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“No,” Mike ground out as he carried her from the kitchen in the direction of the bedroom. “That is not what I want. I just want you, Natalie.”
Natalie didn’t say a word as he swept her into the bedroom. She was too busy fighting with the futile hopes that his passionate words evoked in her.
Because he didn’t really want her, did he? Not for forever. Just for the time being.
But the time being was exciting, she told herself as he lowered her to the bed.
Enjoy it, Natalie.
And who knew what might happen in the future?
When a wealthy man wants a wife, he doesn’t always follow the rules!
Welcome to Miranda Lee’s stunning, sexy new trilogy!
Meet Richard, Reece and Mike, three Sydney millionaires with a mission—they all want to get married…but none wants to fall in love!
Bought: One Bride
Richard’s story:
His money can buy him anything he wants…and he wants a wife!
The Tycoon’s Trophy Wife
Reece’s story:
She was everything he wanted in a wife…till he fell in love with her!
A Scandalous Marriage
Mike’s story:
He married her for money—her beauty was a bonus!
Available only from Harlequin Presents®
A Scandalous Marriage
Miranda Lee
MILLS & BOON
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
EPILOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
MIKE was grimly silent during the taxi ride from Mascot to his apartment in Glebe. He wasn’t at all happy with the way his business trip to the States had turned out, or the course of action he’d rather impulsively decided to take.
But it was too late to change his mind now. He was locked in.
Once home, Mike stripped off the Italian business suit that he’d bought for his meeting with Helsinger and headed for the bathroom. After a shower and shave, he pulled on blue jeans and a T-shirt, then set about cooking himself a decent breakfast. The breakfast they’d served him on the plane as they’d approached Sydney hadn’t touched his sides.
Mike ate the plate of bacon and eggs out on the sun-drenched balcony, which was north-facing and had a great view of Sydney’s inner harbour.
The balcony was one of the reasons Mike had bought this particular apartment. Water relaxed him, he’d discovered. He liked nothing better than to sit out here in the evening after a hard day’s work on the computer, sipping a glass of whisky whilst the water distracted and calmed his mind.
Nothing, however, was going to calm his mind at this moment.
He ate quickly, his aim just to fill his stomach before driving into the city to meet with his best friend—and banker. As Mike scraped the leftovers into the garbage disposal he wondered what Richard’s reaction would be.
Mike suspected he’d be supportive of his rather unconventional decision. Richard might look conservative, but underneath he was anything but. You didn’t get to be CEO of an international bank before the age of forty by being meek and mild. Richard had his ruthless side, especially when it came to making money. And as crazy as Mike’s scheme might sound, if it succeeded, it was going to make both of them very wealthy men.
Five minutes later, Mike slipped on his favourite black leather jacket and headed for the front door. Half an hour later, he was sitting in Richard’s office.
‘What do you mean you didn’t see Helsinger?’ Richard’s tone was more confused than angry. ‘I thought you’d lined that meeting up before you left Sydney.’
‘Unfortunately, Chuck was called out of town the day I arrived in LA,’ Mike told him. ‘He left his apologies. A family emergency.’
‘Hell, Mike. That was bad luck.’
‘No sweat. I met with his managing director, instead. He assured me Comproware were still very interested in my new anti-virus, anti-spyware program.’
‘Yes, I’m sure they are,’ Richard said drily. ‘It’s brilliant.’
Mike wholeheartedly agreed with Richard. It was brilliant, especially the way it could track back to see where the virus—or the spy—came from, then deliver a counter-strike of its own. Mike had known, right from the first day he’d started work on the ground-breaking program, that his own relatively small, Australian-based software company didn’t have the power to do such a product justice. He needed an international company with marketing clout to launch it, worldwide.
After doing some indepth research, he’d come up with Comproware, a relatively new American software company that had great marketing flair, and which also had a reputation for offering generous contracts to the creators of new programs and games, paying royalties instead of a flat sum.
After some not-so-successful negotiating via the internet and the telephone, Mike had flown to Comproware’s head office in America to meet the owner face to face. He’d expected to pin Helsinger down to a contract during his two-day stopover. He certainly hadn’t expected what had transpired, or the path he’d now set himself upon.
‘I didn’t get a contract,’ he admitted. ‘What I did get, however, was the offer of a possible partnership.’
‘A partnership!’ Richard exclaimed excitedly. ‘With Chuck Helsinger? You’ve got to be kidding. That man’s a retail legend. Everything he touches turns to gold. A partnership with him has to be worth millions.’
‘Actually,