Rafael's Contract Bride. Nina Milne

he’d seen her at the Cavershams’. Hadn’t once indicated that he recognised Cora Brookes, Administrative Manager, as being Lady Cora Derwent, daughter of one of aristocracy’s premier families.

      And why should he? Cora had never been in the public eye. She had left that to her charismatic siblings, with their good looks and charm. She had kept her carroty-red hair, non-descript features and gaucheness out of the spotlight. Her only claim to distinction was the turquoise-blue of her eyes, and that hardly made her memorable. Plus, she and Rafael hadn’t even been introduced at that one party years ago.

      And yet she hunched down on the bench, busied herself with Flash, and prayed he would walk on by.

      No such luck. Out of the corner of her eye she espied a pair of denim-clad muscular legs.

      ‘Cora.’

      The deep voice that always seemed laced with a tinge of amusement sent a shiver over her skin. Bracing herself, she straightened and looked up. Midnight-black hair. An aquiline face with eyes dark with a depth you could drown in. The jut of his nose spoke of determination and his jaw said the same thing. His lips charmed and allured, but his aura was one of danger.

      This was a man who knew what he wanted and would take it. Not by force, but that only made him all the more dangerous—because what came with beauty was charm and arrogance. Her family demonstrated that in spades—and in clubs, diamond and hearts—the belief that they could succeed at anything because it was their God-given right.

      ‘Rafael.’

      ‘Evelyn told me I would find you here.’

      Mentally Cora cursed Ethan’s PA, but she could hardly blame her. Rafael Martinez was Ethan Caversham’s business partner and friend, after all, plus Cora had little doubt that Rafael had charmed the information out of her. The question was why? Even if there was some admin work to be done on the Caversham-Martinez Venture surely it could wait until office hours.

      ‘Is there a problem?’ she asked. ‘I assume you know Ethan isn’t here?’

      ‘I do. I understand he has whisked Ruby off to Paris.’

      His deep tone was neutral, but the lines of baffled disdain on his face stoked her irritation further.

      ‘It’s very romantic.’

      A shrug denoted indifference and caused her eyes to glance off the breadth of his shoulders.

      ‘I’ll bow to your greater knowledge. I thought it a bit of a cliché myself. But I’d be the first to admit romance isn’t my forte.’

      No, but dalliance is. Cora bit back the words, though she couldn’t eradicate her frown—there was nothing clichéd about Ethan and Ruby’s palpable joy in each other.

      ‘Paris is the romantic capital of the world and I’m sure they’re having a fantastic time.’

      Heaven knew why she had turned into a romance cheerleader—her experience on that particular playing field was nil.

      ‘Anyway, romance is not what I came here to discuss.’

      Of course it wasn’t. The idea of a romance between them was laughable.

      ‘So what did you come here to discuss?’

      Irritation fluttered inside her; she was not on the Caversham clock right now. Annoyance escalated as she caught herself in the act of smoothing her hands down her jeans, aware of a desire to smooth down her frizzed-by-drizzle hair.

      ‘How can I help? I assume it must be urgent to bring you here in person?’

      Wariness made her neck prickle. This didn’t make any sort of sense.

      His lips twisted in a sudden wry moue as he lowered himself to the bench next to her. ‘You could say that.’

      To Cora’s surprise Flash sat up and put his chin on Rafael’s knee.

      ‘Flash—down.’

      ‘It’s fine.’ Rafael patted the black and white dog; his strong fingers kneaded the exact spot the dog liked best. ‘Is he yours?’

      ‘No.’

      The thought of her own beloved dogs rekindled the tug of missing them. But she’d had no choice but to leave Poppy and Prue behind on the Derwent estate—it wouldn’t have been fair to bring them with her.

      ‘I’m a dog-walker in my spare time. Flash is a rescue dog and he needs a lot of attention. His owner is working long hours on a freelance assignment so I’m walking him. He doesn’t usually like strangers.’ Her tone was snippy but she couldn’t help herself.

      ‘Dogs like me.’

      Of course they did. In a moment of silence, as Rafael focused his attention on the dog, Cora realised that she appeared to be mesmerised by the movements of his fingers. The small growls of pleasure Flash emitted pulled her attention away and she shifted apart from Rafael, suddenly all too aware of him—the strength of his body, the way he filled the space with an aura of...of...something she had no wish to analyse too closely.

      ‘So, as I said, how can I help?’

      ‘Ethan mentioned he is about to send you on secondment to another Caversham enterprise.’

      Cora nodded. ‘He and Ruby want to focus on Caversham Castle, so he thought I would be better deployed elsewhere.’

      ‘How about the Caversham-Martinez venture? Working directly for me?’

      ‘You?’ Her jaw dropped kneewards.

      ‘You sound surprised.’

      ‘I am. Or rather I’m confused.’ She was an excellent administrator—it might not be the job of her heart and dreams, but she was darn good at it—but... ‘Why not just email me and set up an interview? Turning up in person seems extreme.’

      ‘I think it’s eminently sensible. I like the element of surprise and this way what I see is what I get.’

      His dark eyes rested on her face and Cora resisted the urge to squirm in her seat. The prolonged scrutiny made her uncomfortable—too aware that compared to his usual eye candy she wasn’t anywhere near to measuring up. Especially kitted out in mud-spattered jeans, hiking boots and an oversized hoodie, with her red hair scraped back into a frizzy ponytail. But she forced herself to maintain eye contact, to keep her back straight and her gaze cooler than iced water.

      ‘Or don’t get,’ she pointed out.

      ‘So you wouldn’t be interested in working for me?’

      Cora tried to think, swallowed the instinctive no that had leapt to her vocal cords. Surely by now she had learned not to blurt out the first thing that came into her mind? How many times had her mother sighed and wrinkled her face in lines of distaste at her younger daughter’s lack of social grace?

      The constant refrain of her childhood had been, ‘Why can’t you be more like your sister?’ Why, indeed? Cora had always wondered. What cruel fate had decreed that her twin should be so beautiful, vibrant and perfect and that she, Cora, should be so different? So average, so invisible—Kaitlin’s pale shadow.

      As if in reminder, she tugged at a strand of her hair and looked at it. Carroty-red whereas Kaitlin’s hair was a beautiful red-gold that caught the light with magical hues. If Kaitlin were here she’d lean forward, enthral Rafael Martinez with her smile, her throaty voice and a hint of cleavage. She’d lead him on to tell her more, and then decline in a way that somehow robbed her refusal of all sting.

      Well, Kaitlin wasn’t here, and Cora didn’t want to work for Rafael. Every instinct told her that Rafael Martinez was every bit as lethal as her very own family. Well, she couldn’t choose her family—but she could choose who to work for.

      ‘I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think that is the right move for me.’

      ‘Why not? I haven’t even told you about the role