‘What’s so damned funny?’ he snapped suddenly.
She bit her lip guiltily. ‘I—’
‘Don’t bother to answer. Just remember how funny you found this when my mother starts her infernal matchmaking. She happens to think I need a wife, and I have a feeling she’s decided you might fit the role perfectly.’
It seemed that only Jerard was averse to the idea now, and she certainly didn’t want to marry anyone who didn’t love her.
CHAPTER SEVEN
VICKI was ready and waiting when she called for her the next morning, Jerard apparently having dropped her off at his mother’s on his way to his office.
‘I didn’t realise,’ she apologised to his mother. ‘I thought Vicki was staying with you.’ Mrs Daniels had persuaded her to stay for a cup of coffee, while Vicki and Tony played together on the floor.
‘Only for the weekend.’ Mrs Daniels was watching the children too. ‘They get on well together, don’t they?’
‘Yes.’ Velvet bit her lip, feeling that some explanation was necessary for yesterday. ‘Mrs Daniels—’
‘Sarah,’ the older woman encouraged.
‘About yesterday—’
‘Yes,’ Sarah Daniels sighed, ‘I don’t think you can add anything to what my son’s already said.’
‘Jerard—spoke to you?’
‘At me,’ the other woman corrected dryly.
Velvet looked down at her hands. ‘I—What did he say?’
‘All of it, or just the polite bits?’
Velvet gave a reluctant smile at the humour in Sarah Daniels’ voice. ‘Just the polite bits, I think.’
‘Well, let me see. He told me not to interfere, not to jump to conclusions, and to mind my own business,’ she revealed.
Velvet’s eyes widened. ‘Those were the polite bits?’
‘Oh yes,’ the other woman nodded.
‘Oh.’
Sarah Daniels laughed. ‘Jerard was always very blunt, even as a boy.’
Velvet couldn’t imagine him ever being a little boy, Tony’s age and vulnerable; she was sure that he must have been born arrogant and self-assured.
‘I’ll show you some photographs of him some time.’ His mother seemed to guess her thoughts. ‘I think you might find some of them rather amusing.’
‘I might,’ Velvet grinned. ‘But I don’t think Jerard would.’
‘Pooh!’ his mother dismissed. ‘No one asked him. I’ll sort them out and show them to you another time.’
The last statement gave the present arrangement a permanency that Velvet didn’t have the time to disabuse at the moment; she rushed the children out to the car and drove quickly to Paul’s studio.
‘You’re late,’ he snapped as she breathlessly entered the studio. ‘Good God,’ he scowled as he saw the two children with her, ‘this isn’t a kindergarten, you know, Velvet.’
‘Oh, shut up, Paul,’ Carly told him, helping Velvet set the children’s toys out on a table at the back of the room.
Velvet hurriedly changed into her first outfit, feeling much more comfortable here in the scanty shorts and top than she had on the Fort Lauderdale beach. ‘I didn’t think you would mind,’ she told Paul, touching up her lipstick before going in front of the camera.
‘That’s the Daniels kid, isn’t it?’ Paul didn’t answer her statement.
‘Yes,’ she blushed.
‘Funny—Smile. Yes, that’s it. Look down. Daniels didn’t say anything—Wicked, Velvet. Look wicked. He didn’t say anything about—Now look up. Lose the smile—about coming back to England.’
Luckily she was able to follow his conversation interspersed with his instructions. ‘I believe it was a rather sudden decision.’ She avoided looking at the camera, knowing Paul missed nothing through its lens.
‘I’ll bet it was,’ he scorned.
‘Paul—’
‘Next outfit, Velvet,’ he ordered abruptly.
She touched his arm. ‘I’m sorry about the children.’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ he shrugged. ‘You know I like Tony, and Vicki seems a nice little kid. As long as they don’t interfere with our work,’ he added warningly.
‘They won’t,’ she promised. ‘Vicki will help keep Tony amused.’
The little girl did that very well, seeming happy herself as long as Velvet didn’t go too far away. Mrs Daniels insisted they stay to tea when they returned to her house, although Velvet turned down the idea of dinner, sure that Jerard would be back before then to pick up Vicki.
‘Can I come with you tomorrow too?’ Vicki wanted to know.
Velvet thought of Jimmy Lance, the man she was modelling for tomorrow. Jimmy loved children, had a boy and girl of his own that he doted on. ‘I think so,’ she nodded agreement.
‘Are you sure?’ Mrs Daniels frowned.
‘Yes,’ Velvet smiled. ‘Although it won’t be possible all the time,’ she added for Vicki’s benefit.
In actual fact it wasn’t possible on the Friday of that week. She was booked for a day of modelling lingerie, and she had to go out of town for it. When she explained the situation to Mrs Daniels she instantly offered to care for both Tony and Vicki for the day. Velvet had refused at first, but the other woman had been most insistent, and so finally she had agreed, dropping Tony off at the house at seven-thirty, before Jerard had even arrived with Vicki.
She had seen nothing of him this last week, usually managing to miss him by minutes as he dropped Vicki off at his mother’s or picked her up. On Friday morning she wasn’t so lucky.
Tony had clambered up on to the armchair that looked out on to the front of the house. ‘Bicki,’ he cried excitedly. ‘Bicki!’
Knowing this was his version of Vicki’s name Velvet felt her heart sink. If Vicki was here then it also followed that Jerard was too. ‘Careful, darling!’ She absent-mindedly helped Tony down from the chair as he would have fallen in his excitement to get to Vicki, the two of them having become firm friends.
Vicki bounded in, closely followed by her father, Jerard looking very distinguished in the navy blue three-piece suit and contrasting lighter blue shirt. After that first hungry look Velvet turned away, knowing that hunger must be in her eyes and not wanting Jerard to see it.
‘Velvet,’ he greeted her abruptly. ‘I understand you’re going out of town today?’
She flushed at what she felt to be a rebuke. ‘I do have to work,’
