Glass Slippers and Unicorns

by Carole Mortimer

  Earlier? Reed had been at the woman’s flat earlier. Lunchtime? He had gone out for a couple of hours of bed and whatever else Samantha Duval had offered and he had the nerve to return to the office and lash out angrily at Marc and herself for flirting!

  My God, she had had enough of this! If Reed thought he could calmly go back to his former lover and forget what had happened between the two of them in Florida, he was going to realise she couldn’t accept that as she was obviously supposed to. She wasn’t just a convenient body, damn it, and it was time he realised that their lovemaking was one thing she would never forget!

  The light of battle flowed bright and strong in her eyes as she marched into the adjoining room without knocking first, ignoring the surprise on the face of the man seated opposite Reed as she slapped the box Samantha had left on the desk in front of Reed.

  ‘Yours,’ she bit out angrily. ‘With the compliments of Miss Samantha Duval. Who you apparently visited at her flat at lunchtime—’

  ‘Darcy—’

  ‘I haven’t finished!’ she rasped furiously, pushing him back down in his chair as he went to stand up. ‘I’ll admit I’m new to the rules of these boss/secretary affairs, but I—I’m sorry.’ Her eyes shot flames at Roy Benedict as he gasped his surprise. ‘Have I shocked you?’ she scorned.

  ‘Er—No,’ he assured her uncomfortably, sinking down in his chair in the obvious hope of being ignored during the rest of what promised to be a fiery encounter.

  ‘Darcy—’

  ‘As I was saying…’ Once again she cut across Reed’s protest. ‘I’m new to these relationships, but even I didn’t expect you to go back to Samantha today. All day I’ve been putting your moodiness with me down to the problem you have in Florida, when really it was just your way of telling me it was over between us! Well let me tell you I’m sick of being treated like an idiot, I’m sick of obscure comments being made about this damned necklace you gave me—’

  ‘Samantha?’ he prompted huskily.

  ‘Yes!’ Her eyes flashed as she reached up to unclasp the necklace. ‘And most of all I’m sick of you, Reed Hunter!’ She slapped the necklace down next to the box on his desk. ‘I love you—Oh, yes, I do,’ she insisted as he went to speak. ‘And I want you. But I don’t have to accept your affairs with other women or the high-handed way you’ve been treating me today! Now if I’ve been wrong and you do still want me then you’re going to have to come and get me!’

  ‘Darcy!’

  ‘I mean it, Reed.’ She turned at the door, breathing hard in her distress as she faced him where he now stood across the room. ‘You’re bad-tempered and arrogant, but I still want you. If you want me, too, you’ll stop seeing Samantha and then you’ll find me and ask me to marry you. I might even accept!’

  CHAPTER TEN

  DID they make bigger fools than her! She didn’t think so; no one else could be this stupid.

  She had never acted that way before over anything, never demanded anything from anyone in that arrogant way. Reed was going to think her even more of an idiot than he had before.

  Reed. He had looked so stunned by her outburst, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing and hearing. Probably because he hadn’t! He was going to be furious at her for the way she had embarrassed him in front of his business colleague. But he had to find her first, she thought thankfully.

  ‘Here.’ Marc held out a strong cup of coffee in front of her, grimacing as she sipped the syrupy brew without seeming to notice the three teaspoonsful of sugar he had put in it. ‘I take it you haven’t come down here so that I can make love to you?’ he teased.

  She shook her head. ‘I’m hiding out.’

  ‘From Reed?’ He raised dark blond brows.

  ‘Yes.’ She trembled slightly.

  ‘Somehow he never struck me as the sort to turn into a sex-fiend at the sight of a woman’s naked body.’

  She shook her head. ‘I didn’t take your “advice",’ she derided impatiently. ‘Instead I lost my temper with him and—’

  ‘You did?’ Marc looked incredulous.

  Her mouth firmed. ‘He spent his lunchbreak with Samantha Duval.’

  ‘Sure?’

  ‘The woman told me so herself!’

  ‘And Sammy isn’t the bitchy sort,’ Marc murmured thoughtfully, holding up his hands defensively as Darcy glared at him. ‘Can I help it if I knew her before Reed did?’

  ‘You could try telling me what a bitch she is—even if it isn’t true!’ In fact, she had quite liked the woman—the only thing she hadn’t liked had been her involvement with Reed!

  ‘All right, she’s a bitch.’ Marc shrugged. ‘A thieving seductress who—’

  ‘She isn’t,’ Darcy sighed. ‘But she is too good for Reed,’ she added angrily.

  ‘Now there I have to agree with you—’

  ‘What do you mean?’ she snapped indignantly.

  ‘Any woman is too good for him,’ Marc dismissed. ‘The man is obviously a fool, and—’

  ‘He is not!’ she defended. ‘He—What am I doing?’ she groaned, looking totally bewildered.

  Marc grinned. ‘Acting like a woman in love! “Hell hath no fury like a woman"; I won’t say “scorned” because I don’t believe Reed has done that,’ he added slowly. ‘But God help anyone else who tries to malign the slow-witted lover; they’re likely to get their eyes scratched out. Women are strange creatures—’

  ‘You mean men are as fickle as alley-cats!’ Her eyes flashed. ‘Any woman will do!’

  Marc blew softly through his teeth. ‘I never would have thought Reed was this stupid.’ He shook his head. ‘What exactly did Samantha say to you?’

  ‘You mean before or after she put the cake-box on my desk?’ Darcy scorned.

  ‘Cake?’ Marc looked totally blank at this disclosure. ‘What cake?’

  ‘The one she cooked for Reed. At least, I presume it was a cake…’ She trailed off as Marc shook his head in firm denial. ‘She can’t cook,’ she stated flatly.

  ‘Nothing edible.’ He pursed his lips thoughtfully. ‘I wonder what was in the box?’

  ‘A bomb, I hope!’ Darcy snapped resentfully.

  Marc grinned. ‘I know it’s trite to say you’re beautiful when you’re angry, but you are, Darcy. All your freckles stand out on your nose, and—’

  ‘I have already had my unflattering resemblance to the youngest member of the Walton family remarked upon, thank you!’ she bit out tautly.

  ‘Reed again?’ he quirked his eyebrows.

  ‘Yes!’

  ‘The man should get a zero for diplomacy!’ Marc grimaced. ‘Personally, I find these freckles as sexy as hell—so does Reed.’ He pounced knowingly as the fiery colour highlighted her cheeks.

  ‘You’re supposed to be on my side, Marc,’ she accused heatedly.

  ‘I don’t take sides, especially between a woman I happen to care about very much and my financial business partner!’

  ‘Mercenary!’

  ‘Yep!’ He grinned good-naturedly. ‘Reed’s made a mess of this, Darcy,’ he acknowledged lightly. ‘But maybe you should have given him a chance to explain.’

  ‘Explain?’ She stood up forcefully. ‘How can he explain away making love to another woman during his lunchbreak!’

  ‘Well I know how I’d explain it, but—saved by the bell!’ He grimaced at her increasingly furious expression before lifting the receiver of the ringing telephone. ‘Yes. How are you?’ he smoothly greeted his caller while Darcy moved a polite distance away to stare out of the window as she gave him privacy.

  She had ruined things irrevocably between Reed and herself. Perhaps there had been a reasonable explanation for his visit to Samantha Duval at lunchtime—although she couldn’t think of one!

  ‘We probably aren’t high enough for you to do any lasting damage,’ Marc murmured behind her as she contemplated the street below without really seeing it.

  She turned to give him a wan smile. ‘I found out long ago that I don’t have
suicidal tendencies.’ She had realised two years ago that she didn’t have the will to die, that despite what she might have wished at the time her mind and body refused to accept the idea. ‘I really should be going now—’

  ‘What are you going to do?’ Marc probed gently.

  ‘Short-term, go home. Long-term, look for another job.’ She shrugged ruefully.

  ‘I know of a job that might be going if you’re interested.’

  ‘You already have a receptionist,’ she smiled.

  ‘Oh, it isn’t with me.’ He shook his head. ‘I have this friend who makes blue movies—you should see your face!’ he taunted with a chuckle. ‘The laugh Reed and I had about your assumption that first day you came down here!’ He grinned.

  ‘One of the few times Reed has found my stupidity amusing,’ she said dully.

  ‘Darcy—’ He turned to the door as it opened, a narrow-eyed Reed standing in the doorway. ‘It’s about time you got down here,’ he rebuked. ‘I was having difficulty stopping her from leaving.’

  Darcy had become frozen to the spot at the first sight of Reed, but she turned accusing eyes on Marc at his admission. ‘You told him I was here?’ she gasped in disbelief.

  He shrugged. ‘He asked.’

  ‘When?’

  ‘Just now, on the telephone.’

  It hadn’t even occurred to her that the call could be from Reed, although she had to admit she had been too lost in her own thoughts to take much notice of Marc’s end of the conversation.

  ‘Traitor!’ she accused, glancing nervously across at Reed. What was he going to do now?

  ‘Did you make love to Sammy lunchtime?’ Marc asked the other man curiously, unmoved by Darcy’s burning anger.

  ‘Is that what you thought?’ Reed frowned at Darcy.

  ‘Don’t try and deny it—’

  ‘Darcy, could we go somewhere a little more private and discuss this?’ He looked pointedly at the curiously listening Marc.

  ‘I’ll try my best not to be offended by your rude assumption that I’m in the least interested in your conversation,’ Marc told them haughtily as he unhooked his jacket from the hanger behind the door. ‘And as I doubt you could persuade Darcy to go anywhere with you right now, Reed, I’ll leave my studio to the two of you.’ He shrugged into the leather jacket. ‘A word of advice…’ He paused at the open door. ‘The couch over by the wall is the most comfortable. And I expect the first boy to be named after me!’ He could be heard whistling as he walked down the corridor to the lift.

  ‘Name the first—? Oh!’ Darcy gave a pained grimace, avoiding Reed’s gaze. ‘His sense of humour could definitely do with improving!’ She turned back to her perusal of the street below, scowling at Marc as he looked up and waved to her before climbing into a taxi. So much for friendship; he had left her to the wolf!

  ‘I don’t find anything funny about the idea of your having my child.’ Reed spoke from close behind her, too close.

  ‘No,’ she acknowledged heavily. ‘It certainly wouldn’t be funny.’

  ‘Darcy, won’t you turn and look at me?’ he encouraged throatily.

  If she turned she would step straight into his arms, and she couldn’t do that. ‘I’m sorry for what I did earlier; I didn’t mean to embarrass you in front of Mr Benedict.’

  ‘Didn’t you?’ he mused.

  ‘No!’

  ‘I wasn’t in the least embarrassed, Darcy—’

  ‘I suppose the two of you had a laugh about the way a mere secretary became so emotional over what was, after all, just a physical diversion,’ she went on, voicing her pain and disillusionment.

  ‘Darcy.’ His hands on her arms turned her to face him. ‘You know that isn’t what happened between us in Orlando. It meant much more than that.’

  ‘Did it?’ She still avoided his gaze. ‘You’ve told me nothing about Chris and Diane, went to another woman as soon as you got back—’

  ‘I’ve been too damned mad at you since you told me you saw Jason over the weekend to think of anything else, especially after I’d walked in on you and Marc together this morning!’

  ‘I only said I’d seen Jason, not that I went to bed with him,’ she defended.

  ‘I didn’t go to bed with Sammy at lunchtime either,’ he told her gently.

  She looked up at him with searching eyes. ‘You went to her flat…’

  ‘To tell her in person that I wouldn’t be seeing her again,’ he said softly. ‘I owed her that much at least. The box contained a few of my things that had accumulated at her place the last month or so.’

  Darcy frowned. ‘She didn’t seem—upset.’

  His mouth quirked. ‘At the thought of not seeing me again?’ He shook his head. ‘But then she doesn’t love me, Darcy,’ he added softly, hesitantly.

  Bright wings of colour flooded her cheeks. Had she really told him she loved him in the heat of her anger? Yes, she had. And he had come and found her!

  ‘And I mean to marry you, too, if you’ll have me,’ he said huskily as her stricken gaze clashed with his. ‘I love you very much, Darcy Faversham.’

  ‘You do?’

  His expression became so gently loving at her uncertainty that Darcy felt like crying. ‘We still have so many things to talk out between us, but I think all of them can wait until you’ve answered my proposal.’

  ‘I don’t think you actually made one, but when you do the answer is yes!’ She threw her arms about him as she raised her face for his kiss. ‘Oh, yes…’

  It was so much more than she had ever hoped for, sure that after her outburst earlier she had lost her chance of any sort of relationship with Reed. She hadn’t dreamt he loved her in return.

  Marc was right, the couch by the wall was the more comfortable of the two, but neither Darcy nor Reed felt the inclination to take full advantage of its comfort, content with the deeply satisfying kisses that left them shaking for more; their talk had to come first.

  ‘Let’s go back to my apartment,’ Reed murmured against her temple as he nuzzled against her. ‘I have a present waiting for you there.’

  ‘My mother warned me about men like you!’

  ‘It’s an engagement present,’ he chided lovingly. ‘Somewhere during the muddle the last few days have been I had it made for you. I’d meant to invite you out to dinner this evening, propose by candlelight, and then hold you in my arms all night. But one look at you in Marc’s arms this morning and I—’

  ‘I wasn’t in his arms,’ she protested, sitting up. ‘He guessed something had happened between us while we were away and he was trying to find out the details.’

  ‘Which you refused to tell him,’ Reed laughed softly. ‘Poor Marc.’

  ‘The man is a menace!’

  ‘True,’ Reed nodded. ‘But he does care for you in his own way. He told me that if I hurt you again he would break both my legs!’

  ‘He doesn’t have the energy!’ Darcy derided.

  ‘No,’ Reed smiled, his gaze warm on her flushed face. ‘I do love you, Darcy,’ he told her intensely. ‘Being without you the last few days has been like being without a part of myself; the most important part. I need you with me all the time, Darcy.’

  She felt the same way, but she frowned her puzzlement. ‘How can you say that when you told me I could no longer work for you?’

  He gave a rueful grimace. ‘Jealousy,’ he told her simply.

  ‘Of what? Who?’ She gazed up at him dazedly.

  ‘Darcy, you have to realise that until today I had no idea how you felt about me. I was going to propose, but I had no idea if you would accept. Hell, you were dating Marc before we went to Florida,’ he scowled. ‘I didn’t want you anywhere near him.’

  ‘He’s just a friend,’ she frowned. ‘He’s always been a friend.’

  ‘He’s also a man; a very attractive one, I’ve been told. Mainly by him!’ Reed derided. ‘From the first night we met I was attracted to you. God, that isn’t completely true; it was so much more than just attractio
n! For years I had watched my father with my mother, and—’

  ‘I know the way I forget things gets you down,’ she put in hastily. ‘But I will try—’

  ‘You don’t understand, Darcy.’ He shook his head. ‘For years I watched my father adore my mother because of the way she is, not in spite of it. Do you have any idea how difficult it is, in this age of women’s liberation, to find a woman you can feel protective towards? It may be old-fashioned, but that’s the way I feel about you. The way my father felt about my mother.’ A gentle smile curved his lips. ‘We all adore my mother, she’s the most lovable woman I know. Or, at least, she was. Darcy Faversham soon came first in my heart.’

  ‘You acted as if you couldn’t stand the sight of both of us the day your mother arrived in England,’ Darcy remembered indignantly. She was willing, if Reed said he did, to accept that he loved her now, but that day Maud arrived he had been rude and insulting to both of them.

  ‘That was because Marc had invited me to the surprise party he was giving for your birthday and my mother’s arrival had meant my own plans to invite you out alone for a quiet dinner were impossible.’ He frowned darkly. ‘I was angry at everyone that day. The next day was no better—I imagined you had spent the night with Marc. Knowing how you felt about your own family I knew it wasn’t the best time for you to meet mine, but I had to get you away from Marc somehow. But I could see my family overwhelmed you from the start—’

  ‘Not overwhelmed exactly,’ she corrected softly. ‘Since—after my breakdown I’ve had difficulty coping with crowds, that’s all.’

  ‘And my family is more like a mob!’ he derided.

  ‘They’re nice people,’ she assured him. ‘And it isn’t families I’m nervous of, Reed, it’s just groups of people per se. But I’m slowly getting better, coping more. I haven’t visited my own parents much the last few months because of—well, because of memories. But I’m slowly learning to deal with them, too.’

  ‘Knowing nothing of what happened at the bank, I assumed when you first came to work for me that your disturbed emotional state was due to a man. Jason.’ He sighed. ‘I decided to give you the space to get over it—’