‘Not at all,’ Kat reassured her. ‘Just making sure all bases are covered.’
‘I’ll ask Samuel to make himself known to you. I’m afraid we need to head back to our guests now but do come and join us in the ballroom when you’re ready.’ Kat’s face must have done a little paling of its own, because Helena smiled kindly at her. ‘I promise nobody will bite. They’re all looking forward to seeing the young lady Zac has brought with him.’
‘Oh, crap.’
Helena laughed. ‘I take it pretending to be his date wasn’t your idea?’
Kat ran her eyes over her black dress and down to her apparently not very high sandals. ‘If you knew the real me, you’d know this is not my idea of fun.’
‘You have no need to be nervous, my dear.’ Helena touched her lightly on the arm. ‘You’re far lovelier than the last woman he introduced us to.’
Not knowing quite what to say to that – the high five she wanted to give Helena was clearly inappropriate – Kat smiled awkwardly.
When his parents had shut the door behind them, Zac came to stand in front of her. ‘She’s right, you know.’
‘You’re only saying that because you know you pissed me off.’
He laughed, that low, soft chuckle that did things to her insides she really wished it didn’t. ‘I’m saying it because it’s true. Chloe was … high maintenance.’
‘For that read, she was glamorous.’
‘For that read, she was more interested in where I could take her, and who I could introduce her to, than me.’
Kat felt an immediate blast of anger that anyone could treat him like that. ‘Then she was a shallow, small-minded trollop.’
Zac’s smile beamed right into her eyes. ‘Well put.’ Before she knew it, his hands had moved to cup her face, the sensation warm, intimate and so very right, despite the alarm bells ringing in her head. ‘You, on the other hand, Kat Parker, are a delight. You make me want things I know I shouldn’t.’
Her breath hitched as he bent so that his face was only an inch from hers. Oh God, those eyes, they weren’t just green, they had specks of gold, of burnished orange. ‘I …’ her words were swallowed by her gasp as he edged even closer. So close she felt the warmth of his breath flutter across her face.
‘You?’ He smiled, eyes crinkling in the corners. ‘If I’d known how easy it was to render you speechless, I’d have done this a week ago.’
And while her heart hammered against her ribs, he planted a feather-light kiss on her lips.
Before she had a chance to complain, or, damn him, to drag him closer, because despite the fact he’d barely touched her, that was the most erotic kiss she’d ever experienced … before she had a chance to do either, he’d taken a step back.
‘We …’ She cleared the unwanted constriction from her throat. ‘We agreed you weren’t going to do that.’
He took her hand, tucking it under his arm. ‘We agreed I wouldn’t seduce you.’
‘Then what the blazes do you call that?’
Another smile, with an edge of smirk. ‘That was me relaxing you. Now, let’s go and show our faces.’
She didn’t know whether to laugh, to elbow him in the ribs, or to scream. Was it just a game to him? Was she simply a puppet he could manipulate at will?
But then she remembered his words. You make me want things I know I shouldn’t.
She was the one who’d pulled away at the river. Who’d told him no.
Maybe he was feeling this … thing between them as much as she was. And that was the scariest prospect of all, because after what she’d just experienced, she knew everything she’d said by the river was true. If he set out to seduce her, he would.
***
Zac kept his arm protectively around Kat as he listened to Penelope and Harold Foster, long-time friends of Helena and William, talk about their latest holiday. Protectively was, perhaps, stretching it. The only danger she faced was boredom, but he would take any excuse to keep some of part of his body in contact with hers.
Apparently, spring was the perfect time to cruise around the Aegean islands. Zac didn’t doubt it, but he didn’t need the information backed up with quite so much detail.
Though her expression didn’t show it, Kat had to be equally as bored. Over dinner she’d been animated, wowing the septuagenarians on their table, but she’d not said a word for the last ten minutes. Not since they’d been ensnared by the Fosters en route to escaping outside.
He allowed his hand to drift upwards, towards the bare skin at the V of her back. It was unfair of him to touch her there, when he knew she couldn’t protest, couldn’t move away.
But he couldn’t help himself.
Especially when her body did another of those tell-tale little shivers. It gave him hope that he could eventually wear her down, though it was a selfish thought. She didn’t want that from him.
‘Good Lord, fancy seeing you here.’ Zac froze at the sound of the distinctive upper-class voice. ‘Penny, Harold, excuse my poor manners in interrupting, but I’m so shocked to see this fellow. I thought we’d be too mundane for him, now he’s joined the celebrity classes.’
‘Antony.’ Zac nodded stiffly at William and Helena’s son. Manners dictated that he should formally introduce Kat, but for once he didn’t give a damn about what was right and proper. He just wanted away.
‘Brother.’ Antony’s lip curled. ‘That is what we’re calling each other these days, is it? I forget mother’s latest instructions.’
‘You can call me what you like.’ You and Isabelle always did. ‘Sorry we can’t linger, but I’ve promised to show my date around the garden.’
Ignoring the knowing glint in Antony’s eye, Zac pulled, perhaps a little too strongly, on Kat’s arm.
‘Whoa, hang on a minute.’ In the heels she hated, but he appreciated, Kat struggled to keep up with him. ‘Since when have I become Alan Titchmarsh?’
He forced himself to slow down. ‘Alan … who?’
‘You know, the gardener. Alan Titchmarsh. You said I wanted to see the garden.’ She huffed. ‘Don’t make me explain the joke. Just tell me why I’m hurtling towards the rhododendrons.’
‘I decided I didn’t want to make polite conversation any longer.’
He eased her through the orangery, where everyone was milling, and out onto the patio. It was a warm summer evening and this part of the garden looked particularly impressive, with a trail of lights leading up the path towards the summer house. Either side of it, flower beds teemed with colour.
He felt a tug on his hand and glanced down to see Kat looking at him in concern. ‘Is everything okay?’
The words Everything is fine circled in his mind, but such an obvious lie would only push her further away. While he couldn’t be honest, he could at least not lie so terribly. ‘Sorry. Antony and I don’t get on, as you’ll have gathered.’
‘He did seem a bit of an arse.’
The blunt words made him smile. ‘You mean you weren’t taken in by his dashing blond looks and baby-blue eyes?’
‘Are you kidding? Since I’ve had to follow you around all day, I’ve become immune to good looks.’
He caught her eyes, holding them. ‘Is that a dare?’
‘Absolutely not.’ He continued to stare at her, letting her see his attraction, how hard it was to hold back from dragging her away from here and doing to her what his dreams had started to taunt him with. Swallowing hard, she averted her gaze. ‘So, Antony is the brother. Where’s the sister?’
The question hit him like a bucket of cold water, and he took a step back. ‘I suspect Isabelle is around somewhere. They usually hunt in pairs.’ Kat’s sharp look made him realise what he’d revealed. ‘They’re twins,’ he added, as if it would explain everything.
Kat’s gaze shifted past his shoulder. ‘Does she look like her brother?’
‘Blonde and blue-eyed, yes.’
‘Then I think she’s heading towards us.’
Zac turned and his insides
plummeted as he spotted Isabelle walking through the open orangery doors and onto the patio.
‘Antony told me you were here.’ Her eyes narrowed as she glanced at Kat. ‘He also told me you’d brought a date.’
‘Not a dried, wrinkled one, I hope.’ Kat, clearly deciding to ignore the tension so obviously snapping between him and Isabelle, reached out her hand. ‘Hi, I’m Kat.’
‘How do you do? I’m Isabelle.’ She shook the proffered hand and glanced between the pair of them. ‘Well, this is truly fascinating. I don’t believe I’ve ever met one of Zac’s dates before.’
‘Not even the infamous Chloe?’
Zac knew Kat was trying to help, but he didn’t need it. What he needed was to get away from Isabelle and her taunting look, Antony and his sneering comments, and all reminders of the half-truths, the lies he was peddling, even to Kat.
‘Nope, I wasn’t allowed to meet Chloe. Mum and Dad had dinner with her I believe, but Antony and I weren’t invited.’ Isabelle’s lip curled up at one side. ‘I think Zac was afraid we’d scare her off.’
‘I don’t scare so easily,’ Kat asserted.
‘I’m sure Zac will be pleased to hear that.’ Isabelle swung her laser-bright focus back to him. ‘Won’t you, dear brother.’
The poached salmon he’d eaten felt too heavy in his stomach, the champagne too fizzy. ‘I believe the music is about to start. We should head back in.’
‘Oh, I think Mum will forgive us for not being the first on the dance floor. We’re having such a lovely time catching up, after all.’ Isabelle took a sip out of the champagne flute she was carrying. ‘How long has it been since we last saw each other? Five years?’
He wanted to say Not long enough, but that wasn’t how Isabelle or Antony played these little games. They liked to pretend to be nice, to be civil, while slowly plunging in the knife. ‘Six.’
‘Doesn’t time fly.’ The expression on her face as she studied him was coolly condescending. ‘I hear you’ve been busy making films, which must be the perfect career choice for you. You always did enjoy being someone you weren’t.’
He flinched, and her lip curled even further. Damn it, he was thirty now, not thirteen. Her catty remarks shouldn’t have the power to hurt him anymore. ‘And you always enjoyed being a bitch. Goodbye, Isabelle. It’s been fun catching up.’ He was so wound up now, his muscles were making knots on top of knots. Clasping tight to Kat’s hand, he marched them back inside, through the orangery and into the adjoining ballroom where a small band had started to play.
‘If we bump into her again,’ Kat muttered, ‘I’m warning you now, she’s going to end up flat on her back with my knee on her neck.’
‘If we bump into her again, we’re going home.’
‘That works for me, too. At least then I can get out of this dress and maybe, you know, start to breathe again. Once you relax that death grip you’ve got going on.’
Slowly Zac ground to a halt. ‘Sorry.’ Reluctantly he let go of her hand. ‘I’m so angry right now, I want to scream.’ His eyes travelled across her face, noting the fire still in her eyes. ‘Yet one look at you and suddenly I have this mad urge to smile. Why is that?’
‘Duh, that’s obvious. Because I’m funny.’
‘Funny, I concur.’ He slid a hand across her cheek and gazed into those deep-brown pools. ‘Yet also utterly enchanting.’
He watched as her eyes fluttered closed. When they opened again, they pleaded with him not to say anything more. Reining in his frustration, he held out his hand. ‘Come and dance with me.’
‘Me? Dance?’ She gave him an incredulous look before glancing down at her feet. ‘In these toe crushers?’
Ignoring her protest, he led her towards the floor where a dozen or so couples moved to a variety of techniques, from the awkward sway to the full-blown waltz. ‘You don’t need to dance. Just …’ He placed her hand on his chest, over his heart, which still hadn’t fully calmed since the spat with Isabelle. ‘Just let me hold you for a while. Please.’
Her eyes searched his, and he guessed she must have read the same desperation for human contact, for comfort, that he felt in his gut because she nodded her head.
Moments later, they were face to face, chest to chest, hip to hip. As he eased his arms around her waist, drawing her closer, he felt some of the tension slide away. When her hands moved from clasping his biceps, to wrapping around his neck, he inhaled a deep breath and began to relax for the first time that evening.
His pleasure was cut short when the music ended and Samuel appeared.
‘Sorry to disturb you. I thought you should know, we had an uninvited guest.’
Kat stiffened, moving away from him and following Samuel off the dance floor. ‘Did you get a name? A description?’
Samuel shook his head. ‘No name. We approached the car, as we were suspicious, because it was so late arriving. The lady – that’s about all I can tell you for sure, it was a female with long hair – immediately turned the car round and disappeared down the drive. It was so dark we didn’t even get a number plate. Sorry.’
Kat cursed under her breath. ‘Not your fault. Thanks for letting me know.’
‘Probably just someone who got lost,’ Zac murmured as Samuel drifted off. ‘I’d make a joke about women and navigation, but I fear I might find a knee in my groin.’
‘Usually you’d be right, unless you’re making the joke to hide the fact you’re worried.’
‘I’m not worried,’ he said softly. ‘I’ve got you.’
‘No.’ Kat jerked her head away from his gaze. ‘You should be worried. It makes you more vigilant. We both need to be on our toes.’ She cursed again. ‘I should have been out there, keeping watch.’
‘But nothing happened.’ Why wouldn’t she look at him? ‘Kat?’
Finally, her eyes met his. ‘Don’t you see? I was distracted tonight. I was dining with you, dancing with you, but I’m not your flaming date, Zac. I’m your bodyguard.’
Guilt from the lies he’d been telling, anger from the meeting with Isabelle and Antony, frustration at the situation with Kat. It all mixed into a heady, emotional cocktail. ‘Then swap with Mark,’ he demanded, taking hold of her shoulders. ‘Get someone else to be my bodyguard so you can be my date.’
It was the wrong thing to say. She shook his arms off and glared up at him. ‘You assume I want that.’
Ouch. Now he could add hurt to his simmering emotions. ‘I apologise,’ he bit out. ‘I didn’t realise the idea was so abhorrent.’
‘It isn’t.’ She released a long, exasperated breath. ‘But this is my job, Zac, and it’s important to me. This assignment is important to me.’
‘I see.’ He jammed his hands into his pockets. ‘I’m more important to you as a client, than as me.’ And why not? he thought bitterly. It’s not like it was the first time he was wanted because of what he was, not who he was.
‘God, Zac, that’s not what I’m saying here. Why are you being so bloody infuriating?’
‘I didn’t think I was.’ Aware they were starting to get looks now, Zac forced his shoulders to relax, his mouth to smile. ‘I thought I was being truthful.’
‘Truthful?’ He received his same, forced smile, thrown back at him. ‘Is this the same truth that means I can’t ask about what I’ve seen tonight?’
He hung his head. ‘Touché. I know you have questions and I want to answer them, but …’ He trailed off, his throat closing up as fear, dread and guilt all tightened around him. Was he ready to open that can of worms?
‘You don’t trust me.’
‘That’s not it,’ he shot back. ‘I trust you with my life, Kat.’
She averted her eyes, staring at the band rather than at him. ‘How can I protect that life, if you don’t give me the full facts?’
He could understand her argument, but signatures in pink lipstick, a woman driving the car tonight. It all pointed to the stalker being a female fan. And if that was the case … ‘I don’t know who�
�s stalking me, Kat.’
She didn’t reply and the silence grew heavy between them, at odds with the surrounding music and laughter. Instead they were stuck in a bubble of distrust and anger, when all he longed to do was tug her back to the dance floor and wrap his arms around her.
‘I’ll make my excuses to Helena and William,’ he said finally, aware the evening was lost.
The bigger question was whether his bodyguard was lost to him, too.
A week or so ago, he’d have jumped at the chance to get someone more experienced. Now he realised he’d been overly paranoid. The person stalking him clearly wasn’t that of his worst nightmare, and his fears had lessened enough to make him selfish. If he had to have a bodyguard, he wanted it to be Kat watching his back, Kat driving him around. Kat sticking to him like glue.
He wanted her in his life, and if this was the only way it was going to happen, then it sucked, really bloody sucked. But he’d accept it over the alternative.
Chapter 11
Kat kept her eyes fixed on the road as she drove Zac back to the hotel. It was Friday; almost a week since the charity function at his parents’ house.
Well, estate.
And were they even his parents? Ever since the visit there, her mind had replayed snippets of conversations, leaving a confused mess of contradictions in their wake.
Brother? That is what we’re calling each other these days, is it? I forget mother’s latest instructions.
And the equally unsettling Acting must be the perfect career choice for you. You always enjoyed being someone you weren’t.
Clearly Zac was carrying around a big, dirty secret. It hurt, both professionally and personally, that he wasn’t prepared to let her in on it. Professionally, because his secret felt like an unexploded bomb hanging over them. One of those frigging IEDs in Afghan. She knew it was there, but she didn’t know if it would explode in their faces and if it did, how much damage it would do.
The thought brought back horrifying flashbacks; deafening bangs, panic, blood, debris … a shudder ran through her. Definitely not the time to be taking a trip down that memory lane. ‘The police think they have a lead on your stalker,’ she said when she thought she had her voice under control.
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