A Forbidden Affair. Yvonne Lindsay

still family. At the very least I need to clear the air with them.”

      “Oh, I think that’s a bit more than they deserve. Besides, the air will clear soon enough.”

      Nicole crossed her arms across her stomach. “What on earth are you talking about?”

      “When they learn who you’ve just spent this past weekend with, I very much doubt they’ll be welcoming you home with open arms. I’m pretty much persona non grata with your father.”

      Nate’s lips lifted in a half smile, as if he was laughing at a private joke.

      “You’re speaking in riddles. Why should they care who I spent the weekend with?” she snapped.

      Nate came to stand in front of her. “Because I’m Nate Hunter—Nate Hunter Jackson.”

      Nicole’s mind reeled on his words. Nate Hunter? The Nate Hunter? The reclusive billionaire who was the new head of Jackson Importers, her family firm’s arch nemesis? Her father had never had a kind word to say about Thomas Jackson, or his staff.

      Hang on a minute. Nicole replayed his words in her mind. Had he said Nate Hunter Jackson?

      “I see you’ve made the connection,” Nate said coolly. “And, yes, I am Thomas Jackson’s son. Sweet, isn’t it? All that time your father accused my dad of screwing around with your mother, he was actually with mine.”

      Nicole looked at him in horror as his words slowly sank in, leaving her mind reeling. She hadn’t just been sleeping with a stranger over the entire weekend—she’d literally been sleeping with the enemy!

      Four

      Nate watched the shock and dismay play across Nicole’s features as understanding clouded her beautiful brown eyes.

      “So you knew who I was all along? This weekend has all been about you getting some twisted revenge on my family?” she asked. Her voice shook, betraying just how much his words had upset her.

      It might have started that way, Nate admitted to himself, but now he’d been with Nicole so intimately he knew that for the better part of their time together, revenge had been the last thing on his mind. At least, revenge on her. Her father, of course, was another matter entirely.

      “Did you hunt me out?” she demanded, her voice stronger now.

      “Our meeting was by chance,” he said smoothly. “A happy chance from my point of view.” He stepped forward and reached one finger to her cheekbone, tracing the smooth feminine contour to the corner of her lips. “And I don’t regret a second of it, Nicole.”

      She jerked her head away. “Of course you don’t,” she said angrily. “Well, your little game is over now. I’m heading back into the city to my family and my job.”

      “I don’t think so,” Nate responded smoothly, crossing his arms in front of him.

      “You can’t possibly be serious about me working for you.”

      “I’m serious, all right.”

      “No.” Nicole took a step back from him, putting one hand out as if she could physically prevent his words from holding any truth. “There’s no way in this lifetime that I’d do such a thing, even if my father didn’t want me at Wilson Wines. It would destroy every last vestige of our relationship together. He may not understand me as well as I’d hoped for, but he’s still my father. I won’t do that to him. I just won’t.”

      Why couldn’t she have stayed angry at her family? That would have made this so much easier, Nate thought to himself. Was there any way he could stoke that anger again?

      “You are talking about the man who said that Wilson Wines was a nice hobby for you, aren’t you?”

      She shook her head, more in frustration, he imagined, than to negate what he’d just said. Nate pursued his advantage in the face of her silence.

      “And you’re talking about the man who, without a word of discussion with you—his right hand at Wilson Wines—gave away a controlling interest in his business to someone who is essentially a complete and utter stranger to both of you.”

      “Stop,” she moaned, wrapping her arms about herself and holding them tight. “I know that’s what he’s done, you don’t need to repeat it. He’s my father. No matter what, he’ll always be my dad. I’ll always be loyal to him.”

      “Really? Why? He’s even given away your family home, Nicole. Again, without any prior warning to you, nor any assurance for you that you will have a roof over your head anymore. Haven’t you asked yourself yet what kind of man would do that to his daughter?”

      Nate was angry, furiously angry. Not at Nicole, who seemed determined to forgive her father anything, but at the man who was at the root of all Nate’s unhappiness. The man whose brutal rejection of his best friend had crushed Thomas Jackson’s spirit and had forced him into dire financial straits. And the man who had withheld his encouragement and support from his daughter for so long that she’d forgive any insult for the chance to earn his approval.

      He pressed on as she stood there silent and pale.

      “You deserve more, Nicole. You deserve so much more. You’re a strong, intelligent and incredibly capable woman. You should work somewhere where you’re valued and appreciated. Think about the team we’ll make. We’ll be the best the business has ever seen.”