Tara Pammi - The Sicilian's Surprise Wife

Together with their families

Clio Norwood

and

Stefan Bianco

Invite you to join them as they become

Mr & Mrs

June 2015

The Chatsfield

New York, New York

Reception to follow

… but only if Stefan can claim his unexpected bride!

Dedicated bachelors Rocco Mondelli, Christian Markos, Stefan Bianco and Zayed Al Afzal met and bonded at university, wreaking havoc amongst the female population. In the decade since graduating they’ve made their mark on the worlds of business and pleasure, becoming wealthy and powerful.

Marriage has never been something Rocco, Christian, Stefan or Zayed were ever after … But things change, and now they’ll have to do whatever it takes to get themselves to the church on time!

Yet nothing is as easy as it seems … and the women these four have set their sights on have plans of their own!

Your embossed invitation is in the mail and you are cordially invited to:

The marriage of

Rocco Mondelli and Olivia Fitzgerald April 2015

The marriage of

Christian Markos and Alessandra Mondelli May 2015

The marriage of

Stefan Bianco and Clio Norwood June 2015

The marriage of

Sheikh Zayed Al Afzal and Princess Nadia Amani July 2015

So RSVP and get ready to enjoy the pinnacle of luxury and opulence as the world’s sexiest billionaires finally say ‘I do’…

The Sicilian’s Surprise Wife

Tara Pammi

www.millsandboon.co.uk

TARA PAMMIcan’t remember a moment when she wasn’t lost in a book—especially a romance, which was much more exciting than a mathematics textbook. Years later, Tara’s wild imagination and love for the written word revealed what she really wanted to do. Now she pairs Alpha males who think they know everything with strong women who knock that theory and them off their feet!

For the three wonderful ladies who made working on this book such a treat—Andie, Jen and Michelle.

Contents

Cover

Introduction Together with their families Clio Norwood and Stefan Bianco Invite you to join them as they become Mr & Mrs June 2015 The Chatsfield New York, New York Reception to follow … but only if Stefan can claim his unexpected bride!

Society Weddings Dedicated bachelors Rocco Mondelli, Christian Markos, Stefan Bianco and Zayed Al Afzal met and bonded at university, wreaking havoc amongst the female population. In the decade since graduating they’ve made their mark on the worlds of business and pleasure, becoming wealthy and powerful. Marriage has never been something Rocco, Christian, Stefan or Zayed were ever after … But things change, and now they’ll have to do whatever it takes to get themselves to the church on time! Yet nothing is as easy as it seems … and the women these four have set their sights on have plans of their own! Your embossed invitation is in the mail and you are cordially invited to: The marriage of Rocco Mondelli and Olivia Fitzgerald April 2015 The marriage of Christian Markos and Alessandra Mondelli May 2015 The marriage of Stefan Bianco and Clio Norwood June 2015 The marriage of Sheikh Zayed Al Afzal and Princess Nadia Amani July 2015 So RSVP and get ready to enjoy the pinnacle of luxury and opulence as the world’s sexiest billionaires finally say ‘I do’…

Title Page The Sicilian’s Surprise Wife Tara Pammi www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author TARA PAMMI can’t remember a moment when she wasn’t lost in a book—especially a romance, which was much more exciting than a mathematics textbook. Years later, Tara’s wild imagination and love for the written word revealed what she really wanted to do. Now she pairs Alpha males who think they know everything with strong women who knock that theory and them off their feet!

Dedication For the three wonderful ladies who made working on this book such a treat—Andie, Jen and Michelle.

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

DELETED SCENE

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

SHE FELT LIKE GLASS , stretched so tightly that a gentle tap could shatter her forever.

Clutching her wrap tight in her fingers, Clio Norwood looked around for her fiancé, Jackson.

Ashley, his secretary, who had arrived unannounced and interrupted their meeting with a client Jackson was determined to add to his cap, was nowhere to be seen either. Something distasteful hovered in the back of Clio’s mind, as if waiting to strike.

With the small get-together of the ultrarich in full swing atop the Empire State Building, Manhattan glittered around them.

Usually, the vibrant, unrelenting pulse of the city that had become home to Clio over the past decade filled her with unending spirit for life. It had kept her going even when she had been struggling after graduation from Columbia University. And had helped her swallow her failures and her naive, broken expectations of making it by herself in the city that never slept.

But tonight, even New York couldn’t puncture the bubble of dread that had begun to pervade her of late.

Jackson had returned last night after three weeks from an overseas trip and had been in a stinker of a mood as he liked to call it, because he had missed out on some real estate deal.

They had barely exchanged a word all day today as she had been at work. When she had returned to the posh flat they had been living in for the past year, he had commanded her to get ready for this party tonight.

Commanded and not asked, much less requested. A pattern that was becoming more and more obvious to Clio. Still, she knew the stress of his business, understood the driving need to make one’s mark in the world, so she had given in.

Even if she was still bone tired from the out-of-season flu she had had a week ago.

Tonight, Jackson needed her help to convince Mrs. Alcott, an old friend of her parents’, to hire him as her personal investment banker. With her estates in Britain and substantial family business, Jane Alcott would be a coup for Jackson’s already flourishing career.

But they hadn’t even greeted Jane properly before Ashley had approached Jackson with a desperate glint in her eye.

Loath to create a scene, Clio had clenched her teeth and smiled serenely even as she saw the curious looks and stifled whispers among Jackson’s clients’ wives and girlfriends. Even the utter kindness of Jane’s question if everything was all right between Jackson and her had been unbearable.

What was going on with him? What was going on between them?

Because Clio knew with a nauseating clarity that Ashley was just the tip of the iceberg for what was going on between her and Jackson.

Suddenly, it felt blatantly scandalous of Ashley to drag him away with a barely disguised proprietary claim on him.