He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. 'There was a stack of magazines in the back of the Land Rover, remember? I woke up that morning, put the coffee on, and went outside to check the area. And you …!' His voice thickened, and he cleared his throat. 'You were curled up in the centre of the bed like a kitten ... Hell, I knew what would have happened if I went back into that bedroom. And I knew we had to phone Rome. So I decided to play it safe. I grabbed the most recent magazine-I think it was the day before's-and took it into the kitchen to read while I waited for the coffee!
His words drifted into silence and Blair took a step forwards. 'And?' she asked softly, although she knew, in her heart she knew ...
Hunter's face darkened. 'It was a rag-'-one of those things that specializes in gossip. I started to put it aside but a name jumped out at me.' His mouth twisted with pain. 'Your name,' he whispered. 'Meryl Desmond makes wedding plans,' it said, or something like that. I read it and re-read it and there was a picture of you at a nightclub back home with some guy called Perry, and .. .'
Tears of happiness welled in Blair's eyes. 'Hunter,' she whispered, 'please, you have to listen to me .. .'
His hands clasped her shoulders. 'You came out of the bedroom and said you hadn't been honest with me and ... I wanted to kill you, Blair. I couldn't believe you didn't feel the way .I did. Jesus, it was the one thing I'd have staked my life on.' He drew her towards him. 'Didn't that night mean anything to you?' he demanded in a gruff whisper.
There was so much to understand, so much to turn over in her mind and cherish. He had read an article and thought she was engaged to be married. That was the gist of it. But only one thing that he'd said really mattered. He loved her-Hunter loved her. Rhys loved her.
'Tell me why you brought me here, Rhys,' she whispered.
He gave her a quick, bitter smile. 'Who the hell knows? I didn't have this planned to the last detail-that was a lie. I had some insane idea I could change your mind about this Perry guy. I kept telling myself it was me you loved, not him.'
She thought of what he'd said about making her a woman. 'Because I gave you my virginity?' she asked softly.
A look of pain crossed his face. 'Because you gave me your heart,' he growled. 'At least, I thought you had .. .'
For the first time in weeks, Blair smiled. 'Aunt Annie wouldn't argue with that,' she said.
'Jesus, I don't give a damn about Aunt Annie right now, Blair. I ...'
'She'd side with you, Rhys. And I'm sure she wouldn't want me to marry Perry, either.'
He gave her a strange look. 'She wouldn't?'
'She'd probably hope that I'd marry you.'
Rhys drew in his breath. 'Would she really?' he asked softly, his eyes searching hers.
Blair nodded. 'Well, she'd at least want me to consider your proposal, if you made one.' She tilted her head to the side and looked up at him. 'Were you going to make one?'
A hesitant smile caught at the corner of Hunter's mouth and then he scowled. 'Don't play games with me,' he said softly. 'I've told you that before.' -
Blair breathed a silent prayer and then looked into Hunter's eyes. 'I've only played one game with you,' she said in a low voice. 'And I've regretted it almost since it began. That morning-that morning, when I started to tell you I hadn't been honest with you ...' Her hands rose between them and she put her palms against his chest. 'It had nothing to do with Perry,' she said. 'You see, I ... I've never been engaged to him. I've never been engaged to anyone.' She felt the sudden surge of his heart beneath her hand. 'There isn't any easy way to tell you this, Rhys. I'll just have to come right out with it.'
His eyes narrowed. 'Dammit, come right out with what?'
She took a breath. 'Rhys, I ... I'm not Meryl Desmond.
That's what I meant when I said I hadn't been honest with you.'
'You're not Meryl Desmond?' His eyes never left hers as she shook her head. 'Then who ... ?'
'I'm Blair Nolan, Meryl's secretary. She and I switched passports and airplane tickets and ...' Her voice broke and she swallowed hard.
Rhys's fingers bit into her arms. 'You mean, you lied to me all along?'
'I thought you were a kidnapper, and I was afraid to tell you I wasn't Meryl. I thought you'd kill me if you knew you couldn't ransom me off to Oscar Desmond.'
He shook his head in disbelief. 'But the next day, Blair.
We called Rome. Hell, Desmond spoke to me. He spoke to you. He said I was to keep you out of sight .. .'
Her head fell forwards. 'That's the part I'm most ashamed of. He told me the paparazzi had no idea Meryl and her fiancée were at the villa. He said the privacy was wonderful. He begged me to ... to go on pretending to be his daughter. He said you'd never agree to go along with the scheme if you knew the truth .. .'
'And you agreed?'
She nodded. 'I agreed,' she admitted, her eyes pleading for understanding. 'Try and see my side of it. Meryl is my friend. And Desmond made it sound as if my job might be on the line .. .' Her voice drifted off; when she spoke again, it was a whisper. 'There was another reason, too, one I was ashamed to admit to myself at first.'
Rhys put his hand beneath her chin and coaxed her head up. 'Tell me,' he said softly.
Her eyes met his. 'I… I wanted to be with you. And then, after I knew I was after I knew I was falling in love with you, I tried to tell you the truth. But ... but I didn't have the courage. I was afraid you'd look at me the way you're looking at me now ...'
'Why didn't you tell me that morning?' he demanded. 'How could you have let me think you belonged to another man?'
Tears glistened on her lashes. 'I thought you just wanted to get rid of me, that you'd ... you had what you wanted from me .. .'
Rhys's eyes were fierce. 'Never,' he said.
'Yes, I know that now, but then ... I'm so sorry,' she whispered, closing her eyes against the anger she saw in his. 'I don't blame you if you can't forgive me. You trusted me, and I let you down. Don't you see? That's why I couldn't tell you. I let you down. I .. .'
He cupped her face in his hands and raised it to his. 'I love you, Blair,' he said softly. 'I've never said that to anyone before. Do you understand? I love you. I'd trust you with my life.
The tears spilled down her cheeks. 'Rhys, my love .. .' He smiled down at her. 'Of course, I should put you over my knee and spank you.' He brushed a kiss lightly across her mouth. 'I'll bet Aunt Annie would approve.' Blair laughed through her tears. 'She would, indeed.'
'Is there really an Aunt Annie, or is she just a figment of your imagination?' .
'She's real as rain. Everything I told you about myself was the truth, Rhys. Everything but my name.'
His arms tightened around her. 'Tell me the only thing that matters,' he whispered. 'I want to hear you say it.''I love you,' she sighed, leaning back in his arms and smiling up at him. 'I'll always love you.'
He drew her against him again. 'What a mess we made of things,' he murmured.
'Did you really go to Bahrain?'
He laughed softly. 'I pulled one of my best men off a plane five minutes before flight time because I was sure I could lose myself in a new job. But it didn't work; as the day of the wedding got closer, I got nastier, and yesterday I finally said goodbye, Bahrain, and got myself out of there before someone shot me in self-defense!'
Blair looked up at him.'Rhys? You still haven't said whether you've forgiven me .. .'
His eyebrows drew together in a dark scowl. 'I don't know,' he said slowly. 'I'll have to have some time to think about it.'
She nodded. 'Yes, I understand.'
Rhys glanced at his watch. 'But we'll have to talk about it later if you want to get back to the Desmond villa in time for the wedding.'
She shook her head. 'I ... I don't want to do anything until I know.'
Rhys sighed. 'You are the most difficult woman, Blair Nolan. All right, there's no time for beating around the bush. So here it is. I love you. I'm going to marry you. And I want to meet Aunt An
nie as soon as possible.' He grinned down at her. 'Now can we leave for Rome?'
Blair smiled. 'How long does it take to get to Rome from here?' she asked.
'About two hours. If we leave now, we'll make it with half an hour to spare.'
Blair's arms curled around Rhys's neck. 'I've got a better use for that half-hour,' she whispered.
And so had he.
A Flood of Sweet Fire Page 18