Yesterday morning she hadn’t even met Flynn Donovan. She’d assumed his letter about the money was a mistake. Now she’d been accused not only of cheating on her husband and abusing his money, but of being a calculating schemer who wanted nothing but a rich man to play father to her child. It was clear he had far from a high opinion of her.

Well, she didn’t have one of him, either. He may be one of the richest men in Australia but as far as she was concerned he could keep his money and his private jet and…and…

She swiped at her tears. What did it matter now, anyway? The way Flynn had stormed out of here left her in no doubt he wouldn’t be back. No, he’d be putting the debt collectors onto her now. They’d be hounding her like a pack of dogs after a bone.

She took a shaky breath. He needn’t bother. She’d find a way to pay the money back. How could she enjoy her independence knowing that her late husband had “stolen” the money, not just from Flynn but from Donovan Enterprises, as well?

And she had too much to lose if she didn’t.

Oh, God. Suddenly it hit her that the debt collectors would go talk to Monica. And if the older woman became aware of the loan, she would use it to get custody of the baby. Oh, dear God, she would. Danielle was never more certain of anything in her life. Her mother-in-law wanted…no, needed someone to replace her son…and who better than Robert’s unborn child?

And if Flynn Donovan believed she’d defaulted on the money, then Monica would, too, and could make a case for Danielle being an unfit mother, and probably with Flynn’s help. After all, how did she prove that it hadn’t been her signature? Her mother-in-law only needed a sympathetic judge…or a corrupt one.

Danielle’s heart squeezed so tightly with pain it felt as if it had wedged under her rib cage. She couldn’t take the risk of losing her child, no matter how slender.

Life rarely took Flynn by surprise anymore, but when it did, he didn’t like it one bit. Danielle Ford was pregnant. Hell! He didn’t want to get involved with a pregnant woman. Anything could happen to a woman when she was pregnant.

It had happened to his mother.

He could still remember his mother’s voice calling to him where he’d been playing in the backyard under the mango tree with his friends Brant and Damien…. The same mango tree that still stood a few suburbs away from here. He’d come inside the house and found her on the floor, covered in blood.

“The baby’s coming,” she’d said, her face screwed up in pain. “Go get Auntie Rose.”

More terrified than he’d ever been in his five-year-old life, he’d run next door with his friends as fast as his little legs had allowed. After that it had been a whirl of people running and sirens screaming. And all the while, he’d stood in the background, watching his mother’s life slipping away…away from him.

He hated thinking about it, and as always he shut his mind off and pushed aside the past. He had to concentrate on the here and now, and that no longer included Danielle Ford. She could forget about the money she owed him. Forget about it and go find some other poor sucker to con with those “come-to-bed” eyes and that “give-me-your-money” mouth. As far as he was concerned, Danielle Ford no longer existed.

It was just a pity that spending the following weekend in Sydney at his apartment overlooking the million-dollar view of the Harbor Bridge and Opera House wouldn’t be enjoyable. Something was missing.

Or someone.

Dammit, he’d never let a woman get under his skin before. Not like this. He’d had women friends who’d tried every trick in the book to get him to marry them, but Danielle Ford had chosen a different way of getting his attention. Unfortunately for her it had the opposite effect to what she’d wanted. The one thing he wouldn’t let himself do was get involved with a pregnant woman.

Not that pregnant women weren’t beautiful. He’d seen some stunners in his time and thankfully none had been his responsibility, but he’d decided years ago he’d never put any woman’s life at risk with a pregnancy.

So why couldn’t he get this one woman out of his mind, especially since he hadn’t taken her to his bed?

Or perhaps it was because of that?

Yet she was only one woman. There were plenty of others to choose from. But those women would only have been a poor substitute for a sexy sorceress…a witch…but a cheat, he reminded himself.

He had to stop thinking about a certain long-legged, blue-eyed blonde stripped naked and in bed….

His bed…

He wasn’t surprised the following week after returning from a business lunch with the Lord Mayor when his personal assistant followed him into his office, an angry look on her middle-aged face. Connie rarely lost her cool. It was one of the things he appreciated about her. She kept calm under the most trying of circumstances.

Usually.

“This was delivered downstairs at reception,” she said tightly, slapping an envelope down on the desk in front of him. “It’s for you.”

He leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowing, not sure what it was about. “And?”

A disapproving motherly look puckered her lips. “It’s from Mrs. Ford.”

“Danielle?” he said, tensing, and caught the suddenly watchful look in his assistant’s eyes at his slip of the tongue.

“Yes.”

He wondered what Danielle was up to now, even as mild surprise at Connie’s reaction filled him. “You didn’t like her?”

A soft look filled her eyes. “Of course I liked her, Flynn. She’s lovely. So well-mannered.” Then her expression tightened again as she shot him daggers. “You had better read the letter, that’s all I’m saying.”

Hiding his wariness, he merely inclined his head. “Thank you, Connie. Just leave it there.”

She looked as if she was going to say more, but then obviously knowing how far not to push him, she left the room, closing the door behind her.

For a moment Flynn just sat there, marshaling his thoughts. He stared at the open white envelope. His name had been written on it in a soft style that bespoke of femininity and charm. The uppercase initials of F and D fashioned with little curls tugged on something inside him, as if it were an echo of her voice wanting him.

God, he could still hear the throaty sound of her voice back in her kitchen when he’d been administering to her injuries.

Didn’t this woman know when to give up?

Never one to shirk anything unpleasant, he seized the envelope and pulled out the folded piece of paper inside. He began to read.

Dear Mr. Donovan,

Please find enclosed a check for one hundred dollars as first payment on the outstanding loan of two hundred thousand dollars that my late husband and I owe your company. I apologize if this is unacceptable, however due to my pregnancy I am unable to take a second job at this stage. Please take this as official notice that I will repay the loan as soon as I can.

Yours sincerely,

Danielle Ford.

Flynn threw the letter on his desk, his lips twisting at the word sincerely. No wonder Connie had been upset with him. Danielle’s words might have been businesslike in tone but it made him sound like an ogre who was insisting on his money, come hell or high water.

Obviously this was the way she worked. And now the pregnancy angle had added a whole new avenue to her manipulation skills. She’d certainly hit the jackpot with that one.

As for her “supposed” job, it was probably some sort of volunteer work she did once a month at the hospital. Something that made her look respectable without getting her pretty little hands dirty, he decided, tearing up the check and dropping the pieces in the wastepaper basket.

No doubt once he ignored this, they wouldn’t be hearing from her again. Her little ploy for sympathy would soon die a natural death once she realized he wasn’t about to come running with a magic wand in one hand and an unlimited checkbook in the other.