Forbidden Surrender

‘Oh yes.’ Sara bit her lip, undecided about saying anything to Marie about her date with Pete. After all, it was none of her business who the other girl went out with. And yet … ‘Did you have a nice evening with him?’ she queried.

Marie shrugged. ‘He’s okay. I—Hey, I didn’t step on any toes, did I? He told me there was nothing between the two of you,’ she frowned.

‘There isn’t. I wasn’t thinking of me.’ Sara quirked one eyebrow.

‘Then who—–? Oh, you mean Dominic,’ the other girl dismissed. ‘Mm, I don’t suppose he would like it much.’

‘He would have a right not to. You are engaged to him,’ Sara gently reminded her.

‘He’s kept very busy, he works very hard. And then he’s often away on business. I get very lonely. Anyway, I won’t be seeing Pete again.’

That didn’t particularly bother her. Marie could have a hundred other men besides Dominic Thorne if she wanted to, but she had the feeling that he wouldn’t stand too much of that treatment, and unless Marie wanted to lose him she would have to curb her activities with other men.

Marie didn’t seem to agree with her when she pointed that out to her. ‘He’ll forgive me,’ she dismissed lightly. ‘He always has.’

Then Dominic Thorne must be a more understanding man than she would have given him credit for. Maybe he loved Marie more deeply than he appeared to on the surface. He was definitely a deep character.

‘My marriage to Dominie will make things all neat and tidy,’ Marie told her, at her frowning look. ‘He and my father are partners, you see. When we marry Dominic is assured of eventually becoming sole owner. He’s been so good to me, it’s the least I can do for him. And he’s so gorgeous, isn’t he? So distinguished.’

‘Yes.’ Although marrying him because he had been good to her didn’t seem a very good reason to Sara. Perhaps they loved each other in their own way, but it wasn’t the way she wanted to love her life’s partner.

‘Mm, I love to be seen with him.’ Marie’s expression was dreamy. ‘And he’s so masterful. Daddy says he’s a brilliant businessman.’

Sara hastily revised her opinion of Marie not loving her fiancée. She obviously adored him, although she took pains to hide it. Their relationship was too complicated for her to understand, so she decided not to probe any further. The two of them obviously understood each other, and really that was all that mattered.

‘I—Oh, look, there’s Suzanne,’ Marie exclaimed. ‘Suz—Oh, damn, she’s gone into the restaurant.’ She turned to Sara. ‘Would you mind if I left you for a few minutes? I just have to see Suzanne.’

‘No,’ Sara smiled. ‘You go ahead.’

Marie stood up, hesitating. ‘You won’t leave?’

She shook her head. ‘No, I won’t leave. I’ll finish drinking my coffee and wait for you here.’

Marie was gone considerably longer than a few minutes, so much so that Sara started to get fidgety. When she saw Dominic Thorne enter the restaurant her heart sank. Verbal abuse from him was not something she welcomed right now, not after the things Marie had told her he had said about her, the insults he had made about both her and her mother.

He came straight over to her, his strides long and purposeful. ‘I thought I’d find you here.’ He stood looking down at her. ‘Why couldn’t you have told me earlier instead of all that evasion?’ He sat down in the chair Marie had recently vacated, his dark suit impeccable, as was the rest of his appearance.

He thought she was Marie! Her anger at his accusations concerning her mother and herself came to the fore. She tried to recall Marie’s husky tone of voice, hoping she could pull this off. This man was arrogant, condescending, and totally wrong about her, and it was time she got her own back on him.

‘Maybe I didn’t want you breathing down my neck.’ Was that really her talking? She had managed to get quite a good impression of Marie’s husky tones, good enough to fool Dominic Thorne, she could tell.

He sighed, his anger barely contained. ‘I merely like to know—–’