Nicole: Star Crossed Lovers (A Wish for Love Series Book 2) by Mia Shales Page A

you."
    "My father had a brother, older by many years.  He was a good-looking man but his character was weak.  He never managed to hold down a job for any length of time and the money his parents gave him would be quickly spent on gambling, women and drink.  To their great dismay, when his debt became unmanageable, he returned to the family home to live. When I was two my father was killed in a work-related accident.  My mother was heartbroken.  She never recovered from the blow and even her infant daughter couldn't comfort her in her grief at her husband's death. My grandparents, no less disconsolate, approached the young widow with a proposition.  She would marry her brother-in-law and in return they would assure the economic well being of her daughter.  They would transfer the deed to the house and bungalow in Cairns to the baby and would name their son and daughter-in-law as trustees until the child was twenty-five, at which time she would gain control over the property.  With this suggestion they hoped to achieve two things. They would assure their beloved granddaughter's economic security and would provide their unstable son with a warm family in the hope that he would reform and take on his responsibilities as head of the family.
    "My stepfather was a debauched and coarse drunkard but as long as his parents lived he put up a civil facade.  They gave him enough money to keep up his lifestyle and he simply ignored our existence, disappearing for long periods while engaged in various dubious enterprises.  Those years were comparatively good ones and I can remember happy days spent in my mother's company.  Early in the morning we would walk down to the studio.  She would set up her easel at the seashore and draw her pictures and I would sit beside her, imitating her movements with crayons.  Later, under her tutelage, I began to paint oils on canvas.
    "When I was fifteen my grandmother passed away and two years later my grandfather followed.  The will named me the sole heir, the inheritance to come to me when I should reach the age of twenty-five.  My stepfather received a monthly allowance that assured him a decent income during his lifetime. From that day on my stepfather's condition deteriorated.  He became ever more violent and treated my poor mother shamelessly.  Her spirit broke and she was a silent, motionless shadow in his presence.  Once or twice he beat her and I called the police.  He was jailed for one night and released.  The incident that you witnessed was the first and only time he dared raise his hand against me.  He found out I was going out with you and fell into one of his paranoid fits of anger."
    "What happened after I left?"  Daniel had to know.
    "As you know, two months later I found out I was pregnant.  When my hopes of being reunited with you were dashed I began to think about my future and that of our child.  Although today it's acceptable to be a single parent I thought it would be better for the baby to have a father. Eric owned a few art galleries.  He was forty, widowed and childless.  At that time I began to consider turning my art into a paying proposition and was looking for galleries ready to exhibit my paintings, which is how we met.  He was very enthused about my work and believed that the right agent and public relations would make me famous.  He was a perfect gentleman, cultured and refined.  He was eager for an heir to carry on his lifework and made it clear in his subtle way that he would be satisfied with a platonic relationship if I would agree the baby would bear his name.  I believe he was one of those rare persons who was truly asexual and felt no need for sex.  At any rate, I was very fond of him.  He was goodhearted and because we got along so well together I accepted his proposal.  My heart was shattered beyond repair and I knew I would never find another love, so marriage to Eric suited me very well.  Eric would arrange for my pictures to be