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  Hannah found her voice at that incongruous statement.

  “Sorry, if my being ill inconvenienced you in any way. Maybe you should have put that into the contract I signed. Wife is not allowed to be ill under any circumstances.” She managed to get off his lap, as she spat those words out.

  “What the fuck are you on about?” Logan looked so perplexed, hurt almost at her words, but she refused to take them back, even though she knew she was being unfair.

  “You insisted on that damn thing, not me, and it’s irrelevant now anyway. This whole adoption thing could go on for years, with Claudia remaining in a coma, and that’s after we’re granted permanent custody.”

  There it was, the real reason why he was here. Even though she knew that, hearing him say it out loud broke her heart into a gazillion pieces. Hannah had never really understood that, had always thought it a cliché, but it sure felt like that right now.

  “Of course,” she murmured. “Rhia. It’s always been about her, hasn’t it? I can’t do it anymore. I can’t live a lie, Logan.” There, she said it.

  “What on earth are you talking about? Of course, it’s been about Rhia, but you love her, so how is that a lie?”

  Again, with that utterly baffled look that made him look a lost little boy rather than a grown man in his late thirties, who’d build up a successful enterprise from scratch.

  “You don’t get it, do you?” Hannah swallowed past the lump of unshed tears in her throat. “Just go. Go home, have a shower, live your life. You really don’t need to be here pretending anymore.”

  She shut her eyes to block him out, and turned to her side, anything to not see him leave. Sure enough, the bed dipped as he got off it. There was movement and then nothing. She counted to twenty in her head just to make sure he was really gone and gasped when she opened them again.

  Logan hadn’t left. He stood in the doorway to her room like some sort of avenging angel, all dark and silently furious. He’d never looked sexier, and she’d never loved him more, as he pinned her in place with the burning intensity in his gaze.

  “I’m going to assume the drugs you’ve been under have addled your brain or something, because if I believed you meant any of that rubbish you’ve been spouting, I would take you over my knee and spank your butt right now.” He smiled grimly at her sharp intake of breath. “Okay, that’s a lie. I wouldn’t do that now, you’re not well enough, but so help me that ass of yours will be red raw when you’re fully back to health. I made a vow at our wedding, in case you’ve forgotten, little dove. To cherish and protect you in sickness and health, so where all that you being an inconvenience nonsense is coming from I do not know.” He held up his hand when she opened her mouth to say something.

  “No, you said your piece. Now it’s my turn, and you bloody well listen, woman. I know our marriage started off out of necessity, and had you been any other woman it probably would have stayed that way, but you…” He took a step closer, and dragged a deep, almost desperate gulp of air into her lungs. “You’ve challenged me from the first moment I really saw you. Do you have any idea how long I had to sit in that bloody conference room to wait for my boner to go down, all because you popped one damn button on your blouse?” Hannah couldn’t help but smile at that, and his lips, too, quirked.

  “Well, do you?”

  She tried for a shrug but that move hurt her chest, so she settled for shaking her head.

  “That’s just lust, and you can’t base a marriage on that.”

  Logan growled and took another step until he stood over her, still glaring and oh so angry, but she sensed it wasn’t directed at her but himself.

  “Yeah, I’ve been telling myself that lie ever since, almost believed it, too. But you, little dove.” He took her hand back in his and ran his thumb over the back of it in small, absentminded circles. “You insisted on showing me how wrong I was. Every time you pulled me up on my stupidity, made me face my past and forced it down my throat that Rick turning out the way he has wasn’t my fault. Every time you cried at some stupid happy ever after in one of those Disney romcoms you watch with Rhia every Saturday afternoon. Every time you made her smile, you stood up for her against the assholes that call themselves her grandparents, the way you were with my mum…” His voice cracked, and he dropped her hand.

  “Jesus, Hannah, don’t you see? You of all people, with your upbringing, you still believe in love. Oh, I know you said you didn’t, but I knew even then that you did.” He paused and cupped her face. “When you smile, truly smile I mean, your whole being lights up. It draws me in like magnet, makes me want to see that smile again, to be the man who puts it on your face. You never were a convenient wife, sweetheart, but you’ve always been my wife, my little dove, far too fragile and honest and pure for a bastard like me, but so help me, I need you. Rhia needs you. Hell, when they said you had sepsis, and weren’t responding to treatment at first…” He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, she saw sheer terror reflected back at her, and something else. So much deep emotion the broken pieces of her heart slid back together, one hoarse word he muttered at a time. There was no doubt in her mind that he meant them, as he talked her through the days she’d lost. Days filled with despair and ultimately love. She listened in awe as he told her of Rhia singing to her, once she was allowed to see her, of Sarah and even big George in tears, because they couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t be left with some sort of permanent damage, and the sheer relief when she turned a corner.

  “So, you see, we simply can’t live without you. I can’t live without you. I love you, you damn stubborn woman, and I refuse to let you walk away from us.” He crossed his arms over his chest, and glared at her. At least she assumed he was glaring. She couldn’t really tell because he’d gone all blurry through the tears she was once again shedding. He moved then, pulled her back in his arms, and she clung to him as she somehow managed to get the words out he needed to hear.

  “I’m not stubborn. You are, and I love you, too, so much.” The arms holding her so carefully tightened around her in stranglehold for a few far too fast beats of her heart, before he released her and kissed her. This kiss stole her breath, her soul, and all the parts in between as the world tilted and righted itself again.

  Repeated throat-clearing finally broke through the bubble of utter happiness surrounding her, and Logan released her with his usual cocky grin. Lord, was she glad to see that.

  “Jeez, man, put the woman down. I’m sure behavior like that is illegal in a hospital, you know.” George’s deep, amused baritone bounced off the walls, and warmth spread through Hannah’s being when she saw all the people she cared most about in the whole wide world were here in her hospital room. George carried a bouquet of flowers, and grinned from ear to ear. A teary-eyed Sarah held onto Rhia’s hand, and as for Rhia… She launched herself across the room the minute Hannah looked at her. Logan helped her onto the bed, and Hannah buried her face in the sweet-smelling curls of the little girl who’d been at the center of all this, and who was in part to thank for bringing her and Logan together.

  “Mummy all better now?” Rhia asked when Hannah released her. “Not like my old Mummy?” Her bottom lip wobbled as she said that, and Hannah wished with all her might she could make that better for her.

  “Hannah will be fine, munchkin, don’t you worry. You have to promise me something though?” Logan tapped Rhia’s nose, and she nodded eagerly.

  “You have to help me make sure we keep this one, okay, and we’ll keep visiting your…” He hesitated as though not sure what to say.

  “Sleeping Mummy?” Rhia helpfully suggested, and he nodded.

  “Yes, we’ll make sure we keep visiting her, because you know, she might not wake up, but she’ll want to hear all about you growing up, won’t she?”

  Rhia mulled this over for a bit and then nodded.

  “Not see nasty Daddy though?” she finally asked.

  Logan’s jaw clenched, and Hannah saw the silent fury in his dark gaze as
he glanced at her.

  “No, munchkin, you don’t ever have to see him again. No one is going to hurt you, not on my watch, deal?”

  He held up his hand, and Rhia eagerly high fived him.

  Of course, the reality of their situation wasn’t quite as easy. It took Hannah some time to fully recover from her hospital stay, for starters. There were also several more hearings and a nasty exposé in the papers to overcome—Rosamunde and her boyfriend spouted a whole lot of crap as Logan had refused to pay them off—but in the end, it all worked out.

  The day they left court officially permanent legal guardians of Rhia was only surpassed in happiness by the day a little plastic stick showed the following.

  Pregnant.

  The End

  www.dorisoconnor.com

  Other Books by Doris O'Connor:

  www.evernightpublishing.com/doris-oconnor

  If you enjoyed this book, you may also like:

  Bred by the Billionaire by Sam Crescent and Stacey Espino

  Keeping Her Forever by Winter Sloane

  First Time by Lynn Burke

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  BONUS SAMPLE CHAPTER

  THE JOB

  Premiere Companions, 1

  Doris O’Connor

  Copyright © 2015

  Chapter One

  Alex slid her key card through the slot and gasped as the door swung open to reveal the luxurious interior of the hotel room. It wasn’t so much a room, but a suite. She whistled through her teeth even as her unease grew.

  This … this was too much. What on earth was she expected to do for this? The dress draped over the sumptuous bed caught her attention. A shimmering concoction of flowing aquamarine silk, it was beautiful. As she held it up to her, goose bumps broke out on her skin when she noticed the lacy underwear set, sheer stockings and garter belt, plus the killer stiletto sandals she also spotted.

  A far too visible reminder of what this job would entail.

  “You are not expected to sleep with the clients.” Marissa’s instructions rung in her ears. Alex sat down on the bed with an inelegant thump, as she recalled that particular conversation. “Having said that, you might want to. This client is to die for sexy, or so I’m told. He had very particular needs for this assignment. I’ve been desperate to meet him, and if it weren’t for this damn chest infection I would be, but you’ll be perfect. We’re the same size, so he’ll never need to know you’re not me.”

  Therein lay the problem. Alex was indeed not Marissa. Despite her flatmate’s reassurances to the contrary, this client would clearly expect her to have sex with him. No man paid for a hotel room as swish as this one, provided such risqué underwear and not expect payback of some sort. Alex didn’t even want to contemplate how much it must have cost him to pay for the agency.

  Premiere Companions were the elite escort agency in London, or so Alex had been led to believe. She hadn’t quite managed to bring herself to check past the glossy landing site her Internet search had led her to. She’d had a hard enough time getting her head round the fact that her flatmate did … that.

  Alex was no prude, by any means. She enjoyed sex as much as the next girl, but the whole getting paid for it … that was wrong, wasn’t it? Which of course begged the question as to what she was doing here in Marissa’s stead now? The buzz of her phone in the back pocket of her jeans made her jump. She grimaced at the display, and swiped across the screen to take the call.

  The coughing fit in her ear reiterated why she was here. She pinched the bridge of her nose, and waited for Marissa to be able to speak. When she did, the hoarse croak down the line bore little resemblance to her friend’s usual bubbly sparkle, and Alex sighed.

  “Did you get there all right?” Marissa asked, before promptly dissolving into another coughing fit.

  “Yes, I did. I’ve never felt so embarrassed in my life as when I walked up to reception and gave your name. Jeez, Marissa, this isn’t just a room, it’s a freaking suite. This dress alone must cost more than I make in a month at the pub. This is insane. I’ll never pull this off.”

  “Of course you will. You grew up in that mansion after all, and—”

  “I was the housekeeper’s daughter, Rissa,” Alex interrupted her friend.

  “So? The point is you know this stuff by osmosis. You’re far more refined than me. That’s why you’re perfect for this job. Perfect for the agency, period. You’d earn a damn side more than you do in that pub—”

  “Stop it, Rissa.” Alex interjected again. She had to grin at Rissa’s exasperated huff down the line. “If I told you once, I told you a thousand times, this is not the way I want to earn my living. Nothing against those that do, but I’m an actress, dammit, not a…”

  She couldn’t quite bring herself to finish that sentence. When there was no response down the phone, other than Rissa’s wheeze of trying to draw air into her lungs, the silence grew oppressive.

  “Forget I said that. Look, I’m here, I’ll do this … this thing for you, but that’s it. You don’t sound too good, so get back to bed, let those antibiotics kick in and don’t worry about a thing. I’ll muddle my way through this somehow.”

  “You’ll do more than muddle through.” Rissa sneezed down the line, and groaned. “Just remember what I said. The agency carefully vets their clients. He’s a regular. All the girls talk highly of him. I never would have asked you to fill in for me, if I didn’t think you’d enjoy yourself, and fuck the money I lose. I…” Another coughing fit stopped whatever else she was going to say. Alex sighed.

  “It’s okay. You need the money. I’ll be fine. Go back to bed. Bye, Rissa.”

  Before her friend could add anything else, Alex had hung up. She turned her phone off for good measure. Enough of this second guessing stuff. She would just have to get her head in the game, pretend this was a role. Yeah, that should do it.

  After all, she hadn’t attended one of the best stage schools for nothing. It was just a shame, that talent or not, London was swamped with more than capable actresses. Minor parts in plays notwithstanding, her big break still eluded her. Alex pushed the disturbing thought of it perhaps always eluding her firmly to the back of her mind, as she headed for the bathroom.

  Time to get ready to play the part of this mysterious businessman’s girlfriend for the night. Though, if he was such a hunk, as they all made out, why did he have to pay for some girl to hang off his arm for the night? Surely he’d have them queuing around the block?

  Alex gave a short laugh at her thought processes. Sinking into the bathtub, she sighed in relief, her long blonde hair already piled on top of her head. If nothing else, she would enjoy the luxuries surrounding her for one night. If this fellow got frisky … well, killer stiletto sandals would make a good weapon, as long as she didn’t break her neck wobbling along on them.

  That thought buoyed her along as she made short work of her preparations. She had to give it to the unknown client. The man knew a thing or two about women’s undergarments. It was just as well, Marissa and she were the same size, as everything fit like a glove. Not only that, it made her feel sexy and decadent. Once she’d slid into the shimmering silk dress, she gasped at her reflection in the mirror.

  With the heavier eye makeup Marissa had applied for her, and dressed to kill in this finery, she barely recognized herself. She certainly looked the part. As long as she didn’t make any sudden moves she could even walk in the torture objects on her feet. Alex stuck her tongue out at her reflection, and giggled. Shutting her eyes, she took a deep breath in.

  What was it her coach always said? To act you need to become that person in your mind.

  Alexandra, femme fatal, that was her tonight. Not Alex, who lived in jeans and t-shirt, who couldn’t care less about how the rich and famous did things. Her breathing evened as she cleared her mind and let her worries go. When she opened her eyes again, her mask was firmly in place until the impatient knocking on her door
sent her tummy into spasms again.

  “I’m coming, just a minute.”

  A grunt and more knocking was her answer. Seriously? He was early, so what was his hurry? At least she assumed the man trying to knock the hotel room door in was her client. Then again, if he was he would have a key, surely?

  With one last look at the strange woman staring back at her from the full length mirror, she took another deep breath in, wrenched the door open, and promptly wished she hadn’t, as she stared up into a face from her past.

  “Alexandra?”

  Nathanial Longton’s scowl changed into a grin as he slowly ran his gaze over her body, leaving heated awareness in its wake. Her world came crashing down around her ears with a speed that left her breathless.

  No, not you, this is a nightmare.

  Of all the clients, it had to be him. The menace that had hounded her childhood self, had been her teenage crush, and the man who had ultimately broken her heart that awful night all those years ago, when she’d overheard him talking about her. She’d sought him out for his help. Instead she had heard him utter those fateful words. She’d known then it was useless. In her mind she still heard his voice, as though it was yesterday.

  “Mine? Don’t be daft. I don’t fuck the help…Feel free to have a go.”

  ****

  Nathanial’s dark mood lifted somewhat. He couldn’t believe his eyes, when the door opened to reveal Alexandra. A very grown-up, sophisticated, sexy as fuck version of the young woman he remembered. The housekeeper’s daughter had always been beautiful, once she’d left the awkward teenage phase behind, making his libido sit up to take notice of little Alex. However, this older version of her was stunning … and furious. Her green eyes flashed fire, and Nat narrowly saved himself from having the door slammed shut in his face by jamming his foot in the gap in the nick of time.