‘I have plenty, but I—’
‘Didn’t it bother you that you should have been the bride?’ he cut in. ‘Didn’t you feel anything!’
Damn James and his infernal lie! Damien still thought she had been going to marry James. ‘You know I felt something, you saw me crying.’
‘Mm,’ he said unfeelingly. ‘It must be heartbreaking to see all that lovely money going to another woman. I must say I didn’t expect James to react quite so drastically.’
Kate sighed. ‘What do you mean now?’
‘Tell me,’ he ignored her question, ‘does Sheri know James asked her to marry him on the rebound?’
She gasped. ‘He did no such thing! Surely you could see how happy they were just now? As any normal newly married couple should be.’
‘Oh sure, they looked happy enough. I think James must have finally got you out of his system. What happened after I left, did he say to hell with the marriage and take you anyway?’
‘No doubt that’s what you would have done?’
‘Sure I would. Why pay the price of a wedding ring for something that everyone else seems to be getting for nothing? Besides, I can’t think of any other way of getting you out of the system.’
‘Well, he didn’t!’ she said crossly.
‘More fool him,’ Damien muttered. ‘I guess he just couldn’t take the fact that you’d been with me.’
‘But I hadn’t!’
‘I’m sure he didn’t believe that.’
‘Why shouldn’t he? I had no reason to lie.’
He gave a sardonic smile. ‘Only a wedding ring. Tell me, Kate, why did you suddenly decide a wedding ring was so important?’
‘I’ve always considered it important,’ she told him with a sigh, sick of his opinion of her but knowing of no way to change it.
He came round to open her door for her, handing his car keys to the doorman before guiding her into the hotel. James and Sheri were waiting to greet them as they came into the reception room and they were far from being the first to arrive. James’ face darkened as they came into the room together.
‘Where have you been?’ he demanded of Kate. ‘Tony was supposed to bring you here. He’s been looking everywhere for you.’
‘Damien insisted on bringing me.’
James looked at the other man sharply as if noticing him for the first time, although Kate felt sure he had noticed her companion long before this. ‘Damien,’ he nodded curtly.
Damien gave his hand a firm shake, smiling unconcernedly in the face of the other man’s displeasure. ‘I found her without your help,’ he remarked quietly.
‘So I see,’ James snapped, and turned from him impatiently. ‘Now look, Kate, I want you to steer clear of my mother. She’s on the warpath,’ he warned her. ‘She has her acid look on today. She’s already remarked on the garishness of my friends. She could give you a hard time of it if she decided to dig her claws into you.’
‘Kate’s with me, James,’ Damien told him arrogantly. ‘I think I can safeguard her from your mother.’
Unwillingly James smiled. ‘You don’t know my mother!’
‘I don’t need to. Just leave her to me.’ He took a firm grip of Kate’s arm again. ‘We’d better move in and let your other guests come and say hello. Ready, Kate?’
‘Oh yes—ready.’ She hugged James and kissed Sheri on the cheek. ‘I’m going to like having you for a sister,’ she whispered.
‘Thank you.’ Sheri smiled tremulously, looking beautiful, as all brides do.
‘Why doesn’t James’ mother like you?’ Damien asked once they both had a drink in their hand.
Kate hesitated. ‘Oh, she—well, she just doesn’t.’
‘I suppose I can guess the reason.’
She could imagine! ‘What did you mean when you told James you found me without his help?’ That statement had been puzzling her somewhat.
He shrugged, looking round at the other guests as he sipped his drink. ‘Well, I have, haven’t I?’
‘Yes, but did you—did you want to find me?’
‘I told you I wanted you and would do anything to get you.’ He turned to look at her now. ‘James didn’t seem too willing to tell me where you’re living now. But I knew you would turn up some time, your sort always do.’
‘My sort?’ She frowned.
‘Mm. I knew you’d soon be on the lookout for another rich boy-friend. I just had to make sure I was about when it happened.’
‘Why, you—’
‘Ah, Katherine, my dear.’ A tall woman with perfectly coiffured grey hair came up to them, her grey eyes so like her son’s, as hard as granite at the moment, her expression one of frosty disdain. ‘I thought I would find you here today.’
‘Yes.’ Kate felt overawed as she usually did when in the company of James’ mother. ‘The wedding was very lovely, wasn’t it?’
‘Very,’ Louise St Just agreed. ‘And I’m so glad James chose a sensible girl. I didn’t approve of the two of you living together as you were. At least now you’ve had to move out—even if James is still supporting you financially.’
‘He doesn’t support me!’ James hadn’t been joking when he had said his mother was in a bitchy mood, but Kate found it very embarrassing that Damien had to witness this.
She had felt him stiffen when Louise came over to them, and now he looked thunderous. But she personally couldn’t wholly blame Louise for her hard, embittered attitude towards her. It couldn’t be easy to be suddenly confronted with her husband’s child by another woman, especially as James didn’t share her resentful attitude.
Kate had had these sort of arguments with Louise St Just many times in the last four years, and although she didn’t like it, she could understand it. But not in front of Damien! So far Louise hadn’t got round to the insulting names she usually resorted to, and she hadn’t let it out about her being Richard St Just’s illegitimate child, but knowing her of old she knew it wouldn’t be long before she did.
‘You know the reason for the allowance,’ she retorted quietly, ever conscious of Damien’s keen glance.
‘Oh yes, I know. I’ve always known—how
