Mills & Boon is proud to present a fabulous collection of fantastic novels by bestselling, much loved author
ANNE MATHER
Anne has a stellar record of achievement within the
publishing industry, having written over one hundred and sixty books, with worldwide sales of more than forty-eight MILLION copies in multiple languages.
This amazing collection of classic stories offers a chance
for readers to recapture the pleasure Anneâs powerful, passionate writing has given.
We are sure you will love them all!
Iâve always wanted to writeâwhich is not to say Iâve always wanted to be a professional writer. On the contrary, for years I only wrote for my own pleasure and it wasnât until my husband suggested sending one of my stories to a publisher that we put several publishersâ names into a hat and pulled one out. The rest, as they say, is history. And now, one hundred and sixty-two books later, Iâm literallyâexcuse the punâstaggered by whatâs happened.
I had written all through my infant and junior years and on into my teens, the stories changing from childrenâs adventures to torrid gypsy passions. My mother used to gather these manuscripts up from time to time, when my bedroom became too untidy, and dispose of them! In those days, I used not to finish any of the stories and Caroline, my first published novel, was the first Iâd ever completed. I was newly married then and my daughter was just a baby, and it was quite a job juggling my household chores and scribbling away in exercise books every chance I got. Not very professional, as you can imagine, but thatâs the way it was.
These days, I have a bit more time to devote to my work, but that first love of writing has never changed. I canât imagine not having a current book on the typewriterâyes, itâs my husband who transcribes everything on to the computer. Heâs my partner in both life and work and I depend on his good sense more than I care to admit.
We have two grown-up children, a son and a daughter, and two almost grown-up grandchildren, Abi and Ben. My e-mail address is [email protected] and Iâd be happy to hear from any of my wonderful readers.
THE villa dreamed in the afternoon sunlight. Pale stone walls, blush pink tiles dripping with purple and white bougainvillea that curled over the eaves and framed the shuttered windows. There was iron grill-work circling the first floor gallery, a dark contrast to the vivid colours of the flowers. It was everything Olivia had hoped it would be and more besides.
It wasnât big. Indeed, compared to the houses sheâd shared with Tony over the years, it was almost conservatively small. But that suited her. She didnât want big. She didnât want impressive. She just wanted somewhere she could call her own. Somewhere she could live unnoticed, undisturbed.
Beyond the gardensâlush lawns and rioting vegetationâthe blue-green waters of the Caribbean creamed onto an almost white beach. It was delightful, it was heaven, and it was hersâfor the next few months at least.
But Olivia shivered suddenly as the memory of why she was here swept over her. Tony was dead. Her husband of more than fifteen years had died as he had lived, screwing his latest mistress. And, as if that werenât enough, the police had informed her that theyâd both been high on cocaine at the time.
Naturally the press had indulged in a feeding frenzy at these revelations. Antonio Mora had always been news and, even though he was dead, heâd continued to excite speculation. Particularly as his latest partner had been the wife of a local senator.
Of course that aspect of the affair had soon been hushed up, and the question of why Olivia had remained married to him for so many years had resurfaced with predictable ease. It had always been assumed that sheâd overlooked his many sexual exploits because of his money. But it wasnât true. If sheâd divorced Tony sheâd still have been a wealthy woman. Sheâd signed no prenuptial agreement. A good lawyer could have probably ensured that sheâd get half of everything Tony had.
No, it was Luis who had ensured that she and her husband stayed together. Luis, who had been only three when sheâd come to work for Tony as the boyâs nanny. And, after discovering the fiasco of their whirlwind marriage, it had been Luis sheâd continued to love.
Not that Tony had been an unkind man. When theyâd met for the first time, sheâd been instantly attracted by his charm and good looks. What she hadnât realised was that Tony had had a different agenda. While sheâd been looking for a lasting relationship, heâd been looking for a mother for his son.
Heâd known she would never do anything to hurt Luis. The child had taken to her from the start and sheâd let that blind her to his fatherâs faults. Besides, after a fairly ordinary upbringing in England, sheâd been flattered by Tonyâs interest in her. No one knew better than she did how persuasive he could be.