Seduced by a Stranger Read online

  “May I steal my wife away from you ladies for a moment?” he asked the group of women when he finally reached her and placed his arms around her waist.

  She felt him inconspicuously give her stomach a gentle rub in the process. Their eyes met and held and she knew what he’d done was his way of communicating with their child. They hadn’t announced news of her pregnancy just yet, deciding to keep it to themselves, basking in the knowledge that together, with their love, they had made another human being.

  Firmly holding her hands in his, he led her away toward an area where few people were standing, so they could converse privately. She looked at him as he gazed out at the crowd. “I see you have just as many American friends as I have,” he said.

  She couldn’t help but smile. She had met the Madarises, the family that had made her husband an honorary member of their clan. He had told her why and she had been proud of how he had helped to save Christy Madaris Maxwell’s life. She had met the woman earlier, along with her husband, Alex, and thought they were a beautiful couple. Rasheed would be taking her for a visit to Jake Madaris’s ranch in a few months, where Jake and Diamond would host a party in their honor. She was looking forward to meeting Corinthians Avery and her husband, Trevor. Corinthians was the woman Rasheed credited as the person responsible for determining the location of oil in Mowaiti.

  She then glanced over at the group Rasheed was speaking of specifically, the ones she considered as her American family, the Westmorelands. A number had flown in to share in the celebration. They had become her family when Jamal had married Delaney and she adored each and every one of them.

  She then looked up at her husband and smiled. “Now we have reason to visit the United States every chance we get, Monty. And who knows, when our daughter gets older, she may decide she wants to go to school there.”

  She laughed at the expression that appeared on his face at the thought of that happening, especially if their daughter was as rebellious as she had been.

  “Our son can attend school there, but forget the thought of any daughter of mine doing so. She might want to pull something like you did.”

  He leaned over and placed a kiss on her lips and then said, “Come on, I want to show you something.”

  Taking her hand again, he led her away from the crowd and through a beautifully landscaped area not far from the palace. She’d always thought the grounds of her family’s estates were beautiful until she had seen the palace where Rasheed lived. In addition to the palace, there were several surrounding villas, all breathtaking. She had lived here close to six months and she still hadn’t seen it all.

  Rasheed stopped her in front of a beautiful two-story villa with a picket fence. The grounds were immaculate. He turned her to face him. “This is my wedding gift to you, sweetheart. It’s within walking distance of the palace and someplace you can come when you want privacy and solitude. To read, knit, write and whatever else you want to do.”

  He leaned closer and whispered, “It’s also the place I will visit with you on occasion to make babies.”

  She couldn’t help the smile that touched her lips. He had presented her with her very own private castle. She reached out and gave him a hug. “Thank you, Monty. It is more than I expected.”

  He chuckled. “I hope not, because there is more.”

  Her eyes widened. “More?”

  “Yes. Let’s go inside and see.”

  He opened the gate and they walked inside and she could tell that the villa had recently been renovated. Everything looked new and fresh and then when he opened the door to let her inside, the sight before her nearly took her breath away. The villa was huge, spacious and…she thought, fit for a queen and her king. A beautiful romantic hideaway to make babies.

  “So what do you think?”

  She glanced around. The furniture and the decor were simply elegant. So much so that it nearly brought tears to her eyes. She could see herself spending her time here. “It is beautiful, Monty. Thank you.”

  She leaned up to thank him but he pulled back. “Don’t thank me yet. There is more.”

  She raised a brow. “More?”

  He smiled. “Yes. Something that will be kept here at this villa for you to enjoy whenever you want.”

  He then led her through the front portion of the house to the bedroom and stood back. Not knowing what to expect, she glanced at her husband bemusedly before surveying the room. And then she saw what he intended for her to see in front of the fireplace.

  “Copper!”

  She raced across the room to her puppy the moment he saw her. Dropping to her knees, she removed him from the crate and hugged him until she remembered he was so small and she couldn’t hug him so tight. Tears she couldn’t contain streamed down her face. She had missed him so and wondered how often she would see him. She and Monty had visited him once on their trip to the States and it had been hard telling him goodbye again.

  Johari turned eyes to her husband as she placed her dog back in the crate. She stood when Rasheed crossed the room to join her. She wondered if he had any idea how happy she was at that moment.

  “But how? Why?” she asked, looking up into his face with what she knew was love and deep appreciation shining in her eyes.

  He held her by the waist and pulled her to him and, just before capturing her mouth with his, he leaned down and whispered, “Because, sweetheart, you are worth it.”

  * * * * *

  Notorious playboy Nolan Madaris is determined to escape his great-grandmother’s famous matchmaking schemes, but Ivy Chapman, the woman his great-grandmother has picked out for him, is nothing like he expects—and she’s got her own proposal for how to get their meddling families off their backs and out of their love lives!

  Read on for a sneak peek of

  BEST LAID PLANS

  the latest in New York Times bestselling author Brenda Jackson’s

  The Madaris Family Saga!

  PROLOGUE

  Christmas Day

  Nolan Madaris III, took a sip of his beer while standing on the balcony of his condo. Leaning against the rail, he had a breathtaking view of the exclusive fifteen-story Madaris Building that was surrounded by a cluster of upscale shops, restaurants, and a beautiful jogging park with a huge man-made pond. The condos where he lived were right across from the water.

  The entire complex, including the condos, had been architecturally designed, engineered and constructed by the Madaris Construction Company that was owned by his cousins Blade and Slade. For the holidays the Madaris Building, surrounding shops, restaurants and jogging park were beautifully decorated with colorful, bright lights. It was hard to believe a new year was just a week away.

  When Nolan had arrived home from his cousin Lee’s wedding, he hadn’t bothered to remove his tuxedo. Instead he’d headed straight for the refrigerator, grabbed a beer and proceeded to the balcony for a bit of mental relaxation. But all his mind could do was recall the moment his ninety-something-year-old great-grandmother, Felicia Laverne Madaris, had finally cornered him at the reception that evening. She was a notorious match-maker, and he’d been avoiding her all night. Her success rate was too astounding to suit him—and she had calmly warned him that he was next.

  He was just as determined not to be.

  Nolan, his brother Corbin, and his cousins Reese and Lee had all been born within a fifteen-month period. They were as close as brothers and had been thick as thieves while growing up. Mama Laverne swore her goal was to marry them all off before she took her last breath. They all told her that wouldn’t happen, but then the next thing they knew, Reese had married Kenna and today Lee married Carly.

  What bothered Nolan more than anything about his great-grandmother setting her schemes on him was that she of all people knew what he’d gone through with Andrea Dunmire. Specifically, the hurt, pain and humiliation she had caused him. Yes, it had been years ago and he had gotten over it, but there were some things you didn’t forget. A woman ripping your heart out of you
r chest was one of them.

  His cell phone rang. Recognizing the ring tone, he pulled it out of his pocket and answered, “Yes, Corbin?”

  “Hey, man, I just wanted to check on you. We saw you tear out of here like the devil himself was after you. It’s Christmas and we thought you would stay the night at Whispering Pines and continue to party like the rest of us.”

  Whispering Pines was their uncle Jake’s ranch. Nolan took another sip of his beer before saying, “I couldn’t stay knowing Mama Laverne is already plotting my downfall. You wouldn’t believe what she told me.”

  “We weren’t standing far away and heard.”

  Nolan shook his head in frustration. “So now all of you know that Mama Laverne’s friend’s granddaughter is the woman she’s picked out for me.”

  “Yes, and we got a name. Reese and I overheard Mama Laverne tell Aunt Marilyn that your future wife’s name is Ivy Chapman.”

  “Like hell the woman is my future wife.” And Nolan couldn’t care less about her name. He’d never met her and didn’t intend to. “All this time I thought Mama Laverne was plotting to marry the woman’s granddaughter off to Lee. She set me up real good.”

  Corbin didn’t say anything and Nolan was glad because for the moment he needed the silence. It didn’t matter to him one iota that so far, every one of his cousins whose wives had been selected by his great-grandmother were madly in love with their spouses and saw her actions as a blessing and not a curse. What mattered was that she should not have interfered in the process. And what bothered him more than anything was knowing that he was next on her list. He didn’t want her to find him a wife. When and if he was ready for marriage, he was certainly capable of finding one on his own.

  “You’ve come up with a plan?” Corbin interrupted Nolan’s thoughts to ask.

  Nolan thought of the diabolical plan his cousin Lee had put in place to counteract their great-grandmother’s shenanigans and guaranteed to outsmart Mama Laverne for sure. However, in the end, Lee’s plan had backfired.

  “No, why waste my time planning anything? I simply refuse to play the games Mama Laverne is intent on playing. What I’m going to do is ignore her foolishness and enjoy my life as the newest eligible Madaris bachelor.”

  He could say that since at thirty-four, he was ten months older than Corbin, who would be next on their great-grandmother’s hit list. “By the time I make my rounds, there won’t be a single woman living in Houston who won’t know I’m not marriage material,” Nolan added.

  Corbin chuckled. “That sounds like a plan to me.”

  “Not a plan just stating my intentions. I refuse to let Mama Laverne shove a wife that I don’t want down my throat just because she thinks she can and that she should.”

  After ending the call with his brother, Nolan swallowed the last of his beer. Like he’d told Corbin, he didn’t have a plan and wouldn’t waste time coming up with one. What he intended to do was to have fun; as much fun as any single man could possibly have.

  A huge smile touched his lips as he left the balcony. Walking into his condo he headed for his bedroom. Quickly removing the tux, he changed into a pair of slacks and a pull-over sweater. The night was still young and there was no reason for him not to go out and celebrate the holiday.

  As he moved toward his front door, he started humming Jingle Bells., Let the fun begin.

  CHAPTER 1

  Fifteen months later…

  Nolan clicked off his mobile phone, satisfied with the call he’d just ended with Lee about his cousin’s newest hotel, the Grand MD Paris. Construction of the huge mega-structure had begun three week ago. Already it was being touted by the media as the hotel of the future and Nolan would have to agree.

  Due to the hotel’s intricate design and elaborate formation, the estimated completion time was two years. You couldn’t rush grandeur and by the time the doors opened, the Grand MD Paris would set itself apart as one of the most luxurious hotels in the world.

  This would be the third hotel Lee and his business partner DeAngelo Di Meglio had built. First there had been the Grand MD Dubai, and after such astounding success with that hotel, the pair had opened the Grand MD Vegas. Since both hotels had been doing extremely well financially, a decision was made to build a third hotel in Paris. The Grand MD Paris would use state-of-the-art technology while maintaining the rich architectural design Paris was known for.

  Slade, the architect in the Madaris family, had designed all three Grand MD hotels. Nolan would have to say that Slade’s design of the Paris hotel was nothing short of a masterpiece. Slade had made sure that no Grand MD hotel looked the same and that each had their own unique architecture and appeal. Slade’s twin Blade was the structural engineer and had spent the last six months in Paris making sure the groundwork was laid before work on the hotel began. There had been surveys that needed to be completed, soil samples to analyze, as well as a tight construction schedule if they were to meet the deadline for a grand opening two years from now. And knowing Lee and DeAngelo like he did, Nolan expected the Grand MD Paris to open its doors on time and to a fanfare to the likes of a presidential inauguration.

  After getting a master’s graduate degree at MIT, Nolan had begun working for Chenault Electronics at their Chicago office. Chenault Electronics was considered one of the top ten electronics companies in the world. The owner, Nicholas Chenault, was a family friend and had taken Nolan under his wing and had not only been his boss but his mentor as well.

  After working for Chenault for eight years, Nolan had returned to Houston three years ago to start his own company, Madaris Innovations.

  Nolan’s company would provide all the electronic and technology work for the Grand MD Paris; some would be the first-of-its-kind anywhere. All high tech and trend changing. It would be Nolan’s first project of this caliber and he appreciated Lee and DeAngelo for giving him the opportunity. Lee and his wife Carly spent most of their time in Paris now. Since DeAngelo and his wife Peyton were expecting their first child four months from now, DeAngelo had decreased his travel schedule somewhat.

  He also appreciated Nicholas for agreeing to partner with him on the project. Chenault Electronics would be bringing years of experience and know-how to the table and Nolan welcomed Nicholas’ skill and knowledge.

  Nolan had enjoyed the two weeks he’d spent in Paris. He would have to go back a number of times this year for more meetings and he looked forward to doing so since Paris was one of his favorite places to visit. There was a real possibility that he might have to live there while his electronic equipment was scheduled to be installed.

  Nolan leaned back in his chair. In a way, he regretted returning to Houston. Before leaving he had done everything in his power to become the life of every party, and his reputation as Houston’s number one playboy had been cemented. In some circles, he’d been pegged as Houston’s One Night-Stander. Now that he was back, that role had to be rekindled, but if he was honest with himself, he wasn’t looking forward to the nights of mindless, emotionless sex with women whose names he barely remembered. He only hoped that vy Chapman, her grandmother and his great-grandmother were getting the message—he had no intentions of settling down any time soon. At least not in the next twenty-five years or so.

  He rubbed a hand down his face, thinking that while he wouldn’t admit to it, he was discovering that living the life of a playboy wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. Most of his dates were one-night stands. Then were times he would spend a week with the same woman, and occasionally someone would make it a month, but he didn’t want to give these women the wrong idea about the possibility of a future together. He was probably going to have to change his phone number due to the number of messages from women wanting a call back. Women expecting a call back. Women he barely remembered from one sexual encounter to the next. Jeeze.

  Nolan wondered how his cousins, Clayton and Blade, the ones who’d been known as die-hard womanizers in the family before they’d settled down to marry, had managed
it all. Clayton had had such an active sex life that he’d owned a case of condoms that he’d kept in his closet. Nolan knew that tidbit was more fact than fiction since he’d seen the case after Clayton had passed it on to Blade when Clayton had gotten married.

  Blade hadn’t passed the box on to anyone when he’d married. Not only had he used up the case he’d gotten from Clayton but he’d gone through a case of his own. Somehow Clayton and Blade had not only managed to handle the playboy life but each claimed they’d enjoyed doing so immensely at the time.

  Nolan, on the other hand, was finding the life of a Casanova pretty damn taxing and way too demanding. And it wasn’t even deterring Ivy Chapman.

  Nolan picked up the envelope on top of the stack on his desk. He knew what it was and who it had come from. He recalled getting the first one six months ago and had received several more since then. He wondered why Ivy Chapman was still sending him these little personal notes when he refused to acknowledge them. All of the notes said the same thing… Nolan, I would love to meet you. Call me so it can be arranged. Here is my number…

  Nolan didn’t give a royal flip what her phone number was since he had no intentions of calling her, regardless of the fact his match-making great-grandmother fully expected him to do so. He would continue to ignore Miss Chapman and any correspondence she sent him. He refused to give in to his great-grandmother’s matchmaking shenanigans.

  He tossed the envelope aside and picked up his cell phone to call his family and let them know he was back. He had slept off jet lag most of yesterday and hadn’t talked to anyone other than his cousin Reese and his brother Corbin. Reese and his wife Kenna were expecting their first baby in June and everyone was excited. For years, Reese and Kenna, who’d met in college, had claimed they were nothing but best friends. However, the family had known better and figured one day the couple would reach the same conclusion. Mama Laverne bragged that they were just another one of her success stories.