Page 25 of Bound By Her Shocking Secret

‘I’ve put out a statement to quell the media interest, but I’ve added a piece at the end.’

Mia looked at Daniel. ‘What, specifically?’

He walked over and handed her his phone. She took it and looked at the screen, where there was a press release. It said:

Daniel Devilliers and Mia Forde are very pleased to announce that they have a child from a previous brief relationship and that they are happily reunited. They ask for privacy at this time. Thank you.

Mia’s jaw went slack. She almost dropped the phone. She looked up as Daniel took it out of her hand. She tried to make her mouth work, but nothing came out.

She tried again. ‘Happily reunited?’

A dull roaring was building in her head. Daniel had manoeuvred her and Lexi with such skill and ease...

Words spilled out. ‘I actually gave you the benefit of the doubt when you said you hadn’t tipped off the press.’

‘I didn’t.’

Daniel kept his voice low, mindful of the sleeping child.

Mia started to pace in front of him, and that drew his eye to her tall body. She was wearing a long button-down dress. Dark red with golden flowers. A belt around her slim waist. The buttons were open low enough that he could see the tantalising vee of her cleavage. She wore that battered leather jacket she seemed to love so much.

Soft, flat ankle boots gave the whole look an effortlessly chic and bohemian élan. He remembered that she’d always been self-conscious about her sense of style, or what she saw as her lack of style. But she had style in spades.

Her hair was down. She wore practically no make-up. It reminded him of the first time he’d seen her at that photoshoot. She’d reminded him of a lioness, with her green eyes and wild hair. She resembled a caged lioness right now.

She didn’t seem to have heard him. ‘I can’t believe I trusted you enough to let you do this to us—’

‘Mia.’

She stopped. Looked at him.

He said, ‘I didn’t tip off the press and I added the piece about being reunited at the last minute because it will be the most expeditious way of getting the press off our backs.’

She put her hands on her hips. ‘How, exactly?’

Daniel curbed the urge to cover her mouth with his until all that spikiness was turned into passion.

‘Because,’ he said, ‘if the press thinks we’re back together they’ll be interested for a while but they’ll soon grow bored. But if you’re here and we’re not a couple they’ll hound us until they find out more.’

Mia looked suspicious. ‘Lexi and I could stay somewhere else.’

‘It’ll be exactly the same as it was at your apartment. I can provide better protection here.’

Mia started to pace again. Eventually she stopped. Bit her lip. And then said grudgingly, ‘I guess I can see some logic in that.’

She folded her arms, and Daniel had to grit his jaw against the urge to drop his gaze to where he could already imagine the swells of her lush breasts.Dieu.He was no better than a schoolboy.

‘But how long exactly does this charade have to go on before they lose interest? A week? Two?’

Daniel saw the trepidation on her face. The sense of things being out of her control. And he almost felt sorry for her. Until he remembered that she’d kept his child from him for eighteen months. Lexi was a rapidly forming little human being, with spades of personality, and up until now she’d had no father figure.

That reminder firmed his resolve. ‘For as long as it takes for this story to no longer be a liability.’

‘But...that could take weeks.’

Daniel shrugged, trying not to let Mia’s huge green eyes affect him. Eyes big enough to drown in. Eyes that had captured him from the moment he’d seen her.

‘I doubt it,’ he said. ‘There’s bound to be another story that takes precedence. They’ll move on.’

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