'He told me to ask you for money,' Leonie told him dully.
His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. 'And what did you say?'
She shrugged. 'That I'd see what I could do.'
'You were going to tell me about him?'
Her eyes flared brightly. 'Of course I was going to tell you about him!' she snapped. 'I told you I was.'
'Yes,' he acknowledged softly, thinking fast. 'Is he still at the hotel at Claymont?'
She shook her head. 'I would doubt it. Once he has what he's come for he doesn't usually hang around,' she said harshly.
'You gave him money this morning?' he prompted.
'Yes,' she confirmed defensively. 'Enough to keep him happy for a while.'
'Does Laura know he blackmails you?' His eyes were narrowed.
Her head went back. 'I never told Laura everything that Michael did. If I had Laura would have felt she had to defend me, and I couldn't put her through that.'
Laura's reluctance to argue once again? 'Why not?' he encouraged gently.
A shutter came down over her emotions. 'My marriage was my mistake, mine to deal with.'
Hal was right, Laura didn't like to argue with people. Oh, she had defended Leonie rather heatedly a couple of times to him, but she and Leonie had a closeness that surpassed all boundaries, even those of a lover or a husband.
Maybe he was seeing something that wasn't really there. Twins were always supposed to be that much closer than other siblings, and Leonie and Laura had also lost their parents at an early age too, a situation that was sure to draw them even closer together.
And yet that didn't explain Laura's reluctance to argue.
Maybe once he and Leonie were married she would start to open up to him. As he intended sharing his every waking thought with her she was going to find it hard not to reciprocate.
'Our marriage isn't going to be a mistake,' he told her lightly. 'It's also going to take place as soon as I can get the special licence,' he added firmly, watching her warily.
'It's only two more days until Laura and Hal are married,' she instantly protested, as he had known she would. 'Besides, I can't be a proper wife to you yet.' Her cheeks were fiery red.
'I want you, not sex,' Hawk dismissed scathingly. 'I know I enjoy making love to you, but it isn't all I want from you!'
'No, there's Holly too,' she accepted quietly.
Was she ready to know he loved her? Whether she was ready or not, he couldn't keep the emotion to himself any longer.
'I'm not marrying you because of Holly either,' he bit out firmly, giving a wry smile as her eyes widened disbelievingly. 'I asked you yesterday if you were ready to hear about Leonie, and you obviously weren't.' He grimaced at the panic he had caused her yesterday. 'But today I'm going to tell you anyway,' he added firmly.
She still didn't want to hear it, he could see that by the way she wouldn't meet his gaze. But dammit, he needed to tell her, and she couldn't go on hiding from emotion for the rest of her life!
'I'm forty years old.' He gave an acknowledging inclination of his head as a glimmer of mischief lightened her eyes. 'And contrary to what some people might think,' he added dryly, 'that does not make me half senile!' He relaxed slightly as she smiled. 'What it does make me,' he continued seriously, 'is mature enough to recognise a second chance when I'm given one. Leonie, my first wife died, and with her all the boyish dreams I had of a happy-ever-after. That's why, when love entered my life a second time, I knew to hang on to it for all I'm worth. I love you, Leonie, with a love that's all the deeper because I know what it is to have loved and lost.'
He meant it. She could see that he meant every word. But Michael had meant it too once, and his love hadn't lasted. Not that she thought Hawk was anything like Michael; she knew he wasn't. But although Hawk believed he loved her today he might not feel the same way tomorrow. She daren't risk her fragile dreams on such uncertainty.
She shook her head, extricating her hand from his. 'I don't love you—I'm sorry.'
She had hurt him, she could see the pain in the darkness of his eyes. The last thing she wanted to do was to hurt anyone, especially this man who was usually so strong and invincible, but how much more would both of them be hurt later on if they found their love was only because of Holly after all?
Hawk drew in a ragged breath, giving a curt nod of his head. 'Maybe that was too much to hope for,' he accepted dryly. 'But you are marrying me, and as soon as it can be arranged.'
'But—'
'And I want that bastard's ring off your finger now,' he added harshly.
Leonie looked down at the thin gold wedding band she wore on her left hand. It had been the hardest thing she had ever done in her life to divorce Michael; she had always believed until then that marriage was for a lifetime, the way her parents' marriage had been. Even after the divorce she just hadn't been able to remove her wedding ring.
She drew it slowly off her finger now, wordlessly handing it to Hawk, her eyes widening as he moved to open the window, reaching back to launch the ring as far away as he could throw it.
There was a look of immense satisfaction on his face as he turned back to her. 'Tomorrow we'll go shopping for our rings, and that one you'll never take off,' he promised gruffly.
Our rings? That must mean Hawk intended wearing a wedding ring too. Somehow she had never envisaged him as a man who would like to wear such a positive sign of belonging to a woman.
'We'll be married the day after Hal and Laura,' he continued briskly.
'We can't—'
'We're going to, Leonie,' he told her firmly. 'I want you as my wife and Holly officially as my daughter so that I have the right to show Spencer just how little his threats mean to us.'
She grimaced. 'He thinks I'm your mistress.'
'I should be so lucky!' Hawk gave a rueful grimace.
Leonie couldn't help but return his smile. 'I don't think I would make a very good mistress,' she mocked. 'Michael didn't call me the Ice Maiden for nothing,' she added hollowly.
Hawk scowled. 'Spencer didn't know what the hell he was talking about. Besides, when a man takes a virgin bride—as I'm sure you were,' he said softly, 'she can only be guided by what her husband teaches her. How the hell could he expect you to be anything but unresponsive when he didn't give a damn about your pleasure?'
'Did you find me a—disappointment?' It was important that the single night they had known together should mean as much to him as it had to her at the time. It was only later that the guilt had come, and when it came it was with a vengeance; she hadn't been able to explain her responses to this man to herself.
He gave a gentle smile. 'Honey, disappointments don't haunt my dreams and fill my every waking moment,' he said dryly. 'I haven't been attracted to any woman since I met you. In fact, my life has become divided into two distinct times, before Leonie and after Leonie.'
Her life was the same, although in her case it was also before and after Holly. She had agreed to marry this man, why shouldn't it be sooner rather than later?
'All right, Hawk, I'll marry you in three days' time,' she decided. 'But Laura and Hal aren't going to be too happy about missing the wedding.'
His mouth twisted. 'I don't think they would particularly care, as long as we are married. And they don't have to miss the wedding at all if they don't mind delaying their honeymoon twenty-four hours.'
'Would you want to delay the first twenty-four hours of your honeymoon?' She smiled, remembering Laura and Hal's complete absorption with each other since he had arrived from Acapulco.
'Leonie, I'm delaying the start of my honeymoon for a couple of weeks,' he said softly. 'And I don't mind in the least!'
God, she was lovely when she blushed! Hawk mused. He wanted to sweep her up in his arms right now and carry her off to bed for a week. His restraint was out of necessity, not choice.
'The honeymoon can wait but the wedding arrangements can't,' he reminded her briskly. 'I have a licence and the rest of the arrangements to see
to, and I'm sure you'll want to drag Laura off to the shops as you "don't have a thing you could wear",' he teased.
Her smile was something he would never grow tired of seeing, and he wasn't unaware of the fact that that smile was returning more and more easily each day. He was personally going to make sure that continued, starting with a little visit to Spencer!
'I think our little bridesmaid should have something extra pretty to wear too, don't you?' She wrinkled her freckle-covered nose prettily.
Holly. At a time when he considered that all he had left in life was his business and eventually being grandfather to Hal's kids, this beautiful woman had given him a whole new start in life. Plenty of time later to tell her there wouldn't be any more children, that he wasn't going to risk losing her. He was hoping that by the time he had to tell her that the two of them would be so close they wouldn't need anyone else but each other and the child they already had.
Maybe it was a futile dream when Leonie had all but rejected his declaration of love, but no matter what happened there would be no more children. Maybe it was as well that they had these few weeks before they could make love, it would give him time to do what had to be done.
'Something really lovely,' he nodded agreement. 'Although she'll never be as beautiful as her mother—she doesn't have her red hair, for one thing!' he added teasingly.
Leonie gave him a look of affected indignation. 'My hair isn't red, it's titian, like the Duchess of York's.'
'Forgive me, Your Highness,' his mouth quirked, 'Holly doesn't have titian hair.'
'She will have,' Leonie said with certainty. 'Laura and I both had fair hair as babies.'
Another red—titian-haired little minx to watch over and protect. He couldn't imagine a more fulfilling lifetime occupation.
'I realise you probably won't want to wear white on Tuesday,' he said quietly. 'But maybe something close to that?' he prompted.
Leonie looked rebellious. 'I have no intention of discussing my wedding dress with the bridegroom,' she told him primly. 'It's bad luck.'
His mouth twisted. 'And we need all the good luck we can get, hm?' he guessed ruefully.
She shrugged. 'You have to admit this won't be an—orthodox wedding.'
'It will be our wedding,' he told her firmly. 'The only one either of us will ever have, so I want it to be perfect.'
'In that case, I'm sure it will be,' she smiled.
'Facetious witch,' he drawled.
'Having second thoughts?' she taunted.
His gaze steadily held hers. 'Never!' It was a promise as much as a denial.
He could see by the flicker of panic in her eyes that Leonie was still wary of marriage, to any man. He would have to go slowly with her, much more slowly than he had been doing. The trouble was he forgot everything but holding her in his arms and proclaiming her his when he was with her.
'I don't want you to give Spencer another thought,' he instructed harshly. 'He's my problem now.'
Leonie looked upset. 'What are you going to do?'
'Don't worry.' His mouth twisted. 'Nothing illegal.'
She sighed. 'Somehow that doesn't reassure me.'
Hawk gave a hard smile. 'It shouldn't,' he drawled, bending to give her a quick kiss, moving back before she had time to protest—or respond, if she was going to. Sometimes he wished they could be like other couples, like Hal and Laura, the affection between them completely spontaneous. Maybe in time they would be. 'I'll go and talk to Jake about being my witness,' he added dryly. 'He's far from happy that we've taken so long to decide to get married.'
She nodded. 'He seems convinced that Holly will be a teenager before her father and mother are married!'
It was testament to how much Jake liked Leonie that he had held his silence about Spencer when she asked him to. But Hawk didn't feel jealous of that affection any more; he knew, after several heated conversations with Jake, that the other man liked her, not desired her. Not that the other man didn't still have some questions to answer about Spencer!
No wonder Leonie had turned to him so brokenly on the drive back from the hotel the other night. And did Spencer's visit to the house yesterday morning have anything to do with the way Leonie had responded to him on that blanket beside the river? What did it matter why she responded to him, as long as she did!
'Three more days should satisfy even him,' Hawk said hardly. 'Do you want me to come with you when you put Laura and Hal out of their misery,' he derided, 'or can you handle that alone?'
'I'll tell them,' she said lightly. 'You'd better go and talk to Jake.'
He found the other man back in the kitchen again when he went in search of him; he and June broke off what seemed to be a rather heated conversation as Hawk entered the room. He looked at the two of them searchingly; what was going on between these two?
He shot them a puzzled frown. Jake was looking rebellious now, while June seemed upset. 'I need to talk to you, Jake,' Hawk told the other man slowly.
'Sure,' snarled Jake, marching over to the door, halting to turn abruptly and face the woman across the room. 'I'm sorry, June,' he bit out abruptly, his expression bleak. 'But you're interfering in something you just don't understand.'
She shook her head sadly. 'Oh, I understand, Jake, I understand only too well,' she added softly.
Jake's eyes narrowed. 'How—I'll talk to you again later,' he rasped, shooting Hawk an impatient glance.
Hawk slowly followed the other man out of the room; he was certainly starting to feel like an unwanted third around those two! June seemed like a very nice woman—apart from her unexplained dislike of him!—so why was Jake fighting the attraction? Oh hell, he and Jake had enough tension between them without him interfering in his relationship with June Gaynor.
Sarah was in the study working when the two men entered the room, and Hawk tersely sent her off to the kitchen for a break, apologising ruefully when she gave a pained frown.
'What is it?' Jake demanded impatiently, sitting on the edge of the desk.
The other man looked weary, as if he hadn't been sleeping at all well. And if this added strain was because of the attraction he felt for June… 'If it's any consolation, I think she likes you too,' Hawk drawled.
Jake's eyes narrowed. 'Who?'
'Well, I certainly don't mean Leonie,' he snapped.
Jake stood up. 'If you're going to start those insane accusations again—'
'I'm not.' Hawk ran a weary hand over his eyes before thrusting his hands into his trouser pockets. 'Shall we talk about Leonie first, or Stephen?' he said softly.
Jake stiffened. 'There's nothing about Stephen to discuss,' he bit out coldly.
'He's dropped out of college—'
'That's my problem, not yours,' the other man retorted.
It was true, and yet he and Jake had always been such friends that very often they had shared the bringing up of their two sons. He couldn't turn off his concern for Jake—and Stephen—just because he was told this was none of his business.
'Make it mine too, Jake,' he encouraged huskily.
The other man shook his head. 'There's nothing more to say about it. Stephen has dropped out of college. He's over twenty-one,' he shrugged. 'It's his decision.'
'It's a decision you can't condone—'
'Of course I don't condone it!' Jake flared furiously, his eyes glittering. 'I think he's an idiot, that he's wasting his life, but there isn't a damn thing I can do about it!'
'Would you like me to talk to him?' Hawk suggested gently. 'An outsider who can see both points of view?'
Jake's mouth twisted. 'Stephen isn't in the mood to listen to anyone just now—especially the man he knows is my best friend!'
Hawk had doubted that closeness lately; it felt good to know it was still there, no matter what his and Jake's differences were at the moment. 'I could try,' he offered softly.
'No,' Jake argued. 'It wouldn't do any good. Besides, Stephen isn't here any more,' he added challengingly.
Hawk frowne
d. 'What do you mean?'
The other man shrugged. 'He's gone to London until the wedding.'
'Why?'
'Because I sent him there!' flared Jake. 'His behaviour has been disgraceful since he got here. A few days to think things over alone won't do him any harm,' he added grimly.
Hawk wasn't convinced of the wisdom of that, but he could see by Jake's challenging expression that he wouldn't welcome the criticism. And Jake should know his own son better than anyone else. He had some idea now how Jake had felt when he had to stand by the last nine months and witness his completely wrong handling of Hal; he felt like banging Jake and Stephen's heads together to get them to see sense.
But for now he had a wedding to announce, and he knew that would please Jake if nothing else he had done lately had.
And then he had a visit to Michael Spencer to arrange. That would please him immensely!
CHAPTER TWELVE
The ringing of the telephone sounded ominous.
It had been a morning of non-stop activity, all the last-minute rush and bustle preparing Leonie for what she would have to go through tomorrow morning before her own wedding.
Hal hadn't wanted to wait for a church wedding, but Laura had decided she would have everything else that a church wedding should have had, including the small luncheon reception for the guests at the house. Besides helping Laura get ready for the wedding Leonie had also helped June in the kitchen.
And now, with only ten minutes to go before they all left for the register office, the ringing of the telephone was very unsettling.
She picked up the receiver mere seconds before Hawk reached it, her eyes widening appreciatively on him in his grey morning-suit; this man looked good in anything!
'Yes?' she spoke breathlessly into the receiver.
'Laura?' Hal said immediately.
'Certainly not,' she mouthed Hal's name to Hawk as he raised his brows questioningly. 'She isn't allowed to speak to you before the ceremony either,' she reproved. Hal had spent the night at a hotel in town, intending to meet them at the register office.
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