Claiming My Bride of Convenience

‘Oh, it’s a mess...’

‘A mess?’ My eyes narrowed as I took in her definite jitters. ‘What are you hiding from me, Daisy? How have you spent my money?’

Her jaw dropped and her eyes blazed gold fire. ‘Is that what this little tour has been about? You’re trying to figure out how I’ve spent “your” money—which, I’ll remind you yet again, is actually mine, as per our agreement. Besides, I told you I could pay it back.’

‘I don’t know whether to believe you.’

‘What—’

‘No investments have been made in your name—either Daisy Campbell or Dias.’

‘Seriously? You think I lied? How stupid do you think I am?’

I didn’t answer as I strode towards the door and pushed it open. With a sigh, Daisy followed me.

It took me a few seconds to assimilate what I saw and then to make sense of it. The room was clearly in use. The laptop on the desk was open and surrounded by papers. A noticeboard on the wall was covered in messages and schedules and lists. Swathes of fabric in the same shade of blue I’d seen around the house were draped over various surfaces, and above the window there was a sign wrought out of wicker: Amanos Textiles.

I turned to Daisy. ‘What is this?’

‘My office.’ She looked at me mutinously.

‘Yes, I can see that—but I didn’t think you worked.’

‘Well, I do.’

Why was she being so recalcitrant? ‘What is Amanos Textiles, Daisy?’

‘My company.’

I stared at her, incredulous. ‘Your company?’

‘Yes—and the investments I’ve made are in its name, Smarty Pants.’

‘I...’

For once I was truly speechless. I couldn’t believe she’d just called me Smarty Pants, and neither could I believe that she’d started her own business. She had never said a word about it. I hadn’t the faintest clue—and, I realised, I hadn’t actually thought her capable of starting her own company, if that was in fact what she’d done.

‘Your company?’ I repeated, and she heard the scepticism in my voice.

‘Yes, my company. When I arrived in Amanos I noticed the women wore a lovely blue cloth, and I discovered they weave it here, using a dye made from a plant native to the island. I decided it was marketable, and I set up a company to sell the cloth to manufacturers throughout Greece.’

‘You did?’ I was even more shocked. ‘This is what you used my money for?’

‘My money—and, yes. I used two hundred thousand to buy proper equipment, looms and vats for the dye, and also to set up the website and hire someone to help. Maria,’ she explained. ‘She does a lot of the admin, and as a native Greek speaker she has become my right-hand woman. She helped win my first clients. The rest of the money I invested in the company’s name and put the interest back into it. We started turning a profit just over a year ago.’

I shook my head slowly. ‘Why didn’t you tell me any of this?’

‘When would I have told you?’ she fired back. ‘When we were having one of our regular chats?’

‘Is this why you’ve seemed so nervous? You didn’t want to tell me?’

She looked down, a lock of her hair falling forward to hide her face. ‘I thought you might be cross.’

‘Cross?’ I was baffled. ‘Why?’

‘Because you like to be in control, Matteo. Why else would you have me waiting out our marriage on this island? I thought you might resent the fact that I wasn’t just sitting here, waiting.’

I tried for a laugh to mask my sudden and surprising hurt. ‘You make me sound like some sort of monster.’