Wife By Contract, Mistress By Demand

‘Get out, Toby,’ she ordered shakily. ‘Just get out!’

‘Wouldn’t you like to hear how you can put an end to your marriage to Rufus right now and still get your hands on the twenty-five million?’ he prompted as he pulled out a chair and sat down.

Gabriella shook her head. ‘I’m not interested in anything you have to say.’

‘But you haven’t heard—’

‘About anything!’ she added disgustedly, knowing that whatever Toby was going to propose was sure to mean bad news for someone. In this case, it sounded as if it was probably Rufus. ‘How did you know Rufus and I were married?’ she prompted shrewdly.

Toby shrugged. ‘Just a simple telephone call to David Brewster was all it took. He was more than happy to tell me that the two of you were getting married in order to comply with the condition in Uncle James’s will.’ He grimaced. ‘I have the distinct impression that the distinguished lawyer doesn’t like or approve of me!’

‘I can’t imagine why!’ Gabriella came back scathingly. ‘And I suppose you’re the one responsible for the reporters turning up at the register office in that way?’ she derided, sure that David Brewster had had no idea how Toby would use his knowledge about the wedding.

‘Just a little joke on my part.’ Toby shrugged unconcernedly. ‘Knowing how you and Rufus feel about each other, I thought it might be fun if there was a photograph of the two of you in the newspapers!’

Gabriella stiffened. ‘And how do we feel about each other…?’

‘On Rufus’s part, obviously utter contempt,’ he announced cheerfully. ‘And, at a guess, wary distrust on yours.’

Well, he was certainly right about Rufus’s feelings towards her.

But totally wrong about her feelings for Rufus!

As she had only recently discovered herself…

‘That’s really none of your concern, is it, Toby?’ she dismissed. ‘I believe I asked you to leave?’

‘And I believe I told you I have a business proposition for you,’ he came back impatiently.

‘A business proposition I’m not interested in—’

‘Don’t say that until you’ve heard what it is—’

‘I don’t need to hear what it is!’ she assured him hardly. ‘Any business proposition that you suggested is sure to be suspect.’

‘Very funny!’ He sighed his impatience with her obstinacy. ‘The thing is, Gabriella, all you have to do is walk out on this marriage to Rufus, defaulting on the six-month condition, and then when I inherit I’ll go halves with you.’

He really had it all worked out, didn’t he?

‘After which the two of us could get married if you want,’ he suggested huskily. ‘I’ve always wanted you, Gabriella—’

‘I would rather stay married to Rufus—who, as you say, has nothing but contempt for me—than ever marry you!’ she gasped incredulously.

‘Now that isn’t nice, Gabriella,’ he murmured as he stood up to take a step towards her.

‘Don’t come any nearer,’ she warned, eyes wide.

‘Or else what?’ he challenged confidently.

‘I’m warning you, Toby!’ She glared, having no idea what she was going to do if he didn’t stop.

If she shouted for help it would cause a scene, in the middle of Gresham’s, for goodness’ sake, but there was no way, absolutely no way, she could allow this man to come anywhere near her. He disgusted her as no one else ever had, and seemed to think what had happened three months ago was nothing but a joke.

‘What are you going to do, Gabriella?’ he taunted. ‘There’s no Uncle James here to protect you this time.’ His face hardened. ‘And considering you’re the reason he completely disinherited me, I think you might try being a little—nicer to me, than you are.’

Gabriella knew exactly what he meant by ‘nicer’. And just the thought of that with this man made her feel ill.

‘This is as “nice” as it’s going to get, Toby,’ she assured him firmly. ‘Now you have to leave,’ she pleaded shakily, totally disturbed by how close he was to her. ‘If Rufus finds you here it’s only going to cause trouble.’

‘But I want the two of us to be friends again, Gabriella,’ he told her persuasively.

They had never been friends, just part of the same family, someone for each of them to talk to on family occasions, and, after the way he had behaved, they didn’t even have that any more.

‘Rufus could come down here at any moment and find you here,’ she insisted—and goodness knew what he was going to think if he did! ‘You really do have to go, Toby!’

Toby smiled confidently. ‘Rufus doesn’t scare me—’

‘No?’ Rufus challenged icily as he lifted the sheet to enter the restaurant, his hard gaze raking mercilessly over Gabriella and Toby, his closed expression revealing none of his inner feelings at the brief snatch of conversation between them he had just overheard.

Because he wasn’t absolutely sure what he had overheard.

Gabriella had been pleading with Toby to leave, but had that been because she’d really wanted him to go, or because she hadn’t wanted to risk him finding the two of them here together?

Just because looking at her drove him wild with wanting her—when hadn’t it?—was no reason for him to have ever doubted the opinion he had always had of her being a gold-digger.

Just because he could drive her just as wild in bed as she drove him, was no reason for him to think that changed her real motives…

After finding her here with Toby, perhaps it might be as well if he didn’t let his own desire for her blind him to that fact!

Toby smiled. ‘Give a man a break, Rufus. Gabriella and I were—friends, long before the two of you went through with this bogus marriage. We argued three months ago, that’s all, and she’s more than a little ticked off with me—enough to marry you, it seems,’ he added tauntingly. ‘But that’s all it is.’

‘That’s a lie!’ Gabriella glared at him. ‘Rufus, surely you don’t believe what he’s saying, do you?’ She sighed impatiently.

He didn’t know what to believe any more, his own desire for Gabriella having completely clouded his usually clear judgement. And at the moment he was incensed at the way Toby had been standing so close to Gabriella when he’d come in, at the claims he was making of the two of them being involved, both in the past and now.

He gave his cousin a glacial look. ‘I think you had better take Gabriella’s advice and leave, Toby. And if you want to see—my wife, again, might I suggest you wait another six months before doing so,’ he added harshly. ‘She’ll be richer by twenty-five million then!’

‘Rufus, when I’ve told you how much I dislike him, you can’t seriously believe I’ve ever been involved with Toby?’ Gabriella gasped.

But she could see that he did, the slightly more approachable Rufus she had come to know the last few hours replaced with the coldly arrogant adversary who had always enjoyed thinking the worst of her.

How much of her conversation with Toby had he overheard?

Enough to have heard her pleading with Toby to leave before Rufus found him here, obviously. And to have completely misunderstood the reason for her pleading!

But she hadn’t been pleading with Toby to leave because she cared about him; she knew only too well that he was quite capable of taking care of himself. But she had feared for the precarious truce she and Rufus seemed to have reached today. Rightly so if the return of his coldly accusing gaze was anything to go by!

She gave a dazed shake of her head. ‘Rufus, I would never—’

‘Save your breath, Gabriella,’ Toby drawled ruefully. ‘Can’t you see that Rufus doesn’t believe a word you’re saying?’

Toby was right, Rufus didn’t believe her, Gabriella recognized as she looked at him searchingly, his handsome face hard and unyielding as he returned her gaze.

How could she make him see—? How could she make him believe—?

She couldn’t!

Because the Rufus she was looking at now didn’t want to believe her…

‘I think you had better go, Toby,’ Rufus told the younger man coldly.

Toby shrugged, unconcerned, his expression mockingly challenging. ‘Just give me a call, Gabriella, when you’re tired of punishing me for our stupid argument. Just think what the two of us could do with that fifty million pounds once we’re married!’ he added enticingly. ‘Oh, yes, Rufus, I’ve asked Gabriella to marry me,’ he taunted as he saw his cousin’s stony expression.

‘That might be a little difficult for her to do when she’s already married to me,’ Rufus grated.

‘A marriage easily disposed of,’ Toby dismissed confidently. ‘And when it is, Gabriella will be my wife.’ He smiled. ‘You see, Rufus, Gabriella can’t lose either way, can she?’ he added tauntingly.

‘Get out!’ Rufus bit out grimly, so furious he wanted to reach out and strangle his cousin.

Or Gabriella.

He didn’t really mind which!

Toby eyed him mockingly. ‘What are you going to do, keep her tied to the bed for the next six months?’