Argentinian Playboy, Unexpected Love-Child
Infamous Argentinian… Billionaire polo player Diego Ortega has seen the world and sampled many of its women. Sweet British beauty Rachel Summers has sated his appetite – so why does he find his body yearning for more?Pregnant stable-girl! Rachel knows she is not Diego’s type – less glamorous supermodel, more wholesome country girl. But that doesn’t mean she has to wear her heart on her sleeve.She kept her virginity a secret before he bedded her… But now she has to tell Diego she’s carrying his baby!
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‘You are carrying the heir to the Ortega fortune. I want our child to be born legitimately. Can you really deny the baby his birthright?’
‘It’s not just a question of getting married,’ Rachel muttered. ‘I’d have to move to the other side of the world, to a strange country…’
‘Argentina is not a strange country,’ Diego assured her, his mouth curving into a sudden smile that made her heart turn over. ‘It is a beautiful, vibrant country, and I promise you will fall in love with it, querida.’
‘When were you thinking of getting married?’ she asked, her hand straying to her stomach.
Diego placed his hand next to hers. ‘I’ll make the necessary arrangements immediately,’ he said. ‘We don’t have much time.’
Chantelle Shaw lives on the Kent coast, five minutes from the sea, and does much of her thinking about the characters in her books while walking on the beach. She’s been an avid reader from an early age. Her schoolfriends used to hide their books when she visited—but Chantelle would retreat into her own world, and still writes stories in her head all the time. Chantelle has been blissfully married to her own tall, dark and very patient hero for over twenty years, and has six children. She began to read Mills & Boon>® as a teenager, and throughout the years of being a stay-at-home mum to her brood found romantic fiction helped her to stay sane! She enjoys reading and writing about strong-willed, feisty women, and even stronger-willed sexy heroes. Chantelle is at her happiest when writing. She is particularly inspired while cooking dinner, which unfortunately results in a lot of culinary disasters! She also loves gardening, walking, and eating chocolate (followed by more walking!). Catch up with Chantelle’s latest news on her website: www.chantelleshaw.com.
Don’t miss Chantelle Shaw’s book THE GREEK BILLIONAIRE’S INNOCENT PRINCESS out in September 2009 part of THE ROYAL HOUSE OF KAREDES
CHAPTER ONE
DIEGO leaned against the paddock fence, his dark eyes narrowed against the glare of the early evening sun as he watched the horse and rider soar over the triple jump with impressive ease. The six foot wall was next. The horse was gathering pace and the rider stretched forwards along its neck in preparation for the jump.
The display of riding skill was fascinating to watch. Unwittingly, Diego held his breath, waiting for the horse’s hooves to leave the ground. But at that moment a motorbike emerged from the woods, the high-pitched scream of its engine shattering the quiet air. The bike braked on the track which ran alongside the paddock with a squeal of tyres. The horse was clearly scared by the noise, and Diego knew instantly that it would refuse the jump. But there was nothing he could do, and he watched helplessly as the rider was thrown out of the saddle, sailed over the horse’s head, and landed with a sickening thud on the sun-baked earth.
Rachel was winded by the force of the impact with the ground and she struggled to draw oxygen into her lungs. Her head was spinning and sensation was returning to her body, bringing with it various points of pain on her arms, shoulders, hips… She was going to have some spectacular bruises, she thought ruefully. It seemed easier to keep her eyes closed and sink into the welcome blackness where pain was obliterated, but she could hear a voice and she forced her lashes up and stared dazedly at the man looming over her.
‘Don’t try to move. Lie still while I check to see if you’ve broken any bones. Dios—You are lucky you are still alive,’ the voice said roughly. ‘You flew through the air like a rag doll.’
Rachel was vaguely aware of hands running over her body, working up from her legs to her hips and then skimming her ribcage and, despite the lightness of the man’s touch, she winced when he found the tender area on her lower rib. Still stunned by the fall, her lashes drifted down again.
‘Hey, don’t pass out. I’m going to call an ambulance.’
‘I don’t need an ambulance,’ she muttered fiercely, forcing her eyes open again. The blackness was disappearing and above her she could see the blue sky dotted with wisps of cotton wool clouds. But then the stranger leaned over her, his face so close to hers that she could feel his warm breath graze her cheek, and for a moment she wondered if she was concussed—or hallucinating.
She recognised him instantly. Diego Ortega—international polo champion, multimillionaire and playboy who, according to the press, was as successful in his pursuit of beautiful women as he was of polo titles. Rachel had no interest in gossip columns, but since she was twelve years old she had devoured every riding magazine she could lay her hands on and there was no doubt that the Argentinian was a legend in his chosen sport.
She supposed she should not be surprised by his sudden appearance when, for the past few weeks, the main topic of conversation among the other stable-hands had been his impending visit to Hardwick Hall. But seeing him in the flesh was still a shock, and the realisation that he had been watching her take Piran over the jumps was disconcerting.
