Beaumont Brides Collection (33 page)

‘Last night, in the heat of the moment, we both said things we have reason to regret. I made a mistake about your relationship with Melanie, it was an honest mistake, but I am prepared to apologise. I’m sure on reflection you would wish to withdraw your own remarks.’

‘And if I don’t?’

‘Then I’m afraid I won’t be able to accept any further sponsorship from you, or any company with which you are associated.’

She had shaken him. Not that there had been any outward indication, but his eyes betrayed him. ‘You’ll go to the wall,’ he said.

‘If I can live with that, I’m sure you can. I’m sorry about Melanie, of course. She was so excited about working on “Holiday Bay”.’ From somewhere she found a careless little shrug. ‘She’ll be terribly disappointed.’

‘No she won’t. You are bluffing, Fizz, so I’m going to do you a favour forget what you just said. But before I do, I’ll offer you a few simple words of advice. I suggest you have them framed and hung where you can see them every moment of your working life.’ He regarded her darkly. ‘Never, ever, make a threat you’re not prepared to carry out.’

‘Who said I’m not?’ she flared up at him.

‘You’ve been running the promos all weekend, getting everyone excited. I think you should be the one worrying about whether I pull Melanie out, don’t you?’

‘You wouldn’t do that, Luke.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because it would be self-defeating. You see I know what you’re up to.’ She opened her desk drawer and produced the newspaper cutting, pushing it towards him. ‘That is what this is all about, isn’t it? Getting back at Claudia.’

He glanced at it. ‘How long have you known about this?’

‘Unfortunately I didn’t see it until after I had signed your agreement. When were you going to release that press cutting to the tabloids, Luke?’ She waited but he didn’t pretend not to understand.

‘To coincide with Melanie’s first broadcast, I thought.’

‘Yes, I would have chosen that moment. Let us hope that after so much trouble and expense, it doesn’t turn out to be a damp squib.’

‘The tabloids will love it.’

‘I’m counting on that, Luke, because the advertisers will love it too. There’s nothing like a cat-fight between two actresses to raise the interest. Hollywood publicists have been manufacturing them for years.’

‘And you think that you’ll be able to get by without my help?’

‘I’m sure of it.’

‘Are you? Then answer this. Did one of your major advertisers recently decide against renewing a contract with you?’

Fizz felt a cold, clammy hand clutch at her heart. ‘It happens,’ she said.

‘Well, it could get to be a regular occurrence.’

‘I see.’ And she did. She would never distrust a gut-reaction again.

‘I’m calling your bluff, Fizz. And I’m raising the stakes. You see, I have this strange feeling that you would do anything to save this radio station from bankruptcy and I intend to prove it.’

She was trembling. She couldn’t take much more of this intense battering of her senses. ‘What do you want, Luke?’ she asked.

There was a long, painful moment while his eyes traversed the length of her body in a lingering survey of its curves. Then he took the heavy hank of her long chestnut hair and in swift gesture that wrapped it around his fist, he tied her to him, drawing her closer until her face was inches from his.

‘You know what I want,’ he said, with a quiet menace that struck her to the bone. ‘I want you, Felicity Beaumont.’

Her heart, already pounding from his insolent inspection, now flared in alarm. ‘I… I don’t know what you mean.’ At least she hoped she didn’t know what he meant. The hope was short-lived as he wasted no time in removing any vestige of doubt as to his very precise meaning.

‘Of course you do. The unspoken part of our agreement?’ he reminded her.

‘There is no -’

‘You will discover for yourself whether the four-poster is too small. Shall we say the second Thursday of every month?’ She started under his hand. ‘I really can’t bring myself to participate in ritual sacrifice more frequently than that.’

She swore at him then, one single word to tell him what she thought of him. He didn’t flinch, didn’t appear to hear her.

‘And on the Friday morning I will send the sponsorship cheque to your father just in time to keep the bailiffs out. Would you like me to include a report on your performance? Do you earn a bonus for extra effort?’

‘No!’

The desperate plea wrenched from her lips made no impression on him. ‘No, you don’t earn a bonus? Or does that cry from the heart mean he has no idea just what kind of sacrifice you’re prepared to make in order to protect his investment? How interesting.’ His eyes gleamed thoughtfully as he considered her pale face.

‘Luke, please!’

‘Luke, please.’ He repeated, grimly. ‘You do that so nicely. So convincingly. How can a man resist?’ And without warning, his mouth descended fiercely upon hers.

She could not pull away, though she tried, but his hand clasping her hair to the nape of her neck held her fast. And as she began to beat against his chest with her arms, he simply caught her round the waist and jerked her tight against him, pinning them against his chest so that she was utterly helpless and had to endure that punishing kiss.

Except that held against his vibrant body, his mouth doing impossible, exciting things to her, evoking a shimmering response that obliterated any desire to resist him, endurance was not the word that sprang to her mind.

‘Luke.’ She murmured his name as he finally he lifted his head to gaze deep into her eyes and boneless she leaned weakly against him. Then with an angry little hiss, he jerked away from her. ‘I’ll consider that a deposit on account, Fizz. And of course, being such a thorough young woman, you won’t need me to remind you that you’re still one payment behind. I’ll give you a call shall I, when I have an evening free?’

She looked at him, her eyes pleading with his, unable to believe that he could do this to her. She met a blank wall. Obsidian, bottle glass black eyes that held no expression. ‘Yes, do give me a call, Luke,’ she said. ‘I’ll look forward to it.’

The trouble was, Fizz, thought miserably, she’d brought the whole thing crashing down upon herself. In the quiet peace of the dark harbour, she wrapped her thick fleece lined jacket around her, stuffed her hands into her pockets and stared down at the sea sucking at the ancient stone wall.

Given the right circumstances she would have surrendered all too willingly to Luke Devlin’s embrace and thought herself redeemed by him. But not like this.

On Saturday night, wrapped in his arms, she might have temporarily confused the hunger pangs of desire with love to the point where nothing else mattered. Not even Melanie. And afterwards, when she knew the truth of that relationship, she might so easily have been convinced that he felt something in return.

Why else would he be so angry with her?

But not now.

Now he had left her in no doubt where his feelings lay. Desire was far too eloquent a word for what was, after all, nothing but a business transaction.

Her career or her honour. It was an extraordinary choice to have to make even once in a lifetime. It was a road she had travelled before, but this time it was different. She was older, stronger and she had invested too much of herself in the radio station to let some man take it from her without a fight.

But she didn’t fool herself. There were some games where there could be no winners, only losers.

When she reached home, saw the flash of the answering machine, she suddenly remembered Julian and his urgent call.

‘Julian, I’m sorry. Things have been a big hectic today.’

Hectic

‘Are you coming down with a cold or something?’ His concern was immediate. ‘You sound quite croaky.’

‘I’m fine. Have you got anything for me?’

‘Devlin doesn’t have shares in The Chocolate Company.’ Julian’s excitement was palpable. There was definitely something. After today she scarcely doubted it. ‘But he knows a man who does. He went to school with Richard Crompton.’ Fizz waited. ‘TCC is Crompton’s company.’

It was strange, but she discovered that she didn’t want Julian to know the truth. ‘That doesn’t mean anything,’ she said, with apparent carelessness. ‘Some girls I went to school with I wouldn’t cross the road to speak to.’

‘Same here.’ He hesitated. ‘Well, actually I went to an all boys school, but… Well, you know what I mean.’

‘I know what you mean, Julian.’

‘But the thing is Luke Devlin flew from the west coast of America to be best man at Crompton’s wedding a couple of years ago. And he stood as godfather to Richard’s daughter just before Christmas.’ Fizz didn’t say anything. There didn’t seem to be much worth saying. ‘Fizz? Can I do anything?’ Another long silence. ‘Fizz?’ A little more urgently this time.

She pulled herself together. It was decision time. And there really wasn’t any choice. ‘I’m sorry, Julian. Actually there is something you can do for me. Something I don’t want anyone else to find out about.’

*****

‘Luke?’ Melanie advanced deeper into the gloom of the study. ‘Luke, what is it?’

He roused himself, looked at the girl standing before him, young, fresh, her whole life before her. ‘Nothing. I was just thinking about Juliet, that’s all.’

‘Mum? What about her?’

‘That aura she carried about with her. As if she knew something that no one else did. There always seemed to be a part of her that was just out of reach.’

Melanie flopped down beside him on the floor, facing the fire, her arms curled about her legs, her chin tucked on her knees. ‘I know what you mean. She had a place inside her head where no one else was allowed.’

‘Not even you?’

‘I asked her about it once and she told me that every woman has a place like that, a place that she fills up with all the good things that have ever happened to her, special secrets, all the things she hoped for. It’s somewhere to go when she’s feeling a little bit alone, or frightened, or unhappy.’ She turned and looked up at him. ‘She said I’d understand one day.’

‘And do you?’

She hesitated just a second too long. ‘Perhaps I haven’t anything important enough to put in a place like that.’

‘No hopes? No special secrets?’

‘Special secrets are not for telling, Luke.’

‘No, of course not.’ But she didn’t mention the hopes. He looked down at her with a kind of exasperation. ‘You’re just like her, you know.’

‘Am I? She was very pretty.’

‘Not to look at, minx. Except perhaps sometimes. Just something about the way you move, a sudden phrase said just the same way…’ No. It was more than that. Directness. Courage. He hoped she would never be hurt the way her mother had been. Would never have to retreat into her head for memories instead of living every day of her life to the full. She was watching him and he grinned at her. ‘Stop fishing for compliments.’

Melanie grinned back, her head on one side. ‘So, what about you and Fizz Beaumont then?’

It was his turn to hesitate. ‘What do you mean?’

She threw him a look full of mischief. ‘I asked her if you’d had a row or something.’

‘That was very rude of you.’

‘Probably. But I wanted to know.’

‘And what did she say?’

Melanie’s eyes gleamed. ‘She said “or something”. Then she changed the subject. She was very polite, but she went off somewhere inside her head. She does that too. Have you noticed?’

He had noticed. There wasn’t anything about her that wasn’t stencilled onto his brain.

‘Well?’

His jaw tightened. ‘What do you expect me to say?’

‘You could tell me your side of it.’

‘I don’t have a side and I wouldn’t dream of contradicting a lady. If she said, “or something”, you’ll just have to be satisfied. Please don’t let your imagination run away with the idea that there is anything else.’

‘I’m not imagining this.’ She held up Fizz’s earring, dangling it tantalisingly in front of him.

He wanted to reach out and snatch it from the wretched child, but he didn’t. He remained quite still. ‘What is it?’

‘An earring. Fizz was wearing it on Saturday, didn’t you notice? Mrs Harris found it this morning. Under the rug.’

‘If she only found one earring after Saturday it must be some kind of miracle.’

‘It was the only one she found in here. Under this rug. After all, this room was out of bounds. Locked.’ Luke maintained a dignified silence. ‘Fizz has pierced ears and this is expensive piece of jewellery. See it has a little safety hook. I expect she lost it when she came down with that headache. Perhaps she took it off before she decided to lay on the floor and -’

‘That’s enough, Mel.’ Luke leaned forward, twitched the earring from her fingers and slipped it into his pocket. ‘I’ll see she gets it back.’

‘Good.’ Melanie leapt to her feet. ‘Shall I get you a drink? A brandy?’

For a moment their eyes met and Luke knew she was remembering that he had given Fizz a brandy too, for her “headache”.