The Marriage Merger (7 page)

She smiled delightedly up at Braden and
kissed him on the cheek.

“Braden, darling, you should have let me know
you were up here. I would have had you over to dinner.”

More like have him for dinner came unbidden
to Jenna’s thoughts.

“Your office said you’d been here nearly two
weeks already.” The voice matched its owner, sleek and elegant,
almost purring in delight. “I can’t believe you haven’t come to see
me.”

“I’ve had a lot to get organised, Veronica.”
As Braden walked over to the dining room table where Jenna and
Caitlin sat, the woman had slipped her arm around his and smiled up
at him.

The smile fluttered briefly as her eyes
darted over Jenna, then she was hurrying towards Caitlin. She
placed two slim hands on Caitlin’s face and tilted it up to
hers.

“Caitlin, you poor little thing. How is your
dear mother? They must let her out of that horrible place
soon.”

Caitlin cringed, her body shrinking back into
the chair. Braden placed his hand lightly on Veronica’s arm.

“Veronica, I’d like you to meet Jenna Martin.
Jenna is my ... housekeeper ... while Mrs Jenkins is looking after
her sick daughter. Jenna, this is Veronica Lloyd, a business
associate of mine.”

Pale blue eyes took in Jenna’s cotton shirt,
denim shorts and lack of make-up in one dismissive sweep. Lips that
were just a shade too thin but skillfully disguised with lipliner
murmured in brief acknowledgment before turning back to Braden in a
brilliant smile.

“I have so much to discuss with you, Braden.
Perhaps we could go into your study? I don’t really wish to intrude
on such a ... domestic ... scene.”

Veronica swayed up the hallway with Braden
close behind.

When she had first seen Veronica Jenna had
felt all her old ‘ugly duckling’ perceptions of herself rise up
from some deep recess in her memory. Even as she sat there she
could feel her limbs starting to take on the gawky, awkward traits
that had marred her teenage years. Then when Veronica’s glance had
dismissed her as nothing more than ‘the housekeeper’ a flood of
anger had swept away all the doubts in her self-confidence. She
knew her worth and no superficial society swan was going to treat
her like a lowly kitchenhand.

One glance at Caitlin’s face and all thoughts
of herself left her mind. Tears were shimmering in Caitlin’s eyes
and distress was clearly etched in her rigid demeanour. Jenna’s
anger surged again. How could Veronica not realize what her
thoughtless words would do to the child? Jenna stood up. “Caitlin,
I’m feeling very warm so I’m going to have a swim to cool down. Do
you want to have one with me?”

Gratitude and relief slackened the stiffness
in Caitlin’s body. She nodded.

As she changed into her swimsuit, Jenna tried
to push aside the niggles of resentment caused by Veronica's
obvious disdain. She might not have the money to dress like
Veronica, but she knew that no amount of stylish clothing could
ever hope to give Veronica the curves Jenna knew were her greatest
asset. From the way Braden had reacted when she had emerged from
the pool the other morning she guessed that pencil-slim women were
not high on his arousal scale.

For half an hour she and Caitlin swam and
played in the pool. Then Caitlin motioned to her that she wanted to
continue with her exercises, so Jenna’s professionalism took over
and for the next half hour she concentrated on ensuring that
Caitlin was receiving maximum benefit from her expertise.

During the next two days Braden spent most of
his time in his study or in his Sunshine Coast office at
Mooloolaba. Once again he had reverted to being polite but remote
in his attitude to Jenna. To Caitlin he was the same loving uncle
the child relied on. After dinner at night he would retire into his
study.

Jenna had persuaded Caitlin that massage was
essential to help strengthen her muscles and between this, the
exercises, and the extra food Caitlin was eating as a result of her
stimulated appetite, the girl’s face had taken on a healthy glow
and Jenna knew it wouldn’t be long before her body and limbs would
show improvement.

Late Saturday afternoon Braden walked into
the kitchen as Jenna was slicing carrots in preparation for the
evening meal.

"I won't be having dinner here tonight,
Jenna. I'll be eating at Veronica's."

Jenna fought down the sharp surge of jealousy
that threatened. She tossed him a casual smile. "Is Veronica a good
cook?"

He shrugged his broad shoulders in an
off-hand manner. “She has her own chef but she usually hires extra
staff for large dinner parties.”

Jenna opened the freezer door and pretended
to search for something. “And is this one of those large dinner
parties?” she asked casually.

Braden paused as he poured juice into a tall
glass. He ran an assessing look over the appealing derriere in
fitting denim shorts that turned towards him as Jenna pulled out a
low drawer of the freezer. A slow smile curved his sensual lips.
“No,” the gleam in his eye was more mischief than malice, “this is
one of those more ... intimate affairs.”

A packet of frozen peas flew past his head
and landed on the sink. The drawer was shoved closed and the door
smartly slammed. The green eyes that looked at him were wide in
their innocence.

“Sorry,” she said, “I didn’t realise you were
so close.” She walked over to the sink and sliced open the
packet.

Braden watched the knife blade dig into the
plastic and walked away, a smile playing at the corners of his
mouth.

Jenna added the peas to the chicken casserole
she was preparing. Darn! How could she let him get to her like
that! The thought of him and Veronica dining intimately together
made her fists clench. She tried to banish the image of what
Veronica might have planned for after dinner entertainment from her
mind. She didn’t know if Braden found Veronica attractive or not
but the woman definitely had a possessive streak where he was
concerned. Jenna also didn’t know how wealthy Veronica was but
Braden’s good looks, wealth and charm would certainly make him a
magnet for most women.

Deliberately she turned her mind to Caitlin.
Braden had told her that he had had Caitlin assessed by the best
psychiatrists but her passive resistance had made it difficult for
them to help her. They were hoping that Alicia would recover from
her breakdown and this would be sufficient to draw Caitlin from her
silent world. What worried Jenna was that Alicia might not recover
completely. Braden had said she had always been over-sensitive and
nervous. What would happen to Caitlin then?

Jenna resolved to try to get as much normalcy
into Caitlin’s life as possible. Staying in the penthouse all the
time and being isolated from other people, especially other
children, certainly wasn’t a normal existence.

The isolation was starting to chafe with
Jenna herself. Braden had arranged for the local stores to deliver
whatever she wanted and send the accounts to him, so she hadn’t
even needed to walk to the store for a carton of milk. She would
ask Braden how close they were to the Sunshine Plaza. She had seen
the giant shopping complex advertised on television. The Lion King
was showing again in one of the complex’s six theatres and she had
seen the interest on Caitlin’s face as they’d watched the
preview.

Just then she heard Braden call to Caitlin
that he was leaving. She turned to ask him, and the words caught in
her throat. He was wearing a dinner suit, its impeccable cut
emphasizing the breadth of his shoulders, his flat stomach, his
strong thighs. His black hair was brushed back but one stray lock
escaped onto his forehead in an appealing curl, breaking the hard
straight angles of his face.

He picked Caitlin up and swung her around. As
he spun his eyes locked with Jenna’s and he slowed to a stop. The
blue flecks in his grey eyes deepened, glittered. He walked slowly
towards her, powerful, dangerous, challenging. She knew he was
throwing down the gauntlet of his sexuality with each lithe swing
of his legs but she couldn’t break from his gaze.

Her bones were gradually dissolving, melting
into one great molten longing to blend her body with his and
experience all the delights she was sure it would give. She knew
her desire was showing in her face but she could do little to
disguise it.

Her hands reached behind her for the support
of the bench as he stopped in front of her. She felt her breath
leaving her body in a great sigh and saw the triumphant gleam in
his eyes. He held Caitlin out to her, and as her arms weakly
reached out and took the child he turned on his heel and walked
out.

After she put Caitlin to bed Jenna paced the
loungeroom like a caged tiger.

How could she have reacted to him like that?
He must have laughed to himself all the way to Veronica’s place.
Her imagination ran riot as she thought of him still laughing as he
kissed Veronica. But maybe he wasn’t kissing Veronica. Perhaps he
didn’t see Veronica like that. He had, after all, described her as
a business associate. But what sort of business associate? Jenna
had known medical professionals who had affairs with their
colleagues. Perhaps Braden enjoyed mixing business with
pleasure.

Finally she spent an hour swimming out her
frustrations before going to bed. But not to sleep. It was two a.m.
when Braden’s footsteps echoed in the hallway, and she punched her
pillow into a lumpy mess before sleep finally claimed her.

Jenna pushed a spoon into the coffee jar and
sighed. The day outside was sunny and fresh, a beautiful warm day
alive with salt tang from the ocean. But her mood was far from
receptive to the weather’s enticements.

The coffee was hot and strong and almost
burnt her mouth but it cleared a few cobwebs from her brain.

Braden and Caitlin were sitting out in the
courtyard eating breakfast. Jenna made some toast, added a liberal
helping of marmalade, and carried the plate and coffee mug out to
join them. Braden greeted her with a smile. He looked refreshed and
relaxed as though he had enjoyed a full night’s sleep. If she
really tried she was sure she could hate him.

“Unusual for you to sleep in, Jenna,” he
commented, his smile broadening. “Didn’t you sleep well?”

“I slept like a log,” she lied. One that
rolled down hills all night.

Caitlin frowned at Jenna’s tone and Jenna
felt guilty. At all costs it was imperative not to cause any
friction that might set back the progress Caitlin had made.

“And did you have a good evening?” she asked
Braden nicely.

“Yes. It was very ... successful.”

His satisfied smile cut through Jenna like a
knife. Until then she hadn’t fully acknowledged the extent of her
jealousy, afraid it would reveal just how much she cared for this
man. She had only known him a week but he was indelibly imprinted
on every nuance of her psyche, every corner of her heart. She had
known from the moment he'd kissed her that he would have the power
to break her heart and she had fought his allure. But if her
feelings now were any indication it was an unsuccessful battle.

“I was just telling Caitlin,” he continued,
“that I thought it was time we went for a drive and showed you some
of the Coast. And there’s an ice-creamery at Noosa that stocks
Caitlin’s favourite ice-cream.”

Caitlin nodded and looked expectantly at
Jenna. She was trapped. The way she felt she would have given
anything not to be in close proximity to Braden today. Her
instincts had warned her not to let her feelings for Braden become
so deep. She should have listened to those instincts - he was
obviously involved with Veronica. But if she refused to go Caitlin
would be disappointed, and it would also be defeating Jenna’s own
resolve to get Caitlin mixing with people again.

Well, she'd just have to concentrate on
Caitlin and the scenery. Perhaps ignoring Braden was the way to
cope with her wayward yearnings.

Braden’s silver BMW purred softly past
gleaming white sand and clear green-blue water.

The rolling surf looked inviting, but Jenna
knew she would have little opportunity to sample its pleasures.
Even though Caitlin’s leg was improving and it no longer dragged,
she would not yet have the strength to stand up in the crashing
waves. Braden must have seen the longing in Jenna's gaze.

“When you feel up to tackling a few waves
we’ll have to bring Jenna down to the beach for a swim, won’t we,
Caitlin?” he said.

The girl nodded in agreement. Jenna was
surprised at his perception. And his tact. His phrasing of the
question was designed to make Caitlin feel that she would be doing
Jenna a favour by becoming strong enough to swim in the surf. It
certainly gave the girl a goal to strive for.

As they drove, Braden pointed out various
places of interest, interspersing his commentary with anecdotes
about the buildings his companies had constructed. He was amusing
and interesting, and Jenna found herself relaxing and enjoying his
company in spite of her intentions to ignore him.

They passed beach after beach, each one as
impossibly beautiful as the previous one, before swinging away from
the coast and climbing higher and higher until Braden drove up a
street that ended at a lookout. He stopped the car and they got
out.

“This is Laguna Lookout,” he explained. “To
the east you can see Noosa National Park - over 400 hectares of
grasslands and rainforest. North is Noosa Heads and the Noosa
River.”

The National Park was the green oasis Jenna
expected but what amazed her was the amount of trees and shrubbery
still visible in the built-up areas. This was no concrete jungle.
She turned to Braden in amazement. “There are no high-rise
buildings. I thought Noosa was the tourist mecca of the Sunshine
Coast?”