Returning to Claim His Heir

‘Ireland’s a beautiful place to live,’ Duarte said. ‘She moved all the way across the world for her work?’

‘Something like that.’ Nora cleared her throat. ‘You know what that’s like, though, I suppose?’

He nodded. ‘We moved to England when I was just a boy and I started boarding school not long after. My parents wished for me to be a great scholar.’ He laughed, seeing the ice in her gaze shift a little, and congratulated himself on his efforts.

‘I wouldn’t say their efforts were wasted, considering your success.’

He shrugged, tugging at his collar, which suddenly felt too constricting. He disliked it when others commented on his success—an old habit after the years of torment that had come with being the smartest kid in class. He always tried to be modest, to downplay the ease with which he seemed to accomplish certain tasks.

She seemed to sense his shift in mood and changed the topic to the yacht she’d seen him working on, asking if he was enjoying his work. To his own surprise he answered honestly—perhaps too honestly. He told her of the large-scale launch for their US operation, and the pressures his sister and his business partner had been under with Duarte’s sudden reappearance and subsequent return to the company.

He didn’t go into the guilt he felt about the pain his twin had endured when she’d thought him dead, or how his best friend had blamed himself for the events leading to their kidnapping.

‘It sounds like you’re feeling the need to prove yourself and your health by going above and beyond all your previous achievements,’ she said quietly, turning to look up at him.

Duarte paused and smiled, shaking his head and sitting back in his chair to survey her.

‘Did I say something wrong?’ She frowned.

‘It’s more what you didn’t say.’ He raised one brow. ‘I could have sworn I set out to learn more about you, and somehow I end up talking non-stop about myself for ten minutes.’

She moved to take a step away from him, and to his own surprise he found himself circling his hand gently around her wrist. Her eyes widened with surprise, but she made no move to pull away.

‘You said you’ve missed my company...but you don’t know me. Not really,’ she said softly, barely audible above the rush of the breeze and the waves around them. ‘If you knew all the things that had passed between us...’

He watched as she swallowed hard and moved further away from him. If she was hiding

things from him, it was likely she had her reasons. But still, looking down at the small handful of steps that separated them, he found he didn’t care about the circumstances. He looked at her and he wanted her as he had never wanted another woman. And if she were to give him the barest hint that she wanted him too he knew all bets would be off. He’d have them both naked and in his bed before they could take another breath, gourmet chef and their dessert be damned.

As if she sensed the intensity of his thoughts, she took a deep breath that seemed to shudder a little on the exhale. ‘When you look at me like that I can’t think straight.’ She shook her head softly. ‘Liam turned six weeks old today. The nurse declared us both fit for travel.’

Duarte froze, the news hitting him like a bucket of ice water. He leaned against the handrail, looking out at the ocean. ‘Have you made your decision?’ he asked.

She closed her eyes, as if some unknown emotion was threatening her composure. It dawned on him that he’d never seen her so undone, so close to tears. She was always so strong.

‘Hey...hey...’ He wrapped an arm around her. ‘Look, I understand that you’re afraid.’

‘I’m not afraid of being your witness, Duarte.’ She pulled away from him. ‘But I can’t tell you about what happened that night without revealing my part in all of it. Without revealing that I’m part of the reason you were there in the first place.’

She reached one hand into her pocket and pulled out a slim black thumb drive, placing it into his hand. ‘This contains everything. It’s encrypted with some kind of code, but I know it’s more than enough to blow Novos Lideres apart for good.’

Duarte felt shock pulse through him as he absorbed her words. ‘Explain.’

Her words were dull and emotionless. ‘The reason Cabo’s men were looking for me is because I was a part of his organisation. I... I worked for him for a while.’

She looked away from him, her lips pressing together in that tell-tale way he could now recognise.

‘I was initially tasked with getting information from you that they could use to force you to sign over your land.’

She went quiet again for a moment, her eyes flickering between him and the horizon in the distance.

‘But it all went wrong.’

‘Clearly.’

He frowned, shocked and horrified at her words, and stared down at the black rectangle that supposedly held all the things he’d been working to find. Could it be true?

‘I was already trying to get away by the time you were kidnapped. They held me captive in a different location, to ensure that I didn’t go to the police. I got free and I got word to your friend, Angelus Fiero, but by the time I got to where they had you...you had already been shot.’