And the Bride Wore Black

‘I don’t see—’

He cut her voice off abruptly, his face darkening. ‘Please be quiet, Fabia, and let me get on with it.’ Just for a fleeting moment she had the impression he was finding this difficult, but then she dismissed the thought as fanciful.

‘My grandmother is eighty-seven and has been in poor health the last six months. I have had a word with her consultant and she isn’t expected to live beyond a few months. Her heart is very tired.’ He looked at her intently. ‘I care very much for my grandmother, Fabia.’

‘Yes, well, that’s only natural...’ She had no idea where this strange conversation was leading but a little trickle of apprehension was running down her spine at the determined expression in the beautiful gold eyes watching her so closely.

‘She is a rather...forceful old lady who speaks her mind with less tact than is comfortable at times.’ A slight smile touched the hard mouth. ‘You would have a lot in common with her, I think. However—’ he raised his hand quickly as she opened her mouth to speak ‘—that is by the by. As you have already pointed out, repeatedly, my name has often been linked with various young ladies who have come and gone through the years, some of which I have introduced to my grandmother and some not. It would give her a great deal of pleasure if she thought that I had a...particular friend at the moment. She is a born matchmaker, probably due to having an Italian mother herself—who knows?’

She was staring at him very hard now with a faintly incredulous expression turning her large eyes navy blue. He couldn’t be suggesting...? No, it was ridiculous. She had misunderstood him.

‘As I said, time is short. I would like her last Christmas to be a happy one with the feeling that everything is right in her small world. Do you understand what I mean, Fabia?’

She shook her head dazedly. ‘There are several women I could take home to meet her but none of them would appeal to her and all of them would present me with interminable problems once the festive season is over. I have neither the time nor the inclination for such complications at the moment. I am in the middle of several important business transactions and can’t waste time on trivia.’ He was still speaking in the distant, unemotional tone he had used throughout, which made the whole thing even more preposterous. He couldn’t mean—

‘I need a nice steady two-feet-on-the-ground girl who knows exactly where she stands with me long-term but is confident enough to charm my grandmother into thinking that maybe, just maybe, this is the one for her grandson. No lies, no promises; I shall take you there as merely a friend but I know my grandmother—she will immediately plan for all sorts of possibilities, and for once I shall let her.’

‘Take me...?’ Her voice was a breathless squeak and now the full barrage of that tawny feline gaze was trained on her and his voice was anything but impassive as he leant forward until he was just a breath away, his eyes liquid gold.

‘Yes, you, my golden-haired little beauty,’ he said softly. ‘In spite of looking like the fairy on top of the Christmas tree you have more guts than most men I know. Anyone who can make the sort of escape you did from that washroom in full evening dress after plucking a man back from the jaws of death and putting on a great show for me all night will find a piece of harmless deception child’s play. I want you to accompany me to my grandmother’s home for Christmas, Fabia Grant, as my girlfriend. Now, finish your coffee and don’t say a word for at least five minutes.’

CHAPTER THREE

‘YOU can’t be serious!’ Fabia didn’t wait five seconds to explode, let alone five minutes. ‘I’ve never heard of such a crazy idea in my life!’

‘Crazy? Why crazy?’ There was a softness to the deep voice that spoke of molten steel but she was too incensed to notice.

‘Me, accompany you, to goodness knows where and as your girlfriend? You must think I was born yesterday! I suppose this charade would involve us sharing the same room and so on? All friends together?’ She glared at him furiously. ‘At the risk of repeating an old cliché, Mr Alexander Cade, I’m not that sort of girl.’ Sheer anger had quelled the trembling in her stomach.

‘I’m fully aware what sort of girl you are,’ he said icily, ‘which is why I have made the suggestion in the first place. I don’t mince words when I’m setting up a business deal, Fabia. All the facts are out in the open and there are no hidden punches involved. I don’t know what sort of men you are used to dealing with but don’t make the mistake of putting me in that catagory! This would be an arrangement between the two of us, in writing if you like, for a specified amount of time and with a set fee of your choosing. You would sleep alone. I would sleep alone. Got it?’

‘Now look—’

He brought her indignant voice to an abrupt halt. ‘And I have made it perfectly clear exactly where we are going. Cumbria. You have heard of that part of the country, I take it?’ he asked derisively.

‘Of course I have,’ she hissed angrily. ‘But this whole idea is preposterous. I can’t believe you’re serious.’

‘Of course I am serious,’ he returned coldly, ‘and there is nothing preposterous whatsoever in what I am suggesting. I need a service which you may or may not be able to supply... Have you already made arrangements for the Christmas period?’ he asked suddenly, his eyes narrowing on the heavy blonde hair and fragile face. ‘I am quite prepared to pay for any cancellations. Or to soothe any irate boyfriend...?’ His voice hardened slightly.

There was a question in the last words which she chose to ignore. ‘My plans are my own affair,’ she said sharply, her eyes glittering angrily as he leant forward to take her left hand in his.

‘Of course they are,’ he agreed smoothly. ‘However, I think we have ascertained that there is no immediate family to complicate matters, and you aren’t wearing a ring on the third finger of your left hand, so I assume the boyfriend, if there is one, is not serious?’ The feel of his warm flesh on hers was curling her toes. The question was there again and she was furious at his autocratic assumption that he had the right to interrogate her about the state of her love-life, and even more furious at the effect his touch was having.

‘You really have got a cheek,’ she spat angrily, jerking her hand away so violently that it hit the table with a dull thud. ‘I don’t even know how to play your girl-friend! We are worlds apart, as you very well know. Take this restaurant, for instance—’

‘Yes?’ He leant forward, his face intent.

‘It’s just so...plush, so removed from anything I would normally go to. You eat at this sort of place all the time, don’t you?’ she finished accusingly.

‘And that is the main cause of your concern about my proposal? That we eat at different restaurants?’ His voice was mocking and cool and in that moment she felt a stab of sheer hate pierce her as she looked into the narrowed amber eyes. He thought he only had to say the word and things would fall magically into place. Well, perhaps that happened if you were rich enough to buy and sell half of London, but everyone had to be disappointed some time! Her thoughts were mirrored in the clear blue of her eyes and as he kept his gaze fixed on her face he smiled slowly, his face unreadable.

‘I told you I wouldn’t accept any decision tonight,’ he said blandly after a full minute of tense silence had ensued. ‘I will contact you in forty-eight hours when you have had time to consider my suggestion properly.’ He settled back in his chair.

‘Oh, it is a suggestion, then?’ she said bitingly. ‘For a minute there I thought it was an order.’

‘Not at all,’ he said calmly. ‘However, a few things I would just reiterate. First, you do owe me, Fabia, whether you care to admit it or not, and this would be a perfect way to cancel your debt—and, believe me, it’s quite a large one.’

‘I don’t have a debt,’ she began furiously, but he held up his hand for silence and something in the hard, handsome face made her bite her lip as her voice faltered away.