Paige paced the villa’s living room, holding her iPad.

Do it!

She quickly tapped the FaceTime app before she thought of another excuse to delay her call to her parents. This was the perfect time to get this deed out of the way, when Tristan was having a shower. By the time Tristan was ready to join her in the video call, she hoped her parents would have calmed down from their shock and fury.

“Hello, Paige,” her mother answered.

“Hi, Mum. You at work?” she asked casually, although she’d already caught a glimpse of the painting hanging on her mother’s office wall.

“Yes. Where are you?”

Paige ignored the question. “Is Dad available too? I’d like to talk to the two of you, please.”

Debbie’s brows furrowed, but she stood up and walked out of her office. “Are you feeling all relaxed now? Have you made up your mind?”

“That’s why I want to talk to you and Dad.”

“You seem to be in some nice hotel. Is that an indoor plunge pool behind you?”

“Uh, yeah.” She went to the dining table and sat down to stop herself from walking around nervously.

“Looks like a really posh place, Paige. Where is that?”

She told her.

Debbie’s eyes widened. “What on earth are you doing there?”

“Is that Paige?” Larry said in the background.

The video showed the carpeting in Larry’s office while Debbie asked her husband to move seats. Then her mother was back on the screen, with her father beside her.

“Hello, Paige,” Larry said. “Did you have to go to somewhere so expensive to think things through?”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t pay for it,” she said dryly.

“Who’re you with?”

She took a deep breath. “Hey, you guys know that I love you and I’d do anything I can to help you, right?”

Her parents frowned at her.

“I’ve thought about it,” she continued, “and I know this will be hard for you to accept. But I’m hoping you’ll see that this is the best thing for all of us even if you might not agree with me.”

“Are you saying you don’t want to marry Curtis?” Debbie asked.

“Yes, I’m saying I don’t want to marry Curtis, even if it’s only for show.”

Larry’s shoulders slumped. “I don’t know how else to say it, Paige, but I can’t see any other way to save our company if you don’t help us.”

“I am helping you, but with the only option that’s acceptable to me. I’ve married Tristan.”

“What?!”

“Tristan and I love each other,” Paige said in a soft tone. “And he’s really happy to wipe the slate clean as long as you guys sit down with him for a conversation.”

Larry shook his head, stunned and speechless, while Debbie seemed to freeze in her seat.

Well, at least her dad hadn’t gone off on a tirade. Or was that still to come?

“This can’t be for real,” Larry said after a long moment, seeming to snap out of his shock. “You need a month’s notice before you can legally marry. I don’t think you and Tristan fulfilled that, so I’m assuming it’s a fake wedding.”

“That won’t work,” Debbie said with relief in her tone. “The trustees are not stupid. They’d know if it’s not legally binding.”

“We applied for a shortening of the notice and it was accepted,” Paige explained. “I am legally married to Tristan. We had the wedding here yesterday in front of his family and friends—and Bernadette.”

Debbie blinked, tears rushing to her eyes while Larry’s face darkened.

“Do you know what you’ve just done?” Larry bellowed.

Ah, here was the expected eruption. “I don’t know if you heard me the first time,” she said calmly, “but I said Tristan and I love each other.”

“That’s absurd! No way. I’m not accepting that.”

Paige’s heart squeezed tight. She’d seen this coming, but it hurt nonetheless. “It’s true, Dad, whether you accept it or not.”

“He tricked you, Paige,” Debbie said, shaking her head. “You might be able to apply for an annulment. There might be a way to undo this.”

Paige’s jaw dropped to the floor. Were they not listening to her? “I said Tristan and I love each other,” she said forcefully.

“I don’t think you understand what we’re trying to say, Paige,” her mother said. “He couldn’t be in love with you. He’s just using you.”

“And you don’t know what you’re talking about,” she snapped. “I really can’t believe you guys. Now I can see why Tristan is so frustrated with you.”

“This is a nightmare,” Larry muttered.

“No, it’s not,” Paige said stubbornly. “If you’re going to be so difficult, then please just… shut up and let me deal with this. As soon as I get the money from the trustees, I’ll let you know. But for the meantime, let me and Tristan enjoy our honeymoon. And when I go back to the office next week, don’t talk to me about marrying Curtis or annulling my marriage to Tristan. They’re not going to happen.”

Larry rubbed his face vigorously.

“We’ll talk when you get back,” Debbie said softly, a conciliatory smile on her face.

Paige relented at her mother’s demeanour. “Tristan’s here. He’s in the shower, but he’s finishing soon. You can talk to him and see for yourself that he doesn’t mean to hurt you or the company.”

Larry shook his head.

“Next time,” Debbie said. “We have to go now.”

“Okay,” she whispered, close to tears.

“Watch your back, Paige,” Larry said. “If anything bad happens to you, he’s dead.”

“Dad…” she started, but she had no idea what else to say. She was touched by her father’s words, but his statement was totally unwarranted.

“We’ll talk to you—and only you—when you come back,” Larry said brusquely before ending the call.

Paige dropped her head on her hands. This situation felt more hopeless that it had before she’d called her parents. Why was her dad so set in believing that Tristan was the bad guy in all of this? There had to be more about their dispute than she’d already been told.

“Hey,” Tristan said, coming out of the bedroom and tying the robe sash around him. “What’s wrong?”

“I just spoke to my parents,” she said wearily.

Tristan exhaled heavily as he sat next to her. “Not good, I take it?”

“No.”

“What did they say?”

“They can’t believe I’ve married you.” She looked at him pleadingly. “Was there something else that happened to make my dad dislike you?”

Tristan smirked. “Dislike me? That’s the understatement of the year, isn’t it?”

She smiled mirthlessly. “Yeah, so it makes me wonder what exactly happened that he’s so against you.”

“I honestly have no idea. Like I said before, the only explanation I can think of is that he couldn’t stand that TG has overtaken Shipton Enterprise.”

“I know how much Dad loves the company. It’s his firstborn. But his reaction to you doesn’t make sense and it’s bugging the hell out of me.”

“What if your dad’s hiding something that he doesn’t want people to know?”

She frowned. “Like what?”

Tristan shrugged. “Something he’s not proud of? Or scared of being uncovered?”

“Are you suggesting he’s done something illegal or underhanded?” she asked with reproach.

“My experience is that people sometimes use anger to divert attention away from a matter they don’t want others to notice,” Tristan said carefully.

“My parents are not deceitful people, Tristan,” she said coldly.

Tristan sighed and reached for her hand. “Hey, I’m sorry. I don’t want to argue, okay? Maybe your parents were just shocked by your news.”

She got out of her seat and sat on Tristan’s lap, resting her head on his shoulder. “I just hate this. I wish Dad would agree to talk to you and be open to a reconciliation.”

Tristan kissed her forehead. “Maybe just give it time. Anyway, I really don’t want your parents to intrude on our honeymoon, even if they’re physically absent.”

She looked at him and smiled apologetically. “You’re right. And since I’ve already told them my news, I can relax a bit. So do you have any plans for us today?”

“Well, we have our very own field guide to drive us around the reserve anytime we want. We can even go to the glow-worm cave, if you’re game.”

“Ooh, yes, please. I also want to do the night-time stargazing around a campfire at least a couple of times. Bernie said a group of them are doing it tonight. I wouldn’t mind joining them, then go again another night with just the two of us.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Tristan said, placing a peck on her lips.

“And I’d like to visit the stables.”

“You’re not planning on riding, are you?” Tristan said with a frown.

She chuckled, placing her arms around his neck. “No. You’re the only one I plan to ride around here.”

Tristan laughed. “Good. I certainly enjoyed you riding me last night,” he added huskily.

Paige sighed with happiness. How could her parents think marrying Tristan was a mistake? They simply didn’t know him well enough.

* * *

Paige grabbed her car keys from the dresser, her hands already cold from nerves. She was going to her parents’ for dinner, and it would be the first time she’d be seeing them outside of working hours since coming back from Wolgan Valley two months ago.

At Tristan’s suggestion, she’d been waiting for her parents to initiate the building of bridges. Tristan had said her folks probably needed time to get used to the idea of her being married to him. She’d agreed, considering that every time she’d tried to bring up the topic of settling their dispute with Tristan, her parents had staunchly rejected the idea.

This had been the longest that she and her folks had stayed away from each other on a social basis, but even with the passage of time, her parents still weren’t ready to wine and dine with their new son-in-law.

This stubbornness had to change after tonight, though. How could her parents continue to shun Tristan when her husband had been instrumental in getting them what they’d wanted and needed—the five million dollars from the Shipton family trust fund.

She’d had a visit from a representative of the trustees’ office this afternoon. They’d given her no warning whatsoever that they were coming to see her, so she’d been suitably shocked when they’d relayed the good news. No doubt the tears of relief she’d shed on the spot had added to their conviction that she’d had no idea whatsoever of the early gift they’d decided to hand her.

She’d been worried that she might not get the money on time, but it had now been deposited to her account. All of it. Her parents would be able to pay Shipton Enterprise’s creditors before the stipulated deadlines.

It was a shame her folks had been out of the office when it had all happened. She’d have loved to share the news with them right then and there, but they’d gone to a lunch meeting together and hadn’t returned to work at all. She wondered if the trustees had informed them of the news.

“I’m going now,” Paige called to Tristan.

Tristan came out of his study. “Where are you going?”

“To see my parents, remember? I’m telling them about the money.”

Tristan frowned. “I thought it was tomorrow.”

“No. Tonight.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“You wanna see them?”

Tristan shrugged. “Why not, if you’re seeing them anyway?”

She smiled apologetically. “I don’t think they’ll be too comfortable discussing the five million dollars in front of you, honey. Let me give this news to them first, then I’ll persuade them to have dinner with the two of us soon.”

Tristan’s frown deepened. “I’d really rather that we go together.”

“Next time. For tonight, I’ll say hello to them for you.”

* * *

“Hello, darling,” Debbie said as she opened the door.

“Hi, Mum. How are you?”

“Good, thanks. I’m glad you’re here tonight. Your dad and I have something we’ve been meaning to discuss with you.”

Paige raised an eyebrow as she followed her mum to the kitchen. “From the tone of your voice, I’d say you want to talk about Tristan.”

Debbie’s lips curved without cheer.

“Hello, Paige,” Larry said, coming in from the back door with a bunch of lettuce leaves in his hand from their small vegetable patch.

“Hi, Dad.”

“I’m glad you’ve come. We need to talk about Tristan.”

Paige sat on a stool by the kitchen island. “I hope it’s you finally telling me to bring Tristan home to join us for family dinners,” she said wryly.

Larry stood on the other side of the island in front of her. “Paige…”

She repressed a sigh. “Before you say anything, I want to tell you my news.”

“What news?”

“The news we’ve all been waiting for. The trustees transferred the five million to my account this afternoon.”

“Really?” both her parents said.

“Yes. So you see, you have to thank Tristan for that too. And we can go to the bank whenever you’re ready and get the whole amount transferred to your account in one go.”

“Well, I suppose that’s good news,” Larry said.

Paige raised her eyebrows at her dad. He supposed? He’d been so desperate for that money before, and now that was all the reaction he could give her?

“Thank you, Paige,” Debbie said, eyes moist. “We’re very grateful.”

She smiled at her mother.

“Yes, thank you, Paige,” Larry said. “You can go with your mum to the bank sometime this week after we’ve set up a loan agreement with you.”

Paige appreciated that gesture. “Thank you. This will stop you tearing out your hair, right?”

“It should. I’ll speak with the creditors.” Larry cleared his throat. “Now, I don’t want to ruin this night after your good news, but we have to discuss Tristan. We can’t put this off any longer.”

“Tristan’s happy you got the money too. He also hopes you’ll now talk to him. You’re open to that, right?”

Larry sat on a stool while Debbie looked out the window.

“I don’t know how to say this, Paige,” her dad said. “But for your safety and that of your child…”

Paige frowned. She didn’t like the tone of that.

“You have to leave Tristan.”

She gaped at her dad. “What?”

“The investigations to this are very hush-hush and sensitive, but we’ve finally got clearance from the undercover operatives to tell you what you need to know. We’re relieved, because we’ve been worried about you for ages.”

“What are you talking about?” Paige said in a voice louder than her usual.

“Tristan is part of a criminal organisation. Apparently, he’s pretty high up—one of the bosses. He uses his clubs as a front for his illegal activities, which include drug dealing and money laundering.”

Paige sprung up from her seat just as every cell in her body rejected her father’s words. “That’s not true.”

Debbie put a hand on her arm. “It’s true, darling. I’m so sorry. It’s why we were so against you telling Tristan he’s the father of your baby.”

“Fortunately, the authorities believe that you know nothing about Tristan’s link to the underworld,” Larry said. “It’s because we’ve been working with them from the very beginning to ensure they’re aware of your innocence. But it’s now become imperative for you to leave Tristan.”

Paige shook her head, rebelling at the idea. “This is crazy. I’m sure whoever told you all this is mistaken.”

“We’ve known Curtis for years, Paige. You know he’s a trustworthy person despite you having no romantic interest in him.”

“Curtis?”

Larry nodded. “He’s an undercover detective for the Australian Federal Police. When Tristan offered to buy one of our clubs, we happened to mention it to Curtis and his parents during dinner that night. The next day, Curtis asked us to meet him. He introduced us to a couple of people, who we found out were his bosses at the AFP. They questioned us about Tristan and asked us to help them in their investigations against this big criminal organisation that Tristan’s a part of. We shared with them everything we know about Tristan, TG and his family. Unfortunately, we didn’t have anything new for them, but we remain informants. It’s why I also decided not to sell our club to Tristan, to protect the Shipton name.”

“So you did lie about the contract? Tristan was actually the first to have accepted your offer?”

“Yes. The police didn’t mind me lying to Tristan because they wanted to see what he’d do. When Tristan threatened to sue us, we tried to notch it up a bit so he would actually go ahead with it. The police were hoping that we’d have the opportunity to uncover a few things about Tristan’s illegal activities if he did take us to court, and they would have backed us up to ensure we didn’t lose.”

“But I heard you say that losing the planned court case would destroy Shipton Enterprise! That was why I approached Tristan in the first place—to ask him to negotiate with you, instead.”

Larry let out a harsh sigh. “I said that to an acquaintance who also does business with Tristan, and it was an act so Tristan would stop threatening and start suing. Anyway, it’s obvious Tristan doesn’t want to get the courts involved in any way. He just wanted to scare me and your mother.”

Paige rubbed her face, hoping to understand what was going on—or rather, to wake up from this extremely bad dream.

“We’ve been worrying about you all this time, Paige, ever since you told us that you’d seen Tristan and had told him about the baby. But we couldn’t say or do anything without approval from the authorities. Curtis has been arguing with his bosses about telling you the truth about Tristan for weeks. But, apparently, the powers that be couldn’t be sure which side you were on. That’s been giving us sleepless nights, Paige. We want to avoid you getting caught inside the net that the authorities are planning on casting over the syndicate very soon. So we told Curtis’s boss that you want out of your marriage with Tristan because you and he are always fighting about us, and that you’ve chosen us over him. Because of the help we’ve been giving them so far regarding drug dealers in clubs, he agreed to guarantee your protection against being considered part of Tristan’s team. But that’s with the understanding that you’ve already left Tristan, like we’ve told him.”

“No,” Paige murmured, her chest constricting so hard she was finding it hard to breathe.

“I’m so sorry, darling,” Debbie said, taking her into her arms and hugging her tight.

Paige burst into tears. “You’re wrong. Curtis is wrong. I’ve never seen Tristan do anything illegal. He’s a good man.”

“But you really hardly know him,” Debbie said softly. “And, of course, he’s very good at hiding his nefarious activities. I’m sure he’s keeping a lot of secrets from you.”

Secrets. Paige’s mind took her back to her conversation with Tristan last night. He’d been talking furtively on the phone, and when she’d asked who he’d been speaking with, he’d said it was just Carter.

Tristan seemed to share a lot of secrets with Carter and Gavin, who apparently ran a security consultancy business. But as far as Paige knew, those guys didn’t work in the nightclub industry.

Maybe Tristan needed security for something else. For what, though?

Goosebumps covered her body. Could her parents and Curtis be telling her the truth?

“I understand this is a shock to you, Paige,” her mother said. “We know you’ve fallen in love with Tristan. But think of your baby. Think of your future. Tristan will go down, and we don’t want him taking you and our grandchild with him. You have to leave him right now. Curtis will help hide you.”

Paige simply gaped at them, her mind finding it difficult to process everything at once.

She jumped at the sound of the doorbell.

Her dad went to get it, and came back to the kitchen with Curtis and another guy in a black suit, whom Curtis introduced as Tony Axel.

“Paige,” Curtis said. “I’m so glad you’re here, and I’m so sorry about this.”

She stared at him, having no words for her pain and confusion.

“There have been some developments,” Curtis said, glancing at all three of them. “Things are happening faster than anticipated. I can’t give you any details because it’s classified, but an operation is imminent. Paige, if we’re to guarantee your safety, both from being suspected of being a part of a dangerous syndicate and also from Tristan thinking you’re a threat to his organisation, then you have to go into hiding immediately. I got approval to use my family’s country estate in Bowral as your hiding place. I’m sure you’ll be more comfortable there than anywhere else.”

“Are you kidding me?” Paige asked. My God, this night was getting worse by the minute.

“I’m sorry,” Curtis said softly.

“Can’t she at least pack some stuff?” Debbie asked. “Maybe another day won’t hurt.”

Curtis shook his head. “It’s too risky. Now that Paige knows who Tristan really is, she’d be acting strange around him. He’d get suspicious. Besides, she has to be out of Tristan’s place when the arrests happen to ensure she doesn’t get caught in it. Even my boss won’t be able to help her if she chooses to go home to Tristan after what we’ve told her.”

“How long do you need to keep her hidden?” Larry asked.

“She’ll be free to go when the operation is complete and everyone has been rounded up. I can’t tell you when that will be, but I’m hoping she’d be able to spend Christmas with you. She’ll most likely be interrogated afterwards, but I’m sure she’ll handle that well.”

“But I can’t disappear just like that, Curtis,” Paige insisted, everything about her refusing to listen to what they were saying. “It’s less than two weeks before Christmas. I have so many things to do. I can’t be away from home.”

“Then I’m going to have to arrest you.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry. I have my orders. You know too much now, and you’re Tristan’s wife. With the operation at a very sensitive stage, we’re being very cautious. And my partner’s here to make sure I follow my orders to take you with me.” He gestured to Tony by the kitchen entrance, who flashed his badge at her.

“You can’t arrest her,” Larry said angrily. “She’s innocent.”

“We shouldn’t have told her,” Debbie said to Larry, sounding scared.

“I can’t just leave,” Paige murmured.

“If you try to go home tonight,” Curtis said gravely, “then we’ll have no choice but to treat you as Tristan’s cohort. You’ll end up spending time in jail, Paige. Do you want to give birth there? Do you want to raise your child behind bars or have him taken away from you?”

“But she’s innocent!” Debbie cried.

“I’m saying, if she chooses to go home despite instructions from the authorities, that’s what she’s facing. It’s Paige’s choice. If she’s so in love with Tristan as to ignore what I’ve said here, then she’ll be considered a part of Tristan’s gang.”

“Darling, you have to go with Curtis,” Debbie begged.

Paige felt faint. She couldn’t believe what was happening.

“Are you ready to go with me, Paige?” Curtis said. “We have to go now. Timing is critical.”

“Of course she’ll go,” Larry answered, helping her to her feet.

“No,” Paige murmured, confused as hell. Her heart screamed for Tristan, but the picture of Tanner being born in prison was too great a threat for her to simply ignore.

“Look, Paige,” Larry said, “if Tristan turns out to be not guilty, I’ll be the first one to strip away all my pride and grovel at his feet. But if he’s guilty like the authorities think, you have to protect yourself and your child. And if he really loves you, I’m sure he’ll be able to understand why you’re disappearing for a while after we explain to him the reasons. But you cannot allow yourself to go to jail. It’s no place for a pregnant woman, and definitely no place to raise a child.”

Curtis took her arm and Paige found herself going with him. If it wasn’t for Tanner, she’d risk going to jail. She believed in Tristan.

But then again, she had to acknowledge that love could be totally blind.