His Rules: Ludlow Nights - Book1 (A Ludlow Nights Romance) by CC MacKenzie Read Free Book Online Page A

him. Little witch. The woman was rabidly independent and determinedly single. It hadn't taken long for her name, where she worked, and even where she lived to turn up on Facebook and to trend on Twitter. There was a huge amount of speculation about her relationship with the soccer superstar Olivier Conti and the chatter, some of it not kind, on both social networks was going crazy. Anastacia had a notoriously short fuse and now he wondered how long it was going to take before she reacted. Or not. He hoped the latter.
    He checked his watch and his brow creased.
    At this time on a Friday he would normally be found relaxing at home with his wife and babies.
    However, the call he'd received less than an hour ago delighted and intrigued him in equal measure.
    He'd met his football hero Christopher Rucker many times. They supported the same charities. And since Christopher had retired from the game twelve years ago, he'd become a wealthy businessman with his fingers in many pies, not least of which was a manufacturing company which supplied most of the kit for professional football as well as other sports. Christopher also had a keen interest in a company that was developing goal line technology; a company which Nico had heavily invested in, too. The call to meet today with no notice had surprised him, but what had struck Nico more had been the sound of desperation in the other man's voice.
    The sound of an approaching helicopter had him rise and move to the window to watch it land on the sprawling lawn in front of The Hall. As the rotator blades slowed and stopped, he watched Christopher Rucker step down and stride across the grass. A tall, good-looking man and still slim after leaving the game, he was dressed in a lightweight pale grey suit that hugged wide shoulders, a crisp white shirt and dark silk tie. His head was down and he moved fast. A man in a hurry.
    Nico moved to open his office door and greet his friend.
    He shook Christopher's hand.
    "Can I get you a drink?"
    "Please, two fingers of Scotch."
    Nico raised a dark brow at the edgy tone shimmering with what sounded like nerves.
    This was the first time he'd ever known the man to drink alcohol.
    As he poured a drink and one for himself, he kept an eye on him and wondered what the hell was going on.
    Face pale, Christopher sank to the edge of a fat leather club chair and accepted the heavy glass of cut crystal. "Thanks."
    He took a sip and closed his eyes.
    Rather than sit behind his desk, Nico took a seat next to him, leaned back and waited.
    The man sitting just staring into space now was still handsome, the dark hair streaked with grey at the temples and probably somewhere in his mid-forties. Now he blinked and deep blue eyes met his.
    "How can I be of assistance?" Nico asked.
    Christopher gave a slightly twisted grin.
    "I'm sorry to spring this meeting on you without any warning, Nico. But to be honest I think I'm in a state of shock." He shook his head, took another small sip of his whisky. "I really don't know where to start... When I saw Olivier Conti and that girl kissing... and then watched the social media storm..."
    He seemed unable to go on and just sat there staring down into his glass.
    Bewildered and bemused, Nico ran his teeth over his top lip.
    "Why not start at the beginning," he suggested softly.
    Taking a deep breath as if he was about to dive off the end of a cliff, Christopher placed the glass on Nico's desk, rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands so tight the knuckles were white.
    "I was eighteen when I met Alicia. She was seventeen and the most gorgeous girl I'd ever seen. Hair black as night, dark eyes. A tiny little thing. The life and soul of the party. We fell in love. One thing led to another and she got pregnant. My parents were beyond angry. Their son, they said, was destined for the big time in football. I was too young to marry. I didn't need to be tied down to a wife and a child. We fought and I walked out of the family home