If Michael didn't arrive back soon she was going to have to leave without seeing him; she couldn't sit in this bar all day waiting for him.
Hawk had invited her out for lunch, but she had told him she was meeting an old friend in town. He hadn't been pleased. He would be even less pleased, she knew, if he were informed that her ex-husband was the supposed 'old friend'!
A friend was something Michael had never been, and it hadn't taken her long to realise she couldn't love the monster he was either. Now that she was going to marry Hawk Michael had to realise he would be wiser, for his own safety, to stay away from her. And Holly. She could still remember her panic of yesterday when Michael had picked Holly up. If he wouldn't agree to leave them alone she would have to go to Hawk and tell him everything.
'Well, well, well!' drawled a mocking voice. 'Become a secret drinker, have you?'
Leonie looked up at Michael unflinchingly, putting her glass down carefully. 'The time to have done that was while I was still married to you,' she snapped.
He raised one brow mockingly as he sat down on the stool opposite her. 'Is it being the mistress of Henry Hawker Sinclair the Second that's suddenly given my little kitten claws?' he taunted.
She could feel the colour leave her cheeks; it hadn't taken him long to find out exactly who 'Hawk' was! 'I'm not his mistress,' she muttered, looking around them uncomfortably. The lounge was full of people munching on the bar-snacks they served out here between twelve and two o'clock.
'Holly is his child,' Michael mocked.
Leonie drew in a ragged breath. 'Could we get out of here?' she said coldly, picking up her bag. 'Go somewhere we can be more private?'
His eyes widened appreciatively. 'Maybe your ice has melted a little!'
'What are you doing?' She pulled back as he dragged her towards the staircase.
'Taking you up to my room,' he told her softly. 'It's very private up there,' he added suggestively.
Leonie wrenched her arm out of his grasp. 'A walk outside is privacy enough,' she snapped.
He shrugged, following her out into the sunshine, his hands thrust in his trouser pockets. 'So what are you doing in Claymont?' he drawled.
'Visiting you,' she said impatiently.
His brows rose. 'You should have called first— you could have been sitting in that bar all day waiting for me to get back.'
She had come here in the first place on the spur of the moment—she knew Michael had to be dealt with! 'You're here now.' She unzipped her bag, taking out an envelope and holding it out to him. 'This is what you came here for.' She looked at him with dislike. 'Take it and go.'
He ignored the envelope. 'Exactly how many millions do you suppose your rich lover has?' he mused.
She swallowed hard. 'I haven't the least idea— or interest—in how much money Hawk has,' she told him coldly.
'Well, I have,' chided Michael. 'I suppose he could actually be worth billions,' he added thoughtfully.
Leonie drew in a ragged breath; she hadn't imagined he would have found out Hawk's identity this quickly. She should have known better; where money was concerned Michael was like a bloodhound, he could always find it if it was there.
Money was one of the reasons he had married her, he had told her shortly after their wedding. She was already earning money from the Winnie Cooper books, more than he was earning as an office worker.
'Don't even think about it, Michael,' she advised wearily. 'Hawk won't be blackmailed.'
'Your friend yesterday gave the impression Sinclair is very protective of his mistress and the child your affair has produced,' he taunted.
Leonie sighed. 'He also warned you that Hawk would be a dangerous man to cross. Hawk isn't someone you could bully, Michael,' she warned.
'I didn't think he was,' he mused. 'But I'm sure he wouldn't want the intimate details of his lover's marriage spread across the front page of the newspapers.'
'That's more likely to embarrass you than it is me,' she snapped.
His lips quirked. 'Not the way I would tell it!'
She came to an abrupt halt, turning to face him. 'Take what I'm offering you, Michael,' she said softly, holding out the envelope once again. 'And don't be a fool.'
His face darkened angrily. 'The only fool here is you—if you think I'm going to accept the pittance you can give me when Sinclair can give me much more!'
'You really think Hawk would give you anything?' she scorned.
Michael nodded confidently. 'If he cares about you—and I think he does,' he derided. 'And he isn't going to give the money to me; you're going to ask him for it.'
'Me?' she repeated apprehensively. 'I told you, I'm not interested in Hawk's money.'
'But I am,' he drawled softly. 'And I'm sure he could be persuaded to be financially indulgent with the woman who's borne his daughter.' He raised his brows challengingly. 'Or would you rather we all got into a legal battle over your brat's paternity?' he added pleasantly.
Leonie wasn't fooled by the mildness of his tone; she knew just how dangerous the threat was. 'You promised you'd leave Holly alone,' she reminded him sharply.
He shrugged. 'That was before I found out exactly who her father is.'
She swallowed hard. 'Hawk could break you,' she choked fiercely.
'But he won't,' Michael dismissed lightly. 'Will he?' he taunted.
Money. That was all that seemed to matter to this man. Never mind that he could be hurting an innocent child with his vicious lies. 'I'll see what I can do.' She turned away.
'In the meantime this will do very nicely…' He took the envelope out of her hand. 'I'll call you in a few days,' he smiled confidently before striding back towards his hotel.
Leonie was shaking badly. She always felt ill after an encounter with Michael. She should never have started this, she should have challenged Michael from the first to do his worst. Now it was too late. And it could only get worse once she was actually Hawk's wife.
'Leonie?'
She turned sharply, forcing herself to relax as she faced Stephen Colter. 'Stephen,' she greeted him lightly. 'What are you doing in town?'
He frowned. 'Just looking round. Who was that guy with you just now?'
A flicker of irritation darkened her eyes; did all Hawk's friends protect what was his? And then she chastised herself; Stephen was one of the few people at the house who didn't know she and Holly were Hawk's. He was obviously just concerned by the fact that her meeting with Michael seemed to have upset her.
'Just a friend who couldn't make it for lunch,' she dismissed brightly.
He didn't look convinced, his gaze went in the direction Michael had taken. Then he turned with a dismissive shrug. 'In that case let me offer to be your escort,' he grinned.
'Oh, but—' Why not? Stephen was a likeable enough man, when he wasn't getting drunk after arguing with his father!
He held up his hands defensively. 'I'll behave,' he promised dryly. 'Besides, Dad and I haven't even spoken for a couple of days,' he added with a grimace. 'He still wants me to go back to London to stay until the wedding,' he told her conversationally as they walked along together. 'I know you said it isn't necessary, but having me around just seems to upset him.'
'Oh, I'm sure it isn't that,' she protested. 'He loves you very much, I can tell.'
'Yeah,' Stephen nodded. 'I love him too. But that doesn't mean we have to get along. He has his life to lead and I have mine; and they're totally different.' He shrugged.
Leonie put her arm companionably through the crook of his. 'Let's go and have lunch and you can tell me all about going to college in America,' she encouraged.
He quirked blond brows. 'Did Dad forget to mention that I've dropped out of college?'
What the hell was she doing with Stephen?
Hawk watched from the lounge as Leonie and Stephen arrived back together in her car, scowling as they laughed together as they entered the house. Leonie had gone out to lunch with an 'old friend', she had said, so how had she managed to retu
rn with Stephen?
A guilty flush seemed to darken her cheeks as she looked up and saw him standing in the lounge doorway.
'Hiya, Hawk,' Stephen greeted lightly on his way up the stairs. 'Beautiful day.'
Hawk frowned as he watched the young man navigate the stairs, a bedroom door closing seconds later. His censorious gaze returned to Leonie, and he wondered what she had done that could merit that look of apprehension in her eyes.
'Is Stephen drunk again?' he rasped, his hands thrust tensely into his denims pockets.
She shook her head, her hair shimmering like a red-gold flame. 'He only had one beer.'
Hawk's mouth tightened. 'Where?'
'At the restaurant,' she shrugged, giving a nervous smile. 'My friend let me down and so Stephen very kindly offered me lunch instead.'
Was it his imagination, or was her head tilted at a challenging angle? Hell, no, of course it wasn't his imagination; Leonie knew damn well how he would feel about her being with any other man but him. Especially as Stephen was more her age than he was. He didn't like being reminded of the fact that he was nearly fifteen years older than she was!
'The two of you met in town?' he prompted harshly.
'Yes,' she confirmed brightly.
'How convenient,' he drawled.
Her cheeks flushed with anger this time. 'What are you implying, Hawk?'
What was he implying? he asked himself wearily. It was him she had agreed to marry, after all. 'Nothing,' he dismissed with a sigh. 'But it might have been nice if you'd called me when your friend let you down and the two of us could have had lunch together as I originally planned.' He shrugged.
'I told you, I met Stephen accidentally. I hadn't had time to think about calling anyone.' Leonie's eyes were fever-bright. 'If you don't trust me, Hawk, maybe we'd better just forget the whole thing; I've had one unreasonable husband, I certainly don't need another one who's unnecessarily jealous!' With a choked sob she turned and ran up the stairs.
Well done, Sinclair, groaned Hawk, you just blew it again!
Leonie bent over Holly as she lay sleeping in her cot, just watching her daughter for the sheer joy of it, letting all the tension of the morning drain out of her.
It was obvious what Hawk had been implying just now, the assumption he had made about her having lunch with Stephen.
But she shouldn't have reacted so emotionally; the tears were wet on her cheeks even now. She didn't like to cry, she never had; she had found it to be a complete waste of time and energy, solving nothing. But Hawk had made her cry just now, with his mistrust of her.
She was coming to care for him. In spite of herself she was falling in love with Hawk Sinclair!
He had known he would find her here; he had instantly realised she would seek peace with their daughter.
She was so lovely as she bent over Holly's cot, her strength and beauty having returned to her almost completely during the last few days, erasing the frail waif he had looked at when he returned to claim her for his own. He didn't fool himself that her recovery had anything to do with him; he knew that it was her love for Holly that had given her the will to regain her strength.
Tears glittered on her cheeks, and he knew he was responsible for those, had made her cry with his unwarranted suspicions. Of course Leonie wasn't interested in Stephen, she wasn't even interested in him, despite agreeing to marry him.
'Leonie,' he called to her softly, full of self-disgust when she gave a nervous start. Her eyes were full of apprehension again, and— and fear. My God, he thought—yes, she feared him!
He gave a choked groan, crossing the room in long strides, enfolding her in his arms as she straightened warily. 'I am jealous,' he acknowledged gruffly. 'I'm a jealous fool. Forgive me!' His arms tightened about her.
'It wasn't just you,' she admitted with a sniffle against his chest. 'I—The morning was a disaster, and then Stephen came along and cheered me up, and—'
'Then I came along and acted like an idiot because you'd had lunch with him and not me,' he said wearily. 'How are you going to like having a fool for a husband?' he added dryly.
He achieved his objective as she gave a watery smile. 'You aren't a fool, and you know it,' she reproved.
He grimaced. 'Not from anything I've done lately, I don't.'
'Turn around,' she encouraged softly, and the two of them looked down at Holly. 'We must have done something right nine months ago,' she said huskily.
The daughter he loved. And the woman he was coming to love to the point of insanity! How else could he explain his uncharacteristic jealousy and possessiveness?
As soon as Leonie was well enough they were going to do that 'something right' again, and they were going to go on doing it for the rest of their lives!
Hawk kept his arm about her waist as they left the nursery, reluctant to let her go when, for once, she wasn't trying to free herself from his touch. And he didn't want to go downstairs either. Hal and Laura were out in the garden together, Sarah and Jake busy working in the study. He wanted the moment of closeness to continue.
'Hawk, there's something I need to talk to you about.' Leonie looked up at him with a frown. 'Privately,' she added earnestly. 'Let's go into my bedroom.' She opened the door.
He had never been invited into a woman's bedroom just to talk before, but then the whole of his relationship with Leonie was unique, always had been. Always would be. He had absolutely no doubts about that.
He felt a moment's regret as she moved away from him, but knowing her need to get away was because she had just realised she had let him get too close.
That was all right—she had agreed to marry him, they had the rest of their lives together for her to get used to him touching her. He just prayed it wouldn't take that long!
Yesterday, loving her, touching her, he had almost gone out of his mind, had lain awake most of the night with an ache in his body only this red-haired sprite could satisfy. He had heard her go in to Holly just after three o'clock this morning, and longed to be with both of them, but he had kept to the promise he had made her. The hours until morning had seemed never-ending. As soon as Hal and Laura were safely married he and Leonie were quickly going to follow their example; at least then he could share Leonie's bed, even if she wasn't ready for anything else!
At the moment she looked uncomfortable just having him in her bedroom, glancing nervously at the bed, as if the intimacy they had shared there was suddenly too vivid in her mind. Good—he never wanted her to forget the beauty they had known together.
Leonie twisted her hands together nervously. 'Stephen said something at lunch that I think you may be interested in,' she frowned. 'It seems he's dropped out of college,' she revealed concernedly.
Hawk was interested, very much so. No wonder Jake was walking around like a bear with a sore head believing himself to be a complete failure. 'What the hell did he do that for?' he asked impatiently, running a hand through the thickness of his hair.
Leonie shrugged. 'He said he'd had enough.'
Hawk sighed. 'Jake had such plans for him— Why the hell didn't he discuss this with me?' he burst out irritably. 'Maybe I could have helped.'
'Jake or Stephen?' she probed gently.
'Both,' he bit out. 'Jake obviously feels this is a reflection on his parenthood, Stephen believes leaving college has all the answers. Both of them are wrong.'
She gave a sympathetic smile. 'I know that Jake and Stephen are like family to you, but—'
'They wouldn't appreciate my interference,' he acknowledged dryly. 'Stephen's made his decision, I don't suppose there's anything I could say to him to get him to change his mind… No, I thought not,' he sighed as Leonie shook her head. 'Then maybe I can help Jake see that this isn't the end for Stephen, that he can change his mind back again and still go to law-school like Jake wants. The two of them are heading for a complete rift in their relationship if someone doesn't make one of them see sense,' he scowled. 'Having almost made the same mistake myself I can assure Jak
e it isn't worth it!'
'Stephen seemed very adamant that he wouldn't be going back,' Leonie frowned.
Hawk nodded abruptly. 'We're always so sure we know what we want at that age. Jake just has to give Stephen time to realise he can't drift for the rest of his life. Thanks for telling me all this,' he said gratefully. 'Maybe I can even persuade Jake that he isn't the one who needs to change his life—Stephen is,' he added ruefully. 'Hell, changing his job isn't going to alter anything.'
'I hope you can help.'
It was a long time since Hawk had confided any of his problems with a woman. It felt good. Real good.
'Thank you kindly, ma'am,' he affected the Texan drawl that had faded from his accent years ago, tipping an imaginary hat, and was rewarded for his efforts when Leonie gave a girlish giggle.
She bobbed a curtsey. 'You're very welcome, sir,' she returned mischievously.
He might have been acting like a fool lately, but he wasn't going to be one any more today, so he left her while the shared warmth still existed between them, a smile still curving his lips as he made his way slowly down the stairs.
He sobered somewhat as he entered the study in search of Jake. Sarah sat alone in the room, looking up with a smile.
'Jake?' he prompted without preamble.
'In the kitchen, I think,' Sarah said lightly. 'There've been several telephone calls for you while you were at lunch—'
'They can wait,' he dismissed; the damn phone had been ringing night and day since the word had got out that he had set up his headquarters here. He wasn't in the mood to deal with any of it right now.
Jake had obviously just finished his lunch, and was sitting across the kitchen table from June, the two of them looking very self-conscious as he walked unannounced into the room. June blushed as she stood up to clear away, while Jake scowled at him for the interruption. Maybe the idea of Jake being attracted to this woman wasn't far wrong after all!
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