Her Faux Fiancé (22 page)

“Erik—” Her chest was so full she thought it might burst.

“Wait, before you say anything. Please, give us another chance. I still want to be a father to your child. I want to be your husband, to hold you every night and wake next to you every morning, to rejoice over the good and comfort you over life’s disappointments. We are so good together, Analise. We could have so much happiness. Please … ”

She reached out and touched his face before motioning for him to rise. His hands lifted from his side then fell back.

“What Brenda said—”

“Was mostly the ranting of a scorned woman … The reason I didn’t like going back to Manitoba was because it reminded me of all I had lost—Karen and you. And despite what Brenda said and you may think, I never wanted you because Ian did. I’ve
always
wanted you, from the first time Karen introduced us. I will always want you. You’re my woman, Analise. Time will never change that.”

“And the past?”

“Losing you again, I realized it’s the now and the future that matters. I can’t fix the past, but I can learn from it. And the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that I can’t let you go again. I won’t say good-bye, my love. I will follow you to the ends of the earth, live in a tent in the dessert or the top of a Nepalese mountain if that’s where you are.”

“That sounds a bit obsessive.”

“I am obsessive. I can’t live without you, Analise. The past six weeks have been my own personal hell, not knowing where you were, not knowing if you’re safe. If you don’t want me … ” His voice trailed off as if finishing the sentence were impossible.

“I’ve been doing some thinking, as well, the past few weeks.” She saw him take a deep breath in and then hold it as though bracing himself. “And I’ve discovered that I want to be where everything reminds me of you. If I can’t have you, I was going to have the next best thing—memories of you. I’m done running. I’m booked on a flight back to Winnipeg in three days’ time. I want my little Sigurdson,” she rubbed her belly, “to know his or her family. I’ve had an exciting career and adventurous life; now I want stability and permanence. Do you think you can give me that?”

“Every single second of my life. But more importantly, I can give you so much love, you’ll wonder how you lived without it.”

Love radiated through her body. “Then let’s go home, Prairie Boy.”

Analise took three quick photos of the child atop the chestnut quarter horse. The rapture on the little girl’s face as
Afi
led the animal around the corral was the focus of her lens. The child’s mother was taking a video. But her camera was intent on catching all the action, and she missed the intense emotion of the moment. Analise clicked away until she became aware of a presence behind her. She turned her head to see her husband and baby standing a few feet off. Lowering her camera, she beckoned them forward.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Erik apologized with a kiss to her upturned face.

“I got what I wanted. I think the mother will be very happy. And how’s our little Lara doing?” Analise slung her camera on her back and lifted her six-month-old baby girl from the carrier strapped to Erik’s chest. She gave one rosy cheek a loud kiss and was rewarded with a delighted squeal from her daughter.

“She’s doing well. We tried a little rice cereal at lunch.”

“So I see from your shirt. I hope you didn’t have any client videoconference calls.”

“Only with my most important client. And while Lara napped, I completed the registration of the Karen Sigurdson Memorial Foundation Promoting Mental Health.”

“That’s such a wonderful way to honor her memory.”

“I only wish I’d done it years ago.” Erik kissed his daughter and then nuzzled Analise’s neck. “I thought Ian was working the stables today, not your grandfather.”

“Ian is meeting with some marketing people to start an advertising campaign.
Afi
hates those business meetings. He just wants to be with the horses and the children, so he gladly switched places with Ian.”

“As long as everyone’s happy,” Erik said.

Afi
waved good-bye to the mother and child, who was animatedly telling her mother how tall the horse was and how far away the ground had been when she was on its back. Analise smiled. Her grandfather was as robust as he’d been in his prime, his thunderous laughter a common sound around the farm. When Lara saw him approach, she held out her little pudgy arms to her great-grandparent, who took her willingly.

“I swear she looks more and more like my Lara every day,”
Afi
said. He held the baby up in the air above his head, much to her delight. “I’m going to tell you all about your great-
amma
when you’re old enough to remember,” he promised the little girl.

Analise laughed.
Afi
claimed the baby looked like her grandmother, but with her raven hair and green eyes she was almost the opposite of her blond, blue-eyed great-grandmother. Fortunately, she looked enough like Analise that no one had wondered why she wasn’t fair like Erik. One day, she’d have to tell her baby who her real father had been. For now, Erik was filling in that role with so much love and enthusiasm, no one had even questioned whether he was the biological parent or not.

Afi
carried Lara over to the horse, keeping her far enough away that she could see it without touching. He spoke to the little girl in Icelandic, and she babbled back, mimicking his tone.

“Thought you might be interested in this article in the paper.” Erik pulled a folded page from his back pocket and handed it to her.

She glanced at Erik. They’d never discussed the Cayman Islands bank account Jean-Claude had left for her. She’d tried to talk to him about it, but he said he wanted none of it. He was happy providing for his family with what he earned as a lawyer. It was her money, she could do with it as she wanted. She’d never been comfortable with it, though, knowing that somewhere, someone had been hurt or killed in its acquisition. So she’d done the best thing she could—she’d given it away.

“You’re okay with this, aren’t you?”

“Absolutely. I’ve got everything I could ever want or need right here.” He pulled her back against him, wrapping his arms around her as they listened to the laughter of their child.

“So do I, Prairie Boy. So do I.”

Thank you, reader. I hope you enjoyed reading Erik and Analise’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you did, please help other readers find it by leaving a review at your favorite retailer. It doesn’t have to be long, but your opinion matters to me and other readers.

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Alexia Adams was born in British Columbia, Canada, and traveled throughout North America as a child. After high school, she spent three months in Panama before moving to Dunedin, New Zealand, for a year, where she studied French and Russian at Otago University.

Back in Canada, she worked building fire engines until she’d saved enough for a round-the-world ticket. She traveled throughout Australasia before settling in London—the perfect place to indulge her love of history and travel. For four years, she lived and traveled throughout Europe before returning to her homeland. On the way back to Canada she stopped in Egypt, Jordan, Israel, India, Nepal, and of course, Australia and New Zealand. She lived again in Canada for one year before the lure of Europe and easy travel was too great, and she returned to the UK.

Marriage and the birth of two babies later, she moved back to Canada to raise her children with her British husband. Two more children were born in Canada, and her travel wings were well and truly clipped. Firmly rooted in the life of a stay-at-home mom, or trophy wife, as she prefers to be called, she turned to writing to exercise her mind, traveling vicariously through her romance novels.

Her stories reflect her love of travel and feature locations as diverse as the windswept prairies of Canada to hot and humid cities in Asia. To discover other books written by Alexia or read her blog on inspirational destinations,
Journey to Love
, visit her at
http://Alexia-Adams.com
or follow her on Twitter
@AlexiaAdamsAuth

(From
An Inconvenient Desire
by Alexia Adams)

“…this is a book for romance lovers and readers looking for damaged heroes and heroines finding their way back to love.”—5 stars, Long and Short Reviews

Jonathan stared at the blinking light on his old-school answering machine. A chill swept through him despite the record-setting heat wave that currently engulfed Northern Italy. He pressed play.

“Jono, mate. When you coming back to work? Profits are down. We need you, man.”

He jabbed the stop button with his middle finger, cutting off his colleague’s message. He didn’t want to think about going back to his career. There were almost two months left of his sabbatical before he had to return to London and the mess he’d made of his life there. Until then, he was going to enjoy his freedom and finish the renovations on his house. The newly installed swimming pool beckoned in the sweltering heat.

The workers, who were helping him find the back garden after forty years of neglect, had gone for a
riposo
, the Italian version of a siesta. No one else was around. So he stripped off his clothes, ran out onto the terrace, and dove in. The frigid water knocked the breath from his body and he surfaced, gasping for air. Naked and dead of shock wasn’t the way he wanted his body to be found. He was about to haul his frozen arse out of the water when the click of heels on the side patio told him he was no longer alone.

“Jonathan, you there?” his friend Sophia’s familiar voice called out.

“Um, yeah,” he replied. “But ... ”

Before he could ask her to wait a minute while he retrieved his clothes, Sophia and another woman rounded the corner.

“You’ve got quite a bit done,” Sophia commented, surveying the bones of the kitchen garden that had been reclaimed from the vines that morning. “We stopped by to ... ” She finally looked at him and her face flamed red. Belatedly, she put her hands over her eyes.

Meanwhile, Sophia’s gorgeous companion stared at him, a smile lighting her face. She put her hands on her face, too, imitating Sophia, although she left a large gap between her fingers to see through. He couldn’t help laughing at her boldness.

“If you ladies would wait a moment, I’ll put some clothes on.”

“Yes, of course. Do you want us to wait out front?”

“No need. I’ll only be a second.”

Sophia turned around and then nudged her friend. “Olivia,” she whispered as the other woman continued to stare. He locked gazes with her and a challenge rose between them. Would she turn around or wait for the full monty?

Slowly Olivia turned her back to him and Jonathan pulled himself out of the pool. Any longer in the icy water and there wouldn’t’ve been much left to see. As he strode toward the house, he heard Sophia chastising her friend.

“Hey, you may be married. I’m not,” Olivia replied. “Besides, he’s not the first naked man I’ve seen. Although he does rank up there in the top ten.”

Jonathan bit his tongue and stopped himself from parading back outside now that he’d warmed up a bit. He wanted to up his ranking to at least the top five spot. Instead, he pulled his clothes back on as he checked out the profile of the unknown woman through the kitchen window.

Sophia’s friend was tall, with great creamed-coffee-colored legs showcased in a short, black skirt and red high heels. Her dark, curly hair was piled on top of her head, with a few tendrils breaking free in spiral abandon. She had magnificent breasts and full lips and certainly ranked in the top three most beautiful women he’d ever seen—clothes on or off. As he continued to stare, she turned and caught him. Her lips curved upwards in a smile of acknowledgment.

A spark of desire lit in his lower belly, sending a rush of heat through him. Maybe he’d keep the pool water frigid if Olivia stuck around. Never taking her eyes from him, she said something to Sophia. Then she sauntered around the corner of the house. Afraid his guests would leave before he had a chance to properly meet this woman, he rushed back out onto the terrace, his bare feet burning on the hot tiles.

“Sophia, why don’t you come inside out of the heat? I’ll make some lemonade. Unless you’d rather have a beer?”

“A glass of water is fine. I’m sorry if we’ve interrupted. I just picked up Olivia from the airport and wanted to stop and invite you to come with us to the medieval festival in Brisighella tomorrow, if you don’t have any plans. I should have called, but since we were driving right by ... ”

“No need to apologize; I’m glad you stopped. It’s just so hot I thought I’d test out the new pool, but it’s way too cold for a proper swim. Where’s your friend?” He tried for nonchalance, but judging by Sophia’s raised eyebrow, he hadn’t quite achieved that level of disinterest. Grabbing the jug of water from the fridge, he poured three glasses and handed one to Sophia.

“She just popped to the car to change shoes. Before she gets back, I want to warn you that Olivia may come across as bold and confident, but she’s been hurt a lot lately. Please don’t play her.”

He was about to reply that he had no intention of playing her friend when Olivia walked into the kitchen. His heart rate accelerated and his mouth went dry. He hadn’t had an immediate reaction like that to a woman in a very long time. And judging by the way her eyes widened slightly as they met his, she felt a similar response.