The Accidental Bride by Portia Da Costa Read Free Book Online Page A

of real life, albeit a very luxurious and rarefied one, and in the real world, outside the bedroom John always behaved like a perfect gentleman.
    ‘That’s an incredibly sweet offer, Mr Smith, but I’ll take the proverbial rain check, if I may?’ She grinned back at him. ‘Tempting as the offer of your glorious body is, this is the first time I’ve travelled in a private jet, and I am enjoying it, even if I do think it’s unbelievably extravagant.’
    ‘Well, if it’s any comfort,’ said John, moving his tableback into position, ‘if we hadn’t decided to travel in it, this jet would have been returning home empty. So at least that’s a slightly less onerous carbon footprint.’
    Just before their holiday, John had bought a majority share in a private jet hire company, operating out of their local regional airport, and this was their first opportunity to sample the goods. A celebrity author who lived in the area had flown out for a holiday in the south of France, and in the best use of logistics, John had requisitioned the aircraft for his and Lizzie’s journey home.
    ‘I suppose so.’
    ‘I know so,’ he said, adjusting his laptop back to face him. ‘Ah well, back to work if nookie is off the menu.’ He was joking, but there was the shadow of a frown across his forehead.
    Oh no, he wasn’t worrying about that, was he?
    ‘Look, John, what you told me last night, about your experience in prison. It doesn’t put me off you, you know. It doesn’t make me want you any less than I did before. It’s just something that happened to you. It doesn’t make you a different man to me. I still think you’re the sexiest thing on two legs, and the best fuck a woman could ever have. You know that, don’t you?’
    ‘Thank you. You’re an angel, Lizzie, a true angel.’ The smile was wide now, unsullied by any doubt. ‘I did worry … about that … but you proved to me last night that it wasn’t an issue. Several times, in fact.’
    They’d made long, tender love after his revelation on the terrace, coming together again and again, touching, kissing. At first it had seemed important to Lizzie to allay any fears of his, but very quickly, she’d simply started enjoying John’s body and his fabulous technique, just for the sheer joy of it.She couldn’t imagine any man being more of a man than he.
    There were still one or two things she wondered about, but somehow, this wasn’t the time, or the place, to explore them. When they were back at home, tucked up in the sitting room, relaxing with a cup of tea, and maybe a slice or two of Mrs Thursgood’s lemon cake, well, maybe then she’d ask more questions, but not before.
    ‘Well there you are. No problemo. So, get on with sussing out whatever it is you’ve got in the cross-hairs today.’ She nodded at the laptop. ‘What is it? Trying to work out how to persuade Elon Musk to sell you a bit of the SpaceX action? Now that you’ve got yourself some jets, space rockets and satellites are obviously the next desirable items on the agenda.’
    He gave her an old-fashioned look. ‘Don’t laugh, madam. I’ve got interests in several telecoms companies so I already own part shares in a satellite or two.’
    ‘Why does that not surprise me? You filthy plutocrat, you.’
    ‘But I like what you say about rockets. I’ll put them on the to-do list.’
    They lapsed into a companionable silence for a while, John perhaps mulling over how he might obtain his rockets for a competitive price, and Lizzie reading the bunch of emails she’d downloaded before they boarded, and reconnecting with life as she now knew it. Which was full, fuller than it had ever been, and consisted of living at Dalethwaite Manor with John, and working with Marie Lanscombe at the New Again Dress Agency, doing alterations and now a little bit of designing too, special projects for one or two of the shop’s most long-standingand high-spending clients. She was also doing her utmost still to be the