âIâm not here to be judged by a man who was happy enough to bed me but who rejects the consequences.â
Luc reared back with surprise. Clearly the last thing he had expected was for her to take him on. The great Lucas Marcelos versus Emma Fane, a chambermaid? No contest, he must have thought. No contest? Sheâd be a mother soon. Heâd better get used to that idea.
âIâll need proof that your baby is mine,â he grated out.
âIâd expect nothing less,â she said coldly.
âWell, we are where we are, so I will tell you whatâs going to happen next.â
âNo, you wonât,â she argued firmly. âThis is one occasion where you donât decide. This is my body and my babyââ
âOur baby, according to you,â he fired back.
âOur baby,â she conceded. âThere is no blame here, Luc. Weâre both equally responsible for this child, and both equally invested in its future.â
She hoped that was true, and something in Lucâs eyes said he did want to be part of thisâthough whether that was a good thing, right now she couldnât tell. For all that he was a notorious playboy, Lucas Marcelos was famous for his loyaltyâto his friends, to his polo team, and to the staff who worked for him. Her only worry was that Lucas would take his sense of responsibility to the nth degree, and that once he was satisfied he was the father of her child he would demand complete control.
Welcome to the hot, sultry and successful world of Brazilian polo!
Get ready to spend many
HOT BRAZILIAN NIGHTS
with Brazilâs sexiest polo champions!
Forget privilege and prestige, this is Gaucho Poloâhard, hot and unforgiving â¦
like the men who play the game!
Off the field the Thunderbolts are notorious heartbreakers, but what happens when they meet the one person who can tame that unbridled passion?
You may have already met gorgeous team captain Gabe in
Christmas Nights with the Polo Player
Now get ready to meet the rest of the team in:
In the Brazilianâs Debt March 2015
At the Brazilianâs Command April 2015
Brazilianâs Nine Monthsâ Notice November 2015
And look out for
Back in the Brazilianâs Bed December 2015
Available from millsandboon.co.uk
Or visit the authorâs website:
susanstephens.com/thunderbolt
SUSAN STEPHENS was a professional singer before meeting her husband on the Mediterranean island of Malta. In true Mills & Boon Modern Romance style they met on Monday, became engaged on Friday and married three months later. Susan enjoys entertaining, travel and going to the theatre. To relax she reads, cooks and plays the piano, and when sheâs had enough of relaxing she throws herself off mountains on skis, or gallops through the countryside singing loudly.
For my friend, the wonderfully warm and talented Carole Mortimer, in this, her very special year.
CHAPTER ONE
HAVING THE NIGHT off from her job as chambermaid to attend the wedding of her best friend in Scotland should have been a cause for celebration. A racing heart made that impossible, because Lucas Marcelos would almost certainly attend the wedding too, which meant no swerving from the truth.
Luc...
Would she ever learn?
No, Emma concluded, staring into the mirror in the ladies room at her rabbit-in-the-headlights face. Her stomach clenched at the thought of meeting up with the man who had fathered her unborn child. There was no doubt. She had taken a pregnancy test three times. It was only a couple of weeks since sheâd left London and the bed of the hotel owner and infamous bad boy of gaucho polo, Lucas Marcelosâtoo early for doctors or scans, or even the physical signs to make themselves felt, other than tender breasts and some nausea, which, she had no doubt, would ramp up when she faced Luc.
The self-professed playboy was hardly going to leap with joy when he heard her news. He certainly wouldnât show the same warm charm he had in London. A man as wealthy and successful as Lucas was bound to be suspicious of her motives. He would be even more suspicious if he knew how elated sheâd been when she had discovered she was pregnant.
Emmaâs main worry wasnât for herself. She wondered if Luc would make a good father for her baby. They hardly knew each other, and what she did know about him hardly pointed to him being a family man.
One step at a time, she told herself firmly, checking the dress that had seemed perfectly fine when she had first walked into the cloakroom and now seemed too tight. Luc was a close friend of the groom so he was bound to be here. The groom, Tiago Santos, was marrying one of Emmaâs closest friends, Danny Cameron. When Luc could spare the time from his chain of super-luxury hotels, both men played gaucho polo for the world-famous Thunderbolt polo team. If Luc didnât show up he would be the only member of team Thunderbolt not attending the wedding. Emma had recognised several striking faces from the teamâs publicity photos. Odds on, Lucas was prowling the party right now.