Marriage in Name Only? Read Online Free Page A

Increasing his exports. With Sadiq’s contacts in the UAE, Jordan had been able to turn his negotiations to the reputed City of Gold once again.
    And now that long-ago promise he’d made to his father was so close he could almost reach out and kiss it.
    But apparently the elderly gold manufacturer had a reputation for extreme conservatism. Blowing out a slow breath that seemed to take a part of him with it, Jordan stepped out of the restaurant and into the chill evening. He’d never been one to toe the line, but for this long overdue deal he’d do whatever it took.

CHAPTER THREE
    C HLOE’S HEART SKIPPED a beat when she checked her phone for messages while dressing for Sunday brunch and saw an email from her sister. It wasn’t tragic news, thank God, but it was disturbing news just the same.
    Donna’s message was brief and clear and to the point and included a bank account number. Their parents were facing tough times. Losing the family home was more than likely. And since neither her brother nor Donna could help out financially
at this time
—her sister outlined their perfectly valid reasons why they
couldn’t
in bullet point format—they’d really appreciate Chloe’s financial support since she had a high-paying job and lived in a virtual palace with a member of the aristocracy.
    Stewart
. Chloe beat back the pain with a sharp stick and thwacked that stick at the man she’d fallen in love with. The gorgeous hunk of widower who’d employed her to care for his son then used her for sex, except she’d been too naive and blinded by love to see it that way until it was too late.
    Of course she’d told her family; she’d relished telling them about her successes, her career as a nanny, the palatial home in rural England. The man in her life.
    And four years ago when it had all turned to crap, telling them she’d made a mistake and that she didn’t fit into theworld of the rich and famous and never would hadn’t been on her list of priorities.
    She flicked the email off, tossed her phone in her bag. She’d have to come clean and tell Donna the bad news, and she wasn’t looking forward to it.
    An hour later, she swiped sweaty palms down her best jeans then adjusted the belt over her thigh-length tunic and hoped she’d dressed appropriately. She’d caught public transport to avoid the dreaded windswept, helmet-hair look. Hitching her bag higher on her shoulder, she stared at the massive two-storey mansion as she walked up the long, curved drive. Dana’s early-morning phone call had come out of the blue. Sadiq and his wife had extended an invitation to Chloe to attend an informal meal as a thank-you for helping to make last night’s entertainment a success.
    She’d been stoked. Dana’s Events was one of the city’s premier event-planning businesses, catering to the elite, and this was a brilliant opportunity for Chloe to get to know the clients.
    The only downside was the probability that Jordan Blackstone would be there. And after the relentless dreams she’d had of the two of them last night … The residual heat was still stroking her abdomen, and her skin felt tight and tingly. Worse, she was mortally afraid he’d see it in her eyes. He was the type of man who could read women’s minds. He’d read hers last night, hadn’t he? She should never have stopped for that burger. A momentary weakness she would
not
be repeating no matter how attracted she was to him.
    Rich and influential, like Stewart. Not the type of man she needed in her life—a lesson she’d learned the hard way. And there were limits to how much risk one should take, both personally and financially. She’d learned that lesson the hard way too.
    A smartly uniformed staff member welcomed her at thefront door. Chloe followed her across a huge tiled foyer where a heavy chandelier threw rainbows over brass and honeyed wood, along a wide passage hung with a mix of Eastern and European art.
    The aroma of barbecued meat and Asian cooking