His Cinderella Mistress

by Carole Mortimer

  ‘January, you couldn’t have known,’ he told her intensely. ‘Damn it, until I spoke to Josh this afternoon I thought it was Peter Meridew!’ he added self-derisively—and instantly wished he hadn’t as January’s face paled even more. ‘It was mentioning that to Josh this afternoon that jogged his memory into realizing it was the hotel barman’s voice he had recognized. The police have been watching John since this afternoon,’ he added grimly.

  ‘You knew?’ January gasped. ‘You really did know?’

  Max gave a pained frown as her voice broke emotionally. ‘The attack on Josh set off alarm bells in my head.’ He nodded. ‘Especially when he told us he had recognized the voice of his attacker. I just came to the wrong conclusion, that’s all.’ He grimaced. ‘Maybe I can be forgiven for that. Peter Meridew was in the room when Josh kissed you on Saturday evening, and he also seemed to be around a lot whenever you were in the piano bar. But then so was John,’ he acknowledged hardly.

  January still looked totally dazed. ‘But if—if John, felt that he had some sort of—of claim on me, why didn’t he attack you, too?’

  Max gave a rueful smile. ‘Good question. I’ve been wondering that myself.’ He grimaced. ‘Maybe he just didn’t think I was going to be around long enough to be a problem. Whereas Josh and Peter Meridew…’ He broke off pointedly.

  January shook her head. ‘Why did he attack those other women?’

  ‘Because it seems that, at one time or another, he felt they had scorned or rejected him. Who really knows the workings of a disturbed mind?’ he rasped harshly.

  January swallowed hard. ‘Maybe the same thing would have happened to me if I had ever been less than friendly towards him.’ She shuddered just at the thought of it.

  Max’s hand tightened about hers. ‘You mustn’t think that way, January,’ he told her forcefully. ‘John has been arrested. He’s no longer a danger to anyone—thank goodness. He completely lost it when he came in to work this evening and discovered you were no longer going to be working here, instantly knew who was responsible. The police caught him in the act of attacking Peter Meridew. I don’t know if you heard him just now—’ Max grimaced ‘—but he’s already said enough for the police to charge him with all the attacks,’ he explained softly, all the time watching January concernedly.

  She swallowed hard. ‘Do you think it was John that followed me home last night?’

  ‘Ah. No.’ Max grimaced self-consciously. ‘I checked on that earlier. It was actually a police car. Apparently, they had thought they were following at a safe distance, but my constant warnings had obviously put you on a bigger state of alertness than we thought. I’m sorry for alarming you in that way, January,’ he added as she looked more pale than ever.

  This must all have come as such a shock to her. After all, he had had several hours to come to terms with the idea himself, and he still found the whole thing highly disturbing. January had known John a lot longer than he had, had obviously liked the man. Only to find out he wasn’t at all what she had thought he was.

  Perhaps he would be able to persuade her that he wasn’t what she had thought he was either…?

  One thing Max knew for certain, whatever his plans might have been before tonight, he no longer intended going back to America.

  He couldn’t bear the thought of going anywhere if January wouldn’t go with him!

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  JANUARY felt ill, had never felt so sick in her life. John. Nice, friendly, invisible John. Who ever would have thought of it?

  Max had thought of it!

  Okay, so he had initially suspected the wrong man, but he had ultimately been perfectly correct in warning her to take care. And all she had done was to give him a hard time over what she had considered his interference!

  God, all those times she had talked with John, shared a joke or two with him, accepted his offer to walk her out to her car—!

  She repressed a shudder, looked frowningly at Max. ‘I owe you an apology—’ She broke off as Max stood up abruptly, frowning up at him now.

  ‘I don’t want your apology, January,’ he rasped, blue gaze blazing, hands clenched at his sides. ‘Neither do I want your gratitude,’ he added harshly.

  She flinched at the force of his emotions. But was it so surprising that Max was angry with her? He had tried to help her, and she had blocked or mocked him at every turn.

  She sighed. ‘I appreciate you’re angry—’

  ‘Too right I’m angry!’ he shot back forcefully. ‘I should have looked after you better. Should have checked and double-checked on my suspicions, not just told the police about them—before deciding to run away!’ he bit out self-disgustedly. ‘Well, I’m not running any more, January,’ he told her forcefully. ‘I’m not going anywhere. Do I make myself clear?’ He stood over her gloweringly.

  January blinked a little dazedly at this sudden attack. She had meant he had a right to be angry with her, not himself. ‘I don’t understand.’ She shook her head in puzzlement.

  Max came down on his haunches beside her, his gaze intent on her face. ‘I’m not going to America or anywhere else, January. In fact, in future I’m going to stick to you like glue,’ he added grimly.

  ‘But—but now that John has—now that he’s been arrested, I’m not in any danger.’ She still felt nauseous at how friendly she had been with a man who attacked seemingly at random. Although she was sure that someone would eventually make sense of John’s obsession…

  ‘You may not be,’ Max bit out forcefully. ‘But I certainly am.’ He took both her hands in both of his, his gaze intense on the paleness of her face now. ‘January, I intend giving Jude notice that I will no longer be available to work for him.’

  She frowned. ‘Because of those things I said to you?’ she groaned self-reproachfully. ‘But I didn’t mean them. I was only—’

  ‘No, not because of anything you said to me,’ Max assured her firmly. ‘I intended telling him all this anyway when I got back to America.’

  She blinked. ‘You did?’

  He nodded. ‘January, this is no excuse, I know, but since my mother walked out on my father and me when I was five, I’ve been pretty determined not to let anyone into my life—particularly a woman—who might hurt me like that again. But you—’ He broke off, shaking his head. ‘You sneaked in without my even being aware of it. I’m in love with you. I know I’m in love with you,’ he assured her with certainty. ‘The thought of leaving you, even for a short time, has been driving me crazy! This will tell you exactly how crazy I am,’ he added self-derisively. ‘I’m even willing to learn how to run a farm if that’s what you want to do. Anything, as long as I can spend the rest of my life with you,’ he added gruffly.

  January looked up at him with dawning wonder in her eyes. Had Max really just said he was in love with her? But Sunday night he had said those awful things to her—

  ‘I’m not expecting you to make any declaration back,’ he told her ruefully as he obviously saw the doubt in her face. ‘After the way I’ve behaved I couldn’t expect that. I’ve been so busy trying to protect myself, my own emotions, that I’ve said and done some terrible things to you. No, I’m not expecting you to love me in return, I’m just telling you how I feel. A declaration of intent on my part, if you like.’ He smiled self-derisively. ‘In case you’re in any doubt, I can be a very determined man when I choose to be. And in your case, I definitely choose to be!’ he added with feeling.

  January swallowed hard before speaking, but nevertheless her voice was still husky when she spoke. ‘Max, having your mother walk out on you when you were five doesn’t mean that there won’t be someone else to come along who will love you for a lifetime.’ She drew in a deep breath. ‘I was three when my mother walked out on us, but that doesn’t stop me from being able to love you with all my heart.’ There, she had said it!

  ‘Your mother walked out on you…?’ Max gasped incredulously. ‘But—that’s why your father cut her image from the photograph be
side his bed!’ he realized with a pained frown.

  ‘Yes.’ January nodded. ‘May has always tried to protect March and me from knowing, still thinks we believe that our mother is dead, and although we both know the truth we let her go on thinking that. It’s the reason May is so protective of us,’ she added affectionately.

  ‘How could a mother possibly walk out on three such beautiful little girls who were only aged three, four and five?’ Max groaned.

  January gave a pained smile. ‘I don’t know, you would have to ask her that.’

  He shook his head. ‘I don’t understand how any—’ He broke off abruptly, suddenly looking at January with widely incredulous eyes.

  Ah. The second part of her statement had finally penetrated. How was Max, who had been so wounded at such a young age, going to react to knowing that she was in love with him?

  Had January just said—? Had she really just told him—?

  She gave what sounded like a huskily nervous laugh. ‘Does knowing I love you in return change anything?’ she prompted warily.

  ‘Change anything?’ he repeated, love for this woman welling up inside him so that he thought he could no longer contain it. ‘Change anything!’ His voice rose triumphantly. ‘It changes everything!’ His hands tightened about hers. ‘But are you sure you love me? Enough to marry me?’ Still he hesitated, not sure this could be happening to him. ‘After all—’

  ‘Why don’t you ask me that question again in forty years or so?’ January interrupted gently.

  ‘Forty years—? You will marry me?’ He held his breath as he waited for her answer, his heart beating so loudly he was sure she must be able to hear it.

  Her smile was mischievous now. ‘I don’t think May would let you get away with anything less!’

  ‘I don’t want anything less,’ he assured her breathlessly. ‘In fact, I want more; forty years isn’t nearly long enough!’

  There were tears of happiness in her eyes now as she reached up to caress the hard curve of his jaw. ‘How about fifty years? Sixty?’ she added laughingly when he still didn’t reply.

  He wanted eternity with this woman. Wanted to spend the rest of his life at her side, loving her, being loved in return.

  Being loved in return…

  ‘January!’ He couldn’t wait any longer, sweeping her up into his arms, kissing her with a hunger that would take an eternity to assuage.

  Everything else could come later now that he knew January loved him in the way he loved her. Everything. May and March. The farm. Jude. Even poor disturbed John.

  January was all that mattered to him now.

  She always would be!

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-7719-3

  HIS CINDERELLA MISTRESS

  First North American Publication 2004.

  Copyright © 2003 by Carole Mortimer.

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