‘Mum, Jed has a new Ferrari the same as Uncle Julian’s at his home in Greece. Do you think we can have a new car soon?’ her son asked, casting a disdainful look which reminded Phoebe startlingly of his father at her old Mini Cooper and then a hopeful look up at her.
‘Yes, of course you can. I’ll buy a new one,’ Jed answered before Phoebe could open her mouth. ‘I gave that car to your mum for Christmas long before you were born. I’m amazed she still has it.’ He gave Phoebe a mocking smile that was enough to make her blood pressure rise along with her anger.
‘Did you really?’ Julian inserted. ‘You never told me that, Phoebe.’ And after a shrewd glance at the two adults he finally grinned. ‘Obviously I had it wrong about you two.’ Patting Ben on the head, he said, ‘Have a good time, sport, I’ll see you later. And good luck Jed.’ Then his blue eyes held Phoebe’s for a moment. ‘Have a good day, Phoebe. I’ll be in touch.’ And he left.
Reeling in shock that first Ben and now Julian had fallen for Jed’s easy charm, Phoebe bitterly resented the fact—never mind his revelation about her car and his audacity in saying he would provide a new one.
‘What did you say to Julian?’ she demanded of the tall dark figure beside her.
‘I told him the truth—I spent an informative and intimate evening with you last night—and thanked him for being a good godfather to Ben.’ Jed shrugged his broad shoulders.
He didn’t see the need to inform Phoebe of everything they had discussed. Julian had been hostile at first, and had brought up his wanting Phoebe to terminate her pregnancy. Jed had told him bluntly exactly what he had actually said to Phoebe at the time. He had then suggested man to man that the mind of a woman was a mystery to most logically minded males, and the interpretation they could put on a few words might be totally illogical and contrary to what a guy actually meant. Julian had agreed with him, but somehow Jed knew repeating the conversation to Phoebe would almost certainly end with her calling him a male chauvinist pig again, and he didn’t need the hassle.
He had enough of a problem trying to persuade her to his way of thinking as it was. He had thought last night their sexual compatibility would do the trick, but no such luck. He realised she did not trust him an inch, and until she did he was never going to get Ben.
Last night he had called his British lawyer and told him the whole story, and Phoebe’s take on it. In his opinion Jed had little chance of winning custody of his son in an English court unless he could prove she was a totally incompetent mother—which from what Jed had told him she was not. She was a respected schoolteacher, financially viable, who owned her own home and had an aunt as a built-in babysitter. Jed didn’t have a leg to stand on. The lawyer’s advice was to reach an amicable arrangement with Phoebe if possible, and if not then to get the pair of them to Greece. He stood a much better chance in a Greek court.
With the lawyer’s advice in mind, Jed had formed a plan to spend as long as it took with Phoebe and behave like an old friend rather than a lover while getting to know his son. Provided he could keep his hands off Phoebe, his no-sex, friendly but firm ploy would work. He knew she wanted him, and once he got her to trust him a little it should be no problem getting her to visit Greece and agree to marry him. If not, he’d go to court…
With that in mind, he wasn’t going to give her the chance to argue. ‘Phoebe, you go and get the things you need out of your car and put them in mine, while I put Ben in his seat. He’s told me we are going out for the day, and my car will be much more comfortable for all of us.’ Jed gave her a brief smile and saw the fury in her eyes. Looking down at Ben, he added, ‘Isn’t that right, Ben?’ He wasn’t above using his son to back him up, and, taking the boy’s hand, he headed for the car.
Phoebe, her face scarlet with embarrassment and anger, simply stood open-mouthed at the turn of events. She was mortified at the thought of Jed implying to Julian they’d had sex, and furious at his arrogant assumption he could take over her plans for the day. At least he obviously assumed it was just for the day, which was lucky for her—because with Ben skipping along at Jed’s side towards the car, his hand trustingly in the man’s, she knew she could not argue with him.
Fighting with Jed in front of her son would only result in Ben resenting her interference. Maybe that was what Jed was hoping for? Biting her lip, she retrieved her jacket, the rucksack and wellington boots from her car, and, thankful for small mercies, ignored the suitcase in the boot and locked the car. She closed the gates behind her and slid into the back seat of the convertible without saying a word. Then to her horror Ben piped up…
‘Mum, you’ve forgotten the case with all our stuff for the weekend.’
Jed glanced over his shoulder, his dark gaze narrowed. ‘I thought you had planned just a day out? Ben said we are going hunting for dinosaurs—not something I have done before. But the whole weekend sounds much better. Where exactly were you planning on staying?’ he demanded silkily.
‘In our caravan by the sea. You can stay with us if you like. Can’t he, Mum?’ Ben spoke up yet again, and for the first time in her life Phoebe felt like strangling her own son.
‘No, Ben we are only going for the day now,’ she said through gritted teeth. ‘Jed is a very important man, and we could not possibly impose on his valuable time for more than a few hours,’ she said, sarcasm lacing her tone as she shot her nemesis a filthy look. ‘We are wasting time. Drive on.’ But he didn’t
‘No, Phoebe. I could not possibly deprive you of a weekend away. I have time to spare and would love to spend it with you both.’
‘Isn’t that great, Mum?’ Ben asked, and after her brilliant son had informed Jed the caravan was huge, with two bedrooms and a sofa that made a bed, she did not even have the excuse that there was no room for the manipulative devil. Mentioning that Jed had not packed was a waste of time, as the damn man said he could buy anything he needed…
Then with a cynical smile he insisted on taking her car keys and retrieving the suitcase from her car. Phoebe, running out of excuses to refuse, was stunned into horrified silence.
Short of dragging her son out of the car and telling the hateful man to get lost she had no choice but to go along with the pair of them.
How in heaven’s name, she asked herself, had her planned escape from Jed ended up with him spending the whole weekend with them—in the caravan of all places?
It would be one hell of a culture shock for the stinking rich Greek, that was for sure. She doubted he even knew what a caravan was…
He looked at her in the rearview mirror, his dark eyes gleaming with laughter. ‘Right, Phoebe, where are we going and which way?’ he demanded with a broad smile.
For an instant she was reminded of the first time they’d met, and the brilliance of his smile that had so captivated her. Her lips quirked at the corners in the beginnings of a smile, but she clenched her teeth instead as she realised he had good reason to smile, but she did not. Jed had got his own way yet again…
‘Weymouth,’ she said abruptly. ‘Your sat-nav will guide you.’ And, turning her head, she looked out of the window and tried to ignore him.
A while later the big car finally stopped in front of the barrier at the entrance to the caravan park.
‘Wait here while I check in at Reception and get the pass.’
Phoebe had endured an hour of near silence, which unfortunately had given her a lot of time for her gaze to stray to the back of Jed’s head and remember running her fingers through his thick black hair and a lot more last night. Consequently she was hot and bothered, and could not get out of the car fast enough.
Five minutes later Phoebe returned and handed the pass to Jed through the open window of the car.