The Taming of Xander Sterne. Carole Mortimer

had been dead for over twenty years now, after a fall down the stairs of the family’s London home whilst in a drunken stupor. A death that neither his wife nor his twin sons had mourned.

      Lomax Sterne had been a brute of a man and a bully, with a temper to match.

      And six weeks ago Xander had terrified the life out of himself by discovering that, at the age of thirty-three, he had the same temper.

      ‘What made you so tense in the first place, do you think?’ Darius looked at him curiously.

      Xander grimaced. ‘I don’t know. Yes, I do.’ His brow cleared. ‘Do you remember when we were in Toronto four months ago? Remember the chairman of Bank’s Corporation? We went out to dinner with him and his wife.’

      ‘And he talked down to her all evening,’ Darius realised ruefully. ‘Which was the reason we both decided we didn’t want to do business with him. And the reason for your pent-up anger these past few months, I’m guessing?’

      ‘I think it is, yes,’ Xander agreed.

      ‘You controlled it then, Xander, and you controlled it six weeks ago,’ Darius insisted impatiently. ‘Just let it go. It’s over.’

      Xander wished he could dismiss it as easily.

      ‘I really do appreciate your moving in here the past four weeks, Darius, but I just don’t think I’m up to having someone else, a stranger, living with me right now.’ In truth, Xander had been looking forward to having his apartment all to himself again.

      He grimaced. ‘It’s not that I’m ungrateful, Darius. I just didn’t envisage the next two weeks of having to sit across the breakfast table every morning from the no doubt muscle-bound man, Sam Smith, who you’ve employed to act as both my nursemaid and watchdog while you’re away.’

      Darius gave a chuckle. ‘It would certainly make the neighbours sit up and take notice, if they thought you were living with a man who isn’t your brother.’

      As one of the billionaire Sterne twins, Xander had a playboy reputation with women that had long been catalogued, and speculated about, by the media. So yes, they would no doubt have a field day with the fact that he was sharing his apartment with a man.

      ‘Fortunately, for you, none of that is going to happen. Samantha Smith is a woman,’ Darius assured him dryly.

      Xander sat forward. ‘Sam Smith is a woman!’

      ‘Nice to know that your hearing wasn’t affected in the accident,’ his twin taunted.

      Darius had taken his own sweet time sharing that little nugget of information with him!

      Xander scowled. ‘You don’t have to look so happy about leaving me completely at this woman’s mercy for the next two weeks!’

      ‘I’ll ask her to be gentle with you,’ Darius teased.

      ‘Very funny,’ Xander muttered distractedly; just the thought of having some strange woman staying here with him filled Xander with a sense of unease. ‘So how is it that you know this woman?’

      Darius smiled. ‘She’s a friend of Miranda’s. She really likes her, so much so that she’s asked Sam to work at the dance studio with her part-time once we’re back from our honeymoon. Oh, and her little girl attends one of Miranda’s dance classes.’

      ‘Stop right there!’ Xander held up a silencing hand, breathing hard in his agitation. ‘You didn’t mention she had a child. What does she plan to do with her daughter while she’s staying here with me?’

      ‘She’s going to bring her with her, of course,’ his brother dismissed as if there had never been the possibility of anything else.

      ‘Are you completely insane?’ Xander exploded as he finally struggled up onto his feet with the help of his crutches. ‘Darius, I told you what happened to me at the nightclub six weeks ago. I told you how I lost control of myself, and now you want to bring some child to live with me? How old is Ms Smith’s daughter?’ He knew that Miranda’s ballet school was for pupils from five to sixteen years old.

      ‘Five, I think.’

      ‘You plan on allowing this woman to bring a five-year-old child to stay in my apartment with me?’ Xander breathed in deeply in an effort to calm himself. ‘This was Andy’s idea, wasn’t it?’ It was a statement, rather than a question. ‘You told her what happened to me and—’

      ‘You didn’t say I couldn’t.’ Darius’s eyes had narrowed in warning.

      ‘I don’t care whether or not you told Andy what happened to me that night,’ Xander dismissed impatiently. ‘After all, she’s going to be your wife and my sister-in-law. What I do care about is that Ms Smith and her daughter coming to stay here is most likely Andy’s way of trying to show me I’m not turning into the monster I think I am. A naive attempt on her part to make me feel better about myself.’

      ‘Careful, Xander,’ Darius warned softly.

      Xander was too annoyed to heed that warning. ‘Life isn’t a fairy tale, Darius. Or, if it is, then I’m the monster in the story and not the prince!’

      His brother gave Xander a considering look before speaking softly. ‘You know, Xander, as Miranda once told me, quite succinctly as I recall,’ Darius mused affectionately, ‘the whole of life isn’t about what you do or don’t want.’ He sobered. ‘Putting my mind at rest apart, has it even occurred to you that Samantha Smith is a single parent? And that, as such, she might need the money I’m paying her to come here and act as your babysitter and watchdog while I’m away?’

      But what if the woman did something to set off the temper he had only just discovered? What if her daughter did? Darius wouldn’t find anything to laugh about then, would he? And Xander would never forgive himself if he lost his temper with either of them. That truly would make him the monster his father had been.

      Darius scowled his displeasure. ‘Look, as far as I’m concerned Miranda vouches for her, and the woman needs the money I’m paying her to come and live here with you while we’re away. End of story.’

      Xander didn’t agree.

      Yes, this penthouse apartment was big enough for a dozen other people to share it with him without them falling over each other; besides the six en suite guest bedrooms there was a full gym, a home cinema, as well as two other reception rooms, a wood-panelled study, a large formal dining room and an even bigger kitchen.

      But that really wasn’t the point, was it?

      The point was that Xander didn’t want to share any of that space with a woman he didn’t even know, let alone her five-year-old daughter.

      But what choice did he really have but to at least try? Darius had gone above and beyond brotherly love by moving into this apartment with him and taking care of him since Xander had come out of hospital four weeks ago.

      Was it fair of him to now cause his brother any further worry while Darius and Miranda were away on their honeymoon?

      Unfortunately, Xander already knew the answer to that question.

       CHAPTER TWO

      ‘IS MR STERNE a nice man, Mummy?’ Daisy asked quietly as the two of them sat in the back of the limousine sent by Darius Sterne to collect them.

      Was Xander Sterne a nice man?

      Sam had only met the man once, during the interview she’d had with both Sterne brothers two days ago, while Daisy was at school.

      Consequently, the question was a little difficult for Sam to answer, when Xander had left most of the talking that day to his brother. He’d only contributed to the conversation towards the end, when he had barked half a dozen questions at her about her daughter’s schooling, and the amount of time Daisy would actually be spending at his apartment.