soft bath mat and reached for an even more luxurious bath sheet. Today I became a billionaire. To

illed to pieces with the four-point-six billion they'd been paid for the Wild Over Wine

s broad shoulders. The irrefutable fact was that the three members of the Bachelors' Club had now reached their destination. Well...

realised it back then. They'd felt incredibly mature, older at twenty-three than a lot of the other students at Oxford in their year. More confi

s. Jeremy-who'd already had a private i

been so much bigger and better than the one Sergio and Alex had shared. They had all been more than a little intoxicate

e,' had been Jeremy's r

haps because of their excessive wealth, his family was littered with divorce. It had not escape

y with a working-class background and a near-genius IQ had agreed. 'I'll be too b

aware that the family firm was not doing as well as it once had. By the time Sergio inherited the business, he suspected it might not be w

born, their rules and goals laid o

mental-and optimistic-for three

friends

aving consumed quite a few bottles of Jeremy's se

which would usually spell the kiss of death where friendships were concerned. Sergio didn't question why their frien

ule Two, however, which wa

ford. Since their graduation to real life, however, they'd become a little more discerning. At least, Sergio had, preferring the company of women who had more to offer

as much as females of my own age,' he told Sergio on

get bored with a girlfriend quicker than Jeremy. But there was always another one eager to take the previous one's place, Jeremy's wealth, good looks and charm had women falling at his feet wherever he went. Naturally, they all fell in love with him as well, a sentiment that was never returned. Jeremy wasn

r three. Members of the Bachelors' Club must not marry till at l

subsequent divorce, that one day he would marry. He was Italian, after all. Family was important to hi

e age of thirty-five. Which

at a distance. He himself was returning to Milan shortly to take control of the family business which had gone into serious decline since his father's death last year. Alex was off back to Australia to

ry, they would also see that the Bachelors' Club's days were seriously numbered.

ecided with determined positivity as he strode f

Jeremy envied. Sergio bypassed the rack of superb Italian business suits he owned-tonight was for celebrating, not business- selecting a casu

. She would also have to be physically attractive, he decided pragmatically, taking a white silk shirt off its hanger and putting it

number of people had that particular number. Alex and Jeremy, of course. And Cynthia. He changed the number every year, liking the privacy this afforded him. No doubt it was ei

as blocked, his lips pursing angrily at the very real possibility that some scam

' he snapped

ther end before a woman's voice he

force of a physical blow, taking his

few seconds of strained sile

ely normal going on inside him. His heart was pounding behind his ribs and his head...his head had ceased to process logica

you. You...you gave me your number. At your father's funeral..

ted once his addled brain p

g you back,' she suddenly

e, gripping it tightly as he struggled to resis

second thought since their parents' divorce. And that had been eleven years ago! Her showing up at his father's funeral last year had been all about his father, not him personally. It infuria

t Bella and do just that. He laughed at himself

ver been able to stop thinking of

ustralian television shortly before Dolores asked his father for a divorce, Bella had gone on to become a famous leading lady in musical theatre, starring in shows all over the world, most on Broadwa

the overwhelming desire that she'd once inspired i

ars ago to a Royal Variety Performance where Bella- unbeknownst to Sergio-had been one of

home to his new Canary Wharf apartment and get blind drunk. Instead, he'd gone to the party where Bella had waltzed in on the arm of her latest lover, a handsome French actor of dubious talent with a reputation as a womaniser. What a brilliant-looking couple they'd made, her exquisite blonde beauty the p

t his way, his father having instilled politeness and manners into him from a young age. No doubt he'd said something complimentary about her performance. What he could recall, however, was the wicked cruelty of his erect

as only after Sergio had arrived home and was safely alone in his bedroom that he'd given vent to his explosive emotions, smashing his fist

some perspective about his self-destructive feelings for Bella. Talki

Alex had said, 'is to

emy had added. 'Alex is right. There's plenty more

nth than he had for years. All of them had been one-night stands. Al

hia, an attractive divorcee who had been very good in bed and hadn't minded that he didn't lov

g of luxury hotels. The Russian had, again according to Alex, a reputation as a notorious ladies' man with a penchant for celebrity blondes, usually supermodels or actresses. Sergio had shaken his head in dismay over this. Because it wasn't the first time Bella had taken up with a man of dubious reputation.

eculated ad nauseam. Sergio stared down at the

sounded nervous. And why had she hung up so abruptly? Had her latest lover come into the room and found her on the phone to ano

body's fault

ike to think of her

her at all! But somehow, for some perverse reason, he did care. Which was perhaps why, when she'd shown up out of the blue at his father's funeral last year

n she'd expressed her condolences, then added a sincere apology for the way her mother had treated her father, his only emotion had been sadness. Looking back, Sergio could only imagine that grief over his father's death had dampened his hormones to

ed himself out of the black pit, Sergio had regretted giving Bella his phone number. Not because he'd thought she would ever contact him but because his foolish gesture had brought her back into the forefront of his mind. It had t

cket and headed for the door, determined not to waste another moment of headspace on that

he was

lf-mocking. In the old days a single woman falli

She had enough money to hire nannies and any other help she needed. She certainly wouldn't ask any man-especially himself-to make an honest wo

been raised by a woman whose ambition for her daughter to become rich and famous had been nothing short of obsessive. Sergio believed Dolores had only married his father so that he could pay for her daughter's tuition in singing and dancing. She'd seduced the Italian widower when he had been lonely and vulnerable, then trapped him into marriage with a supposed pregnancy that had m

he become involved with a succession of men whose reputations preceded them and who would never make her happy? It galled Sergio that Bella lived her life like one long

son to you either. She hasn't been, not since the night of her sixteenth birthday party. That was t

an totally obliterate it. You think

t leaping into his mouth. Snatching it out of his pock

aid somewha

. Going to be a bit late.' 'Damn it all, Alex,' Ser

pposedly close to everything.' And also because the tower that housed his lu

tting dressed. Look, we shouldn't be more than fifteen minutes. Go sit at

u could be right.'

he'd known what it was about. But he didn't, damn it all. Maybe he'd never k

t one. You are one incredible negotiator, buddy. No