work, Danny thought on Thursday morning as she waved goodbye to the women who had helped her to design the menu for their wedding banquet. She had left them late last night, after discussing plans for the wedding, and had felt much calmer after spending time with them. She had slept well for the first time in ages.
Maybe because there had had been no sign of Tiago, she thought now with amusement, as he stood at her side in the middle of the courtyard, supposedly surveying the decorations when he was clearly itching to go on his morning ride.
‘Happy?’ Tiago asked as the lively group trooped home.
‘Yes,’ Danny said. ‘I am now I know that this is the type of wedding we’re having. I honestly couldn’t think of anything better.’
‘Everyone wants to help because they think a lot of you.’
‘I hope that’s true.’
‘Didn’t I tell you everything would be all right?’
‘Yes,’ she murmured, wondering if once they were married she’d even see him.
It was too late to worry about that now, Danny concluded, heading for the house as Tiago turned for the stables—or so she thought.
She hadn’t realised but he was coming after her, and she exclaimed with surprise.
‘Not long now.’ He cupped her chin, and his eyes blazed into her own. ‘Is there anything that could make this better for you, chica?’
If you loved me, she thought, that would make it better. If this marriage of ours were not a sham, that would make it better still.
‘Your friends from Rottingdean?’ he suggested.
‘Lizzie and Chico are still on honeymoon, and with Hamish and Annie in charge of the house in their absence—’
‘What about your mother?’
‘If you can find her.’ Danny’s mouth twisted with regret. ‘I’m afraid I don’t even know where she is. I keep trying to contact her, but—’
‘She’s in the South of France,’ Tiago revealed, shocking her.
‘What’s she doing there?’
‘Spending the last of the money you sent her, I imagine.’
‘Did you speak to her?’ she asked urgently.
Hope soared inside her. She’d always been a dream-weaver, and if there was the slightest chance she could speak to her mother, make her understand, reassure her about this marriage...
‘Yes. I’ve spoken to her,’ he confirmed. ‘I wanted everything to be perfect for you—or as perfect as it can be. You’re doing so much for me, Danny. I don’t think you even realise what you’re doing. I would have flown your mother out here for the wedding, but there are some things even I can’t control.’
‘What did she say to you?’ She couldn’t hide her eagerness. ‘Did she get my messages?’
‘She got all of them, apparently.’
Tiago’s grim look warned her to be brave.
‘What did she say?’
‘She said they were blocking up her phone, and could you please stop?’
‘OH.’ DANNY’S VOICE was flat. The shock of what Tiago had told her cut deep. She couldn’t blame him for his candour after she’d pressed him for an answer. She guessed he’d thought a clean cut would be the best. The news that her mother wasn’t interested in Danny was old, but it hurt all the same. The fact that her mother didn’t even care that she was getting married was brutal.
‘You tried, Danny. At least you tried.’
Yes, she was certainly a trier, Danny reflected dryly. How stupid she felt now, imagining her mother would want to wish her well.
‘I can’t honestly say I expected her to be here for the wedding,’ she admitted, pinning a smile to her face.
She glanced up to find Tiago staring down at her with concern. Maybe she was wrong about him. Maybe he did have feelings but, having spent a lifetime hiding them, now found them impossible to express.
‘Don’t feel sorry for me, Tiago. I’m not a child.’
‘Maybe not,’ he agreed, ‘but my people show you more affection than your own mother. If she had been born with a title, and then squandered an old man’s fortune, I would say that your mother and mine must have been twins.’
The bitterness in his voice told her that Tiago had experience of loving someone and being rejected. She knew that that could lead down one of two roads: the road she trod, where she never stopped trying, or the road Tiago had taken, where he simply turned his back. It was another thought to unsettle her.
‘I can’t bear to see you hurt like this,’ he raged.
‘I’m not hurt. I’m—’
‘Accustomed to it?’ he spat out. ‘Why should you be accustomed to it? This is wrong, Danny. You should cut her out of your life.’
‘She’s my mother. I can’t.’
‘She’s no mother to you.’
With an impatient gesture, Tiago ground his jaw, but thankfully said nothing more on the subject.
‘Don’t worry,’ he said at last. ‘Everyone on the ranch will be here to cheer you on.’
‘And that’s all that matters,’ she said with conviction.
She only had to remember how touched she’d been when a selection of treasured veils and wedding dresses had been brought out of lavender-scented storage for her to choose from to know how much Tiago’s people meant to her.
‘They’re your people now, Danny,’ he said, reading her.
‘Our people.’
That thought made her feel strong. Whatever happened in the future, the bond she was building here with the people of Fazenda Santos would support her as surely as any strong family could.
‘They’ve done so much in the short time they’ve known me to make me feel welcome,’ she said, glancing round the courtyard, which was already dressed for the wedding, ‘and I’m honoured to have been accepted here.’
‘You’ll be happy. I’ll make sure of it,’ he said.
But when Tiago put his arm around her shoulders and drew her close she thought, Yes, but for just one year.
She was certain that Tiago would do his best to make her time in Brazil trouble-free. It wasn’t in his interest to do otherwise. He would never risk this marriage of convenience being challenged by anyone.
‘One last drink before we part?’ he suggested.
‘Why not?’ She smiled.
Tomorrow was their wedding day. It hardly seemed possible. Closing her eyes briefly, she drank in his strength, wishing with all her heart that they were a normal couple, with a normal relationship. But what was normal? Could any couple enter into marriage with complete certainty?
Shaking off her doubts, she walked with him towards the outdoor area at the back of the ranch house, where Tiago loved to stand and look out across his property. She reminded herself that for some married couples it wasn’t even possible to guarantee a happy year.
* * *
The hunter had become the protector. His cold-blooded plan to marry Danny at all costs had been brought to its knees by the way she was treated by her mother. No one should be treated like that. Hot blood surged through