No Need for Love

And the man at your side was the object of every other woman’s desire—not just Magda Karolyi, who’d managed one frosty smile then kept her distance, but all the women who’d been here tonight. She’d seen the admiring glances they gave Grant, the flirty little smiles.

Hannah gave herself a mental shake. Well, of course they’d be attracted to him. He was good-looking, attentive, charming—but no one knew the other side of him, the one that was brash and demanding, confident to the point of being arrogant. That was why she was here, wasn’t it? Because he’d forced her into coming?

But she was happy she had. It had been fun, being with all these people. Grant’s presence hadn’t had a thing to do with it. He’d just—he’d just——

‘Well, that’s the last of them.’

Hannah spun around at the sound of Grant’s voice. ‘The last of what?’ Her heartbeat quickened. There was no denying that he was the best-looking man here tonight, perhaps the best-looking man she’d ever seen. There was nothing conventionally handsome about him. His face was hard, almost harsh, but there was character in every plane. His body was hard, too; you could tell that even though he was dressed in that elegantly tailored dinner-jacket.

‘Here.’ He held out one of the glasses. ‘Go on, take it. You look exhausted—the brandy will pick you up.’

‘Or put me down,’ she said, smiling as she took the glass. ‘It’s been a long day.’

‘And a longer evening?’ He came to stand beside her, one hand clasping the railing as he looked out at the bridge.

She wanted to answer yes, it had been. But what harm was there in admitting that she’d had a pleasant time? None, now that the night was almost ended. In just a moment or two, she’d go back into the room, and the limousine would whisk her away.

Hannah drew a breath. ‘Not really. Actually, I—I had fun.’

He turned and leaned his back against the balcony railing. ‘Well,’ he said softly, ‘that must have taken a lot. Admitting that you had a good time to the bastard who blackmailed you into coming here.’

She flushed. ‘Yes. And, just because the evening turned out well it doesn’t mean that I—’

‘No. I didn’t think it would.’ He smiled. ‘You’re a very prickly woman, do you know that?’

‘Not prickly. Just—independent.’

‘Yes.’ His gaze swept across her in almost impersonal assessment. ‘An admirable trait in a woman.’

Hannah looked at him. ‘I find it hard to believe you mean that.’

He smiled again. ‘Oh, but I do,’ he said softly. ‘Independence is a virtue, much to be desired.’

She could sense a growing electricity in the air around them, and suddenly Hannah wanted nothing more than to be safely back in her flat. She put down her glass.

‘It’s late, Grant. I’m sure my driver would appreciate knowing his duties were at an end.’

‘I dismissed him.

Hannah stared at him. ‘You did what?’

He looked at her. ‘I said, I dismissed him. I’ll see you home myself.’

She stiffened. Was that how he thought this evening would end?

‘You shouldn’t have done that,’ she said coldly.

He smiled at her over the rim of his brandy snifter. ‘Marilyn tells me Tommy talks about you non-stop.’

The sudden change in conversation caught her up short. ‘What?’

‘My nephew. It seems you made quite a hit with the kid.’

Some of the rigidity eased from Hannah’s shoulders. ‘Well,’ she said softly, ‘he’s a sweet little boy.’

Grant nodded. ‘I agree.’ There was a moment’s silence. ‘Why didn’t you and your ex-husband have children, Hannah?’

‘That’s an awfully personal question, don’t you think?’

He took a sip of his brandy. ‘We didn’t have them—my ex-wife and I—because she didn’t want any.’

Her eyes widened. ‘Didn’t want children?’ she repeated foolishly.

Grant shrugged his shoulders. ‘It turned out she was more dedicated to her career than to what she called my old-fashioned ideas of home and family.’

‘But you did? Want a family, I mean?’

‘Very much.’ His smile twisted. ‘Why do you look at me that way, Hannah? Is it so impossible to imagine me as a father?’

Hannah shook her head. ‘I—I don’t know. I never thought——’ Her words drifted away. Yes, she thought, she could easily imagine him as a father. He’d been tender with Tommy, and very caring…

‘You didn’t answer my question,’ he said. ‘Why didn’t you have children?’

It was none of his business. But his own honesty prompted hers.

‘My husband was—I suppose the kindest thing I can say is that he wasn’t ready to settle down. We talked about having a baby, but…’ She smiled a little. ‘It’s probably just as well we didn’t, considering. But——’

‘Yes?’

It was her turn to give a self-deprecating shrug. ‘I suppose I’m old-fashioned, too. I think a child’s best off with two caring parents, not one. It’s just that sometimes—sometimes…’

‘Go on,’ Grant said softly.

Still, Hannah hesitated. This was too personal a conversation to be having, especially with this man. But she understood it. There was something about discussing things late at night after a party with strangers…

‘Sometimes,’ she said quietly, ‘I think I should have had a baby then, when I had the chance.’

‘Surely you’ll fall in love and marry again?’

Smiling, she shook her head. ‘I’ve had enough of both. It took me a long time to get over the failure of my marriage.’ Her tone was quiet but filled with strength. ‘But I did, and now I’m quite content with my life as it is.’

‘Uncom

plicated,’ Grant said, and Hannah nodded. ‘Independent.’ She nodded again, and this time he nodded too. ‘So, as much as you’d like a child…’

‘As much as I’d like that,’ she said with a quick, false smile, ‘the odds of having one range from slim to nonexistent.’

‘There are other ways,’ he said, his voice suddenly soft.

‘Adoption? Yes, I know single women adopt all the time. But——’

‘I meant, other ways to have one’s own child. Other methods.’

Hannah flushed. ‘Test-tube babies, you mean?’ She shook her head. ‘No, I wouldn’t want to do that any more than I’d want to adopt. It would be selfish. My child would have no father and only a part-time mother. I’d have to work, leave my baby in someone’s care…’

‘Suppose you could overcome those difficulties.’

Hannah looked at him. ‘Overcome them?’

‘Yes. If your child could have a father who loved it and bore all the paternal responsibilities without dragging you into a marriage, if he could properly support you and the child—’

She smiled, puzzled. ‘This is an interesting late-night exercise in a game of “what if,” Grant, but——’

‘Hannah.’ Grant put down his brandy, took hold of her shoulders, and turned her to him. ‘I’ve been thinking about something all evening.’

He stepped closer to her, she saw the sudden tightening of his mouth, and just that quickly she knew that everything that had gone on tonight, even the serious talk of the last few months, had all simply been prelude to what came next.

The Seduction of Hannah. The thought made her catch her breath, not with distress but with—with…

‘I want to leave,’ she said, starting blindly past him, but he caught hold of her hand and drew her back.

‘Hannah——’

‘I told you, Grant, I’m not interested.’

‘Dammit,’ he said gruffly, ‘will you please shut up and listen?’

‘Why? You have nothing to say that I want to hear.’ Her chin rose. ‘I am not going to bed with you. I am not going to become your lover, or your mistress.’

‘What I was thinking about,’ he said, his eyes locked on her face, ‘was what we were discussing. The less orthodox means of having babies.’