‘Good for her. She’s got better taste than me. She’ll be flattered if you wear it.’ Kelly sniffed the air appreciatively. ‘Nice aftershave. Did she give you that too?’
‘No, I bought it today.’
‘Well, it’s terrific. It’ll drive her wild.’ She brushed his shoulders, stood back to admire him, and asked, ‘Have you got everything?’
‘Everything.’
‘Money? Credit card?’
‘Got them.’
‘Second credit card in case the first one’s over the limit and they cut it up-?’
‘Kelly, for Pete’s sake!’
‘It happened to you once, and it was the only one you had and you were stranded-’
‘Yes, I remember,’ he said edgily. ‘I had to call you.’
‘Pen?’
‘Pen.’
‘Matching socks?’
‘Matching socks.’
‘Clean underwear?’
‘In case you have an accident and they take you to hospital,’ she said innocently. ‘That’s what my mother always used to say.’
‘Mine too. I could never persuade her that if I was injured my underwear would be the last thing on my mind.’
They shared a grin. ‘Off you go,’ she said. ‘Have a wonderful time.’
‘Thanks. I intend to.’ He eyed her seven-month bulge. ‘You OK?’
‘Never better. You are going to be really late coming in, aren’t you?’ She managed to sound hopeful.
‘I may be away all night.’
‘Oh good,’ she enthused.
There was a kind of triumph in fooling him so completely. But it was a bleak triumph, and when he’d gone she sat down with her arms folded over her body and rocked back and forth in grief.
The restaurant was the most expensive he could find. The wine was the finest in their cellar, the food the most exquisite
He didn’t define to himself exactly what, or whom, he was going to break free from. It couldn’t be Kelly, because she denied that any ties bound them together. The nearest he could come was breaking free of the shackles of the past, something Kelly herself had clearly done. This would prove he’d moved on as much as she had.
Kelly’s behaviour had unnerved him. It was nothing short of insulting that she should have tossed him into Olympia’s arms. There would be no going back from tonight, and it seemed that was what she wanted.
But he’d kept his thoughts to himself as Kelly fussed around him and shooed him out of the flat. To have protested would have been a point to her in the ironic game they seemed to be playing. And if there was one thing he wouldn’t do it was let this infuriating, unreasonable woman know that she’d gone one up.
And now here he was, in a restaurant with Olympia, knowing that somehow he had to pass the night in her bed, because just who did Kelly think she was to goad him like that?
‘I always knew this would happen at last,’ Olympia said, smiling at him, two little candles reflected in her eyes. She reached over and took his hand in hers, giving him a front row view of her glacial beauty. Jake had to admit she was stunning. Her black silk dress was low cut, revealing the swell of her breasts, magnificent and tempting. Her hair was arranged in soft, fluffy curls, that danced about her face whenever she laughed.
She’d looked that way once before, on the night in Paris, when he’d been able to think of nothing but seducing her. He remembered the fierce temptation. If she hadn’t led him to her room when she had he might have seized her and possessed her right there on the floor.
And then, when her door had closed behind them, and the great moment had come-it had all died. Because Kelly had been there, waiting for them. In reality she’d been hundreds of miles away, but somehow there too, watching him with so much love in her eyes that his heart had failed him. But she wouldn’t be around to spoil things for him tonight, and Jake watched the curls that danced around Olympia’s face.
Olympia’s fingers gently caressed his hand, promising magical things to come.
‘There’ve been so many obstacles keeping us apart,’ she murmured. ‘But we were bound to overcome them. Didn’t you feel that too?’
‘I guess I did. I haven’t had a clear head for a long time-’
‘My dear, I do understand. It must have been such a terrible shock for you. And not being able to work must have driven you crazy.’
‘That’s true,’ he reflected. ‘Not my usual kind of work, anyway.’ He gave a self-mocking grin. ‘I’m becoming a dab hand with the vacuum cleaner.’
‘I’m sure you’re making the best of it, but the nightmare’s nearly over.’
‘What nightmare?’
‘Being trapped in that place with the “little woman” fussing over you, never giving you any peace.’
‘The little woman is usually too busy with her college work to fret about me,’ he said wryly.
‘That’s what she lets you think, but you know what she’s really after, don’t you? She wants you back.’
‘Not her. She never wanted me there in the first place.’
‘Oh, darling, don’t be fooled. It’s all an act.’
‘Well, it’s a very funny act, then. She cares about college and her baby. I’m just there on sufferance.’
‘That’s what she lets you think, but the bottom line is that you’re
Jake looked at her curiously, wondering how one human being could so misread another. ‘It’s not like that at all,’ he said. ‘Kelly’s left me behind. She’s changed; she-’ He stopped because Olympia had given a delicate little yawn. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘Darling Jake, I want to concentrate on you tonight, not Kelly. I’m sure she’s a dear little soul, and of course I’m grateful to her for taking you in and being a good nurse, but it’s
This left Jake in something of a quandary, since a gentleman could hardly tell a lady that he was planning to sleep with her at the urging-practically the orders-of another lady. Man-like, he took refuge in cowardly silence.
‘You’re right, we shouldn’t be talking about her,’ he said hastily.
‘What time is she expecting you in?’
‘She-er-knows I’m going to be very late.’
‘Well, it’s probably very good for her to get rid of you for a night.’
‘What do you mean by that?’ Jake asked, more sharply than he’d intended.
‘Have you thought what a strain it must be for her, looking after you when she’s pregnant?’
‘We look after each other,’ Jake said firmly.
Olympia gave a tinkling little laugh. ‘What a charming idea. But I’ll bet she does most of the work. At least, I hope she does. She’s probably stretched out on the bed right now, getting a much needed rest.’
He pulled himself together and seized the champagne bottle. ‘Have a little more champagne, darling. You’re looking glorious tonight.’
She gave him the serene, self-confident smile of a goddess accepting tribute, and squeezed his hand. Jake reminded himself that he’d been out of action for a long time, which was doubtless the reason for a mysterious sense of unease that was haunting him. He returned the pressure of her hand and looked deep into her eyes, thinking of the night to come. But inside him there was only a mysterious and terrifying blank-as blank as Olympia’s
