Valdez's Bartered Bride. Rachael Thomas

represent if she came back to Madrid with him. From the moment he’d first seen her, annoyed and angry at his late appearance, he’d been fighting the pull of attraction that insistently demanded satisfaction.

      He couldn’t act on it, not when it was the one thing his father had wanted, obviously considering him as much of a womaniser as he had been. Did his father recall the time he and Lydia had met? Had she been part of his plans even then? But what was there to gain from two years of marriage? That was the part that didn’t yet make sense.

      As he’d arrived at the busy London restaurant, decked out for Christmas, the one thing he hadn’t anticipated was that Lydia would hold cards of her own—and be more than willing to put them into play.

      Had she sensed how much he needed to track down Max? Did she really have the connections to trace people or was family history just the passing fancy of a rich girl with too much time on her hands? He had little option but to trust her now and cursed himself for having confided in her. Her offer of a deal, even one as outrageous as that, was one he wasn’t able to refuse. Not now she could walk away and spill the long-kept family secret he’d only recently discovered. There would of course have to be a back-up plan, one that would mean he wasn’t about to risk his business reputation now that he’d finally proved he was not the same man as his father to those that mattered in the business world.

      Until recently, he’d been unable to work alongside his father and had started buying up small and struggling businesses, turning them around and either selling them on or trading their shares. It was far more than just the banking business his father had operated. It was a way of helping people and now the Lopez deal was back on the table. His biggest yet.

      ‘You want me to come to Madrid? To drop everything at this time of year just so that you can trace a long-lost relative?’ Lydia’s shock-infused words dragged him back to the hustle and bustle of the busy London restaurant.

      ‘And what keeps you so busy, Lydia? Parties? Shopping? All of that happens in Madrid too.’ Annoyance filled each word. He hadn’t expected instant compliance from her, but he had anticipated she’d be ready to do anything to avoid her father’s debts.

      ‘Don’t assume you know me.’ Her eyes sparked angrily at him.

      ‘I don’t assume anything other than you will come to Madrid, trace the person I am looking for and settle your debt. Unless you wish to be married before Christmas?’

      ‘I will not go to Madrid on your whim.’ She pulled back her hand before he could shake on the deal and he had to suppress the urge to smile. He liked the anger that sparked in her eyes brighter than the Christmas lights of London. He liked the way her lips parted in almost total contrast to that anger. What he didn’t find so appealing was his questionable urge to kiss those lips until desire replaced the anger in her eyes.

      ‘Then there is only one alternative open to us.’ He let his words hang heavily between them and for the briefest of seconds it was only the two of them. The noise of the other diners slipped away and all he could hear was the rhythmic thump of his heart. He couldn’t let her walk away now. He had to find Max as discreetly as possible—and quickly.

      ‘Which is?’ The brittle words snapped from her and he became aware of everyone around them once more.

      She scowled at him, suspicion in those sexy green eyes, and he decided perhaps it wouldn’t be so very bad to be bound in marriage to such a fiery beauty. Two years living as her husband would at least be entertaining.

      ‘You or your father must settle the debts—in full. By the end of the year.’

      ‘By the end of the year? That’s little over a month away.’

      ‘The debt must be settled, Lydia, by either full payment or marriage.’

      ‘Believe me, Mr Valdez, if I could make the payment I would, but I can’t.’

      A spark of fury rose in her voice and a smile pulled at his lips. Instantly her mouth pressed into a firm line of annoyance, which only made the urge to smile at her greater.

      ‘Then you have no alternative but to come back to Madrid and either find the person I am looking for, quickly and discreetly, or announce our engagement. The terms of my father’s will state there is a financial reward for finding that person. Enough to cover the debt.’

      She shook her head in denial, her soft dark hair bouncing invitingly on her shoulders, snagging his attention all too easily. ‘No, I won’t leave London now. I can’t.’

      ‘A lover?’

      ‘Not that it’s any of your business, but no.’

      ‘Then you will become my wife and settle your father’s debts—unless your claim is true.’

      He wouldn’t enlighten her yet to the fact that they would have to be seen as a couple, seen to be preparing for their nuptials. Carlos had insisted that would be the only way to satisfy the board of directors that he was calling in the debt, that his bride was willing.

      ‘If I am not about to waltz off to Madrid with you, I am hardly likely to agree to a marriage, whatever the conditions attached to the deal my father signed.’

      He watched as her eyes narrowed with anger and her lips pressed together and as much as he wanted to kiss those lips until they softened he knew he never could. That would be indulging a side of him he had no wish to explore, be it playboy or something more emotionally involved.

      However, her father’s debt was to be settled, she was well and truly off-limits and he certainly didn’t need the complication of having to resist an ill-timed attraction. He needed the board off his back, to know the debt would be settled. Then he could resume his search for Max, which now seemed much more hopeful if Lydia Carter-Wilson did really have a passion for family history. But what would she make of his family, of the tangled web of deceit that had corrupted recent generations?

      More to the point, could he trust her? If this got out it could undo all the good work he’d done to prove to the business world he was a man of morals and high values. A man to be trusted.

      ‘I can of course call in the debt right now.’ He could almost feel the angry vibe coming across the table at him and wondered what her reaction would be if they hadn’t been having this conversation in such a public place. Would she have given vent to her anger or would she have been as controlled as he was?

      ‘You wouldn’t dare.’ The whispered words had a hiss of anger in them and his body responded wickedly, the earlier urges to kiss her returned in full force. Only the desire to be different from his father had made him accept the somewhat desperate bargain Lydia had made. It would be a high price, but one worth paying if it avoided the messy tangle of marriage.

      ‘Don’t underestimate me, Lydia.’ He knew he sounded hard, more of a snarl, but he had to instil such aggression. He needed to make this deal, because he had never expected to be filled with lustful need for the woman he might well have to make his temporary wife.

      ‘It is you who underestimates me, Mr Valdez.’ Despite the anger that still simmered in her eyes he detected a hint of compliance in her voice.

      ‘I never underestimate anyone I do business with and you are certainly no different.’ He wouldn’t tell her that he’d done his homework on her, found out all he needed to know about the woman who could become his wife. ‘Whatever deal we strike, it is for business and nothing more.’

      ‘Nothing at all?’

      ‘No, nothing. It will be a marriage in name only and will end in exactly two years.’

      ‘Before I commit myself, I think you had better tell me exactly who it is I am locating for you.’ The frivolous tone of her voice belied the inner turmoil he could see playing out in those expressive eyes. He doubted she could hide anything from him and he certainly hadn’t missed that spark of attraction that had briefly showed through all the irritation he’d witnessed in their depths. Her pretty face was so expressive he could read every emotion that crossed it, including the attraction