Harlequin Presents March 2023--Box Set 2 of 2


 
 
 
 
 
 “Five hundred thousand pounds.”
 The silence gave way to murmurs of shock and Alicia lifted a hand to her lips. She recognized the voice instantly.
 “Just to be sure I didn’t mishear, was that five hundred thousand pounds?”
 “Yes.”
 “Ladies and gentlemen, what a truly exceptional evening. Those of you lucky enough to secure an item—or person—please leave your details and payment at the administration booth near the door.”
 Alicia waited by the administration desk with nerves that wouldn’t calm down. Five hundred thousand pounds? What on earth had he been thinking?
 “Good evening, sir. Are you the lucky winner of Miss Griffiths’ services?”
 She barely heard the question. Her ears were ringing and her mind was in free fall at the realization that not only was Graciano here, but that he’d bid on her.
 “Yes.”
 “Wonderful. And what was your name, sir?”
 Alicia turned slowly, not needing to hear any more to know it was him. Nothing could prepare her for this moment. Not the memories that haunted her, nothing.
 “This is Graciano Cortéz,” Alicia said quietly.
 
 
 The Long-Lost Cortéz Brothers
 Two powerful men...and the shocking secret that binds them!
 In the aftermath of the tragic accident that killed their family, Graciano Cortéz was ripped apart from the younger brother he’d vowed to protect. Graciano has never stopped looking for him, even while he was building his billion-dollar empire from the ground up.
 Then, his decades-long search leads him to the palace doors of Sheikh Tariq al Hassan of Savisia... Will he finally be reunited with his long-lost sibling? And will the road to their reunion bring both Graciano and Tariq more than they bargained for—life-changing desire?
 After ten years apart, a shocking reunion will force Graciano to face the woman he never forgot and the secret she keeps that will rock his world...
 Read Graciano and Alicia’s story inThe Secret She Must Tell the Spaniard
 Royal advisor Eloise is tasked with approving her queen’s suitor, Sheikh Tariq, which is complicated by the undeniable chemistry erupting between her and Tariq!
 Read Tariq and Eloise’s story inDesert King’s Forbidden TemptationComing soon!
 
 
 The Secret She Must Tell the Spaniard
 Clare Connelly
 
 
 
 Clare Connelly was raised in small-town Australia among a family of avid readers. She spent much of her childhood up a tree, Harlequin book in hand. Clare is married to her own real-life hero, and they live in a bungalow near the sea with their two children. She is frequently found staring into space—a surefire sign she is in the world of her characters. She has a penchant for French food and ice-cold champagne, and Harlequin novels continue to be her favorite-ever books. Writing for Harlequin Presents is a long-held dream. Clare can be contacted via clareconnelly.com or on her Facebook page.
 Books by Clare Connelly
 Harlequin Presents
 Crowned for His Desert Twins
 Emergency Marriage to the Greek
 Pregnant Princess in Manhattan
 Passionately Ever After...
 Cinderella in the Billionaire’s Castle
 Signed, Sealed...Seduced
 Cinderella’s Night in Venice
 The Cinderella Sisters
 Vows on the Virgin’s Terms
 Forbidden Nights in Barcelona
 Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.
 
 
 Contents
 CHAPTER ONE
 CHAPTER TWO
 CHAPTER THREE
 CHAPTER FOUR
 CHAPTER FIVE
 CHAPTER SIX
 CHAPTER SEVEN
 CHAPTER EIGHT
 CHAPTER NINE
 CHAPTER TEN
 CHAPTER ELEVEN
 CHAPTER TWELVE
 EPILOGUE
 
 
 CHAPTER ONE
 ‘I’M SO SORRY, I...’ The apology died on Alicia Griffiths’ lips as she looked up, and up, past a broad chest, wide shoulders and tanned neck, into a face that was not only familiar to her but burned into her retinas.
 Despite the fact ten years had passed, there was no mistaking the man before her.
 Graciano Cortéz.
 The ground beneath her feet seemed to give way. She lifted a hand to the fine necklace she wore, looping her finger through the chain and pulling it from side to side, her throat constricted, making speech almost impossible.
 ‘Alicia.’ His surprise was evident, but he recovered far quicker than she did, his obsidian eyes narrowing, regarding her slowly, scanning her face first—from the tip of her pale hair to her wide-set green eyes, to her curving pink lips—and then lower, to the décolletage that was exposed by the silk evening gown she wore. She’d already been a bundle of nerves—the night was the biggest charity gala she’d organised and she’d put a lot of pressure on herself to raise a small fortune. But seeing Graciano tipped her completely off balance.
 ‘What are you doing here?’ she blurted out. True, she hadn’t seen a guest list for two days—once all the tickets were sold, she hadn’t been particularly interested in who was coming, only that the usual high-flying donors were registered to bid in the charity auction. But she would have noticed Graciano’s name on the list, which meant he was a late addition.
 ‘Last I checked, it’s a free country,’ he drawled, his voice rich with authority and mockery, his accent so familiar to her that her toes curled inside her shoes. Everything inside her pinched together. This man—he was a sinkhole. He always had been. But it was so much worse than that, now. He was also the father to her daughter. Their daughter—a child he knew nothing about, because he’d made it impossible for Alicia to contact him after that one awful, heart-destroying morning in Seville.
 ‘Did you come here to see me?’ she asked, confused by his appearance after ten years. Good Lord, was it possible he knew about Annie? Had he come to confront Alicia? To take Annie away? All the heat drained from her face as the possibility of that scored deep into her heart.
 ‘What reason could I possibly have for wanting to see you, Alicia?’
 Her eyes widened at his obvious scorn, and even when she knew she should be glad, because it meant he didn’t know the truth, it only made her more on edge.
 The last time she’d seen