A Contract for His Runaway Bride

The journey to Valencia in Spain the following day took just over six hours door-to-door. Elodie spent most of it with her head buried in a collection of fashion magazines, determined to keep her distance, knowing that as soon as they were in Nina Smith’s presence the charade of being a happily reunited loved-up couple would begin.

Lincoln seemed just as disinclined to talk—he had business papers in his briefcase and wore a preoccupied frown for most of the journey.

A car was waiting for them at the airport, with a young uniformed driver called Elonzo. ‘Buenas tardes, Señor Lancaster.’ He smiled shyly at Elodie and added, ‘Señora, mucho gusto.’

‘It’s nice to meet you too,’ Elodie said, with an answering smile that made the young man blush in spite of his olive complexion.

Lincoln helped Elodie into the car and they were soon on their way to the villa at Sagunto, about twenty minutes’ drive from the airport. The sunshine was blindingly bright, the air warm in comparison to the chilly autumn weather back home.

‘Have you been to Sagunto before?’ Lincoln asked.

‘No, but I’ve been to a few other places in Spain. It’s one of my favourite destinations. The people are so friendly, the food is great—and don’t even get me started about the weather.’

Lincoln gave a lazy smile and laid his arm along the back of her seat. ‘You’ve already won over one heart.’ He nodded towards the young driver, who was shut off from them by a panel of glass for privacy. ‘Let’s hope Nina is as easy to win over.’

Elodie angled her head to look at him. ‘You don’t call her “Mum” now that your adoptive mother has passed away?’

He absently toyed with the loose strands of her hair, sending electrifying tingles down her back.

‘I don’t think it’s appropriate. My adoptive mother will always be my mother, so too my father. They earned the titles by the love and care they gave me all those years.’

‘Given you had such a nice childhood, I find it intriguing as to why you no longer want children yourself.’

His hand stopped playing with her hair and went back to resting along the back of her seat. A line of tension formed around his mouth. ‘When my mother died I was thrown off course, as were my father and siblings. Pancreatic cancer took her so quickly. One minute she was well, the next she was critically ill, and she died within a few weeks. Dad went into a slump. I’d never seen him so low...’ He released a long sigh and continued, ‘Then I met you and I suddenly saw a future. A bright and happy future that would include kids and family life—the sort of family life my parents had given me.’

Elodie frowned, not sure she liked his reasons for wanting to marry her back then. They didn’t seem to have anything to do with her. She could have been any suitable woman to fill the role as his wife and future mother of his children. He had liked what she represented—a beautiful wife to grace his home—but he hadn’t loved her.

‘But you don’t hanker after that family life now?’

‘Aiden and Sylvia are planning on having kids with their partners,’ Lincoln said. ‘My father will be thrilled to have a bunch of grandkids to dote on. I can concentrate on my work and on living life the way I prefer.’

‘Footloose and fancy-free.’ She didn’t state it as a question but as a statement of fact. ‘Once a playboy, always a playboy.’

Lincoln gave a mercurial smile. ‘My inner playboy is on pause for the next six months.’

Elodie gave him a pointed look. ‘Can I trust you on that?’

His eyes drifted to her mouth and then back to her gaze. ‘The discipline will be good for me.’