An Innocent Affair (14 page)

‘It is. Until very recently I didn't think I'd ever marry.'

‘Why not?' Her deep blue eyes were fixed with reluctant fascination on his face.

‘Like my father, I'm pretty selfish. Selfish men make hellish husbands. I'd hate to put a woman through what my mother suffered at his hands.'

‘But you've changed your mind?'

‘Someone changed it for me.'

Rebecca. Hope wanted to throw herself on the floor and weep. Instead she did the mature thing and had another drink.

‘Do you think you should have any more of that?' he asked, watching her fill the glass with a less than steady hand.

‘Oh, I was lying when I said I didn't like it. I didn't like the whisky, though.' She plonked her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her cupped hands. ‘It tastes really disgusting.'

‘Why did you have it, then?'

‘I wanted to experiment. I know people who enjoy being tipsy.' Alex wasn't usually this slow on the uptake; she felt quite disappointed in him.

‘Tipsy happened half a bottle ago, Hope. In my experience it's usually safer to experiment in private, with a small audience. People react differently to alcohol, and you're entering the maudlin stage. Your escort departed at the bolshie stage.'

‘Maudlin is pathetic,' she protested rather loudly. ‘I am
never
pathetic; it's humiliating. Is it warm in here?'

‘It's getting warmer,' he said softly as she plucked fretfully at the plunging neckline of her gown. ‘How does that thing stay up?' He blinked hard to banish the image of the silky fabric sliding lower to reveal— The muscles in his throat worked hard as he swallowed.

Hope patted the side of her nose and looked mysterious. ‘Trade secret. Is that Rebecca coming over here?' She craned her neck to look over his shoulder. ‘Oh, God,' she moaned gloomily, ‘I'll have to be
nice
to her.'

Alex's lips twitched. ‘Don't worry, I'll deal with it.'

She swopped seats so she could see Alex meet Rebecca a few feet away. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but Rebecca looked over to her several times and even returned the waves Hope sent in her direction. She smiled and nodded a lot before going back to her seat.

‘I don't suppose your beau paid the bill?' Alex asked.

‘Nope,' Hope replied, laying her head on her folded arms.

‘Don't go to sleep yet.'

‘God, you're so bossy. Put that card away,' she said crossly as she saw him signing for the meal. ‘I'm an independent woman of means.'

‘You're sloshed.'

‘I knew there was something wrong.' She stared owlishly at him. ‘What should I do?' She gazed trustingly up at him.

He closed his eyes and she distinctly heard him mutter something about strength. ‘I'm taking you home.'

‘Rebecca wouldn't like that,' she told him, wagging her finger at him.

‘She doesn't mind. Call it a loan.'

‘If you ask me,' she said darkly, ‘she should be more careful with her possessions. I would be.'

 

‘Are you still staying with the lovely Miranda?' Alex asked as he finally managed to slide her into the back seat of a cab.

‘Did you fancy her, then? She fancied you.'

‘That's very gratifying,' Alex said, giving the address to the driver and climbing in beside her.

‘I shouldn't think anyone noticed I'm drunk. I think we were very un…unobtrusive.' She placed her head on Alex's shoulder and closed her eyes. The world started to spin in a nauseating fashion so she opened them again. ‘I don't know why you made such a fuss about my earring. People were staring.' She touched the earlobe of her naked ear.

‘You're very casual about a small fortune.'

‘Don't be silly,' she said, rubbing a finger along the strong line of his jaw. ‘They're not real. I can't believe you think I'd spend a fortune on diamonds,' she said incredulously. ‘They're paste.' She tugged off the other one. ‘Next you'll be saying this is real animal fur.' She touched the collar of her jacket. ‘You really don't know me very well, do you? I'm not really into
things.
'

Alex looked at the top of her head with an expression that softened his harsh features. ‘I'm beginning to think you're right.'

‘That was quite a rock Rebecca was wearing.'

‘You saw that from across the room?'

‘I'm a woman, Alex. Women notice these things. Some people might call it tasteless and ostentatious.'

‘Not you, of course.'

‘That would catty,' she agreed virtuously. ‘She obviously thinks diamonds are a girl's best friend.'

‘Who do you think should be a girl's best friend, Hope?'

‘A lover would be nice, don't you think?' she murmured, with a sleepy smile that made Alex catch his breath sharply.

 

‘There's no point ringing—Miranda's in Cairo,' she said as Alex shifted her weight to reach the intercom. ‘The lifts are over there,' she added, swinging her legs as he hitched her a little higher. ‘You can put me down now. My leg's all better.' She lifted the hem of her skirt above her knees to illustrate the point. ‘It was only that little step I couldn't quite get the hang of. You're very strong, aren't you?' she observed feeling his bulging bicep. ‘You've got beautiful muscles.'

‘If the lift's not working, don't worry—you'll walk.' There was a hint of desperation in Alex's tone and it wasn't directly connected with her weight.

‘This isn't the sort of building that has out of order lifts, Alex.' It wasn't, but the lift did have other passengers, who smiled politely and looked in the other direction as she crooned softly in his ear and let his hair slide over her delving fingers.

When they eventually reached their destination Alex placed her on her feet, but stood ready to catch her should the need arise.

‘Promise me one thing.'

‘Anything,' she promised happily, wrapping her arms around his neck.

‘Never do a musical.' The barely recognisable strains of a top ten hit were still echoing in his ears.

‘Why would I do that, silly? I'm tone deaf.' She walked with immense care to the opposite side of the room and sank gracefully into the designer sofa. ‘Miranda says this is an investment,' she observed, looking with disapproval at the geometric upholstery. ‘I hate it. Are you going back to Rebecca now?'

‘I'm making you coffee—lots of it—now.' When he returned a few minutes later Hope was snoring quietly, her head uncomfortably lolling forward on her chest.

Alex stood there watching her silently for several minutes. His rugged exterior hid a sensitivity and emo
tional depth that for one unguarded moment was visible in the twisted smile on his lips. The attempts he made to rouse her were greeted with cross admonitions to ‘leave me alone.'

 

Amnesia was scary. The taste in her mouth was metallic and disgusting. The blue designer gown she'd worn last night was tidily arranged over the chair. She took comfort in the sight, reasoning she couldn't have been
that
bad if she'd taken such care. She peeped under the covers and saw she was only wearing the silky pants she'd worn last night.

The movement of the king-sized water bed as she got out affected her delicate stomach badly. She pushed a hand through her tangled hair and frowned at her reflection in the mirror. She belted a thin thigh-length robe around her waist and headed for the bathroom. Cold water splashed on her face had a bracing effect, and her mouth felt a little less disgusting after she'd cleaned her teeth.

For some strange reason she kept smelling fresh coffee. Perhaps that was some undiscovered side effect of a hangover. Because a hangover was what she had. For the first and, if she had anything to say about it, last time in her life.

Coffee was a good idea, though, she decided, heading in the direction of the kitchen. Miranda had a glossy designer kitchen with every gadget known to man, but usually no food. Hope had bought her own coffee; she couldn't stomach the evil herbal tea that Miranda drank by the gallon. She wished she hadn't thought about her stomach…

She stepped from the bedroom directly into the living area at the same moment someone else stepped out of the kitchen.

‘Oh, my God!' she gasped, freezing. Alex was rub
bing his still wet hair with a towel; his white shirt open to the waist revealing his broad chest in all its glory. He'd been wearing that shirt last night.
Last night!
She groaned. ‘How could you?' she wailed. ‘I was drunk.'

‘As a skunk,' he agreed cheerfully. ‘How could I what, Hope? Do you want coffee. I'd offer you a good old-fashioned fry-up,' he said cruelly, ‘except I can only find balsamic vinegar, herbal tea and brioches in the kitchen. The brioches are stale.'

‘They were fresh yesterday.' Or had it been the day before? Her appetite hadn't been up to much lately. ‘You're getting married,' she said suddenly. She'd discovered the reason for that nebulous feeling of doom and disaster she'd been experiencing ever since she'd woken.

‘Am I to infer from that wild look there are some gaps in your memory?'

‘I don't think I want to remember.' Her eyes watched with horrified fascination as the muscles glided and bunched under his olive-toned skin when he looped the towel about his neck.

‘You didn't get up on the tables or anything.'

Hope glared at him with loathing. ‘It's not my
public
performance I'm worried about.' She sat down before her legs folded. ‘Do you mind?' Her eyes flashed and she tugged her gown a few centimetres lower as she caught the direction of his gaze.

‘Last night you weren't so modest.'

‘I don't want to hear about last night. I don't know how you can stand there looking so smug. You're about to marry another woman.' Her hand went to her mouth as a bit more of the previous evening slipped back into place. ‘Next week!' she squeaked. ‘You're a faithless, lying swine. How dare you laugh?' Was there no end to his iniquities?

‘You're assuming that you're irresistible.'

‘Are you trying to tell me we didn't…?'

Head on one side, he regarded her with an expression of exaggerated amazement to match her own. ‘Amazing as it might seem to you, I prefer my women conscious. Snoring is a big turn-off too,' he reflected thoughtfully.

Hope could feel the tide of warm colour wash over her skin. ‘Well, why didn't you say so straight away?'

‘I didn't want to spoil your righteous indignation. Last night you were a kitten and this morning a dragon. The transformation is fascinating.'

Kitten? What did he mean, kitten? It sounded pretty damn alarming to her. ‘What was I supposed to think? I was stark naked…'

‘Almost.'

‘Well, if you're going to be pedantic—' she began. ‘How did you know that?' she asked with the return of suspicion.

‘I undressed you when I carried you to bed. I didn't want you to suffocate in the night. That blue thing looked pretty tight to me.'

The thought of him undressing her made the downy hairs on the nape of her neck stand on end. ‘What the hell are you still doing here? If you didn't—' She winced. Her voice was high, bordering on shrill.

‘Have my wicked way with you? No, Hope, those are the bits you dreamed. I thought you might be ill during the night.'

The implication that her dreams were X-rated and included him made her squirm uncomfortably. Hopefully it was a wild guess. The idea that under the influence she'd confided the contents of the vivid dreams she'd been experiencing just lately made her grow cold with horror. ‘Well, I wasn't!' she snapped back ungratefully. ‘Was I?' Her eyes clouded with dismay. Wasn't her humiliation bad enough without that?

‘No, you weren't. You look terrible this morning, though. What do you usually take after a bender?'

‘I wouldn't know. That was my first.' And last, she thought, lifting her hand to her throbbing head. ‘Unless you count the bottle of cider we drank in the barn when we were thirteen.'

‘What made you start last night?'

She eyed him resentfully. What does he expect me to say? I found out you were marrying someone else and I wanted to dull the pain! God, I probably already told him. Desperately she tried to piece together the fragmented memories of the previous evening. It would help if she knew what indiscretions had passed her lips…

‘Won't Rebecca wonder where you are?'

‘She knows where I am.'

‘She must trust you.' Her lips quivered slightly and she firmly clamped them together.

‘I'll get you coffee.'

‘I am thirsty.'

‘Dehydration. Alcohol plays havoc with your electrolyte balance.' He sounded knowledgeable on the subject, but Hope didn't understand or care.

The bitter aroma of the coffee curled in her nostrils as she sipped the scalding liquid. ‘Should I apologise for my behaviour last night?'

She tried to make it sound as if his reply wasn't that important. She was painfully sober now, and she knew, as desperate as she was to have him love her, she couldn't make it obvious. In fact, it was imperative she hid it! Last night the barriers had been down. She didn't like to contemplate what she might have revealed then.

‘You were charming last night. If you discount the singing.'

Hope tried to detect any sign of deceit on his face. Perhaps he was tactfully sparing her blushes. He never had done so before, she reminded herself. ‘I don't sing.
I was only in the choir to make up numbers at school— I had to mime.'

‘A very wise decision on someone's part.'

‘What happened to Jon? Why didn't he bring me home?'

‘He anticipated a scene.'