Bride Behind The Billion-Dollar Veil. Clare Connelly

I’ll have my apartment to come back to,’ she tacked on, when he didn’t speak.

      He remained silent, staring at her for so long and so hard that she wondered if she’d pushed it too far.

      And then he laughed, a cracking sound that reverberated around the room.

      ‘What?’ Heat spread through her cheeks.

      ‘Your old apartment? Dio, Alice.’ He shook his head, laughter lines still creasing the corners of his eyes. ‘I can see that of your many strengths, negotiating is not one of them.’

      Her heart rate notched up a gear. She knew the cost of a bed in a good nursing home wasn’t cheap. It would be half a million dollars, easily, to buy an ongoing position.

      ‘So tell me what you want to pay me,’ she said instead.

      ‘I am asking you to walk away from your life, to pretend to be my wife—which is not likely to be a walk in the park, let me tell you. You would be photographed, and I would expect you to attend events with me often, in order to sell this as real. You will need to completely overhaul your way of life. And you ask for only your salary?’

      Her jaw dropped. ‘And my mother’s care.’

      He waved a hand in the air, dismissively.

      ‘I wasn’t sure what you had in mind.’

      ‘Alice, you should not undervalue yourself like this.’

      ‘Well, what do you suggest?’

      ‘For starters, an apartment in New York. You can choose what you like. I have several, but if none of them is to your liking then feel free to contact a realtor.’

      Her jaw dropped lower.

      ‘A cash settlement. I was expecting you to ask for twenty million dollars, to which I intended to counter ten, and settle on perhaps fifteen after some back and forth. So shall we just save ourselves the trouble and say fifteen million dollars?’

      ‘Fifteen million dollars? In cash?’

      ‘Alice, I’m a very wealthy man, and if you marry me, you’ll be enabling me to buy a business that is worth more to me than anything else. Yes. Fifteen million dollars.’

      ‘And a home in New York. And my mother’s care.’

      ‘And health insurance,’ he seemed to add as an afterthought. ‘Starting immediately.’

      Alice gaped. It was too much.

      ‘But I could just pay for that myself with the money…’

      He laughed again. ‘Your negotiation skills are really quite poor.’

      ‘I don’t want to feel like I’m scamming you.’

      Surprise crossed his face, but he covered it quickly. ‘You’re not.’

      ‘It feels a lot like I am.’

      ‘It’s a job.’

      ‘A ridiculously over-paid job.’

      ‘I’m already paying above the odds for the company.’ He shrugged. ‘This is just another expense to factor into its reacquisition.’

      ‘It means that much to you?’

      His eyes glittered like black gemstones and in response he simply dipped his head forward.

      ‘Petó means everything to me.’

      ‘Because it used to be yours?’

      ‘Because it was my grandfather’s.’ And despite the fact the words were delivered quietly, she felt passion in every single syllable. ‘Because it was sold under duress, and because I swore I would get it back.’ He closed his eyes for a moment. ‘And because Kosta Carinedes will sell eventually, and I do not wish him to sell it to anyone else.’

      ‘You think he would?’

      Thanos pierced her with his gaze. ‘Yes.’

      ‘So how would this work?’ she prompted, breaking off when the waiter reappeared with a bottle of wine. Alice watched as he unscrewed the cork and poured two glasses, then disappeared once more.

      ‘We’d get married quickly. Two weeks should be enough time to organise the details. I have a hotel in the South of France that would be perfect—just the kind of place I would choose for my wedding. It’s private and difficult to get to, so while we’ll leak it to the press, there won’t be an abundance of paparazzi hanging off the gates.’