To Marry McKenzie

yet with a nice thing to say about your mother!'

Logan's mouth twisted. 'Except your father, of course.'

'He's just besotted,' she defended. 'Knocked off his feet by the glamour

that surrounds her.' She shook her head. 'I just hope he comes to his

senses before he does something stupid—like marrying her!'

'Oh, he will,' Logan said grimly.

Darcy's eyes gleamed angrily. 'Because you intend seeing that he does,' she

guessed. 'I don't know which one of you I despise more—you or your

mother!'

Logan's throat moved convulsively. Whether from anger or some other

emotion, Darcy couldn't tell. And she didn't particularly care, either.

'I've had enough of this.' She threw her unused napkin on the table before

bending down to pick up her bag. 'Enjoy your meal, Logan—both portions

of it!' She stood up to leave.

Logan's hand snaked out and grasped her painfully around the wrist as she

would have walked away, looking up at her with darkened blue eyes.

'Darcy, I'm on your side—'

'I don't have a side, Logan,' she assured him contemptuously. 'Thanks to you

and your mother, I don't even have a home any more, either!' Her voice

broke slightly as she realised the truth of her words.

She mustn't cry. She would not give Logan the satisfaction of seeing her cry

again. As far as she was concerned she never wanted to set eyes on Logan,

or his mother, ever again!

'Let me go, Logan,' she ordered coldly, looking down to where his fingers

encircled the slenderness of her wrist.

'And if I don't?' he challenged softly.

Her eyes returned slowly to the harsh arrogance of his face, her chin rising

defiantly. 'Then I'll be forced to kick you in the shin,' she told him with

determination.

Darcy watched as some of the harshness left his face, to be replaced by what

looked to her suspiciously like amusement. No doubt at what he considered

to be the childishness of her claim, she realised.

It was the spur Darcy needed to carry out her threat, lifting her leg back

before kicking forward with all the impotent rage that burned inside her, the

pointed toe of her shoe making painful contact with Logan's shin bone.

She knew it was painful—because of the way Logan cried out in surprise at

the agony shooting up his leg!

But it had the desired effect; he let go of her wrist, to move his hand

instinctively to his hurting shin.

'Goodbye, Logan,' Darcy told him with a pert smile of satisfaction, before

turning on her heel and walking out through the restaurant, totally

unconcerned with the curious looks that were being directed towards her,

the confrontation not having passed unnoticed. Which wasn't surprising,

when Logan had actually yelled out his pain!

Her feelings of defiant satisfaction lasted until she got outside. They even

lasted while she flagged down a taxi and got inside. It was only when the

driver asked her where she wanted to go that her feelings of self-satisfied

anger deflated.

Because, as of this morning, when she had told her father she was moving

out of their home, she had nowhere to go...

CHAPTER FIVE

'SHE hates my guts!' Logan informed Fergus, his cousin having arrived at his

office a few minutes ago. Logan hadn't returned from the restaurant very

long ago himself.

Fergus stayed perfectly relaxed as he sat opposite Logan. 'I see you handled

the situation with your usual tact and diplomacy,' he drawled mockingly.

Logan scowled as he remembered Darcy's earlier fury. In truth, he hadn't

had a chance to be either tactful or diplomatic—how could he have been

when Darcy had already been well aware of exactly who he was when she'd

joined him for lunch?

He had thought he'd had time to tell her the truth himself, but it should have

occurred to him that her father, or someone else, might just drop that little

bit of information into a conversation before the two of them had met today!

No wonder Darcy had seemed different when she'd arrived at the restaurant!

He glowered across at Fergus. 'I didn't get a chance to handle anything—her

father must have already told her I was Margaret Fraser's son!'

'Poor Logan.' Fergus grinned, shaking his head.

'You don't know the half of it,' he retorted.

'No—but I'm hoping you'll tell me,' his cousin returned expectantly.

Because Logan needed to talk to someone, because, for once, he wasn't sure

what to do next, where Darcy was concerned—or if, indeed, he should do

anything!—he told Fergus exactly what had transpired at the restaurant

earlier.

'And then she kicked me!' he concluded slightly incredulously several

minutes later.

Incredulous—because he hadn't really thought she would carry out her

threat. One thing he had definitely learned from this third meeting with

Darcy—never underestimate her!