Vieri's Convenient Vows. Andie Brock

of money every night of the week. There’s never been any suggestion that he’s stolen from us before. My guess is that, if anything, your sister has lured him away. Though I’ve no idea why.’

      Neither did Harper. But right now she didn’t have the capacity to try and work it out.

      ‘But you are right.’ Ruthlessly, Vieri continued. ‘If a member of my staff walks out with no warning, regardless of the circumstances, I make it my business to investigate. I will find Rodriguez. And if your sister is still with him, then I will see that she is returned to her family.’

      ‘Without involving the police?’

      ‘I see no reason to contact the police.’

      ‘Or violence. I would hate to think anyone would get hurt.’

      Rising to his feet, Vieri walked around the desk until he was standing in front of her, towering over her, all formidable dark presence.

      ‘I think perhaps I need to make a few things clear, Ms McDonald.’ He locked eyes with hers, the dark intensity of his words matched by the stark angles of his handsome face. ‘I will deal with this incident as I see fit. I make the decisions. I make the rules. You should consider yourself extremely fortunate that you have this opportunity to prevent Leah from a possible prison sentence.’

      Fortunate? That was not a word Harper would use to describe herself right now. Her head was spinning with the shock and sheer enormity of what was being asked of her. But what choice did she have?

      ‘So what do you say?’ Vieri fixed her with a punishing stare. ‘Are you prepared to go along with my plan to save your sister’s skin?’

      Harper looked away, balling her hands into fists. Right now she would like to flay Leah herself, string her up and set about her, make her see what a completely stupid, totally irresponsible person she was. But Leah was her sister, her twin, almost a part of her. Of course she would save her—she would do anything to keep her safe, to protect her. It was what she had been doing the whole of their lives. Because Harper was the older twin, the sensible one, the healthy one. The one that shouldered the responsibility, took charge, tried to make everything right. Which in this case meant temporarily shackling herself to this shockingly attractive but coldly calculating man.

      ‘Yes.’ Her voice came out as little more than a whisper but as she raised her eyes to meet Vieri’s she saw the look of satisfaction reflected in his midnight stare. Her fate had been sealed.

      * * *

      Harper peered through the window as the island of Sicily came into view, its iconic position off the toe of Italy’s boot clearly visible from the air. As Vieri’s private jet started to descend she craned her neck for a better look, taking in the rivers and the mountains, the clumps of towns and cities and, the most amazing of all, Mount Etna, shrouded in snow but puffing out a stream of smoke in welcome.

      She had only ever been abroad once before, a bargain break holiday to the Costa del Sol in Spain when she was nineteen. Which might have been fun if she hadn’t ended up trailing around after Leah trying to keep her out of trouble.

      And nothing had changed. Here she was again, still trying to sort one of her sister’s messes. But this time it was serious, really serious. Leah had stolen a large sum of money and Harper didn’t doubt that if Vieri decided to press charges she could well go to prison.

      Which was why she’d had no choice but to put her own life on hold and climb into Vieri’s private jet to be flown back across the world to take part in this hateful little charade. She could kill Leah. She really could.

      And it had all happened ridiculously fast—less than twenty-four hours had passed since she had first set foot in Spectrum nightclub. Once she had agreed to go along with the plan Vieri had leapt into action, insisting on sending a car to pick up Harper’s suitcase from the hostel she had checked into earlier, refusing to even let her go with it. No doubt he was worried that if he let her out of his sight she would abscond—just like her sister. So now here she was, thousands of miles away, about to embark on a crazy deception.

      It had been a long flight, starting in the small hours of the morning, and even though Harper had been shown to a sumptuous bedroom she had found sleep impossible, eventually venturing into the lounge area, where Vieri had been immersed in work, the light from the screen of his laptop suffusing his handsome face with an eerie glow. He had shown no interest in conversing with her so instead she had scrolled through the movies on the wide-screen television, in the hope of finding something to take her mind off things. Which was impossible. How was she supposed to divert herself from the mad reality of what she was doing? Pitching up with a man who was almost a total stranger and pretending to be his fiancée.

      But it was happening. As the plane landed she looked across at her ‘fiancé’, watching as he closed his laptop, unbuckled his seat belt and drew himself up to his full height. He shrugged on a dark cashmere coat, then ushered her down the steps of the plane and across the tarmac to the waiting car.

      ‘Castello di Trevente,’ Vieri instructed the driver once they were both seated inside, before settling back against the soft leather.

      ‘Where are we going?’ Harper addressed his strong profile.

      ‘Castello di Trevente,’ Vieri repeated. ‘It’s where my godfather lives.’

      ‘He lives in a castle?’ Harper’s Sicilian was non-existent but even she could understand that.

      ‘Yes, it’s been in the Calleroni family for generations.’ Vieri turned to look at her. ‘Far too big and cold and draughty for him, of course, but Alfonso would never agree to move to anywhere more sensible.’

      ‘I see.’ Harper tucked her unruly hair behind her ears. ‘But aren’t we going to the hotel first, to freshen up, I mean?’

      ‘I don’t want to leave it too late. My godfather gets very tired and it’s already six p.m. here.’ Removing his heavy gold watch, he deftly adjusted the time before refastening it and raising his eyes to coldly assess her. In the dim light of the car his eyes flicked mercilessly over her body and Harper flinched beneath his scrutiny, tugging at the collar of her waxed jacket. Without saying a word he had managed to convey her obvious shortcomings, the world of difference between them. He oozed dark sophistication, whereas she felt as craggy and unkempt as the wild moorlands she came from.

      But she refused to be intimidated by him. He might have all the wealth and power, and thanks to Leah’s stupid deal it seemed he as good as owned Harper for the foreseeable future. But she still had her self-respect. And she would hang onto that for dear life.

      Sitting up a little straighter, she sneaked a look at her companion. He was facing ahead again now, the collar of his coat turned up, but she could still see the dark shadow of stubble along his jaw, the loose curls of his dark hair that softened his austere profile. His hands rested in his lap, beautiful hands with long, strong fingers that invited their touch, making Harper wonder what they would feel like against her skin.

      Which was ridiculous and totally uncalled for. With a jolt she put the brakes on her imagination. She and Vieri Romano had entered into a business deal, nothing more. And wondering what it would feel like to be caressed by his hands was most definitely not part of that deal. She needed to focus on the practicalities. That was what she was good at.

      ‘So, what’s the plan, then?’ She broke the silence and Vieri turned to look at her, his dark brows raised. ‘How am I supposed to act in front of your godfather?’

      ‘Like my fiancée,’ he replied coolly. ‘I thought we had established that.’

      ‘But shouldn’t we have some sort of story mapped out?’ Ever the pragmatist, she pressed on. ‘How we met, how long we have known each other, that sort of thing?’

      ‘You can leave the talking to me.’

      Harper bristled. The idea that she was just going to be paraded in front of this man like some sort of inanimate object didn’t sit well with her feminist principles. But then who was she kidding?