Black Widow Bride by Tessa Radley Read Free Book Online Page B

her. Pretty, sweet Fliss, who was as different from Rebecca as a rabbit from a lioness.
    Rebecca had backed off, waiting for Fliss to spurn him. But she hadn’t. Fliss had had no right—
    Stupid! Why did she keep getting tangled in the web of the past? She shook her head wildly, trying to dislodge the memories that still tortured her. No. That was all old history. Fliss was dead.
    Instantly the urge to provoke Damon withered. Inside she felt flat and empty, worn out by the toll the emotional day had taken.
    “Don’t shake your head. Think about it. You can use the money for your business…for the boy.” His gaze roved pointedly around the room, highlighting the tired carpets that needed replacing, the lounge suite that was showing signs of wear. “Surely money won’t come amiss in jazzing up your lifestyle in this dull town. I can’t see why you stay.”
    Rebecca stared expressionlessly at him. Going back to Auckland would simply reopen the old wounds. But for a lingering instant she considered the cheque Damon had dangled in front of her this morning. Now he was making it clear that the sky was the limit.
    She couldn’t accept payment to arrange Savvas’s wedding. It wouldn’t be right.
    But, said a little evil, tempting voice at the back of her head, what might it mean to T.J.?
    Although Chocolatique made them a fair living, it was a relatively new business that demanded time and all her resources. And, yes, she had a reasonable lump sum squirreled away in T.J.’s name that she intended to release to him on his twenty-fifth birthday. But what Damon was offering would eliminate years of worrying….
    No! Rebecca thrust the temptation away. She couldn’t accept his money, not for arranging an exclusive Auckland wedding. And she certainly had no intention of being in Damon’s debt. Ever.
    “My place is here,” she said firmly. “I have T.J. to look after.”
    Damon looked flummoxed. It was obvious he hadn’t factored a child into his calculations. But the confusion that clouded his brilliant blue eyes cleared almost immediately. “No problem. Bring the boy, too.”
    Rebecca laughed, a light, tinkling social laugh that carefully hid the sudden tightening around her heart. Bring T.J.? That was the last thing in the world she wanted!
    “Get real, Damon. What would a child do in the Asteriades household? Destroy the antiques? Wreck the formal borders in the garden?”
    Damon stared down his battered nose at her. “Demetra happens to like children. I’m sure she’ll give you a hand if you ask nicely.”
    Demetra? His obvious fondness for the woman struck a raw nerve.
    “And exactly who is Demetra?”
    “I told you.” He sounded impatient. “She is Savvas’s fiancée.”
    “I’d forgotten her name was Demetra.” Rebecca tried to ignore the relief that scalded her. And then annoyance kicked in. What did it matter who Damon’s latest lover was?
    Damon gave her a level stare. “Demetra is perfect for Savvas. She’s kind, respectable, well brought up….”
    Everything she wasn’t. Each word landed like a well-placed barb. Recklessness flooded Rebecca. “Does she know what she’s letting herself in for, marrying into the Asteriades clan?” she lashed out. “At least she’s clever enough to realise what a bigot you are and how much nicer Savvas is.”
    “Ah, and you would know, wouldn’t you?” He drilled her with narrowed, bitter eyes. “Savvas told me that the two of you dated after the wedding. How…nice—” he sneered “—were you to my brother, hmm?”
    She flashed a wide white smile that didn’t reveal any of the mix of emotions churning within her.
    Anger.
    Excitement.
    And the thrill of danger that sparring with Damon always brought.
    Softly, provocatively, she said, “You warned me to stay away from him, but Savvas called, said he wanted to see me. Your little brother liked me for myself. After the way you’d humiliated me, that was…nice.” Staring through her eyelashes at