The Deserving Mistress

Jude gave an inner wince for the mistake he had almost made. Of course May hadn’t been going to refer to her dismissal last night of the intimacies they had shared…

‘I think you’re being unreasonable about that, yes.’ He nodded confirmation as he sat down opposite her. ‘But it in no way affects my decision concerning the farm,’ he added hardly as she would have spoken. ‘I don’t work that way, May.’

‘No?’ she came back challengingly. ‘It seems to me that you do.’ She didn’t wait for him to answer. ‘Your sole purpose in coming here was to purchase the farm, and now that it’s been offered to you you say you don’t want it!’ She shook her head. ‘That doesn’t make any sense to me. Unless—’

‘I said I don’t work that way, May,’ he bit out grimly.

‘But you wanted the farm so badly a month ago,’ she reminded exasperatedly.

So badly he had sent Max here for the sole purpose of purchasing it, no matter what the cost. And instead of acquiring the farm for him Max had ended up falling in love with the youngest Calendar sister. And then Will had arrived to draw up the plans for the proposed health and country club, only to fall in love with the middle Calendar sister. And so he had finally

come here himself to see what on earth was going on. Only to—

‘And now I don’t,’ he rasped, knowing that in future he wanted as little to do with May Calendar as possible. ‘Look, May—what the hell—?’ Jude broke off his involuntary exclamation to stare dazedly across the reception area.

As if his thinking of them had conjured them into being, he could now see Max and Will, January and March entering the hotel, all of them looking as disreputable as May in the clothes they had obviously been wearing this morning to work on the farm.

‘Is this some sort of delegation?’ Jude turned to challenge May impatiently even as he stood up slowly.

But one look at May’s face, the colour slowly draining from it, was enough to show him that the arrival at the hotel of her two sisters, at least, was the very last thing she wanted.

And Jude knew exactly why that was…

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

WHAT on earth were they doing here?

The next question, following on quickly from the first, was what was she going to do? April Robine was still somewhere in this hotel, could come into the reception area at any moment…

May turned frantically to Jude, appreciating that after last night he was probably the last person she could ask for help, but also knowing that perhaps he was also the only one who could help her at this moment.

‘Do something,’ she hissed breathlessly, the other four not having spotted them sitting in the lounge yet, talking to the receptionist at this moment, probably asking her where Jude could be found.

Jude looked down at her, dark brows raised. ‘Like what?’

‘I don’t know,’ May returned exasperatedly. ‘They’re your friends; get rid of them.’

He shrugged. ‘They’re your sisters, and their fiancés, you get rid of them.’

‘Thanks for nothing!’ May snapped disgustedly, feeling her panic rise as, having been told exactly where Jude could be located, four pairs of eyes now turned in their direction. ‘Jude…!’ she pleaded, desperately clutching his arm now.

He looked down at her frowningly for several long seconds before his gaze shifted to her hand tightly grasping his arm. ‘Okay,’ he agreed briskly, seeming to have come to some sort of decision. ‘But whatever I say, back me up, hmm?’

Now it was May’s turn to frown; she didn’t like the sound of this one little bit.

But what choice did she have but to trust him? None, came the resounding answer.

‘Fine,’ she acknowledged hastily before turning smilingly to greet her sisters, Max and Will. ‘What are you all doing here?’ she prompted lightly, receiving a slightly apologetic grimace from Max, who had obviously been badgered into telling her sisters where she had gone.

‘Looking for you,’ the outspoken March answered bluntly. ‘What are you doing here?’ Her eyes were narrowed with suspicion.

May drew in a deep breath, wondering when Jude was going to start saying something. ‘I—’

‘She was getting herself engaged to me,’ Jude announced lightly.

May’s head snapped up as she stared at him in total astonishment. He called that saying something. Well, it was certainly that, but how on earth was she supposed to back him up in a claim like that…?

It didn’t help that he now looked slightly dazed at his own comment, as if unaware himself of what he had been going to say until after he had said it…