Page 16 of Bound By Her Shocking Secret

Daniel said, ‘Because she’s gay, and her family are ultra-conservative. She never would have received her inheritance if they’d found out. The marriage was purely to fulfil the agreement and throw up a smokescreen to distract her family. That’s why she leaked it to the papers. She was afraid that I would renege on the agreement. When we met, she explained her situation, and I agreed to marry her and then divorce her once she was sure she’d receive her inheritance.’

So he’d married her as a favour? Mia absorbed that. It was huge.

And they hadn’t slept together.

Mia hadn’t slept with anyone since Daniel—unsurprisingly. But she didn’t doubt that, in spite of his chaste marriage, he’d notched up several conquests, so her relief was a little misplaced. She’d be incredibly naive if she believed he’d been celibate all this time.

Not that any of his affairs had appeared in the media. He was too sophisticated for that, and the Devilliers brand certainly wouldn’t have stood for it.

‘So you are still modelling, then?’

Mia welcomed the distraction from imagining Daniel in bed with other women. ‘Yes, I’m back with my agent here in Paris. I did some pregnancy modelling in the South of France, until I became too big. After Lexi was born I worked part-time in a café, until I was in some kind of shape to try modelling again.’

Daniel’s eyes dipped to her body, and Mia cursed her choice of words. She felt self-conscious under that far too assessing gaze. After all, this was a man who was an expert at spotting imperfections in his jewels. Mia knew she was far from perfect, and that whatever had attracted him to her in the first place had burnt out long ago. She was very different now.

His gaze lifted again. ‘I should have been supporting you.’

She felt another dart of guilt. ‘We were okay. I had savings. We didn’t need much to live on. We had a nice apartment near the seafront.’

And yet the whole time she hadn’t been able to relax fully, conscious of Daniel in Paris, unaware that he was a father.

Mia took a sip of wine, hoping it might make her feel she was on more of an even keel. Daniel had always made her feel too aware of herself.

She said, ‘Look, I truly don’t expect anything from you, Daniel. I just wanted you to know...about Lexi. We can support ourselves.’

Mia chose not to think about what Daniel had said last night about Lexi being a Devilliers. She hoped he wouldn’t mention it again.

‘So...what? That’s it? I’ll just get to see my daughter growing up from a distance while you work to make ends meet?’ He shook his head, before answering himself. ‘That is not how this will go, Mia.’

Panic fluttered in Mia’s breast. ‘We really don’t need anything.’

Daniel emitted a harsh-sounding laugh. ‘If I didn’t already know you, I would think this is all an act. A ruse to extract as much as you can by feigning otherwise. But because I know you, and know how independent you are—to a fault—I know this isn’t a ruse.’

Daniel took a step closer to where Mia stood, an intense expression she’d never seen before on his face.

‘She’s my daughter.’

A daughter you never wanted.

It trembled on Mia’s tongue, but she stopped the words from falling out. That wasn’t fair either.

Feeling nervous, she said, ‘So what are you saying...? You want to be involved with Lexi? We can draw up some kind of custody arrangement, Daniel. I wouldn’t stop you trying to see your daughter or being involved in her life. That’s why I’m here.’

Daniel shook his head. ‘Not good enough, Mia. You’ve kept her from me since her birth. I know I said I never wanted a family, but that was before Lexi existed. She’s my daughter and she’s a Devilliers.’

Icicles pierced Mia’s heart. ‘So what are you saying?’

‘I’m telling you now that I won’t expect anything less than full access to my daughter, and the most expedient and practical way for that to happen is for us to marry.’

Daniel was surprised at how easily those words had tripped off his tongue. He hadn’t even consciously decidedwhatthe best solution was, but something about Mia’s proximity and the tangled emotions she was evoking, not to mention the memories, had prompted him to say what he had.

And now he found that he couldn’t even drum up much regret or even shock at his words. But he could see shock on Mia’s face. And fear. And—

Suddenly her face blanked. It was as if she was aware she was giving too much away and had learnt to hide behind a bland mask. It irritated Daniel intensely.

She was pale. She shook her head. ‘No way.’

Daniel was not used to being refused much—in fact this woman was the only one who had ever made him work for anything. He had a flashback to his feeling of triumph when she’d finally capitulated and agreed to go on a date with him. Not to mention the first time he’d slept with her. And every subsequent time. He’d never experienced chemistry like it. Before or since. He’d been desperate. Unable to get her out of his head. Consumed by wanting her. Insatiable.

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