To Marry McKenzie

before, but—just how well do you know Daniel's daughter?'

He gave her a cold glance. 'I don't,' he snapped—at once assaulted with the

memory of Darcy in his arms, of the naked softness of her body.

His mother looked puzzled. 'You told me the other day that the two of you

are friends.'

'Were,' he corrected. 'And even then that was probably too strong a

description of our relationship. Since you came into the equation, an armed

truce is probably a better way of describing how Darcy views things

between us.'

'Yet you were the one she asked to set up this meeting between the two of

us,' his mother said slowly.

'Only because her father didn't stay around long enough to do it himself!'

Logan pointed out.

His mother swallowed hard. 'I hurt Daniel very badly when I broke our

engagement.'

'Then why did you do it?' Logan exploded.

'What choice did I have, when you refused to help me?' his mother told him

bluntly.

Logan's hands tightly gripped the steering wheel. 'Don't turn this around on

me—'

'I'm not, Logan.' She sighed, reaching out to lightly touch his arm. 'I'm just

pointing out that I did tell you what I intended doing if Darcy couldn't be

talked round. Daniel wasn't willing for me to meet her. And you refused to

help me...' She paused. 'There seemed no other way.'

'You could have done what you usually do—blast away and not worry who

gets mown down in the process,' he said nastily.

His mother looked at him, with a sad expression. 'One day, Logan, I hope

that you and I might be able to sit down and talk over the past like the two

adults we now are. I said "one day", Logan,' she inserted firmly as he would

have made a deriding reply. 'So,' she asked briskly. 'Daniel tells me that

Darcy is a level-headed, kind-hearted young lady; what's your opinion?'

Logan was so taken aback by the unexpectedness of the question that, for a

few moments, he wasn't able to formulate an answer. Even when he did, it

wasn't an answer he could give to his mother! Because he found Darcy

tempestuous, not level-headed, and as for kind-hearted—! Anyway, the

state of Darcy's heart, kind or otherwise, was something he didn't want to

know about!

'My opinion is that you wait until you meet her and judge for yourself,' he

replied noncommittally as he drove down to the basement car park of the

hotel.

Maybe having his mother around for this meeting with Darcy wasn't such a

bad thing after all, he decided, after taking one look at Darcy as she sat in

the hotel lounge waiting for them to arrive.

Why had he never thought her beautiful? Today, in a bright red trouser

suit—that should have clashed with that vivid red hair, but somehow

didn't—teamed with a black blouse, both fitting the slenderness of her body

perfectly, and her hair loose and gleaming down to her shoulders, her eyes

huge, lashes thick and long, blusher colouring her cheeks, a bright red gloss

on her lips, Darcy was absolutely gorgeous!

In comparison, his mother had played down the dark sensuality of her own

beauty, wearing a demure grey skirt suit with a black blouse, even her

make-up was less pronounced today; she wore only a light blusher on her

cheeks, and a pale peach lip-gloss.

Logan had no doubts that both women had made these changes -to their

appearance in expectation of meeting the other. His mother he didn't give a

care about; she played a role so often it was difficult to know with her what

was real and what wasn't. But the effect on Logan of this totally

different-looking Darcy was one of stunned silence.

Making him fully aware that it wasn't only her smiles that could render him

speechless!

Maybe he could just introduce the two women and make his excuses?

Because he wasn't sure he could actually sit here, with his mother on one

side of him, and Darcy on the other, looking the way that she did, and

behave normally!

But, the introductions over, instead of making his excuses and leaving, he

found himself sitting down with the two women, even agreeing to take tea

with them when the waiter came over to take their order!

Will-power, Logan, he told himself disgustedly. Quite— wherever was it?

But he very quickly realised as the two women looked warily at each other

that it was going to be up to him to break this initial awkward silence.

'Were you busy at lunch-time today?' he asked Darcy conversationally.

She seemed relieved to speak to him, hardly seeming to be able to even look

at Margaret. 'Not too bad.'

Logan wasn't altogether sure he believed her; she still looked very tired to

him. 'Have you heard from your father?' he asked.

'No,' she answered flatly, shooting his mother a brief look beneath lowered

lashes.

Obviously she was wondering if Margaret had heard from Daniel Simon,