The Passion Price by Miranda Lee Read Free Book Online Page B

mind on that score.’
    Her heart sinking at this news annoyed her. What had she subconsciously been hoping could happen here? That he would fall madly in love with her this time, marry her and they would live happily ever after, the three of them?
    Dream on, Angelina.
    â€˜What about children?’ she couldn’t resist asking. ‘Haven’t you ever wanted a son? Or a daughter?’ she added quickly.
    â€˜God, no. I’d be a simply dreadful father. Just the thought of being responsible for a child’s upbringing gives me nightmares.’
    Oh, great, she thought. He’s going to be thrilled when he finds out about Alex. It was as well Alex was almost grown up, if that was Jake’s attitude.
    â€˜Why do you say you’d be a dreadful father?’ she asked, though she suspected it had something to do with his childhood. He’d never told her specifics all those years ago, but she’d been left with the impression of serious neglect.
    Angelina’s father had always been a right pain inthe neck, but he’d never left her in any doubt that he loved her.
    â€˜I’m way too selfish for starters,’ he confessed. ‘And damaged, Dorothy would say. You know the theory. An abused child often becomes an abusive parent. But let’s not talk about life’s little nasties,’ he swept on, brushing aside any further explanation. ‘Let’s talk about you instead. OK, so you don’t want the traditional role of wife and mother. I can accept that. I guess you have got your hands pretty full running this place. A lot of women these days are into the business scene. And careers. Don’t go imagining I’d ever judge you harshly for that.’
    â€˜How generous of you,’ came her caustic retort.
    He just smiled at her again, as though amused by her impertinence.
    â€˜So when are you going to dump that loser you’ve been seeing and go out with me?’
    Now Angelina did laugh. The man had the hide of an elephant. Exasperated, she decided to prick his ego some more. ‘Alex is no loser. He’s just as good-looking as you are. And just as successful, I might add. In fact, he’s the only son and heir to a veritable fortune.’ Besides being worth millions—property-wise—the Ambrosia Estate ran at a tidy profit each year, with their resort and restaurant very popular, and their wines in high demand over in America and Europe. If Angelina’s plans for expansion into more markets bore fruit, profits could be even higher in future.
    â€˜Not impressed,’ Jake countered confidently. ‘Moneyis nothing. Attitude is everything. He’s a loser. Because if you were my woman,’ Jake said, and leant closer to her across the table, ‘I’d make damned sure I wasn’t away if you were going to be in Sydney next weekend. You wouldn’t be staying at some hotel on Saturday night, either. You’d be staying at my place.’
    His eyes locked on to hers and for the life of her, she could not look away. In the end, she laughed again. It was the only way she could safely draw air into her suddenly starving lungs.
    â€˜But I’m not your woman, am I?’
    He leant back in his seat again, still holding her eyes firmly captive with his. ‘What if I said I wanted you to be, more than anything I’ve wanted in a long time? What if I told you to tell this Alex he’s history? What if I asked you to stay at my place next weekend instead of the Casino?’
    She should have protested at that point. But she was too enthralled with thinking about what it would be like to spend next weekend with him, staying at his place.
    â€˜I have this wonderful harbourside apartment with all the mod cons and only a short ferry ride to Darling Harbour,’ he went on when she foolishly stayed silent. ‘We could paint the town red on Saturday night, or stay in, if you prefer. Then on Sunday we could have lunch down