Claiming His Christmas Consequence--A Passionate Christmas Romance by Michelle Smart

Author:Michelle Smart
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2016-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

ICE FLOODED CATALINA’S VEINS. ‘You would do that? You’d call the police?’

‘You’d better believe I would,’ he said grimly. ‘If you refuse to return with me then you leave me no choice. I don’t want to make threats...’

‘Then don’t.’

‘There’s a permanent video camera set up in my office.’

The ice in her veins solidified.

‘It’s a security measure I take as I often have large amounts of cash delivered while the banks are closed. The feed quite clearly shows you in your nightwear opening the briefcase, then less than ten minutes later shows you stuffing most of the cash into your handbag. Come back with me and you can destroy the evidence yourself.’

‘That’s blackmail.’

‘It is. I don’t want to use it but quite honestly, mon papillon, I refuse to let your family destroy everything I’ve built up. I’ve never cared about my personal reputation but my professional reputation does mean something. Your father’s accusations will hang over me until he publicly retracts them, which he won’t do until you return. I will not have my child thinking I’m a criminal.’ He flashed her a bitter glance. ‘And I want you by my side for the rest of the pregnancy because I don’t trust that the minute you’re out of my sight you won’t take off with our baby again.’

‘Does our child mean that much to you?’

‘How can you doubt that when I married you to get my legal rights?’

‘You married me to protect your development.’

‘There were a number of factors but, trust me, the development was bottom of the list. I want our child and I want to be a father.’

As he spoke, Catalina lifted the kettle and poured the boiling water into the pot. The motion pulled back the sleeve of her jumper.

‘What have you done to yourself?’ he asked, distracted as he caught sight of a surgical bandage around her wrist.

She dropped a tea cosy onto the pot. ‘I burnt it on the oven when I was taking a casserole out of it a couple of days ago.’

‘And your fingers?’

‘I cut them slicing the vegetables for the casserole.’ Her body rigid, she took milk from a fridge and poured it into two mugs.

Never in his wildest imagination could Nathaniel have pictured Catalina in such a domestic setting. His chest twisted to think of her hurting herself.

‘How do you know how to make a casserole?’

‘I can read.’ The look she fixed him with was almost, almost a glare. ‘I can follow instructions. There are shops in Benasque that sell cookbooks.’

She removed the tea cosy, swirled the pot then poured their tea. She pushed his mug towards him.

‘You haven’t spent my money stocking up on bone china?’

Without any warning, the tea cosy, which she’d been about to put back on the pot, went flying past his head. ‘Is that your entire opinion of me?’ she demanded, her voice rising an octave. ‘That I’m a useless princess who spends her time worrying about the cup she drinks from? Has it

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