The Jane Austen Marriage Manual (28 page)

“And one more thing,” he said and followed me.

“Yes?” But before I could say another word he grabbed me and kissed me.
Ding, ding, ding
, the alarm went off inside my body once more. I squirmed but he kept kissing me and I stopped fighting it. It felt perfect.

“I’m not gay,” he said playfully as he pulled away and leapt down the stairs.

“You don’t have to prove it!” I shouted after him but I could feel my lips curl into a wide smile.

I went to my room and sat on my bed. I couldn’t stop smiling. Now what? On the one hand, how dare he grab me like that! Why did he care if I thought he was gay? Even if he was a good kisser, what difference did it make to him or me? The only man who should kiss me was Scott. On the other hand, there was no denying there was a connection between us, no matter how unlikely that seemed. When I thought of how recently he’d entered my life I was amazed at how we had become close, in an odd and antagonistic way, but close nonetheless. I shoved all of my valuables into the closet and locked it. By the time I came back downstairs I noticed that Griff and Clive were huddled together conspiratorially. Wanting to avoid another encounter I sought out Emma for my good-bye. By this point she was in the kitchen spreading peanut butter on cheese crackers.

“Pregnancy craving?” I asked and put my arms around her. “I hate to leave so early but Scott wants to go.”

She nodded and licked the knife clean. “Are we past his bedtime?” she said, then looked aghast. “Sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it.”

I waved her off. “Don’t worry.” I grinned, hoping to soften the fact that I was making such a quick exit. “I’ll be back later.”

I found Scott, who was hovering by the front door. We jumped into his limo and peeled away.

“That was quite the party,” he said and smiled politely. I smiled back but I was tired of smiling, of being polite, and of rules. I threw my arms around Scott and kissed him because I wanted to and because I needed
to erase the taste of Griff from my mouth. And I’m pleased to say he kissed back.

To hell with rule number one. Two hours later I was lying in Scott’s hotel bed with a newfound knowledge of what sex with a sixty-year-old was like—more spa treatment than earth shaking. To my disappointment, unlike those close encounters back in Florida and Switzerland, there had been a total lack of
ding, ding, ding
alarm bells. Clearly Griff’s kiss had shaken me up. But who needed hot? I couldn’t have everything. Even I knew that. I got out of bed and took my BlackBerry into the washroom and sent Fawn a text message.

“We did it. Sorry, I know I broke the rule.”

I didn’t have to wait long for an answer.

“Honey, if you want my help, you have to listen to me. Oh well, we’ll do damage control tomorrow. I’m pleasantly occupied at the moment.”

This last bit made me giggle, and even though it was very late, I decided on giving her one final bit of pertinent information.

“And btw, Griff’s not gay.”

Sure enough, she responded in seconds.

“I’m afraid to ask how you found out.”

“I have my ways.”

“Careful, Kate. He’s just the sort of man to mess up your plan.”

“Never fear. I can take care of Griff Saunderson.”

And then I turned off my BlackBerry and went to bed, not quite so sure I could take care of Griff.

I
woke up to a gentle kiss on my cheek from Scott and rolled over as he tossed me a bathrobe.

“My Lady,” he said with a charming smile. With his salt-and-pepper hair tousled, he looked sexy and young again. “Care for breakfast? I’ve ordered up a bunch of things off the menu.”

I followed him into the living area and spread out on the tray set for two were pancakes, sausage, fried eggs, and toast. If I kept this up I would gain thirty pounds. We chatted as we ate and he read
The Financial Times
, handing me the fashion pages.

“Scott,” I began, determined to do my own form of damage control. He folded his paper and looked at me thoughtfully. “Last night was wonderful. But I want you to know I don’t behave that way as a rule.”

He surprised me by laughing. “Are you saying I mean more to you than my groom, Bernardo?”

Oh shit. I squirmed a little and felt my face turn red.

“I’m teasing, Kate,” he said. “I also don’t jump into bed with every woman I meet.”

I nodded and smiled like a fool. Maybe I did need Fawn to be my Cyrano. “What I’m trying to say is I’m looking for something long-term,” I continued. “I realize we’ve only spent one night together so this may sound ridiculous, but you should know what I want. If you don’t want the same thing, then that’s fine, too, but tell me.”

I followed up with a swig of coffee. He rubbed his lips together and placed his knife and fork on his plate.

“I’m glad you told me,” he said. “I’m not looking for a fling, either. Tatiana was enough and you’ve shown me I need more from a relationship than a sexy young thing.”

I squirmed some more. How old did he think I was? I was still nearly twenty years younger. I bit my tongue; now was not the time to be feisty.

“You’re a mature and elegant woman, Kate,” he said as I bristled further at the word “mature.” “I look forward to getting to know you better. In fact, I was thinking. Why don’t you move in here with me?”

“Really?” I asked, stunned. His suite at the Langham Hotel was exquisite and spacious. “Are you sure?”

“Sorry if I shocked or offended you,” he said quickly.

I recovered as fast as I could. “No, I wasn’t offended at all. Just surprised, it’s so quick.”

“It would only be for a few weeks until I’m done with all my business in London,” he explained. “After seeing your friends’ place last night I think it may be a good idea and if we don’t like each other after a day or two, that’s that. Besides, I get lonely.”

“I’d love to,” I said, forcing myself to relax, as if moving in with a man after one night was the most natural thing in the world. “I’ll get my things after breakfast.”

“I’m impressed,” Fawn wrote in her text response to my update. “Just make sure you’re not just his date while he’s in London and he dumps you before heading back to America.”

I hadn’t thought of that. Never mind; I’d worry about that later.

As I stepped into Emma’s house the state of the place shocked me. The wannabe graffiti artists had found inspiration and all the main floor walls were covered with gruesome stick figures performing lewd acts. Garbage was strewn everywhere and whatever wine wasn’t consumed appeared to have been poured on the floor, judging by the sticky mess I couldn’t avoid stepping in. The party had obviously
continued well into the morning as I climbed over passed-out revelers. I made it to my room and nervously opened the door, unsure what to expect. Sure enough, there was someone asleep on my bed. I flipped on the light and the body stirred and rolled over. It was Griff.

“Not you again,” I said, trying to sound exasperated even though my stomach fluttered from excitement.

He sat up, his hair jutting out in all directions, and rubbed his eyes.

“Kate?” he said, sounding bewildered. “This is your room?”

“It is,” I said bluntly, trying to hide any tone of being glad to see him from my voice. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to pack.” I don’t know why I was hesitant to tell him the truth about Scott. It was ridiculous.

“Pack? Where are you off to?” he asked as he got up and stumbled to the doorway.

“If you must know,” I said, pausing, not wanting to spoil the flirtation I’d only just begun to enjoy. “I’m moving to Scott’s hotel for the time being. We’re becoming involved.”

He pursed his lips and ran his hand through his mop of hair. “Congratulations then,” he said coolly. “Love triumphs once more. When is the happy day?”

“Don’t be so mean,” I said quietly. “We may very well fall in love and get married.”

“Look, Kate,” he said and put his hand on my shoulder and off went those damn alarms again. “I don’t want to be mean. I’m glad you’re getting what you want. You deserve it.”

I looked at him expecting a snarky comment to follow. When none came I relaxed and forced a smile. “Thank you.”

“I just hope it makes you happy,” he continued. “Being with a man just for his wallet.”

“I knew you couldn’t let things be nice and polite,” I said accusingly. How quickly we could revert back to enemies. “Scott is a great man and I like him. That he happens to have money is icing on the cake.”

“We both know you wouldn’t be with a man his age unless he had money,” he said pointedly.

“Is that so? And who would I be with? You?” I said icily.

“You might,” he snapped.

“I wouldn’t be with you if you paid me,” I said with a sniff.

“Apparently that’s what it takes,” he retorted.

I threw whatever I had in my hands at his head but he was too fast and bolted out the door. I slammed it behind him and furiously stuffed my clothes into suitcases and shopping bags. When I came back downstairs there was no sign of Griff, but Emma was sitting on the floor nursing a cup of coffee. I sat down beside her.

“I’ve got news,” I said. She was half-awake as I told her about moving to the hotel.

“That’s great,” she said with a weak smile. “I hope you know what you’re doing. Not that I do. You’ll have to visit us in Dorset.”

“I will and I’ll bring Scott with me,” I said, liking that it was so easy to speak of us as a real couple.

“You know Penwick Manor is nearby where we’ll be living,” she said, hoping to pique my interest. “You can stay there.”

“I couldn’t!” I insisted, not letting on about Griff’s kiss or the fight we’d just had, or worse, my inexplicable attraction to the man. “It would be awkward having Griff wait on me and Scott.”

“I see your point,” she agreed.

It was sad leaving her in that house but as she pointed out, they were going to pack up what was left and drive to Dorset. I was very relieved to be back at the hotel and was greeted enthusiastically, if not lovingly, by Scott.

“I’ve made a list for you,” he said and handed me a printed page. I looked at it and was confused.

“This looks like a schedule,” I said and pored over the list of times with names beside them.

“It is,” he answered and began to put on his jacket.

“Whose?” I asked.

“Yours,” he said with a grin. “And mine.”

I smiled at him. Clearly, we were going to spend a lot of time together and I was happy with that, but I had no idea who any of the people were.

“Are all these people friends?”

“Some yes,” he said. “Mostly they’re business associates and their wives.” He rolled his eyes. “We made such a good team too nights ago, I really like the idea of our spending more time together.”

“We do make a good team,” I agreed. “But time alone might be more fun.”

“Unfortunately, my whole purpose of being in London is business and these engagements were prearranged,” he explained. “I can’t cancel them. If you come, we get to see each other. Besides, I like that I can bring you places. Tatiana didn’t always go over well, especially with wives.” He made a face.

“Your wish is my command.” I laughed. Not that I had a choice. Still, it pleased me that he had noticed my abilities at the gallery. Of course his clients’ wives didn’t take to Tatiana; all they saw were two large breasts aiming for their husbands’ wallets. I was no threat to them; I didn’t want married men. But there was a slight problem.

“My only concern is my clothes,” I said, trying to sound cheerful. “I packed for skiing in St. Moritz, not socializing in London. I have a few things, but looking at this calendar I hope you like some of my pencil skirts a whole lot because you’ll be seeing them a whole lot.”

He pondered this for a moment and said brightly, “Can’t you go shopping?”

I scrunched up my face and shook my head. I had arrived at the point of no escape and no excuse. I had to come clean, or at least almost clean.

“The truth is, Scott,” I began carefully and sat down on the gold velvet sofa and patted the cushion beside me for him to sit, which he did. “When my grandmother died, money wasn’t part of the inheritance.”

He nodded slowly, digesting this new information. I shifted nervously on the sofa, not sure how he’d take this.

“I don’t mind wearing the same outfits,” I offered. “Just as long as you don’t mind.”

He kissed me gently, reassuringly. “Don’t fret, Kate,” he said kindly. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of; there are lots of noble families like yours in this very situation. Let me take you shopping. We can go tomorrow.”

“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that,” I said slyly, so as not to appear too excited by the prospect of shopping with a billionaire.

“Don’t argue,” he said. “Now get changed; we have an afternoon tea to get to.”

The next week flew by in a series of lunches and dinners with different couples. Mostly it was endless talk about the recession, which thoroughly bored me as it would anyone who had already lost everything. But I was just as determined to please Scott as I was at the Serpentine arts gala and was charming and effusive toward him and his guests.

In between his so-called business socials we went shopping. He took me to the best department stores—Harrods, Selfridges, Harvey Nicks—but he also gave me the credit card tour of the flagship boutiques: Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, and Hermès. I’m not going to lie. Being able to pick what you want and not care about the price tag was an experience I could get very used to. But I didn’t go crazy; I just picked up one or two things I really liked. I didn’t want to come across as greedy. Even when I tried to pay for things, which wasn’t often, Scott never let me.

“Money is vulgar,” he said. “Women shouldn’t touch it.”

I liked his way of thinking.

When we were alone he was warm and romantic. Sex was still gentle and nice, though not too frequent. I wanted to fall in love with him and I wanted him to fall in love with me, yet despite all the positives there was something that seemed to hold both of us back. I decided that I just needed to be patient. Love would come. For his part, I couldn’t put my finger on it, but he seemed detached, as if his mind was somewhere else or with someone else. It was a worry that had one solution: Fawn.