Page 95 (2/2)

He hoped so—he really hoped so

But within twenty-four hours he knew that his hopes had been in vain As he gazed grimly down at the dossier in front of him, freshly delivered by his security team, he knew that without a doubt there was definitely—very definitely—a problem

Arirl was not ‘the ideal bride’ Xavier’s ht irl orked as a hostess in a Soho casino?

That she was just that was indisputable Ar the London HQ of XeL at the end of the working day, and taking a taxi to a part of South London no one would live in by choice There, he had been granted entry to a ground-floor flat in a rundown tene woman who had welco, when the woman had seen him out Whereupon Armand had embraced her on the doorstep and spoken earnestly to her The young woman had then been kept under surveillance herself, and within half an hour had left the flat She had been followed to Soho, to the casino named in the dossier, where enquiries had confirmed she was employed as a hostess

Xavier dropped the baldly written report down

on his desk His stomach clenched This was the wo home to his family, be the mother of his children?

Was he completely mad?

With a harsh intake of breath, he ripped open the envelope le name: Lissa Stephens

Then he slid out a photo, and stared at it Just as it that Lissa Stephens possessed by way of charms to entrap his brother?

As he stared, Xavier’s disbelief raphed at the casino, presuents She could hardly have looked worse

Blonde, backcombed hair, make-up a centimetre thick, a scarlet slash of a mouth and a skimpy satin low-cut dress Crudely … blatantly … displayed

What the hell did Armand see in her?

Revulsion shot through him How could Armand possibly want a woman like that?

Xavier’s eyes narrowed Did his brother even know she was a casino hostess in London’s infaht district, Soho? He felt the blood run cold in his veins And was that revelation ?

He could feel his own revulsion mount in him, and with deliberate effort he contained it It was essential—to his brother’s happiness, and his parents’—that the right call be made on this Lissa Stephens Reason demanded that there was a chance—however slim—that appearances were deceptive Reason, not emotion

Could it possibly be that the girl was not as bad as she looked?

His eyes went to the photo again Disbelief shot through him—could this really be the woht of Ar her to theirherself at ho his brother be first besotted and then bitterly disillusioned, was anathema

He looked down at the two-di to see beyond it He could read nothing from her expression, her make-up was like a mask, but one aspect of her appearance she could not mask

Her eyes

They were hard The eyes of a woood heart as a weakness to be taken advantage of Armand’s words sounded in his mind