Read Online The Secret Spanish Love-Child by Cathy Williams - Free Book Online

with a blank, uncomprehending face.
    ‘What are you talking about?’ she asked in genuine bewilderment.
    Gabriel wondered whether she could really be that naive. Hadn’t she already clocked that, by detonating her little hand grenade, she was, in passing, doing herself a massive financial favour? A quick glance around him was enough to confirm that hers was a life devoid of any luxury.
    ‘You don’t think that I would really agree to have my son brought up in these conditions, do you?’
    ‘These conditions ? There’s nothing wrong with where we live! Have you any idea how hard I’ve worked to be able to afford this place? Even with Mum and Dad having to help out now and again?’
    ‘Yes, and here’s where I come in. You can start relaxing.’
    Having digressed, Alex brought the conversation back to its origin and again asked him what he meant by having to call off his wedding.
    ‘I have a child and no child of mine will be raised illegitimate. Connect the dots, Alex.’
    ‘Are you asking me to marry you ?’
    ‘I don’t see all that many choices staring me in the face, do you?’
    Alex felt the weight of pain settle in her chest like a rock. Five years ago, she could have thought of nothing better than to receive a marriage proposal from this man. She wouldhave abandoned all thoughts of a university career without a backward glance. Now here he was, years down the road, proposing marriage because he could think of no other choice, given the situation in which he had found himself dragged. Did he expect her to feel grateful ? She sincerely hoped not because gratitude was way down the list of things she was currently feeling.
    ‘Okay. So let me get this straight. You would break off your engagement to Cristobel, dump all your wedding plans to marry me because I happen to be the mother of a son you never knew you had.’
    ‘Like I said. Not too many options staring me in the face.’ Gabriel was surprised to find that he felt a lot less disturbed at this eventuality than he would have expected. Why was that?
    Never given to the pointless luxury of introspection, it crossed his mind that his choice to marry Cristobel had perhaps been the result of silent pressure from his parents and a general logical awareness that marriage was the next step. Cristobel ticked all the boxes and she had been more than eager to oblige. On paper, it had had everything going for it. Until now. On paper, this arrangement he was proposing not only made more sense but was, in fact, a necessity.
    ‘We’ll have to get it done sooner rather than later,’ he mused, thinking of his parents and bracing himself for the inevitable ugly fallout. ‘My parents will doubtless be disappointed at the turn of events but knowing that we have married and given my son the Cruz surname should go a little way to easing the situation.’ He thought that Cristobel would be a rather different matter. And then there were all those wedding arrangements to un-arrange. And the further hassle of press intrusion. Like it or not, his was a public face. He would have to act swiftly to avoid even the merest whiff of a scandal.
    ‘I could arrange something quiet for the weekend.’ He glanced quickly at his watch and frowned. ‘Once that’s out of the way, we can go somewhere abroad until the fuss dies down. Naturally, I will only be able to be with you for a very short while. It would be impossible to leave my business concerns for too long…’
    ‘I don’t believe I’m hearing this.’
    ‘I know.’ Gabriel’s mouth twisted into a dry smile. ‘You must find it almost beyond belief that you’ve managed to hit jackpot. Who would have thought it?’
    ‘I have no intention of marrying you.’
    ‘You really don’t mean that,’ Gabriel said patiently.
    ‘No, but I really do ,’ Alex said, her pulse leaping with anger and loathing. ‘First of all, we’re not living in the Dark Ages. You might think that sacrificing your life because of some warped