Or to know, by one glance down at the anxiety on May’s face, that her two sisters were the last people she wanted to see right now.
And from the accusing way she had looked at him just now, the way she had spoken, she obviously believed he had something to do with her sisters arriving back here so unexpectedly.
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘HOW could you?’ May demanded again, tears of frustration brimming in her eyes. ‘You knew I didn’t want them back here—’
‘May, whatever you may think of me,’ Jude cut in forcefully, ‘I did not tell anyone that you were managing here alone, least of all your sisters, or Max and Will.’
She stared at him for several long seconds, not sure whether she believed him or not, but knowing that she didn’t have time at this moment to debate the subject.
She turned agitatedly. ‘You have to go,’ she told Jude forcefully, clasping her hands together so tightly that the knuckles turned white. ‘No—you have to stay,’ she amended frantically, moving agitatedly about the room now as she tried to decide what she should do for the best, all the time her brain racing.
January and March were the last people she wanted back here, now of all times, May all too conscious of the fact that April Robine was only miles away. And that January and March had no idea, despite the fact that the woman was an internationally acclaimed actress, that she was also their mother.
While they were all growing up it had never occurred to May that either of her sisters need ever know that their mother hadn’t really died twenty-two years ago but had deserted them. Even once May had realised that the actress who had become April Robine was their mother, it hadn’t seemed necessary to tell her sisters the truth; after all, what were the chances of any of them ever meeting the famous actress, by accident or design? None, May had decided.
Wrongly…
And now both her sisters had returned home unexpectedly, and April Robine was in a hotel only a few miles away.
What was she going to do?
Jude was obviously wondering the same thing—if for totally different reasons—as he dropped the kitchen curtain back into place before turning to look at her, dark brows raised mockingly. ‘Make your mind up, May,’ he drawled. ‘Do I go or do I stay?’
She wanted him to go, of course, as far away from here as it was possible for him to go—and for him to take April Robine with him. But as she knew there was no chance of that happening, especially now that Max and Will had arrived, his presence here might be helpful in trying to explain away some of the agitation she was too disturbed to be able to hide.
‘You stay,’ she told Jude firmly, grasping his arms to sit him down on one of the kitchen chairs. ‘Just don’t—try not to—’ She drew in a deeply controlling breath, willing herself to calm down, knowing that she mustn’t make Jude suspicious of her behaviour, either.
What a mess. What an absolute nightmare. What on earth were January and March doing back here? The last time May had spoken to January, she and Max were having such a good time they were staying on in the Caribbean for another week, and had several days to go yet, and March had been nicely ensconced in London meeting her future in-laws. So, if Jude really hadn’t told them she was alone here, what were either of them doing back here?
May straightened, forcing herself to calm down. ‘Would you please stay, Jude?’ she said evenly. ‘But could you not—?’ She moistened dry lips. ‘Please don’t mention either David Melton or April Robine’s presence in the area?’ She looked at him pleadingly, hoping that mentioning David, too, might put him off the scent of it really being the famous actress she didn’t want mentioned.
Jude calmly returned her gaze, obviously completely puzzled by her behaviour—but too much a man who liked to be in control, of any situation, to admit to the feeling.
Well, for the moment that would do. Oh, May had no doubts that Jude would demand a more detailed explanation at a later date, but she would deal with that problem when the time came. For the moment she just needed his cooperation over that one point.
He frowned. ‘Don’t your sisters know about the film offer?’
‘Yes, they know about it,’ she snapped impatiently. ‘They also know that I’ve turned it down.’
‘But not that David Melton is in the area hotly pursuing the subject?’ Jude guessed shrewdly.
‘No, not that.’ May sighed irritably.
‘Or that April is here to help press the point. May, what is your problem with April?’ he rasped as May felt herself pale just at the mention of the other woman.
She drew in a deeply controlling breath. If he were to mention April Robine in front of her sisters… ‘I really would rather not discuss this any more tonight, Jude.’ She looked at him determinedly.
Jude’s mouth twisted derisively. ‘You do realise my silence is going to cost you?’ he drawled mockingly.
‘Yes,’ she sighed her impatience, able to hear the happy murmur of her sisters’ voices outside the door now, willing to promise Jude anything right now to ensure his silence concerning April Robine.
‘Dinner tomorrow evening?’ he prompted softly, obviously also aware of those approaching voices.
May’s eyes widened. ‘Just dinner?’
Jude frowned darkly, his expression harsh. ‘What else did you think I had in mind?’ he grated.
‘I have no idea,’ she dismissed impatiently. ‘But dinner tomorrow sounds fine.’
‘You don’t know how glad I am to hear that!’ Jude rasped disgustedly. ‘May, I have no idea what sort of man you think I am, but I do not go around—’
‘Shh,’ she cut in warningly, moving hastily across the room to pick up the coffee-pot as the door began to open, as if she had been in the act of refilling their cups.
The next few minutes were filled with a babble of happy voices as the three sisters greeted each other, January and March absolutely thrilled that their having arrived home unexpectedly as a surprise for May had so obviously worked.
Surprise? May wondered with inward exasperation—her sisters had nearly given her that heart attack Jude had once referred to.
But there was still Jude to introduce to January and March, Max and Will having already greeted their friend, obviously puzzled by his seemingly easy presence here after all the things May had said about him in the past.
‘Jude and I ate dinner together while he continued his campaign of trying to talk me into selling the farm,’ May breezily explained his presence here to her two future brother-in-laws, deliberately ignoring Max’s searching look and Will’s puzzled one; the last time she had spoken to either of these men she had made her feelings concerning the absent Jude Marshall perfectly clear, and now here he was, apparently happily ensconced in her kitchen, after having eaten dinner with her.
‘Jude can be very persuasive,’ Max acknowledged softly.
‘Very,’ Will echoed dryly.
May turned determinedly away from their two knowing glances. ‘January, March, this is Jude Marshall,’ she told her sisters more assuredly.
‘Jude,’ January greeted, shaking his hand guardedly.
‘Did you check the food for slow-acting poison before eating?’ March, with her usual outspokenness, suffered from no such niceties as she beamed him a mischievous smile.
Jude had stood up as the introductions were made, standing a couple of inches taller even than Max and Will, his sheer physical presence completely dominating. ‘I believe you have to be March,’ he murmured appreciatively. ‘I’ve heard a lot about both of you,’ he explained dryly at March’s questioning look. ‘As to the poison, I think May and I have what’s called a truce at the moment,’ he drawled in answer to March’s question, at the same time turning to give May a smile that could only be described as intimately loaded.
May’s eyes widened, and then she frowned. What on earth was he up to now? Whatever it was, she didn’t like it!
‘That’s great,’ Will said with obvious relief.
March nodded as she s
tood at his side. ‘So much better if the best man and the chief bridesmaid don’t have any inclination to stab each other part way through the marriage ceremony!’ she agreed happily, hazel grey-green eyes sparkling with the mischief that was never far from the surface where March was concerned.
‘Best man—’
‘Chief bridesmaid—?’ May gasped over the top of Jude’s own obvious shock.
‘Don’t look so surprised, you two.’ January laughed, obviously a lot happier now than when she had left for her holiday with Max two and a half weeks ago.
For which May was very grateful. January had been very upset after her recent ordeal with a stalker, hence Max’s suggestion of a holiday to help her get over it; it seemed to have worked, January absolutely blooming with happiness now.
‘Who else would we want as our two main witnesses?’ March took up the conversation, grasping both May’s hands in hers. ‘We thought a double wedding at Easter would be rather fun,’ she added encouragingly.
‘Very nice,’ May assured weakly, very happy for both her sisters, but not so happy at the thought of sharing such a family occasion with Jude Marshall, of all people.
Although it had always been on the cards that would be the case; Jude was obviously an extremely close friend of both Max and Will, their business differences over the buying of this farm apart.
‘We would be honoured, wouldn’t we, May?’ Jude answered for both of them, once again flashing her that intimate smile.
It was a smile, after his recent blackmail into having dinner with him tomorrow evening, that May completely mistrusted.
He was enjoying himself, Jude easily acknowledged. January and March were everything that Max and Will had claimed them to be: absolutely beautiful, charming, with an underlying spark of self-determination that so echoed the one he recognised in May.
It was also interesting to see his hitherto confirmed-bachelor friends so obviously deeply in love with these two beautiful women.
But most of all he was enjoying the fact that for once May was completely disconcerted, that the unexpected arrival of her two sisters had so obviously shaken her. To his eyes, at least. He didn’t think that any of the others were aware of it in the same way that he was…
Although there was still the little problem of May having assumed he was behind this surprise arrival of the engaged couples, he acknowledged with a grim tightening of his mouth.
He might be many things, but, despite his previous teasing, he had known all too well that May didn’t want either of her sisters told that she was alone here, and, whether he agreed with that decision or not, he had respected it.
‘So what brought the four of you back here so unexpectedly?’ he prompted casually.
‘You mean, because darling May hadn’t seen fit to tell any of us that she was managing alone here?’ March said dryly with a reproving look at her eldest sister.
Jude gave the middle Calendar sister a look of appreciative respect; obviously these three women had intelligence as well as beauty. Not that he had really doubted that; it would have taken an exceptional woman to attract either Max or Will. It seemed that all three Calendar sisters were that.
May looked uncomfortable at the accusation. ‘There was absolutely no reason to tell any of you—’
‘But of course there was,’ January was the one to cut in concernedly this time, linking her arm with May’s as she smiled at her affectionately. ‘You can’t possibly do all the work here on your own. And to answer your question, Jude—’ she turned to him smilingly ‘—Will telephoned Max on his mobile to tell us the good news about him and March, only to discover that the two of us were still in the Caribbean…’ She trailed off with a rueful shrug.
Jude turned to give May a pointed look, receiving an unconvinced glare back.
She really was the most stubborn—
‘So, of course we decided to come back immediately,’ January said firmly as May would have spoken. ‘We met up with March and Will in London, and—’
‘Here we all are,’ March announced dryly. ‘One big happy family.’ She looked at Jude with challenging grey-green eyes.
There was a sharpness to March that Jude completely appreciated, easily returning that challenging gaze; Will was certainly going to have his work cut out being married to the middle Calendar sister.
‘And we brought champagne to celebrate,’ Will put in lightly, obviously not in the least concerned, holding up the two bottles of the bubbly wine he had brought into the house with him.
‘March, would you mind helping me get out the champagne glasses?’ May prompted briskly, obviously relieved to have something else to do rather than stand around discussing what they had all been doing the last week or so.
Jude having, as he had told May earlier, no siblings of his own, Max and Will had become the brothers Jude had never had, and he was quite happy to spend the next half an hour or so sitting drinking champagne as the six of them toasted everything and everyone, from the newly engaged couples to the best man and chief bridesmaid.
Although he could see by the expression on May’s face that she found the prospect of the latter highly unattractive.
‘Look on the positive side, May,’ he teased as he moved to stand next to her, shamelessly taking advantage of the situation by slipping his arm lightly about the slenderness of her waist. ‘The best man and chief bridesmaid usually partner each other,’ he explained. ‘Which will save either of us the trouble of having to find someone else to take to the wedding.’
She shot him a quelling glance as he grinned down at her, at the same time wriggling uncomfortably against that restraining arm. ‘I’m sure that isn’t usually a problem for you, Jude,’ she snapped scathingly.
‘I was thinking more of you, actually,’ he drawled, continuing to grin down at her.
May’s cheeks coloured fiery red, and Jude could see by the angry flare in her eyes that she would like to have told him precisely what he could do with his thought.
In fact, she might have just done that, if January hadn’t neatly stepped into the conversation. ‘You have to see our engagement rings, May.’ She laughed. ‘Show her, March.’ She held out her slender left hand, at the same time that March obligingly did the same.
The two rings were almost identical, an emerald surrounded by slightly smaller diamonds.
‘And neither of us knew what the other had chosen until we met up yesterday.’ March smiled ruefully.
‘What on earth are you doing here?’ Max took the opportunity of this distraction to quietly prompt Jude.
Jude gave a shrug, his attention still fixed on the pleasure of the three Calendar women as they admired the engagement rings. ‘You knew I was flying over,’ he replied as softly.
‘But not actually here,’ Will joined in the conversation. ‘Tell us, did May take a shotgun to you the first time you appeared on the farm?’ he added with obvious amusement.
Jude turned to grin at his friend. ‘If she had been awake she may just have done that!’ he admitted dryly. ‘She’s certainly fiery enough,’ he acknowledged.
Max raised surprised brows. ‘May is?’ He sounded doubtful.
‘May is,’ Jude confirmed frowningly; it seemed to him that he and May had done nothing but argue since the moment they’d first met. Or kiss…
‘No, that’s March,’ Will assured him happily. ‘May has always been the most reasonable of the three.’
‘I agree with you there.’ Max nodded slowly, the more serious of the three friends. ‘May has always been the easiest of the three sisters.’
Jude gave a firm shake of his head. ‘We can’t be talking about the same woman,’ he assured them dismissively. ‘May has been nothing but a pain in the—’ He broke off abruptly, the conversation between the three sisters having suddenly ceased, his own voice the only sound to be heard in the otherwise silent kitchen.
‘You were saying…?’ March arched dark brows at him mischievously, obviously enjoying his discomfort.
And May—the minx—was obviously enjoying his discomfort as much as her sisters were, her mouth twitching with amusement, eyes glowing deeply green.
‘Jude?’ she prompted with deliberate innocence.
‘May—’ he gave an exaggerated nod of acknowledgement ‘—I’m sure that even you would admit that we haven’t always—seen eye to eye, since I arrived here?’ he derided.
‘That could be a little difficult when you’re at least eight inches taller than I am,’ she returned noncommittally, evoking the laugh from the others that she had obviously hoped for, and breaking the awkwardness of the moment in the process.
At the same time neatly getting Jude out of the tight corner—he admitted it—he had backed himself into.
‘Let’s drink another toast,’ January put in lightly, holding up her glass. ‘To a successful wedding.’
‘A successful wedding,’ Jude echoed with the others, although it was to May that he mockingly saluted his glass, knowing by the narrow-eyed look she gave him in return that she still wasn’t happy with the thought of partnering him to the wedding.
He wondered how she would react if he suggested bringing April instead…
CHAPTER EIGHT
‘DON’T let us keep you from anything, Jude,’ May prompted firmly a few minutes later, knowing she probably sounded rude, but at the same time wishing him away from here. With Jude gone, there would be no chance of April Robine’s name being mentioned… ‘I’m sure we all appreciate what a busy man you are, and Max and Will are obviously staying here tonight,’ she added lightly.
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