Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

“Don’t refuse before you’ve thought it through thoroughly.” Magnus spoke quickly, before Sapphie had a chance to voice the refusal the shock in her eyes told him was about to be her knee-jerk response to his proposal. “It will put a huge question mark in the Carluccis’ attempt to legally take custody of Angel if you’re remarried and Angel is in the process of being adopted by your new husband.”

Magnus knew it sounded like a drastic answer to the problem, but once the thought had occurred to him on the flight up to Edinburgh, he hadn’t been able to get it out of his mind.

It wouldn’t solve the whole problem, because the Carluccis could still continue with their legal battle to take Angel from Sapphie. But with Magnus on Sapphie’s side as her husband, along with the rest of his family and their combined wealth in the billions, it was going to be much harder for the older couple to prove they were in a better position or had more resources to ensure Angel had a better life than she would with her mother and stepfather.

Marriage also meant Magnus would have Sapphie as his wife and Angel as his daughter.

Incredible as that still seemed, to Magnus, that was a definite win-win.

Sapphie didn’t look quite so enamored of the idea of marrying him. In fact, she looked horrified.

He straightened. “I’m going to help you, whatever you decide,” he assured her. “But if we were married and we immediately started the process of me adopting Angel, we would have more leverage to tell the Carluccis to politely go away.”

“What you’re suggesting is insane !” Sapphie finally managed to burst out vehemently.

“Maybe a little,” he conceded ruefully. “But you have to admit it would solve the problem in one fell swoop.”

“It’s my problem,” she insisted. “One you have no reason to ever involve yourself in.”

He held her gaze with his. “Don’t I?”

Sapphie’s eyes searched Magnus’s handsome face for clues as to why he was even considering the idea of marrying a virtual stranger. Moreover, one who had a young daughter whose custody was being contended by her in-laws.

There was a gentleness to the steady green gaze that stared back at her.

The hardness of Magnus’s cheeks still had color.

Nor did the slight smile curving his sculpted lips look manic or as if he were in the middle of a psychotic episode.

If anything, Magnus looked both calm and resolute.

Meaning he was serious about wanting to marry her?

Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Maybe this is all just a ploy on your part to get me to go along with you quietly because you’re working for the Carluccis after all.”

“It isn’t, and I’m not.”

She stared at him for several long minutes before shaking her head. “Then I can’t think of a single reason why you would even pretend to want to marry a woman you’ve only just met and don’t really know.”

“I’m not pretending,” he grated.

She snorted. “I find that hard to believe.”

“Because you’ve been so busy running these past two years, you’ve lost perspective and the ability to trust.”

“So?”

“So, in time, you’ll learn to trust me.”

“I still won’t marry you.”

His eyes glittered darkly. “We’ll see.”

“None of the Carlucci money came to me, if that’s what you’re thinking—” She didn’t so much break off what she was saying as Magnus placed a single large digit over her lips to prevent her from continuing.

“If Angel weren’t here, I would spank your arse for even suggesting such a thing,” Magnus growled. “Not because of your continued suspicion regarding my motives, but because I don’t like you saying anything that sounds even remotely derogatory about yourself or your worth.” He grinned in response to her gasp at his threat.

As if he was already looking forward to hearing her gasp in the same way when she transgressed again and the promised spanking took place.

“You’re in your late thirties or early forties…?”

“I’m forty-two,” he confirmed.

She nodded. “You’re a forty-two-year-old attractive and successful man who has obviously remained single through choice.”

“I also lived in New York until two weeks ago, when I came back to England for my cousin’s wedding. Since meeting you, I know that move is going to be permanent.”

“That’s ridiculous. Why on earth would you uproot your life and want to marry a woman you just met and who is so much younger than you? A woman who already has a young child and more baggage than she can comfortably carry?”

“Because I want to carry that baggage for you—and I’m more than big enough to do so—until you’re completely back on your feet and can manage it alone.”

“But why would you want to do that?”

His expression was grim. “I repeat, I don’t like bullies. You should also know I have far more money than the Carluccis, so if there’s any financial bullying to be done, I’m going to win that particular fight,” he added softly.

Sapphie blinked, not sure she wanted to even know how much money that might be. She knew it had to be a lot, because the Carluccis were millionaires many times over.

Roman and Patrice Carlucci had never made any secret of the fact they didn’t approve of her as a wife for their only son and heir. They considered that her background, of her parents dying and her being brought up in an orphanage from the age of eight, had put her far beneath them and their financial and social standing in DC society.

As such, Marco’s parents had made it obvious from the first time they met her that they would much rather their son had married one of the daughters of their close circle of friends. Someone who would have been an asset to his future political career.

Sapphie gave an inward snort at the knowledge Marco might not have married any of those other women, but he had certainly enjoyed fucking most of them during the two years of their marriage. Some of them repeatedly.

Destructive memories which didn’t deserve any of her time and were certainly not relevant to her current situation.

She frowned at Magnus. “Then I understand even less why you would choose to deliberately involve yourself in the complication that is my life.”

Magnus wanted to tell her it was because she was already so deeply embedded in his heart, Angel too, that any other outcome than marriage and forever between the two of them was now unacceptable to him.

But he knew it was too soon. That Sapphie wouldn’t believe him if he told her that.

Hell, he still had trouble believing it!

Until he’d seen Sapphie for the first time, he had been the perennial bachelor. The one out of the four Wynter men least likely to ever marry. To ever want to marry.

He had never been less than honest with the women he went to bed with, had always made it clear from the beginning of any of those brief liaisons that love and the sound of wedding bells had no place in their future.

He had truly believed those things would never, could never, happen to him.

One look at Sapphie, and his whole world had upended itself. When it had reshaped itself, it was with Sapphie and Angel now at its center. Two brightly shining stars around which everything else in Magnus’s life now orbited. Around which he orbited.

“Next you’ll be telling me that, as we’re in Scotland, you’re going to drag me off to Gretna Green to get married!” she mocked.

“I checked into doing that on the way up here, but it isn’t possible.”

“You…checked…into…it?” she repeated with obvious disbelief.

He nodded, unabashed. “Apparently, they don’t perform elopement weddings anymore. They still perform marriage ceremonies, but I was told they now need twenty-nine days to check the relevant documents before the ceremony. We can get married more quickly in London. I’d suggest Vegas, but if you use your passport to enter the US it will probably throw up a red flag and alert the Carluccis to your being there.”

Sapphie stared at him. “I’m still stuck on the fact you really looked into the two of us getting married at Gretna Green!”

He shrugged. “I thought it might be an option, but it proved not to be a valid one.”

It was an option that had caused Linus, who had done the checking for Magnus and who was already worried regarding his brother’s interest in Sapphie and Angel, to question Magnus’s behavior. Magnus had brushed off his brother’s concern. He had never been as sure of anything in his life before as he was that Sapphie and Angel were his.

“Have the two of you eaten today?” he now prompted.

Sapphie blinked at the sudden change of subject. “Just the juice and biscuit we had on the train. Angel’s had a nap since then and only woke up a short time ago. You arrived before we had a chance to go and look for food.”

Magnus nodded. “Then why don’t I take you both out to lunch? We can return to this other subject again once Angel is in bed later tonight.” He glanced about the small room, with its double bed and small en suite bathroom. He doubted he would even fit in the bed or the small shower unit he could see through the open doorway. “I’ll book all of us into a hotel until we’ve decided what we’re going to do next.”

“I’m perfectly happy where I am, thank you. And I already know what I’m going to do next,” Sapphie told him firmly.

“We could find somewhere better than this to stay.” He grimaced before conceding, “But as long as any plans you make also include me, I’ll happily agree to go along with them.”

She glared her frustration. “I don’t need you to agree, happily or otherwise, to anything I decide to do!”

“Never said you did,” he acknowledged.

“But— You just?—”

“I said it would make me happy. I didn’t say you had to do it.” He eyed her ruefully for several seconds before speaking again. “Angel, would you like us all to take Angus for a walk in the park I saw down the road, and then we can find somewhere to have lunch together?” He might have directed his words to the little girl, but the steadiness of his gaze remained fixed challengingly on the woman in front of him.

Angel looked up from playing with the dog. “Can Angus come to lunch with us too?”

“Of course.” If the dog wasn’t allowed in the restaurant, then they would find somewhere with a garden that did allow it. No way was he going to be responsible for putting a disappointed look on that cherubic little face.

Angel smiled brightly, the tears of a short time ago apparently completely forgotten. “Yes, please!”

“Outnumbered,” Magnus murmured so that only Sapphie could hear him.

“Don’t feel too triumphant,” she warned as softly. “I’m not agreeing to anything more than a walk for Angus and then letting you pay for our lunch.”

“Small wins often lead to bigger ones.”

Sapphie knew that. Just as she was starting to realize that dealing with this man was similar to facing down a moving steamroller that was gaining momentum. One that would flatten, without hesitation, anything that got in the way of where Magnus wanted to be.

And, incredible as it still sounded, one of the things he currently wanted to do was to marry her.

Something which had caused an avalanche of totally opposing emotions inside Sapphie.

They ranged from absolutely not , to a heartfelt yes, please .

The former was a knee-jerk reaction to the thought of marrying anyone after the heartache of her marriage to Marco.

The latter was in response to how protected and safe Magnus made her feel.

Magnus also kissed like a dream. Hungry, intense, his attention totally focused on her and ensuring she felt the same pleasure he did. A pleasure and arousal he had made no effort to hide from her.

It was a heady feeling to have that effect on such a ruggedly handsome man. A feeling she knew she could become addicted to if exposed to it, and him, for too long.

But…for the moment, she really was only agreeing to lunch, and she was only doing that because she knew how disappointed Angel would be if she didn’t.

Which Magnus had also known when he’d made the suggestion.

Her daughter was already overtired and upset from their abrupt departure from London. Angel had cried when she had to say goodbye to Henry! The long train journey here had made the young girl even more exhausted, despite her brief nap earlier.

Sapphie would willingly do whatever it took to take away that look of desolation lingering in the back of her daughter’s eyes. Even if it was only for a short time.

“It’s just a walk for Angus and a free lunch for us,” she warned Magnus again.

He grinned. “And I told you, small victories.”

Sapphie couldn’t let Magnus win any of the big victories.

She needed to stay focused on the task at hand, which was to always remain one step ahead of the Carluccis.

But she couldn’t deny it felt good to stroll through the park and breathe easily for the first time since they had left London yesterday. Even more so to enjoy watching how carefree Angel was as she laughed and played on the grass with Angus.

Not that Sapphie was about to tell the man walking beside her any of that. Magnus was far too sure of himself already without her admitting he had been right to suggest they come to the park before lunch.

An outing that was suddenly interrupted by the ring tone of the cell phone Magnus immediately took out of the back pocket of his jeans.

“I need to take this.” Magnus apologized for the interruption before taking the call. His expression darkened as he listened intently to what was being said. “What about the security cameras? Amateurs! Any idea what was taken? Right.” He glanced at the listening Sapphie before continuing. “Call Derek and have him get the helicopter and a flight plan ready for our departure, three passengers and a dog, as soon as we arrive at the airport,” he instructed seconds later. “And increase the security at my apartment.” He ended the call abruptly before asking Sapphie. “Do you have your cell phone on you?”

“What?”

“Your cell phone,” he repeated, holding out his hand.

“It’s just a burner phone,” she explained as she took the red phone from inside her shoulder bag. “What are you doing ?” she gasped as Magnus dropped the cell phone onto the concrete pathway before stomping down on it with the heel of his boot.

He bent down to pick up the SIM card and snap it in two before putting the broken pieces in a nearby bin. “That was my brother Linus on the phone. The office of Buzzy Bees Nursery was broken into last night.”

She eyed him warily. “And?”

His nostrils flared. “Apparently, the cameras inside the building aren’t switched on at night, only the ones outside in the grounds.”

Sapphie winced. “That’s not good.”

“No, it isn’t,” he agreed. “The only thing the cameras outside managed to record was a blurred image of someone in a hoodie breaking in and entering by the front door. It set off the alarm, but the response time by the police and the security company—not ours, I hasten to add—was so bad that the intruder had time to break into the office too, take what they wanted, and then leave before the police arrived.”

“And what did they want?” The sinking feeling in Sapphie’s stomach told her she wasn’t going to like Magnus’s answer.

“Linus was able to hack into their system and see that whoever the intruder was, they had downloaded the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all the parents of the children currently registered at the nursery,” he revealed grimly.

And Angel was still registered as one of the children attending the nursery because Sapphie hadn’t yet had chance to call Allison and tell her of their change of plans.

It explained why Magnus had felt the need to destroy her cell phone.

“There’s something else,” Magnus said softly. “The apartment you rented until yesterday was also broken into about an hour after the nursery. Someone spray-painted the walls with red graffiti. Your landlord called the police when he discovered the damage this morning after one of your neighbors contacted him. Linus checked their report afterward?—”

“Hacked into it again, you mean,” she guessed dully.

“It’s what he does,” Magnus confirmed without apology. “The police report said that the furniture that came along with the rental apartment had been spray-painted, along with the carpet and the graffiti on the walls.”

“Oh God, does that mean the London police are now looking for me too?”

He shook his head. “The same tenant who called the owner of the building said they had seen you and Angel leave, with your packed bags, before the apartment was broken into.”

She sighed. “That’s something, I suppose.”

“The police report also said the apartment was completely empty of personal items. I’m guessing that’s because you never accumulate more than you can pack in the couple of bags you took with you?”

She gave an awkward shrug. “I know it isn’t ideal, but it’s what I’ve had to do to keep one step ahead of anyone who might be looking for us.”

“I’m not judging you,” Magnus assured. “You did what you had to do. I would have done the same in your circumstances.”

Tears balanced on the edge of her lashes. “You would?”

“In a heartbeat.”

“Thank you,” she accepted shakily.

He stepped forward to take her in his arms. “I really am here for you now.”

Her head rested against the solidness of his chest, her arms about his waist. “I still don’t understand why.”

“You will, in time,” he assured. “In the meantime, we have to accept that, when you add the two incidents together, they appear to not only be deliberate, but targeted.”

On Sapphie and Angel.

Which had to mean the Carlucci family had found them. Not only found them, but they were now actively hunting them.

Sapphie felt the ground shift beneath her feet and the edges of darkness begin to narrow her vision.