The Deserving Mistress

‘Careful, May,’ he warned dryly.

‘I was going to say hard-headed businessman as I thought you were,’ she defended reprovingly.

‘Don’t you believe it,’ he warned hardly. ‘Tonight was social.’

She raised dark brows. ‘Meaning tomorrow evening will be business?’ she taunted.

Jude gave a self-derisive shrug. ‘I wouldn’t go that far.’

Neither would she. They didn’t seem to be able to be in the same room for very long without Jude either kissing or touching her—very disturbing when May had been so determined to keep him at arm’s length.

He wasn’t at arm’s length now, either, standing far too close to her for comfort, those caressing thumbs against her jaw as he lightly cupped her face in gentle hands.

She was falling in love with this man, May realised in sudden shock as she stared up at him.

How on earth had that happened?

With everything else that was going on in her life—David, April Robine’s presence in the area, the increasing pressure to sell the farm—how on earth had she managed to fall in love with Jude Marshall, of all people?

His gaze sharpened. ‘What is it?’ he prompted concernedly. ‘You suddenly went pale again,’ he explained, frowning darkly.

Pale—she was surprised she hadn’t collapsed altogether at the discovery she had just made about herself.

Her lips clamped together as she moved sharply away from him, a shutter coming down over her normally candid gaze. ‘I’m tired,’ she bit out abruptly, deliberately not looking at him, instead watching as his hands fell ineffectually down by his sides. ‘It—I really think you should go now,’ she added tautly.

Before she completely lost it. If she hadn’t already…Falling in love with Jude Marshall, an obvious friend of her estranged mother’s, wasn’t exactly a sane thing to do, now was it?

And she was becoming slightly hysterical, May realised shakily. Any minute now she was going to start babbling incoherently, or cry, which was probably worse.

‘After all—’ her mouth twisted scathingly ‘—I’m sure April must be expecting you back at the hotel some time tonight.’

Jude’s gaze narrowed shrewdly as he seemed to guess her remark had been deliberately antagonising.

But what else could she do? The whole fabric of her life seemed poised in the balance now that she knew she was in love with this man.

Oh, like most women she had her dreams of eventual love and marriage, but in those infrequent day-dreams she had always fallen in love with someone who loved her in return, a kind, caring lover who wanted to love and cherish her for the rest of her life, as she would love and cherish him.

Jude Marshall looked as cherishable as the rogue bull her father had purchased a couple of years ago, before he had had to resell it a few weeks later because of its unmanageability; no one had been able to get near it without the risk of being gored.

Jude was just as untouchable.

He was also the close friend of a woman she would always loathe and despise…

Jude watched May frowningly, the emotions flitting too quickly across her normally candid face to be analysed.

She had also—he knew this without a doubt—just been deliberately rude to him concerning his friendship with April.

April…

If May wouldn’t give him the answers he wanted, then perhaps April would. It was worth a try, he decided.

‘I’m sure she is,’ he lightly answered May’s deliberate taunt, determined not to get into yet another argument with her—especially as that seemed to be what she wanted. ‘I’ll book a table for us somewhere and pick you

up about seven-thirty tomorrow evening, okay? May,’ he added firmly as she would have spoken, ‘when I ask a woman out that’s usually exactly what I mean—and that includes calling to collect you in my car,’ he added decisively.

She frowned across at him. ‘I don’t recall there being any asking involved.’

Yes, she was spoiling for yet another fight—and she wasn’t going to get one. Not with him, at least.