The Dimitrakos Proposition by Lynne Graham Read Free Book Online Page A

of her hand.
    Tabby frowned down at the gleaming jewel. ‘What’s it for?’
    ‘Engagement ring...marriage?’ Acheron groaned. ‘Sometimes you’re very slow on the uptake.’
    Tabby rammed the beautiful ring down over her knuckle and squinted down at it, her colour high. ‘I didn’t know we were going for frills. I assumed you would choose more of a basic-package approach.’
    ‘Since we’ll be getting married pretty quickly and without a big splash our charade needs to look more convincing from the outset.’
    ‘I’m already living with you and wearing clothes you bought for me,’ she parried flatly. ‘Isn’t that enough of a show?’
    ‘Many couples live together without marrying, many women have worn clothing I paid for,’ Acheron derided. ‘What we have has to look more serious.’
    The restaurant was dimly lit and intimate and their table probably the best in the room. Certainly the attention that came their way from the staff was so constant that Tabby found it almost claustrophobic. Having studiously ignored her during the drive while talking on his phone, Acheron finally allowed himself the indulgence of looking at his bride-to-be. Her blonde mane tumbled round her shoulders framing a vivid and delicate little face dominated by violet eyes and a lush fuchsia-tinted mouth. He couldn’t take his eyes off that mouth, a mouth modelled to make a man think of sin and sinning.
    ‘How am I performing so far as your dress-up doll?’ Tabby enquired mockingly to take her mind off the fact that she had still not established which knife and fork to use with the salad being brought to them.
    ‘You answer back too much but you look amazing in the right clothes,’ Acheron conceded, startling her with that compliment. ‘So far I’m very satisfied with our bargain, and you can be assured that I will play my part.’
    As he reached for one fork she reached for another and then changed course mid-movement, her gaze welded to his lean brown hands. Just copy him , her brain urged her.
    ‘I’ve applied for a special licence. The legalities should be in place in time for the ceremony to be held on Thursday,’ Acheron delivered. ‘My lawyer is making all the arrangements and has contacted Social Services on our behalf with regard to our plans for Amber.’
    ‘My word, he’s a fast mover,’ Tabby remarked breathlessly.
    ‘You told me you didn’t want the child to go into foster care,’ he reminded her.
    Her skin turned clammy at that daunting reminder of the unknown destination that would have awaited Amber had Tabby not gained his support. ‘I don’t but there are things we still haven’t discussed. What am I supposed to do while we’re pretending to be married?’
    A winged ebony brow lifted. ‘ Do ? Nothing. You concentrate on being a mother and occasionally a wife. I will expect you to make a couple of appearances with me at public events. That is the sole commitment you have to make to me.’
    ‘That’s great because I want to start up my business again...in a small way,’ Tabby admitted abruptly.
    His handsome features clenched hard. ‘No. That’s out of the question. The child deserves a full-time mother.’
    Tabby couldn’t believe her ears. ‘Most mothers work—’
    ‘I will cover your financial requirements,’ Acheron delivered with unquenchable cool. ‘For the foreseeable future you will put the child’s needs first and you will not work.’
    Tabby gritted her teeth. ‘I don’t want to take your money.’
    ‘Tough,’ Acheron slotted in succinctly.
    ‘You can’t tell me what I can and can’t do.’
    ‘Can’t I?’
    Tabby’s pulse had quickened until it felt as if it were beating in the foot of her throat, obstructing her ability to breathe and speak. Frustrated rage lay behind her choked silence as she stared across the table at him, her small face taut and pale. He was pulling strings as if she were a puppet. And wasn’t she exactly that?
    A chill settled over her rage,