speaking from experience, Roxie?’ Keira tried once again to deflect the course of the conversation knowing she had next to no chance of success.
‘Now, don’t try to distract me. This is a ‘do as I say, not as I do” lecture. So can I make one tiny suggestion for you to consider?’
‘Would it make any difference if I said no?’ Keira quickly held up her hand. ‘And don’t even think of taking that the wrong way.’
‘Would I do that?’ Roxie widened her eyes innocently. ‘Look, just give a bit of thought to getting your unused programme into running order. Just in case.’
‘I know I’ll regret this, but in case of what?’
‘In case Eden Cassidy offers you some wonderfully forbidden fruit.’
‘You sound like a pop song.’ Keira tried to laugh lightly. ‘And I’m not into forbidden fruit.’
‘If Eden Cassidy-no, I’ll rephrase that,’ Roxie continued. ‘When Eden Cassidy, and I say when because the man
‘Roxie, you’re being absurd,’ Keira cut in, swallowing the rush of excited anticipation she was too slow to quell. Her friend was inadvertently skating far too close to the truth.
‘Rubbish! Take a look at that photograph. You mark my words, Keira. That man is interested.’
Keira shifted uneasily. If Roxie only knew…
‘And when he holds out the shiny red apple,’ her friend was continuing, ‘I don’t want to hear you’ve refused to take a bite.’
‘Not the best of analogies,’ Keira remarked wryly and Roxie leant across and picked up the newspaper again.
‘Oh, I don’t know, Keira. I’d say it was spot on. I mean, the man’s poetry, pure poetry.’ She shook her head. ‘All I can say is, his mother must have known something when she named him Eden because he’s the closest thing to paradise I’ve ever seen.’
Keira didn’t know whether to laugh or be angry with Roxie, but she was saved from having to make a decision when her office door opened again.
‘Can you believe it’s Monday already?’ Dianna Forester, the editor of
‘And a good time was had by all, by the look of you,’ Roxie remarked ironically. ‘With you two and your adventures I feel as though my weekend of gardening and household chores absolutely pales into insignificance.’
Dianna’s eyes turned sharply to Keira. ‘Well, I know I’ve been partying, but what have you been up to, Keira?’
‘What indeed?’ Roxie held out the newspaper and Dianna took it from her, her eyes narrowing as she glanced at the photograph Roxie pointed out to her.
‘You went to Sir Samuel’s party? I didn’t know you were on such close terms with the family,’ she said carefully and Keira shrugged.
‘I’m not. I went with Daniel, as a favour.’
‘Would that I were asked such a favour,’ Roxie put in expressively.
‘It was a last-minute thing,’ Keira began, wondering gloomily how long she was going to have to suffer the fall-out from allowing Daniel to talk her into going to that wretched party.
‘And what with one thing and another-’ Roxie
shifted in her chair to look back at Keira ‘-I forgot to ask you if you heard anything over the weekend to substantiate the epidemic of rumours about staff shuffling here on the magazine. Did Eden Cassidy drop any hints to you?’
Keira shook her head and Dianna pursed her lips thoughtfully.
‘I suppose you could scarcely raise the subject over dinner,’ she said, giving Keira another piercing look. ‘No doubt we’ll hear all soon enough. Well, I’ve got stacks to do myself so I’ll get to it.’ Dianna replaced the newspaper on Keira’s desk and left.
‘That will be a first,’ Roxie muttered caustically.
‘I should finish this, too,’ Keira said quickly, before Roxie could continue. ‘Put it around that I don’t want any more interruptions, until lunchtime at least.’
Roxie stood up. ‘Methinks that includes me. No trouble. I’ll see you later, now that you’ve shamed me into putting my nose to the grindstone. And, Keira, do me a favour and at least consider my advice.’
After Roxie left Keira tried valiantly to keep her mind on her work. But somehow her wayward thoughts kept slipping uncontrollably back to Eden Cassidy.
‘I’m an experienced man. Why waste your time with a boy?’
The words, the whole repugnant scene, kept replaying in her head like a faulty videotape. Each time she felt the same mixture of emotions. Anger, abhorrence, repugnance. And a prurient excitement that horrified her.
Would she, could she ever forget those unthinkable words? His outrageous offer? She thought not.
The man was despicable, she told herself grimly as she made herself concentrate on the pile of work on her desk. He definitely wasn’t worthy of the time she was wasting mulling over his outrageousness. She had a job to do and she wasn’t going to allow the man to intrude on her thoughts any more than he already had.
She determinedly forced the scene from her mind and some time later, as she bent over a submission for their next issue, there was a tap on her office door, followed by the sound of the door opening.
‘Keira-?’ Daniel began tentatively.
Keira didn’t look up. ‘I said no interruptions, Daniel, and I meant it, so only three things will save you from a fate worse than death. If you can see any blood. If the building’s on fire. Or if you’re bearing hot coffee.’
‘Having a hard day at the office, Mrs Strong?’
Keira’s head snapped up and her startled grey eyes met cold blue ones.
CHAPTER FIVE
‘WHAT do you want?’ The words were out before Keira could draw them back and the tone of her voice made her cringe at the audacity. ‘I mean, I’m pretty busy.’ She indicated the work on her desk and then sighed. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound…’ She paused, searching for a placating word that might defuse her previous brusqueness.
‘Ungracious?’ Eden Cassidy suggested with a quirk of his lips, lips that drew Keira’s eyes without any conscious thought on her part.
Her heartbeats had began their now familiar dance and she swallowed quickly. She closed her mouth firmly as she went to apologise again.
Eden took a couple of steps into the room, stopping in front of her desk, and Daniel followed him, hovering awkwardly beside him, trying to convey to Keira a multitude of emotions in his expression. At any other time Keira would have been amused by Daniel’s obvious mixture of bewilderment and reticence. However, at that moment she had other matters on her mind. And they all focused on the younger man’s egotistical uncle.
What could he possibly want? Keira hadn’t seen him since their altercation on the patio of the Cassidy mansion, hadn’t thought ever to see him again.
She pushed herself to her feet, unwilling to give Eden Cassidy the advantage of towering over her. ‘If you’ve come to take Daniel to lunch then he’s free to go, of course,’ she said, and Eden motioned her to return to her seat, lowering himself into the chair opposite her, setting his briefcase down on the floor beside him.
‘I did have lunch in mind,’ he said easily. ‘But not with Daniel.’ His obvious meaning hung in the air between them as his gaze held hers, and Keira willed herself not to look away, refusing to acknowledge his enigmatic statement.
Lunch? With him? He had to be joking. But he was persistent, she’d give him that much. Although the reason for his apparent tenacity bothered her. Had his purported interest been further piqued by her reluctance to fall in with his impertinent plans to entice her into his bed?
Her mouth went suddenly dry at the thought. Silently she berated herself for her own lasciviousness and,
