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INTIMATE STRANGERS 22
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YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 23
‘G’day Kerrien, my darling girl, had a nice time?’ She was nodding and smiling encouragingly but Kerrien could say nothing. ‘Lovely day, thank you. It’s good of you to feed me again,’ she added. “Come on in. Make yourself at home,” she urged. ‘Must use the bathroom, if I may,’ Kerrien asked. Brett shoved his mother out of the room and Kerrien could hear the whispered voices rising and falling. ‘For heaven’s sake boy, do I get the champagne out or not?'*I don’t know Mum, she hasn’t given me an answer yet.” Kerrien listened in growing discomfort. She was beginning to feel coerced, trapped. If she said yes, it was going to be for all the wrong reasons. If she said no, she might just be acting foolishly out of some misplaced sense of romanticism. She went slowly back to the family room, where Brett was waiting for her. ‘Do I get my answer yet?’ he asked. The blue eyes were shuttered and she could read nothing from them. “Yes Brett, yes I will marry you.’ She wondered why she didn
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 1
SYNOPSIS ‘What about us Guy? Don’t you care about me and the baby?’ When I was asked to act as a kissogram for dishy Guy Hamilton, I didn’t mind. After all, I was doing it for charity. But somehow things didn’t turn out quite as expected. Guy looked much too angry when he saw me, so I decided to tease him a little. Unfortunately the plan backfired, and now I’m stuck in Arabia with him and his maddening teenage daughter! Still, it could be worse; I could have fallen for him and he could be carving my name - Claudia Maitland - on his bedpost. He’s way out of my league and I know I’d never be able to hold him. So why oh why do I keep hoping that this holiday will last forever?CHAPTER 1Long before the taxi pulled up outside the restaurant, Claudia was having second thoughts. Third and fourth thoughts too.By the time it stopped her mouth felt like freeze-dried sawdust. Even now, it would be so easy to run away. One horrified gasp while she was paying the cabbie and a neat little fib a
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 2
Suddenly she could just hear Kate’s voice. Her friend Kate had her own way of grading men. It went like this:Category One: Not worth shaving your legs for. (Ninety per cent of men fell into this category)Category Two: Worth shaving your legs for, but only if you’re wearing a skirt.Category Three: Worth shaving your legs for whatever you’re wearing.Category Four: Worth having your legs waxed for, and a cellulite treatment thrown in.‘Definitely a four,’ Kate would have said, with more than a hint of yum-yum in her voice.She had to admit that Kate would be right. If you were into that brand of dark and rather intimidating masculinity, of course.‘You didn’t come here to pass the time of day,’ she remarked. ‘Would you like to state your business?’‘Idle curiosity,’ he mused, still scanning the posters. ‘I was wondering what kind of primeval lowlife makes a living like this.’However heartily she agreed with him that Ryan was a superlative example of primeval lowlife, it wouldn’t do
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 3
‘No, but I’ve watched that chap on the telly who exposes posh crooks. They all sound like old Etonians and keep racehorses and stuff and their kids belong to the Pony Club.’Claudia barely heard her. ‘Mmm.’‘Where’s that photo?’ Kate demanded. ‘I’ll be able to tell if he’s dodgy. I can spot dodgy men at fifty paces with my eyes closed.’‘I keep telling you, he doesn’t look dodgy.’‘Show me anyway. I’m dying to see what he looks like.’‘I must have left it in the taxi. Can’t find it anywhere.’ This was a big fat lie. The photo was safely tucked in the zip pocket of her bag, along with might-have-to-take-it- back receipts and dry-cleaning tickets. She had not shown it to Kate for the simple reason that Kate’s eyes would spark instantly like a faulty fuse-box. She’d say things like, ‘Wow! I wouldn’t mind playing sardines-in-the-dark with him,’ and the fluttery feelings Claudia had felt in the office would return, redoubled. And Kate would know, and then there would be no peace.‘You’re h
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 4
How often had her mother said that? And how often had Claudia replied, ‘Mum, you’d be a gift to any con-man with lovely manners and “good family” shoes.’‘Sorry I’m a bit late,’ she said, taking the seat opposite. ‘The underground was murder. A heaving mass of humanity off to do its Christmas shopping.’He put his FT on a spare chair. ‘You should have taken a cab.’She nearly said, I’m trying to save money, not squander it, but desisted. ‘The traffic’s even more murderous than the tube. Last time I took a cab on a wet Saturday morning, the driver cursed all the way. He possessed the most colourful repertoire of curses, but since they were mostly muttered, I couldn’t quite catch them all. It was maddening.’One corner of his mouth lifted in the half-smile she was beginning to associate with him. Did he ever smile properly? she wondered. Or was the other side of his mouth permanently fixed in world-weary mode?‘Have a drink,’ he said.There was no classic suit this time, and no suede ja
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 5
‘Is that a yes?’‘I’m afraid not. I have every sympathy for you,’ she went on quickly, ‘but I just couldn’t play the bossy, big- sisterish, have-you-done-your-history-type figure. It would go right against the grain.’‘That’s only one aspect. Even if she were as earnest and studious as her headmistress would wish, she’d be fed up on her own all day. I’m not entirely unfeeling.’She was not convinced. ‘She’d hate me on principle.’‘She would at first, but she’ll have a sneaking respect for anyone with the nerve to strip off in a top-notch eatery.’‘I did not strip off ’ Much to her annoyance, she coloured faintly at the mere ghastly memory. She might as well have stripped right off, the way they’d all reacted. The silk teddy had felt like a G-string.‘You know what I mean.’ He leaned back, scanning her face so minutely she felt he could see right into her head. ‘By your own admission, you loathed it. Can you really face doing that again? Can you face being groped and squeezed and slobb
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 6
Oh Lord. In that case , she’ll hardly be in a sunshine and smiles mood. This proposition is beginning to look about as inviting as a fortnight banged up in Holloway.With this in mind, the sight of his credit card on the bill made her feel vaguely awkward.Why? You can bet it’s nothing to him.That’s not the point.Before he could stop her, she whipped the bill away, glanced at it, put it back, and took her purse from her bag. Extracting roughly the right amount, she pushed it across to him.‘Put it away,’ he said.‘It’s my half.’‘I’m not going to argue the toss about it.’The waiter took the saucer away, and still her money lay there. By the time the bill was signed and they were ready to go it was still there, unloved.‘It’s up to you/ he said shortly, rising to his feet. ‘Either you take it, or that waiter’s going to think it’s Christmas already.’She knew he wasn’t going to give in. Leaving a small extra tip, she returned the rest to her purse. ‘Are you always so pigheaded?’‘Yes
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 7
Feeling she’d only made matters worse, Claudia rose to her feet. ‘I’ll go home,’ she said awkwardly. ‘You go up to her and explain.’A cynical snort escaped him. ‘Her door’ll be locked for hours. And then it’ll be fun and games, telling her why you were here.’Reality hit her like a cold shower. Heaven help me. What was I about to do, just before she opened that door? Was I quite mad?‘Guy, I’m terribly sorry,’ she said unsteadily, ‘but this minder business just isn’t on. I can’t see her even condescending to talk to me, let alone listening to anything I say. It’d be an utter waste of your money.’‘She’s not so stroppy with everybody, you know. It’s generally directed at me.’Why? she wanted to ask. But what was the point? Adolescent dramas were common enough. ‘It wouldn’t work. I might make matters worse, and I couldn’t have that on my conscience when I think what it would all cost.’Not just what he was going to pay her, but the air fare, the hotel bill . . .She was half expecting
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