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The Marriage Possession

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Год написания книги
2019
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‘Don’t look, but a serious hunk of a guy is being led towards Allegra’s table.’

Lisane controlled the desire to check. Common sense reassured her that it couldn’t be Zac. But just for a few seconds the possibility didn’t seem beyond the realm of reality. The Winstone and Fabrisi families were legal and social equals, dedicated to charitable causes, and were frequently seen in each other’s company.

Surely Zac would have told her if he intended to join Allegra and her parents this evening…wouldn’t he?

Allegra had developed manipulation into an art form, and possessed few, if any, scruples where Zac was concerned.

‘Wonder who he is?’

‘Family friend?’ Sue ventured. ‘The parents are greeting him like a long-lost son.’

The waiter cleared their plates and took an order for dessert…sinful choices in the name of celebration, and warranting some serious time in the gym to compensate.

Coffee followed, and they lingered a while, then took care of the bill and made their way to the powder-room.

Lisane was the last to leave, and just as she opened the door it swung in, causing a hasty few steps back to avoid a collision.

The last person she wanted to see up close was Allegra…but there was no avoiding a confrontation. One Lisane opted to make very brief.

‘Allegra.’

‘He’s my cousin, darling.’ Words spoken without preamble, and the woman’s smile held a brilliance that was totally at variance with the cool glitter in her eyes. ‘On a brief visit from Perth.’

‘How nice for you.’ She stepped around Allegra in a bid to leave the powder-room, only to have her passage blocked.

‘He’s serious eye-candy, and does service as a social handbag.’

Lisane held the young woman’s gaze and successfully masked her disquiet. ‘My friends are waiting for me.’

‘Another minute or two won’t matter.’ Allegra smoothed a hand over one slender hip, then she speared a lacquered nail in the air a few inches from Lisane’s face. ‘Take note. Zac is mine.’

It took two to fight, and she wasn’t about to go there. ‘If that’s true,’ she managed evenly, ‘why is he with me?’

Allegra’s eyes became ice. ‘You must know Zac will never marry you.’

She needed an exit line, fast! ‘Did it occur to you we might be content with the relationship,’ she waited a deliberate beat, then added quietly, ‘the way it is?’

‘Not for long.’ The woman’s triumph was tainted with evil satisfaction. ‘Any time soon his ring will be on my finger.’

‘Really?’ How could she sound so calm, when inside her nerves were shredding? She held Allegra’s gaze as she took a determined step forward, silently challenging the woman to step aside.

For a moment it didn’t appear as if Allegra was going to move, then she lifted one eyebrow in a gesture of disdain and shifted slightly.

Lisane stilled the urge to rush out the door, choosing a measured, unhurried pace, and braced her shoulders against the nervous tension feathering icily down her spine.

‘We were about to initiate a rescue mission,’ Sue declared quietly as Lisane joined the group of four young women lingering a few feet distant. ‘Are you OK?’

‘Fine.’ She managed a warm smile. ‘Let’s go, shall we?’

It wasn’t difficult to keep up a carefree façade as they took the lift down to the car park, and she kept the smile in place until she slid in behind the wheel of her car.

Allegra’s taunts echoed inside her head, and she almost wished she’d told the woman to get a life…except common sense had silently warned of the possibility of professional repercussions.

Allegra Fabrisi held a degree of power…a word here and there, an unfair criticism, and it could result in the speculative attention of Lisane’s peers.

Roll on Saturday!

Three weeks’ absence in Sydney would provide a welcome breathing space. There were the final planning stages, the wedding itself and a lovely break in which to visit the beach, check out the shopping malls, and just relax.

Lisane collected the sack of groceries from the seat of her car and carried them indoors.

The dinner menu she’d planned for Friday evening was relatively simple, and she toed off her stilettos, then quickly assembled ingredients and began preparations.

An evening meal timed for seven enabled her to cook, then shower and change and set the table.

She made it with a few minutes to spare, and she slid the herb bread into the oven as the doorbell rang.

Zac’s familiar tall frame filled the aperture, and the mere sight of him sent the beat of her heart into overdrive.

‘Hi.’

He’d discarded a professional business suit for black tailored trousers, a white chambray collarless shirt and a black butter-soft leather jacket.

Wow seemed an inadequate description.

‘Come through,’ she managed steadily, and she stood aside so he could precede her down the hallway.

With considerable ease he paused to drop an overnight bag in her bedroom, shrugged out of his jacket, then he gathered her in against him and took possession of her mouth in a leisurely kiss.

Oh, my, was all she could think when he released her.

He’d brought wine, which he took into the kitchen, uncorked and let breathe while he admired the finishing touches she’d made to the room.

‘Would you like a drink?’

Zac turned towards her. ‘Just wine with dinner.’

Lisane checked the herb bread, saw it was beginning to crisp, and enquired about his day.

‘Fact-gathering, validating authenticity, a conference call.’ And one intriguing brief he had yet to decide whether to accept. ‘You?’

‘Nothing out of the ordinary.’ Just a pile of paperwork she’d needed to shift before day’s end, notations for ongoing cases ensuring the colleague taking over her workload for the next three weeks was au fait with current files.

Last night she’d packed her bag ready for the flight to Sydney. As bridesmaid, she’d also assembled games and prizes for Solene’s bridal shower party, and the hen-party. All she needed to do in the morning was add last-minute essentials before Zac drove her to the airport.

The food with its delicate sauce was a hit, and she took pleasure in Zac’s compliment.

She was far from a domestic goddess, but she liked making her home attractive, cooking good food and presenting it well. It seemed to be a family trait, for Solene read cookbooks as others read…books.
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