Josie came hurrying out of the kitchen to see what was wrong. ‘What happened?’ She frowned her puzzlement.
Kate looked at her with tear-filled eyes. ‘That must be the shortest engagement in history.’
‘You mean he—you’ve argued already?’
She gave a wan smile. ‘That’s exactly what I mean.’
‘And the engagement is off?’ Josie was obviously having trouble keeping up with events, but then so was Kate.
Kate shrugged now, more confused and hurt than she cared to admit. ‘He didn’t say. He just left.’
Josie gave her an encouraging smile. ‘He’ll be back. He can’t have changed his mind about marrying you so soon after asking you. Being engaged is always a difficult time, it’s a great strain on both people involved.’
‘But not half an hour after you become engaged! Oh, I don’t know why I let him get under my skin all the time. We’ve always argued. It was silly to think that my agreeing to marry him would change that.’
‘He’ll be back,’ Josie said with certainty. ‘You’ll see.’
Kate wished she could feel so confident. She showered and changed in case Damien did still come back, but he still hadn’t returned by the time Josie went out with Paul in the afternoon. When a visitor finally did turn up it wasn’t Damien.
‘James!’ she couldn’t hide her disappointment.
‘Charming,’ he grimaced. ‘Thank goodness not everyone reacts the same way when they see me. What have I done?’
‘Nothing. I just thought— Oh, never mind. Come in,’
she opened the door further, leading the way to the lounge. ‘Why are you in London today?’
‘To see Damien.’
‘Damien?’ she repeated sharply.
‘Yes—Damien.’ James looked at her closely. ‘He called us all together for a meeting this morning.’
‘You’ve seen him today?’
He sighed impatiently. ‘I’ve just said so. What’s the matter with you this afternoon, Kate? And who did you hope I was when I arrived?’
He was altogether too perceptive! ‘No one in particular,’ she lied.
‘Mm, I’ll let that one pass for the moment. I have something much more interesting to tell you. Damien dropped a bombshell on us all this morning. Just as an afterthought to the meeting he invited us all to his wedding.’
Kate felt her heart leap. ‘He did?’ Excitement entered her voice.
‘Yes. It was a great shock, I can tell you.’
‘Did he—did he say who he was marrying?’ She didn’t think he could have done, not from James’ attitude. But he had told everyone working on the film that he was getting married since he had left her earlier, which meant he still intended to go through with it. Thank God for that! She had thought her ultimatum had made him change his mind, but it couldn’t have done.
‘No,’ James confirmed her suspicions. ‘And I think most of us were too surprised to ask him. Who do you think it could be? I didn’t know he’d been seeing anyone in particular, in fact it seemed to be the opposite. He hasn’t been seen at any of the parties, hasn’t shown an interest in anyone that I can think of. Except you, of course, but—’ He looked at her sharply, her flushed face giving her away. ‘Kate!’ he said angrily. ‘Not you? You aren’t marrying Damien Savage?’
‘I am,’ she told him quietly.
‘But you can’t be! Last night you were at the house together and you never gave the impression that you were in love.’
‘He asked me this morning.’
‘This morning? But—’
‘And I accepted. I love him, James.’
‘Then why don’t you look happy about it?’ He stood up to prowl the room. ‘You don’t look like a newly engaged girl. I remember that Sheri glowed when I asked her to marry me.’
‘She probably felt more sure of you than I do of Damien. We’ve had one argument already. And it’s all your fault.’
‘My fault?’ He stopped his pacing. ‘What did I do?’
‘You started this myth about the two of us, made it look like the romance of the century when I lived with you. Damien has completely the wrong impression about all that, and when I said I wanted you to give me away he flatly refused to even consider it.’
‘Do you want me to tell him about us?’
She shook her head. Damien thought her to be an experienced woman of the world, he might not want her if he knew she was untouched. After all, he liked his women to know what they were doing, how to please him as they were being pleasured. ‘I don’t think now is the right time for that. I’ll tell him when I’m more sure he’ll understand. At the moment it may just make things worse than they are.’
‘How can it do that? It’s only the truth.’
‘Damien may think I tried to make a fool of him.’ She knew how his mind twisted things at the moment. ‘When we’re truly man and wife and I’m more sure of how to tell him will be time enough for that, I think. At the moment the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages.’ Damien might not marry her at all if he knew the truth!
‘I can’t pretend to approve of your marrying him.’ James frowned. ‘You know my opinion of the man. And I don’t think he has it in him to be faithful to any woman. He’s a rake, Kate—you must realise that.’
She gave a teasing smile. ‘Sheri assures me that reformed rakes make the best husbands.’
Dark colour flooded his cheeks. ‘I was never as bad as Damien, never.’
‘Maybe not,’ she agreed. ‘Oh, please, James, wish me luck. I think I may need it.’
He looked at her pleadingly. ‘Please change your mind about marrying him. I just can’t let you ruin your life like this.’
‘I love him, James.’
‘So I might as well get used to the idea, hmm?’
‘Something like that,’ she nodded.
‘I can’t let you—’ he broke off as the doorbell rang.
Kate stood up, looking at him as if for understanding. ‘That will probably be Damien now. You won’t start an argument with him?’
‘It’s usually the other way round,’ he told her dryly.
‘Yes, but— Oh,
