The Final Seduction

And Shelley suddenly discovered that it was easy to channel her feelings of hurt into those of righteous indignation. Because you would think that Drew—of all people—would sympathise with Jamie. Hadn’t he once been in the same position himself?

Why wouldn’t Drew give Jamie the financial help he needed to make something of himself? Not because he wasn’t able to, that was for sure.

She had seen the boat and been convinced of its investment value. So had Gerald O’Rourke. She had watched Jamie hard at work, and heard the respect with which Gerald spoke about him. And old boatmen like Gerald didn’t give their approval easily.

An idea grew in her mind with the speed of a weed pushing its way up towards the sun. It was so simple she wondered why she hadn’t thought of it before. Why didn’t she step in and help out? Why not use some of her savings to help Jennie and her partner—just for the sheer altruistic hell of it?

And if Drew objected?

Well, so what? She didn’t have to follow the same rigid, controlling path in life that he was obviously hell-bent on!

She thought about the sum Jennie had mentioned. It wasn’t a fortune exactly, but it was still a lot of money. What would Marco have said? She unlocked her front door slowly. She didn’t have to decide tonight.

She would sleep on it.

CHAPTER TEN

IT WAS midday when Shelley opened the front door in response to the furious ringing of the bell. ‘Drew!’ she exclaimed in surprise more than anything, and then, ‘Drew!’ in confused alarm as he pushed his way past her, straight into the sitting room.

She calmly followed him in there because she had been half expecting such a visit. And whatever he wanted she was going to keep her dignity. If he told her that the kiss at the party last night had all been a mistake, she was going to shrug her shoulders and say that what he did was his business, and nothing to do with her.

Of course, the fact that it was now midday probably meant that it had been anything but a mistake. No doubt he had only just dragged himself from the Pelvis’s bed. Those looked pretty dark shadows underneath his eyes…

She folded her arms across her chest and fixed him with a questioning look. ‘Yes, Drew? And to what do I owe this charming entrance?’

He seemed to be having difficulty keeping his breathing under control. ‘Did you or did you not,’ he said, biting each word out carefully, ‘lend Jamie a substantial sum of money early this morning?’

She frowned. ‘That’s my business—’

‘No!’ He cut across her words with deadly intent. ‘No, no, no! That’s just where you’re wrong, kitten! It involves my sister, and therefore it involves me—and that makes it my business!’

‘And? What if I did?’

‘Well, then—’ he sucked in a low breath ‘—I’d like to know exactly what you think you’re playing at.’

The look of righteous fury which had darkened his face so that he resembled some kind of devil made her feel slightly uneasy. But not for long. She was not going to be intimidated by him.

‘I’m not playing at anything!’ she snapped. ‘I knew what the financial situation was with Jennie and Jamie and I knew how unhelpful you had been—’

‘What did you know?’ he snarled.

‘That you had refused to invest in a sure-fire scheme to make money! I’ve looked at the boat and I’m surprised at you, Drew—you more than anyone should know that a lucky break is all you need some time!’

He shook his head. ‘But that’s where you’re completely wrong, kitten—I did it all myself! I didn’t ask anybody to cushion my way with handouts—’

‘Which is one of the reasons we split up, isn’t it? Because you nearly killed yourself in the struggle to make yourself the man you are today! Only we didn’t have a baby, did we, Drew?’

His mouth tugged into a grim line, but his voice sounded oddly restrained. ‘No. We didn’t.’

‘And we didn’t have anybody we could go and ask for money either!’

‘And if we had, do you think I would have gone out—cap in hand—looking for capital?’

Shelley sighed. That was the trouble. No. She didn’t. He was a stubborn, stubborn man! He had done it all on his own—but at what price?

‘That’s irrelevant!’ She pushed away an irritating strand of newly grown hair which kept flopping into her eyes. ‘I happened to have some spare cash which I wasn’t using and I thought, Why not put it to some good use? So I went down to the boatyard and saw the boat in question—I even spoke to Gerald O’Rourke who wouldn’t stop praising Jamie’s maritime qualities—and you know what an old cynic he is! The boat was a good price—Jamie can’t lose on it.’ She shrugged her shoulders. ‘I can’t understand what your problem is, Drew. I should have thought you would have been glad to make your sister happy!’