by Julia James
Marrying him was out of the question.
She wasn’t even going to think about it.
No way.
Not even for a minute.
She didn’t dare …
CHAPTER TWO
‘ARE WE STILL on for dinner tonight, Myles?’ Hayley asked, holding the phone to her ear as she checked her make-up in the mirror above her bathroom basin of her small inner-city rented flat.
‘Er … tonight might be a bit of a problem, my dear,’ Myles said. ‘I’ve got a new client I have to see. It was a last-minute booking. I can’t really get out of it. Sorry.’
Hayley turned her back on the flash of pain and disappointment she could see in her blue-green gaze. This was the third night in a row Myles had cancelled their arrangements.
‘That’s OK,’ she said, trying not to sound too let down. ‘I have some paperwork to see to anyway.’
‘Sorry about that, Hayley. I’ll give you a call tomorrow. Maybe we can get together then.’
‘Fine,’ she said. ‘Hope it goes well with your client tonight.’
‘Yes … yes, I’m sure it will. Bye.’
Hayley had only just ended the call when the phone rang again in her hand. She didn’t recognise the caller ID number but answered it anyway. ‘Hello, Hayley Addington speaking.’
‘So you are still speaking to me, then,’ Jasper commented wryly.
Her hands tightened on the receiver. ‘Get off my phone.’
‘Have dinner with me?’ he asked, totally unfazed by her acid tone.
‘You must be joking.’
‘I know this great place we can go,’ he said. ‘It’s really swanky. You never know who you might see there.’
‘I’m busy tonight,’ she said through tight lips.
‘No,’ he said. ‘You’re going to sit at home all by your little lonesome self, missing your fiancé who just cancelled your dinner date for the third time this week, right?’
She gripped the phone even tighter. ‘How on earth do you know that? Have you got a tap on my phone or something?’
His deep chuckle lifted the fine hairs on the back of her neck. ‘Come on, sweetheart,’ he said. ‘I need you and you need me. Let’s go and have dinner and if we happen to run into your cheating fiancé you can tell him to his face that you’ve changed your mind about marrying him.’
‘Myles is having dinner with a client,’ she said, doing her best to ignore those niggling little doubts again. ‘He’s a busy real estate agent with a lot of high-profile clients. Entertaining them is one of the demands of the job.’
‘If that’s the case, then you should have no concerns about coming with me to dinner at the same restaurant,’ he pointed out. ‘If Myles’s dinner is all above board he’ll just assume we’re having dinner together like any other stepbrother and stepsister.’
‘We are not stepbrother and sister,’ she protested hotly, ‘or at least not any more.’
‘How is your mother, by the way?’ he asked. ‘What number husband is she on to now? Is it four or five?’
Six, actually, Hayley was tempted to say, but didn’t, knowing it would only make things worse. She hadn’t seen her mother in months but there was no way she was going to tell him that. ‘You are such a jerk,’ she said instead.
‘I’ll be around in twenty minutes to pick you up.’
‘Don’t you dare!’
He chuckled again. ‘Don’t dare me, sweetheart. You know how much it gets me all worked up.’
‘I won’t go out with you!’ she shrieked at him. ‘I won’t!’
He didn’t answer. She wanted to throw the phone at nearest wall, but she stopped herself just in time.
But only just.
She snatched up her car keys instead and bolted out the door.
The popular new harbourside restaurant was crowded but Hayley saw Myles as soon as she came in. He was sitting at one of the tables at the back, his hands holding those of a buxom blonde woman who was looking adoringly into his eyes. He was smiling as if he had just won the lottery, his round cheeks flushed with pleasure as he leaned forward across the table to plant a smacking kiss to the woman’s pouting scarlet-painted lips.
Hayley was so shocked she didn’t register at first that someone had come in the door behind her. She felt a solid warm presence at her back and, turning, looked a long way upwards into the dark, fathomless depths of Jasper Caulfield’s gaze.
‘Hey, baby girl,’ he said softly as he reached for her hand, his larger one totally swallowing hers. ‘Let’s get it over with. I booked the spot three tables from theirs.’
Hayley felt her legs following him even though everything else in her screamed to get out and get out now. She gulped back her anguish as Myles swivelled his head sideways, his eyes widening in shock and a good measure of shame as she and Jasper came to a standstill in front of them.
‘Hayley …’ Myles choked, his face flushing a deep beetroot. ‘W-what are you doing here?’
‘I … I …’
Jasper squeezed her hand in encouragement.
‘Myles … I’ve come to a decision,’ she said, briefly tightening her fingers around Jasper’s. ‘I—I want to end our engagement.’
Myles’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. ‘You can’t mean that!’
‘She does,’ Jasper said firmly. ‘She’s marrying me instead.’
‘You must be joking!’ Myles said, his throat moving up and down like a piston.
‘It’s over, Myles,’ Hayley said, handing back her engagement ring, feeling as if she was handing back her chance for a secure, predictable future as well.
Myles’s jaw dropped. ‘But you have to marry me! You have to!’
‘Why?’ Jasper asked before Hayley could speak.
‘Because …’ His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down again. ‘Because you love me … you do, don’t you, Hayley?’
‘Actually I don’t,’ Hayley said, biting her lip for a moment. ‘I thought I did but … but all this time I’ve been secretly in love with Jasper.’
‘Jasper?’ Myles’s jaw dropped. ‘But you’ve always said how much you hated him. How he made your teenage years miserable and—’
‘That’s all sorted out now,’ Hayley inserted hastily, determined to walk away from Myles with at least some of her pride intact. ‘We’ve fallen in love and are getting married as soon as possible.’
‘But what about the wedding arrangements?’ he said. ‘My mother has invited so many people. I’ve paid a fortune for the reception booking and—’
‘Actually,’ Hayley interrupted him again with a hard set to her mouth, ‘I’ve paid for everything so far, including the honeymoon.’
‘Which won’t go to waste,’ Jasper said as he slung an arm around Hayley’s waist. He looked down at her with a sexy smile, his dark eyes gleaming. ‘I can’t wait to spirit her away and spend every day and night of our honeymoon showing her how much I worship her.’
Hayley felt hot colour storm not only her cheeks but deep inside her body as well. It seeped like a scorching flow of lava into every secret place, making her feel as if her legs were going to melt into a liquid pool on the floor.
‘Mr Caulfield—’ the waiter smiled ‘—your table is ready. And the French champagne you ordered is on its way.’
‘Thank you, Giovanni,’ he said and turning back to Myles, he said, ‘No hard feelings, mate.’ His gaze flicked to the big-breasted blonde sitting opposite, giving her a wink before returning to Myles’s goggled-eyed expression. ‘But it looks like you’re being more than adequately compensated for your broken engagement. Ciao.’
Hayley stumbled after him as he led her to their table, her ego feeling as if it had been stomped on by a pair of very large steel-capped working boots.
She sat down in the chair Jasper held out for her, her expression stormy as he took the chair opposite.
‘That went pretty well, I thought,’ he said with a twinkling smile.
She sent him a venomous glare withou
t responding. How could he be so … so amused by this? She had just been let down in the most appalling way and he was laughing about it.
He leaned closer and said in a low, deep tone, ‘Listen, baby girl, they’re watching us like hawks. Relax and act like a woman who’s been swept off her feet.’
Two big tears popped out of her eyes. ‘I can’t believe he’s having an affair with her.’ She sniffed and rummaged for a tissue, but gave up when Jasper discreetly handed her his handkerchief across the table. She blew her nose rather noisily and handed it back to him.
Jasper looked at it and grimaced. ‘No, you keep it.’
Hayley poked it up her sleeve and sniffed again. ‘She’s not even attractive. And those breasts cannot possibly be real. And she wears so much makeup she looks like a … a street worker for God’s sake!’
‘Some men are such pushovers when it comes to temptation,’ he said, shaking his head in mock dismay. ‘She’s not the first one he’s played around with either.’
She flicked her napkin across her lap viciously and continued her infuriated tirade. ‘Now I know why he was always putting off sleeping with me. He said it was because he wanted our first time to be on our wedding night. God, how could I have fallen for that? I must be stupid or something. No man wants to wait more than a date or two, let alone three months!’
Jasper frowned. ‘What? You’ve only been going out with him three months?’
‘Yes.’ She looked across at him, blinking back tears. ‘What’s wrong with that?’
He sat back in his chair and gave her an ironic look. ‘How can you possibly know if you want to spend the rest of your life with someone in three months?’
‘I knew in three days that I wanted to marry him. He wanted the same things I wanted. A white wedding, babies and a life-long commitment to making our marriage work.’
‘That’s bloody ridiculous! It’s asking for trouble tying yourself to someone you don’t know properly. He might have God knows what dark secrets in his background.’
She returned his look of irony, but added a curl of her lip. ‘Like you, you mean?’
His dark brows snapped together. ‘Shut up, Hayley. You don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘I see Miriam’s new mother-in-law occasionally, you know,’ she said with a defiant look. ‘June Beckforth comes into the salon. She tells me all about your son. The one you wanted Miriam to abort.’
His jaw tightened. ‘I did not ask her to do that.’
She rolled her eyes and affected a bored yawn, covering her mouth with her hand. ‘Oh, dear … I am so tired of that old story,’ she said.
‘You don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he ground out in a harsh undertone. ‘I’ve got a good mind to—’
The waited approached with a bottle in his hand. ‘Champagne for you, miss?’
‘Yes … thank you …’
‘Mr Caulfield.’ The waiter turned to Jasper’s glass and poured the fizzing bubbles into it. ‘What are we celebrating this evening?’
Hayley flashed Jasper a fiery glance before smiling sweetly at the waiter. ‘We’re getting married,’ she said with a husky purr. ‘I’ve finally tamed the one man who said he was never going to get married. I think that’s worth celebrating, don’t you?’
‘Indeed it is.’ The waiter beamed. ‘When’s the wedding taking place?’
‘In three weeks’ time,’ she said, still smiling dreamily, hoping to throw Jasper off balance. ‘I’m so happy I can hardly stand it.’
‘Congratulations to both of you,’ the waiter said.
Jasper had to wait until the waiter had moved on before he could speak. ‘Listen, little lady,’ he growled. ‘You can stop that lash fluttering routine right now. I want people to think this is a genuine match, not some trumped-up plan for you to make a fool out of me every chance you get.’
‘No one’s going to buy it, you know,’ she said, glaring at him again.
‘Your ex just did.’
‘Only because I wanted him to,’ she said with a lift of her chin. ‘It was a matter of pride.’
‘Yeah, well, I have my pride too, and if you so much as hint that our marriage is not real in every sense of the word I’ll rip that salon out from under your feet faster than a waxing strip on a client’s you know what.’
‘You wouldn’t dare!’
His eyes glinted warningly. ‘Just watch me, cupcake.’
Another waiter came over with menus and two crusty bread rolls and set them on the table before moving off again.
Hayley took a hefty slug of her champagne before asking with eyes narrowed in suspicion, ‘What do you mean “real in every sense of the word”? You’re not expecting me to sleep with you, are you?’
He sent her a look of disdain. ‘Absolutely not.’
Hayley hoped her surprise at the vehemence in his tone didn’t show on her face. ‘Good, because I wouldn’t do it if you paid me.’
‘I wouldn’t do it if I had to pay you,’ he countered. ‘Firstly because I’ve never had to buy my way into a woman’s bed before, and secondly it’d be a complete waste of money as I’m not the least bit attracted to a bad-tempered, spoilt little brat who should have grown up years ago.’
Hayley lowered her gaze, wondering why his emphatic statement had stung so much. Personality-clash issues aside, and even though she wasn’t a vain sort of person, she knew she was OK-looking; clients told her so all the time, raving about her creamy complexion and thick dark curly hair and her blue-green eyes that changed colour with every mood. She knew her figure needed a little work, but her twice-weekly Pilates class was hopefully going to take care of that … well, it would once she got around to attending more regularly.
‘Good, because I’m not attracted to you either,’ she said, picking up her champagne again, hoping he couldn’t see the lie for what it was. She might hate him but her body seemed to have a completely different angle on things. She could even feel it now, pulsing with awareness with him sitting so close.
‘Better keep it that way,’ he said. ‘I wouldn’t want you to get any ideas about making this marriage permanent. We only have to live together for a month. Any longer than that and we’d probably kill each other.’
She rolled her eyes in scorn. ‘You really have had that ego of yours massaged a little too often, haven’t you?’
‘No more than any other Sydney billionaire bachelor.’
‘Yeah, that’d be right.’ She curled her lip again. ‘It’s your money they’re after, you know.’
‘And here I was thinking it was the mind-blowing sex,’ he drawled.
Hayley knew her cheeks were bright red but carried on regardless. ‘You know, I really hate men like you. You think that just because you’ve got money you can have whatever you want.’
‘I can have whatever I want.’
‘I can refuse to marry you, and then you won’t,’ she challenged him recklessly.
‘You wouldn’t dare.’
She sent him a glittering look. ‘Oh, I dare all right,’ she said.
Jasper leaned forward and captured one of her hands in his. ‘Yes, you could, but there would be consequences. Do you need me to spell them out to you again?’
Hayley felt her stomach turn over itself as his long tanned fingers curled around hers, their latent strength unmistakable even though his hold was deceptively gentle.
His eyes were dark pools of mystery, shadows lurking there that secretly terrified her. He was a ruthless businessman. He had made his fortune as a property developer before he was out of his twenties and now, at thirty-three, was at his prime both professionally and personally.
He was handsome in a reckless bad-boy sort of way, his glossy black hair a shade or two darker than her own, not short, not long, not styled, not messy, but somewhere in between. It gave him a just-woke-up-just-had-bed-wrecking-sex sort of look, which somehow threatened Hayley’s already shaky equilibrium. She felt on edge around him; she always had.
And now more so than ever.
‘I’ve worked hard to build up my salon’s reputation,’ she said, tugging out of his hold. ‘Gerald was so proud of what I’d achieved.’
‘Only because he funded it.’
‘He did not!’ she said. ‘He offered to but I wouldn’t take it from him.’ Especially after what my mother did to him, she tacked on mentally.
Jasper gave a grunt as he examined the menu. ‘You were always good at winding him and Raymond around your little finger. No one else got a look-in once you came on the scene.’
‘And that annoyed you, didn’t it?’ she asked. ‘But it was your own fault. You seemed intent on annoying your father every chance you could.’
He tossed the menu to one side. ‘You sucked up to him every chance you could, telling tales about me all the time, sticking your little snub nose into everyone else’s business.’
Her jaw dropped. ‘Snub nose?’
‘Yeah, snub nose.’
She put a hand up to her nose and traced its contours. ‘You really think it’s that bad?’ she asked.
Jasper frowned at the crestfallen look on her face. He was being a bastard, but somehow he couldn’t help it when he was around her. She got under his skin. Made him feel things he didn’t want to feel. One minute he wanted to throttle her for her stupid little tattle tales that had made his life hell, the next he wanted to kiss her senseless.
‘Well, maybe not a snub exactly, but it does sort of tip up at the end a bit,’ he said.
‘And you think that’s unattractive?’ Her tone was suddenly full of insecurity. ‘God, no wonder Myles wouldn’t—’
‘For God’s sake, Hayley, your nose has nothing to do with it,’ he said. ‘He’s a two-timing idiot and you’re well rid of him. He slunk out of here twenty minutes ago, by the way, and didn’t once look back this way. It has nothing to do with how you look. You look fine. Great, in fact. You’ve got great legs.’
Her expression brightened. ‘You think so?’
He gave her a skewed smile. ‘Yeah, shame about the nose, but the legs more than make up for it.’