‘Thank you,’ she responded, trying to sound carefree and then determined to mean it. ‘So are you. I wonder what that means?’ she added with an imp of mischief dancing in her eyes.
‘That we broke it off in the nick of time?’ he drawled.
Conscious of the rest of the company holding their breath in a manner of speaking, plus quite unable to rein in the devil that was riding her, she laughed. ‘I think you might be right. Please don’t feel embarrassed,’ she said to everyone at large. ‘It is over between Nick and me, but I’m sure we can be civilized about it. Possibly even friends?’ She turned back to him with the question in her eyes.
‘I don’t see why not, Skye,’ he said after a moment, and turned to Bryce. ‘Tell me about yourself, mate. As a friend I’d still like to know she’s in good hands.’
She should have known, Skye thought, trembling inwardly, that taking on Nick was asking for trouble, but once again Bryce came to the rescue.
‘I fell in love with Skye when I first saw her on television,’ he said simply. He smiled placidly at Nick. ‘Do you want to know what my prospects and background are? I’d be happy to tell you.’
Sally rose. ‘Well, while you do that, Bryce, I’m going to show the girls their rooms. Dinner is at seven—goodness me, it’s five o’clock already! You might like to have a little rest…’
The room Skye was shown to was comfortable in an old-fashioned way and had its own bathroom. And Sally Attwood, who was a good hostess as well as kind-hearted, decided to take the bull by the horns as she showed Skye round it.
‘I’m so sorry about this,’ she said anxiously. ‘We’ve always told Bryce, and Nick for that matter, that if they’d like to bring someone—don’t even ask, just do it! Now—’ She broke off and shrugged. ‘You’ve found yourself in this awful situation. Unless you and Bryce are…?’ She looked a question at Skye.
Skye sank down in a comfortable armchair, feeling suddenly exhausted. ‘No.’ And she explained exactly how it had happened. ’I shouldn’t have done it, though,’ she went on. ‘It’s not fair to him and now I’ve fallen into the trap of using him in a sort of…well, horrible tit-for-tat game with Nick.’
Sally sat down on the end of the bed to say thoughtfully, ‘There’s more to Bryce than appears on the surface, Skye. I think he can probably take care of himself. But would I be right in thinking you haven’t entirely got over Nick Hunter?’
Realization that she was confiding in a complete stranger came belatedly to Skye. But there was something so warm and concerned in the other woman’s eyes, she smiled wearily. ‘You’d be right. I just hope to heaven I wasn’t as transparent to everyone else!’
‘You were wonderful, just like the girl on television,’ Sally said enthusiastically.
Ah, Skye thought. Did anyone have an inkling that she might be developing a split personality?
Sally went on before she could say anything. ‘I just, well, it must all be so new—that’s what made me wonder.’
Skye sat up. ‘I think it might be easier for everyone if I go home, Sally. I…well, it’s got to be uncomfortable for others to be caught in this kind of crossfire and I’d hate myself for turning your big weekend into a disaster. Is there…how would I go about it?’
Sally Attwood looked into those amazing though shadowed blue eyes. Then she took a deep breath, and said, ‘Don’t go, Skye. I don’t know what went wrong but once you run away from Nick you’ll find yourself doing it all the time. And don’t worry about us! There’s going to be enough on over the next two days for us to find plenty of cover.’ She grinned then sobered. ‘Please?’
‘Well…’
‘Good girl.’ Sally rose. ‘By the way, we dress for dinner but nothing too formal. We’ll have a pre-dinner drink in the lounge at about half past six. See you there!’ And she was gone, leaving Skye staring bemusedly at the door.
A long soak in the tub did much for Skye’s morale. Not only did the lovely warm water combined with her fragrant bath oil help, but so did the growing conviction that Sally was right. She couldn’t spend her life running away from Nick. Because she was liable to run into him again, and the sooner she incised the hurt of their parting the better. This might just be the way to do it—with a show of strength now.
She chose a knee-length, shoe-string strap, pale grey dress in a fine silk knit that clung to her figure, to wear to dinner. It was a dress she loved because it packed wonderfully, was very versatile—and it was the only dressy dress she’d brought. She teamed it with a chunky, gorgeous silver and turquoise bangle, silver sandals and a turquoise slide in her hair.
And she left her room with her skin smooth and glowing, her hair shining and curly, and feeling chic and ready to take on the world. But despite the fact that it was already a quarter to seven only Nick was in the lounge with a drink in his hands.
‘Oh.’ She hovered in the doorway.
He turned. ‘As you say, Skye,’ he murmured, and a glint of mockery flew her way from his dark eyes. He wore beige corduroy trousers, a long-sleeved cream shirt and a dark red tie.
She gritted her teeth and walked into the room. ‘Where is everyone?’
‘I have no idea, apart from Wynn, who is wrestling with what to wear tonight. Unlike you—’ his gaze skimmed the dress he knew well ‘—she doesn’t travel light.’ His dark eyes came back to rest on her face enigmatically.
Skye flinched and looked away. It had been a joke they’d shared that she was one of the few women he knew who did. In fact she’d almost made it an art form because she did spend a lot of time on the road with the show.
The other thing that had caused her to flinch, however, was the way he could still undress her with his eyes. How dared he? she wondered hotly. Did he think she couldn’t read what was behind that enigmatic glance? Why would he anyway…?
‘Talking of that,’ she said after a long moment during which she fought for cool composure, ‘they’re thinking of including a segment on how to travel light in the next series. Perhaps—‘ a little glint of humour lit her eyes ‘—I could give Wynn a few tips?’
He smiled faintly. ‘I wish you would. I don’t imagine it would endear you to her, however. What would you like to drink? The same?’
She stopped herself from wincing visibly this time. ‘Yes, thank you.’
He poured her a gin and tonic and brought it over to her. ‘Do sit down, Skye,’ he invited, this time with a sardonic little glint.
She accepted the glass and sank down on a settee. Jack and Sally’s lounge was, like the rest of the house, done on a grand scale. The chintz-covered chairs and settees were plump and vast. So much so that she immediately felt as if she was stranded on an island.
She raised an eyebrow wryly, and looked around at the paintings on the old wooden walls, the massive pieces of mahogany and cedar furniture, the parchment lampshades, the pot plants in old brass containers. There were French doors that opened onto the veranda, and a dark velvet sky beyond.
Nick seated himself opposite her, and looked around too. ‘It was all built to last,’ he commented.
Skye sipped her drink. ‘How long have you known them?’
‘Years,’ he said lazily. ‘I often come up here for some R and R.’
Skye opened her mouth to ask why he’d never mentioned them to her or brought her here, then closed it abruptly.
‘You were always doing something else,’ he said with soft but deadly satire.
A tinge of colour ran through her cheeks at the way he’d read her mind so accurately. But she decided not to respond. She simply shrugged instead.
‘Where did you pick up Bryce Denver?’ he asked then.
Skye put her glass down carefully on an occasional table. ‘I didn’t pick him up. It was the other way around if anything, but—’ she gazed at him, her eyes a deep and furious blue ‘—talking of such things, where did you pick up Wynn?’
‘Well, not that I’m complaining,’ he drawled, ‘but it was also the other way around if a
nything.’
The parody on her words further incensed her. Then she remembered her fighting words to herself about a show of strength, and she thought briefly.
‘Nick,’ she said finally, ‘it doesn’t matter where or how you and Wynn got together. The same goes for Bryce but—there’s nothing between us. We just happened to meet on Haggerstone and when he suggested Mount Gregory as a good setting for a chapter in my book I agreed.’
‘So he didn’t fall in love with you as soon as he saw you on television?’
‘He—you know how unrealistic that is, or maybe you don’t,’ she said barely audibly, ‘but—’
‘And you don’t think the reality of Skye Belmont has caused him to fall even harder for you?’ he overrode her cynically.
‘It… I…’ She drew a breath. ‘It’s got nothing to do with you, Nick.’
‘So why are you telling me all this?’ he asked dryly.
‘I’m telling you because I don’t intend to play games, or hide behind Bryce because you’ve got yourself a girlfriend—and it’s not fair to him anyway.’
‘Perhaps you should be telling Bryce this,’ he murmured.
‘I have! He…’ She paused frustratedly and Nick started to laugh softly.
‘Continues to live in hope?’
Skye pressed her lips together.
‘Tell me something else, then,’ he said, narrowing his eyes. ’What have you got against him?’
‘Nothing. I…like him very much. I’m just not prepared to…’ She paused.
‘Get yourself misunderstood by another man?’ he suggested with irony.
‘Precisely.’ She stared at him challengingly. But at that moment Wynn drifted into the room, looking extremely sexy in an outfit she appeared to have been poured into. An all-in-one lime-green trouser suit with a halter top—under which she clearly wore no bra.
‘Well, well,’ she purred, ‘going over old times, you two? I hope you’re not having second thoughts, Skye,’ she added, and didn’t have to say the obvious as she strolled over to Nick with her fluid, model’s walk, and put her arm through his in a way that shouted, The man is mine!
Her sense of humour came to Skye’s rescue. ‘No, but if you’d like any tips on how to handle the man— I’m sure I could give you a few. That is a sensational outfit, Wynn. Did you wear it in Africa? Maybe not; you might have caused a riot.’ She eyed Wynn innocently but with obvious laughter in her eyes.
For an instant, there was all the tension of a riot brewing in Jack and Sally’s lounge, as Wynn’s lovely face contorted, but Bryce arrived on the scene, followed by the Clarkes, and hot on their heels came Jack and Sally, full of apologies for being so late.
Skye took the moment to reflect that she hated being bitchy although she had genuinely been moved to laughter, but on this occasion it had felt wonderful! She blinked, in some surprise, and looked up to see Nick watching her as everyone else milled around the cocktail cabinet.
Had he read her mind again? she wondered. If so, why was there something unusually thoughtful in that dark gaze? As if he was puzzled… Hadn’t he expected her to be able to defend herself against Wynn? she wondered, and moved her slim shoulders in slight perplexity.
To her amazement, he smiled briefly, and raised his glass to her. Then Bryce came to sit beside her and the moment was lost.
Dinner was enormous.
A delicious zucchini soup, followed by fillets of whiting then roast pork with all the accompaniments: potatoes, pumpkin, cauliflower au gratin, apple sauce and gravy. The dessert was poached pears and a cheeseboard followed.
When Skye commented that it had been absolutely delicious, Sally looked gratified and said that having Skye Belmont in one’s house sure put one on one’s mettle!
Wynn, who had eaten less than any one, contrived to look bored. It was something she managed to do every time any mention of Skye’s fame was made.
Afterwards, the Attwoods pursued what was obviously a time-honoured tradition. They rolled back a rug in the lounge, put some music on the CD player and, with some hilarity, started to dance.
‘I’d forgotten about this,’ Bryce said gloomily as everyone took up their partners.
Truth to tell, Skye was not enamoured of the idea either but she said, ‘It’s probably a good idea after a meal like that.’
‘Yes, but I bet you don’t have two left feet,’ he commented, looking gloomier than ever.
‘Ah… Has anyone ever tried to show you how?’
‘Some have tried. All have failed. I just don’t seem to have any rhythm as well as being so clumsy.’
‘Bryce, trust me.’ All of a sudden Skye found herself forgetting her problems in the face of his genuine look of deep apprehension as he stood in front of her. ‘Tell you what, forget about any conventional steps; those days are long gone. All you have to do is your own thing. And I have seen you weave your way through the water with a rhythm of a kind that was quite magical.’
‘I’m never the same on dry land.’
‘Just think the music into the swirl of the sea. Like this.’ She took his hand and began to sway gently herself, using her other hand as a mermaid might trail her fingers through the water. It was a soft, dreamy piece of music.
Half an hour later they’d swirled their way through much livelier waters and Bryce had started to cotton on, even become quite inventive. And Skye had almost been able to wrest her mind from the awful impact of seeing another woman in Nick’s arms. Nor was Wynn a discreet dancer. She took a—malicious? Skye wondered—pleasure in displaying her undeniably sensational figure in a variety of poses. She was graceful and sinuous and she wound herself around Nick time and time again.
Then disaster struck. So amazed was Bryce, as she got him to relax and co-ordinate his body to the music, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her enthusiastically. ‘You’re a genius, Skye. And you’re so nice! He must be crazy to have broken up with you—’
The silence was crashing although the music played on. Everyone stopped dancing and Bryce came crashing back to earth, literally, as his feet got all tangled up and his face flamed.
‘He’s OK.’
It was Nick, for some reason, who delivered the news to Skye as she sat on the darkened veranda outside her room.
‘He’s sprained his ankle, that’s all, and not that seriously. Jack’s got a support bandage and he’ll be able to hobble around with a stick tomorrow.’
Two tears slid down Skye’s cheeks. In the mêlée that had followed Bryce’s crash to the floor, in his awful embarrassment and everyone else’s, she’d suddenly found herself unable to cope with this day any longer, and had retreated to her room while Jack, Nick and Peter had hoisted Bryce to his feet and tried to assess the damage.
‘He was so thrilled,’ she whispered, licking the salt from her lips.
Nick sat down beside her on the wooden bench.
‘He’ll get over it.’
‘You don’t understand. You have no idea what it’s like to be shy and dysfunctional. Everything comes naturally to you.’
‘You say that quite bitterly, Skye, but a lot of things come naturally to you.’
She sighed. ‘They may do on television; they come with great difficulty at other times.’
‘What do you mean?’ He frowned.
‘Nothing,’ she said hastily. ‘I—’
‘But I would hardly call you dysfunctional, Skye.’ He overrode her, still with that frown.
She bit her lip then paused to reflect that if she hadn’t been able to confide in him about a certain problem she’d discovered she had about her face being so instantly recognisable when they were engaged, nor had he ever guessed there was a problem, why should she have it dragged out of her now?
‘Of course I’m not dysfunctional,’ she said, ‘but I do know what it’s like to be shy and to be inherently clumsy has got to be a handicap. So, yes, I sympathise with him, that’s all.’ She stopped then went on with feeling, ‘If I’d had any sense, I’d never
have come here. And not only because of you.’
‘Point taken,’ he replied evenly. ‘But in the face of such devotion I don’t think you should discount Bryce—’
‘Nick—’ she shook her head wearily ‘—don’t tell me who I should discount or otherwise.’
‘Even when you’re sitting here in tears over him?’
‘That’s…well, I told you! You’d have to have a heart of stone not to feel for him! Besides, I’m tired and emotional. It hasn’t been the easiest of days.’
He was silent for a time.
Until Skye said, ‘Why did they send you to tell me this?’
‘They didn’t. They all thought you’d gone to bed. I just happened to decide I needed a bit of fresh air.’
‘Well, you better take it and get back before Wynn comes to look for you.’
He laughed softly. ‘You certainly put a shot across her bows before dinner, Skye.’
Skye turned to him with a frown. ‘Don’t you mind?’
‘Mind what?’
‘That I don’t think much of your latest choice in women, Nick,’ she said deliberately.
‘To be honest, Skye, I wouldn’t have expected you to like whomever I had with me.’
Skye stood up abruptly. ‘Because you imagine I regret breaking off our engagement?’
‘Because one minute you were sleeping with me and cooking me breakfast, and virtually the next minute you’d gone? Oh, yes,’ he said, ‘I think there has to be some regret, otherwise it just doesn’t make sense.’
Skye wandered over to the veranda railing and studied the stars.
‘Do you remember one night when we had my parents’ place all to ourselves, for example?’ he went on.
She stiffened and refused to turn to him.
‘Do you remember taking a midnight swim in the pool? In the nude?’
‘Nick—’
‘Not that you were entirely nude. If I remember correctly, you had on a pair of daring little G-string panties—daring for you because I don’t think you’d ever worn them before. All the same you were exquisite in the moonlight with drops running off your breasts when I lifted you out of the water, with your skin sleek, your body so slim yet curved in all the right places.’
The Bridegroom's Dilemma Page 4