  ‘You’re right.’ Gina smiled. ‘Who cares who is there as long as your future husband is there, ready and waiting? But I insist on being there—I wouldn’t miss it for the world.’

  Mia gave her a smile, even though her jaw ached with the effort. ‘It will be nice to have you there, Gina; after all, who else is going to catch the bouquet?’

  Mia watched from her window as Bryn arrived in front of her flat a short time later in a powerful red Maserati. He unfolded himself from the driver’s seat, the casual clothes he was wearing highlighting his height and lean, athletic build as he strode towards her front door. She opened the door at his firm knock and tried not to be overwhelmed by his disturbing presence as he stepped inside.

  His eyes ran over her but before she could mumble a single word of greeting Gina came bounding out of her room.