Her Tycoon Lover

by Sandra Field

  Rebecca shivered. ‘I thought Philip Lorne sounded an absolute brute. I was glad to know he wasn’t coming to the wedding.’

  ‘Was he invited?’

  She shook her head. ‘Jason said he wouldn’t approve, and he’d prefer to face him when the whole thing was a fait accompli…’

  Realising belatedly that her tongue was running away with her, she pulled herself up. ‘I’m sorry. I really shouldn’t be telling you all this.’

  His voice without expression, Gray said, ‘I’m finding it most interesting. Just for the record, do you happen to know why Lorne threatened his wife?’

  ‘It was something to do with a family heirloom, a ring, she was wearing without his permission.’

  ‘If that was all, I would most certainly agree with your assessment.’

  Putting a hand on his arm, she gave him a pleading glance. ‘For Jason’s sake, I wouldn’t like any of this to get back to Philip Lorne.’

  ‘I promise I won’t say a word.’ Then casually, ‘By the way, what happened to your ring when the engagement ended?’

  ‘I gave it back to Jason, of course.’

  ‘He didn’t say you could keep it?’

  ‘I wouldn’t have kept it. Who wants a bitter reminder like that?’

  Proving that he knew a great deal about Jason’s affairs, Gray responded ironically, ‘Apparently his previous fiancées did.’

  CHAPTER TWO

  ‘OR PERHAPS you didn’t know he’d had any?’

  Lifting her chin with an air of defiance, Rebecca said, ‘Yes, I knew he’d been engaged twice before.’

  She had heard it through the office grapevine the very same day she had accepted Jason’s ring and his proposal of marriage.

  ‘And it didn’t worry you?’ Gray asked.

  ‘Not particularly.’

  That wasn’t strictly true. It had worried her enough to turn down Jason’s plea that they should move in together.

  Learning the reason for her refusal, he had first been angry, and then apologetic, saying, ‘I suppose I should have told you myself. But as far as I was concerned it was of no great importance, and I was scared of losing you.’

  She had been too much in love to want to doubt him.

  ‘I must say I’m surprised,’ Gray remarked, after a moment. ‘If it was a stable, long-lasting relationship you were hoping for…?’

  ‘Of course it was.’

  ‘Surely a series of short-lived engagements couldn’t be described as a good omen?’

  ‘Hardly a series,’ she said coldly. ‘And Jason explained how they had both been…well…in the nature of experiments.’

  Gray raised a sardonic brow. ‘Really?’

  ‘I believe his exact words were, “Youthful ventures intended more to test the waters of matrimony than with any serious intention of swimming.”’

  ‘And how did you interpret that?’

  ‘I’m sorry?’

  ‘I’m sure you don’t lack intelligence, so it must be true that love makes people blind.’

  ‘I don’t know what you’re getting at.’

  ‘Didn’t it sound as though he lacked commitment? As though he regarded those previous engagements as just another fling?’

  ‘It did cross my mind,’ she admitted.

  Swallowing more champagne, she added unsteadily, ‘But he assured me that I was quite different. He said he wanted to marry me so we could spend the rest of our lives together.’

  But after a few short weeks, all that had changed.

  To Rebecca’s chagrin, her eyes filled with tears.

  She tried desperately not to blink, but a single fat teardrop spilt over, rolled down her cheek and plopped into her hand as it lay, palm uppermost, in her lap.

  Picking up her hand, Gray raised it to his lips and, delicately, with the tip of his tongue, collected the tear.

  The intimacy of the gesture shook her, and she sat as though turned to stone, her amber eyes fixed on his lean, attractive face.

  After a long moment, strangely breathless, she withdrew her hand, and looked anywhere but at him.

  ‘Of course he’d have to say that,’ Gray observed cynically. ‘But in my opinion, when it came to marriage, Jason was in no hurry to let any woman pin him down.’

  ‘He married Lisa,’ Rebecca pointed out.

  ‘Yes. It seems he more than met his match when it came to your stepsister…

  ‘Incidentally, though you mentioned the change of heart came at Easter, you still haven’t told me exactly how it happened.’

  Once again he refilled her glass.

  Reluctant to talk about it, but unhappily aware that she’d gone too far not to, Rebecca took another drink and began, ‘Helen had arranged to have a small house party at Elmslee. She asked me to come down and join them, and bring Jason.’

  Neither of them had particularly wanted to go, but Helen had been so pressing that it had been almost impossible to say no.

  ‘So you don’t live here?’ Gray asked curiously.

  ‘I left home when I went to college.’

  ‘And you didn’t come back?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Why not, if you all got on so well? Living in the country too quiet?’

  ‘Not at all, I love the country, I always have. But as I was working in London, it made more sense to rent a small flat there.’

  Her father had urged her to come back and live at Elmslee, suggesting eagerly that she could travel to and from the office with him. At first she had been sorely tempted, but Helen’s cool reception of the idea had made her turn it down and plump for complete independence.

  ‘So that’s what you did?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘So when you and Jason were invited to Elmslee for Easter, you weren’t living together?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘I can only presume you were holding out for a wedding ring first?’

  Watching her expressive face, he smiled with quiet triumph. ‘Whang in the gold, I see…’

  Rebecca sighed. As soon as Jason’s engagement ring was on her finger he had redoubled his efforts to get her to live with him.

  Truth to tell, she had desperately wanted to. It was the recollection of his previous short-lived engagements that had made her cautious. Fearing that if she gave in too easily she might lose him, she had held back.

  But she had still lost him.

  If only she had agreed to at least sleep with him, things might have been different, she thought sadly.

  Or, then again, they might not.

  From first meeting Lisa, he had only too clearly been bowled over by her blonde beauty and her curvaceous figure.

  ‘She’s an absolute stunner,’ he had said admiringly, ‘a real pocket-Venus. You and she are total opposites.’

  Then, realising too late how that must have sounded, he’d tacked on hastily, ‘Though of course you’re equally gorgeous, but in a different way.’

  Rebecca had never, to the best of her knowledge, been described as pretty, let alone gorgeous.

  Tall and slender, she’d been blessed with good bone-structure, almond eyes, even white teeth and a flawless skin. Even so, she knew herself to be no beauty. Her nose was too strong, her mouth too wide, her chin too firm.

  Attractive, was most people’s description. It was a description she was getting fed up with hearing…

  Gray’s voice broke into her thoughts, saying something she didn’t catch.

  Looking up fuzzily, she said, ‘I beg your pardon?’

  ‘I imagine Jason wasn’t too pleased when you refused to move in with him. He likes his pleasure on tap, so to speak. He doesn’t enjoy having to work for it, or having it doled out in small amounts.’

  When she said nothing, he added thoughtfully, ‘I take it your stepmother knew that you weren’t actually living together?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘So she gave you separate rooms?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Didn’t you make any objection?’

&
nbsp; ‘No.’

  ‘I see…’

  She was about to frame a protest, when he added, ‘And it might even have worked if you’d had the sense to keep him well away from your stepsister.’

  Oddly enough, she hadn’t seen that meeting as a threat. In retrospect, she knew how naïve and foolish she had been.

  But they would have been bound to meet sooner or later, and she couldn’t have coped with a marriage where she had to worry about every beautiful woman that crossed Jason’s path.

  As though reading her thoughts, Gray said satirically, ‘Lock up your husband, and all that.’

  ‘I wouldn’t want…’ She broke off.

  ‘A husband you couldn’t trust?’ he hazarded.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Then, my dear Rebecca, you’re better off out of it. As you know only too well, Jason isn’t exactly renowned for his fidelity.’

  Caught on the raw, she hit back. ‘Jealous of his success with women?’

  ‘What do you think?’

  Though he was nowhere near as handsome as Jason, she felt oddly convinced that he would have no need to be jealous of him, or any man.

  Unwilling to admit it, she said, ‘Presumably you’re here on your own today.’

  ‘Don’t you agree that’s fortunate?’ He smiled at her. A curiously intimate smile.

  She put the little frisson that ran through her down to the fact that the air was appreciably cooler now the sun had set and dusk was creeping in.

  ‘But I’m afraid we’ve strayed away from the point again,’ he said, topping up her glass once more.

  As she took a sip and looked at him a shade owlishly, he reminded her, ‘You were about to tell me what happened at Easter.’

  While he listened attentively, making an effort to dispel the tiredness that was creeping over her, she found herself telling this virtual stranger things she wouldn’t have told her best friend.

  ‘It was obvious from the start that Jason thought Lisa was stunning. In fact, he said as much. She seemed to like him, and several times—both the mornings we went riding, one evening at cards, and again when we played Murder—I found myself paired off with her current boyfriend, while they joined forces.’

  Helen too had made quite a fuss of him, and clearly enjoying himself, Jason had remarked how pleased he was that they had decided to come.

  Stupidly, Rebecca saw now, she had been glad that things were going so well.

  ‘Go on,’ Gray said.

  ‘We had been planning to go back to London on Easter Monday, but because the rest of the party were staying until the following day Helen asked us to stay too, and Jason agreed.

  ‘After dinner that evening we were in the middle of playing Charades when the strap on my watch broke. Jason said he would try to fix it for me later, and slipped it into his pocket.

  ‘By the time we went upstairs to bed, we’d both forgotten about it. Jason kissed me goodnight at my bedroom door as usual, then went to his own room across the landing.

  ‘It wasn’t until I was about to take off my watch to shower that I remembered Jason still had it.

  ‘The room Helen had given me had no clock, and because I always wear a watch I felt lost without one. After I’d showered and got ready for bed I pulled on a dressing gown and went to Jason’s room to fetch it.’

  She emptied her glass, and he took it from her and set it down on the bench.

  ‘Go on,’ he said again.

  She took a deep breath. ‘I tapped at his door. There was no answer, so I tapped again, but quietly, in case I disturbed anyone else. When there was still no answer, thinking he must be in the shower, I walked in…’

  The words tailed off and she looked down at her lap, where her hands were clenched into fists.

  ‘I take it your stepsister was there with him.’

  ‘Yes,’ she whispered.

  They had been together on the bed, in a flurry of naked limbs and hoarse breathing. As she’d stood rooted to the spot, both of them had glanced up, their faces blind with passion.

  She could still clearly recall how their expressions had altered. Jason’s flushed, handsome face had looked startled and guilty, while Lisa’s expression had changed to one of quiet triumph.

  Without a word, Rebecca had turned and blundered away, stumbling in her haste to escape from the ugly little scene.

  But she had carried it in her mind’s eye like a video recording. One that she was unable to switch off; one that had replayed itself continuously until she thought she would go mad.

  Peering at his companion in the gathering gloom, Gray asked, ‘What did you do?’

  ‘I went back to my room, but I couldn’t sleep. Railton, the nearest town, has a twenty-four-hour taxi service, so at two o’clock in the morning, I packed my things and called a taxi.

  ‘The following day I made myself go into the office to hand in my notice and give Jason his ring back. The rest you know.’

  Gray frowned. ‘I’m curious about one thing. How did you and your stepsister manage to stay friends?’

  ‘Lisa was living in town—’

  ‘With Jason presumably.’

  ‘Yes. One day she called at my flat. She said she was sorry, she had only knocked at Jason’s door to say goodnight, and somehow it had just happened.’

  ‘But you didn’t believe her?’

  She shook her head.

  ‘Tell me, what made you agree to be a bridesmaid?’

  The sun had long since set, and with dusk pressing against the windows she was starting to feel distinctly cool in the short-sleeved silk dress.

  Repressing a shiver, she answered, ‘I didn’t at first. In fact I’d booked a holiday in the Caribbean so I could avoid the wedding.’

  ‘Why didn’t you go on it?’

  ‘When Helen found out, she was furious. She said that if I wasn’t chief bridesmaid everyone would think there’d been a family split.’

  ‘Would it have mattered what people thought?’

  ‘That’s what I asked.’

  ‘And what did she say?’

  Rebecca rubbed her hands up and down her bare arms while she made an effort to sort out the jumble of thoughts in her head.

  ‘She said something like, “Jason’s a well-to-do, titled man from a wealthy background. After Lisa and he are married we’ll no doubt be moving in top society, and it might spoil everything if there was unkind talk.’”

  ‘I see,’ Gray murmured, his voice sardonic. ‘Well if your stepmother has those kind of expectations, perhaps her daughter should have set her cap at the organ-grinder.’

  ‘The organ-grinder?’ Rebecca echoed blankly.

  ‘I’ll explain it some time.’ Seeing that she was beginning to shiver, he rose, adding decidedly, ‘Time we were moving. It’s starting to get cooler in here.’

  She got to her feet and, as her head began to whirl, sat down again with a bump. ‘You’d better go. The reception will be over now. They’ll be wondering where you’ve got to.’

  He laughed mirthlessly. ‘I very much doubt it. Come on, now, let’s have you up and moving before you catch a chill in that dress.’

  ‘I’ll come in a minute or so. You go on.’

  ‘No chance. I’ll see you back to the house. You must be getting hungry.’

  She shook her head.

  ‘After so much champagne you probably need to eat, and before too long.’

  ‘I don’t want to eat. At least not here.’ She was aware that she sounded panicky.

  ‘Then what do you want?’

  ‘I want to go back to London.’

  ‘How did you get to Elmslee?’

  Focusing with an effort, she told him, ‘I came down with some family friends, but they’ll be staying until tomorrow.’

  ‘Shouldn’t you do the same?’

  ‘No,’ she cried vehemently. ‘I couldn’t bear to. Not after what Helen said.’

  Desperate now to be left on her own so she could gather herself, she added, ‘You really
ought to go. I’ll be all right…Honestly, I will.’

  Unconvinced, he said, ‘Let me see you stand up.’

  ‘I’m not sure I can just at the moment,’ she admitted. ‘When I stand, I go dizzy.’

  ‘When did you last eat?’

  ‘I can’t remember.’

  ‘Lunch?’

  Shivering in earnest now, she said, ‘I didn’t have any lunch.’

  ‘Breakfast?’

  ‘Only coffee.’

  ‘Hell!’ he exclaimed softly. ‘I’m not surprised it’s gone to your head. And it’s no wonder you’re feeling cold.’

  ‘I just wish you’d go and leave me.’

  ‘You’re in no fit state to be left.’

  Enunciating every word with care, she said, ‘When I’ve sat for a little while longer I’ll be quite capable of walking back to the house.’

  ‘Then what will you do?’

  ‘As soon as I’ve got back to my room and changed, I’ll ring for a taxi.’

  ‘Do you seriously think you’ll be able to cope on your own?’

  She had to. Haughtily, she said, ‘Of course I will.’ The effect was spoiled by the fact that, in spite of all her efforts, she was having a job to stay upright.

  Smoothly, he said, ‘I think it would be better if I saw you safely back home.’ Putting an arm around her, he urged her to her feet.

  Angry with herself, knowing she should have had more sense than to drink so much champagne, she tried to pull free. ‘Thank you, but I don’t need any help.’

  ‘Don’t be foolish, of course you need help,’ he said curtly.

  ‘I can manage,’ she insisted, and clenched her teeth to stop them chattering.

  ‘Very well.’ He removed his arm.

  She made a valiant attempt to stand unaided, but was forced to clutch at him.

  ‘Still convinced you can manage?’ he asked.

  Her legs buckling under her ignominiously, she sank back onto the bench.

  With an air of I-told-you-so, he took off his jacket, put it around her shoulders, slipped her arms into the sleeves and fastened the buttons to keep it in place.

  It half buried her and the sleeves hung over her hands, but it still held his body heat, and she found the warmth curiously comforting. Leaning her head back against the wooden wall, she closed her eyes.