Claiming My Bride of Convenience

‘You do have talent,’ I insisted.

Her voice in the shower had been amazing—husky and sensual and full of emotion. It angered me that she couldn’t see it, that someone had kept her from believing in herself.

‘Well, anyway...’ Daisy resumed with a sad attempt at a smile. ‘A casting agent saw me at an open audition and invited me for a private interview. I thought I was so lucky.’

Everything in me tensed as I sat up straight, staring at her fiercely. ‘What are you saying, Daisy?’

Her lips trembled and she looked away. ‘I’m sure you can guess.’

I could—and I very much didn’t want to. My fists clenched instinctively and my heart raced. ‘Did he...? Did he...?’

‘He didn’t get that far,’ she assured me shakily. ‘But far enough. Farther than I’d ever... I’d never even been kissed before that. And I wasn’t again after...until you.’

That kiss in the ballroom, when I’d been so ruthlessly trying to prove a point. Shame boiled through me; no wonder she had pushed me away.

‘So what happened?’ I asked in a low voice. ‘What...what did he do to you?’

‘As soon as I got into the room he...he made it clear.’ She shook her head, the memory clearly painful. ‘He said if I was nice to him he would be nice to me. Even then I wasn’t sure what he meant! I was so naïve.’

‘Innocent,’ I ground out. ‘You were innocent.’

‘When I looked clueless he made it abundantly clear. He grabbed me and wrestled me onto the sofa...’ She dabbed at her eyes. ‘Well, you can imagine the rest. I got away before he...before he took things too far. But they went farther than I wanted.’ She let out a shuddering breath. ‘I was so stupid, Matteo. I told another waitress what had happened and she laughed at me, asked if I’d never heard of the casting couch. I really had no idea, but I should have—’

‘There’s no “should” in a situation like that, Daisy.’ I cut her off with swift finality. ‘The only “should” is th

at monster of a man should never have touched you.’

And when I found out who he was I’d make him regret it. Dearly.

‘Still...’ Daisy’s smile wobbled and then slid off her face. ‘I felt so guilty afterwards. I still do—which is part of why I didn’t want to tell you.’

‘Guilty?’ I was horrified, and I had to take her in my arms. She snuggled against me, her cheek pressed to my chest. ‘Why should you feel guilty?’

‘Because I should have known. Because I should have made it clear why I was there. Because there were a few seconds when I didn’t push him away. I was too shocked, I didn’t know what to do, but because of that he might have got the wrong idea—’

‘No. No, Daisy.’ Gently I stroked her hair. ‘This wasn’t your fault and you shouldn’t feel guilty—ever—about what happened. I know those are just words, and they can’t necessarily change the way you feel or think, but they’re true and necessary and I’ll keep saying them until you believe them.’

Daisy let out a shuddering breath. ‘Thank you, Matteo.’

As I sat and stroked her hair a realisation crept up on me—unfortunate, unwelcome and impossible to ignore. I wasn’t much better than the creep who’d thrown her onto the casting couch. I’d manipulated her through our physical relationship, at least at the start and maybe even after. I’d insisted she share my bed, even if I didn’t touch her while she was in it. Considering what Daisy had just told me, all those things that I had so easily justified to myself took on a sordid taint.

‘Daisy,’ I said in a low voice, ‘if anything I’ve ever done...if you’ve ever felt...’ I could barely say the words; they were bottled up in my throat.

Daisy twisted in my arms to look up at me, resting one hand against my cheek. ‘Don’t even say it, Matteo,’ she protested gently. ‘It was never that way between us.’

‘But I—’

‘Hush.’ She kissed me on the lips, her breath whispering into mine. ‘I’m crazy for you—don’t you know that?’

Crazy for me.

I’d wanted to keep my distance, and for Daisy to keep hers. I’d done my best to make sure our relationship stayed purely physical. But in that moment I knew we’d crossed a line. We’d crossed it days ago, if only I’d had the sense, as well as the courage, to see it.

Because I was more than crazy for her. I was falling in love with her—and it absolutely terrified me.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

‘SO YOU’RE MATTEO’S LATEST.’