The Matchmaker Bride (4 page)

‘Still,’ Emily persisted in that same teasing tone, ‘I remember the lectures you gave me. When I picked a few flowers from your garden, you positively
glowered.
You terrified me—’

‘By a few flowers you mean all the daffodils.’ They had been his mother’s favourite, and he’d been furious with her for beheading them all, as he remembered.

‘Was it all of them?’ Her eyebrows arched in surprise. ‘Oh, dear. I was a bit of a brat, wasn’t I?’

‘I didn’t want to be the one to say it,’ Jason murmured, and was rewarded with a gurgle of throaty laughter that made him feel as if he’d just stuck his finger in an electric socket. His whole body felt wired, alive and pulsating with pure lust. This evening really had been a mistake. He was playing with fire, and while he could handle a few burns, Emily surely couldn’t. That was why he’d always stayed away, and why he should keep at it. Right now he could have been sitting down to dinner with Patience Felton-Smythe, a boring woman with a horsey face who liked to garden and knit and was on the board of three charities. In short, the kind of woman he intended to marry.

Emily gazed out of the window at the blur of traffic, the streets of London slick with rain. Although it was only the beginning of November, the Christmas lights had already been strung along Regent Street and their lights were streakily reflected on the pavement below.

‘Where are we going?’ she asked as Jason turned onto Brook Street.

‘Claridge’s,’ he said and Emily let out a little laugh.

‘I should have known. Somewhere upscale and respectable and just a little bit stodgy.’

‘Like me?’ Jason filled in as they pulled up to the landmark hotel.

Emily smiled sweetly. She
had
offended Jason with her offhand remark. ‘You said it, not me.’

‘You didn’t need to. But, in any case, Claridge’s has had a bit of a remake over the years. You might find it’s the same with me.’ He tossed the keys to the valet and came around to help Emily out of the car, his hand strong and firm as he
guided her from the low-slung Porsche—not easy to manage in her stiletto heels and short skirt—and continued to hold her hand as he led her into the restaurant. Emily didn’t protest, although she surely should have. There was something comforting and really rather nice about the way his fingers threaded through hers, his grip sure and strong.

It reminded her of when she’d been younger, and no matter what she’d done or where she’d gone, she’d trusted implicitly that Jason would be there to save her. Scold her too, undoubtedly, but she’d always known with him she was safe.

Yet as Jason glanced back at her, his eyes glinting, turning them the colour of dark honey, she had to acknowledge that something about holding Jason’s hand didn’t feel like when she was younger at all. In fact it felt quite different—different enough for a strange new uneasiness to ripple through her, and she smiled and slipped her hand from his as the maître d’ led them to a secluded table in a corner of the iconic restaurant.

‘So what’s the occasion, exactly?’ Emily asked as she opened the menu and began to peruse its offerings. ‘Occasion?’

‘I can’t think the last time you took me out to dinner, if ever.’

Jason’s lips twitched. ‘There’s a first time for everything.’

‘I suppose, but…’ Emily paused, cocking her head as she gazed at Jason; his hair was a little damp and rumpled from the rain and he had an endearingly studious expression on his face as he perused the wine list. She could see the faint shadow of stubble on his jaw, and it made him look surprisingly attractive. Sexy, even, which was ridiculous because she’d never thought of Jason that way—

Except for that once, and that was
not
going to be repeated.

‘Are you checking up on me?’ she asked, and Jason glanced up from the wine list.

‘Checking up on you? You sound like you have a guilty conscience, Em. Too many parties?’

‘No, it’s just…’ She paused, uncertain how to articulate how odd it was to be here with Jason, almost as if they were on a date. Which was ridiculous, because she knew Jason didn’t think of her that way—hadn’t he proved it on the dance floor seven years ago? Emily was quite sure nothing had changed there.

Except
she
had changed, of course. She’d grown up and moved long past that silly moment of infatuation with staid, stuffy Jason. And while she was perfectly happy to have dinner with an old family friend, she wasn’t sure she wanted some kind of lecture. Had her father asked Jason to keep an eye on her, now he was back in London for a fair bit? It was quite possible.

‘Just no lectures,’ she said, wagging a finger at him, and Jason shook his head.

‘I think you’re a little too old for lectures, Em. Unless you misbehave, of course.’ There was something almost wicked about Jason’s smile, his eyes glinting in the candlelit dimness of the room, and Emily felt her stomach dip again. He turned back to the menu and she decided she must have imagined that suggestive undercurrent, that little glimpse of wickedness. There was nothing wicked about Jason Kingsley at all. He was the most law-abiding citizen she had ever known.

‘I promise not to,’ she replied, tossing her hair, and Jason beckoned the waiter over to the table to take their orders.

Emily ordered and then glanced around the room as Jason ordered for himself, a low murmur she didn’t really hear. Most of the diners were businessmen making deals, or well-heeled pensioners. This place really was a little stodgy.

‘The chicken? Adventurous, Em,’ Jason said, slanting her an amused look as the waiter left.

Emily gave him her own flippant look right back. She’d
been a notoriously picky eater as a child, as Jason undoubtedly remembered. ‘The braised calf livers aren’t to my taste.’

‘Still picky?’

‘Discriminating is the word I’d use. And not as much as you might remember, Jason. I have changed, you know.’

‘I don’t doubt it.’ He paused, his long, supple fingers toying with the stem of his water glass. ‘I suppose,’ he said musingly, ‘there’s quite a bit I don’t know about you now. I’ve been gone, most of the time at least, for so long.’

‘But now you’re back to stay?’

He shrugged. ‘For as long as needed.’

Emily nodded in understanding. ‘On this personal business of yours?’

A frown creased his brow before his expression cleared and he flashed her a quick, knowing smile. ‘Yes.’

She couldn’t help but laugh; he wouldn’t give anything away. He never did, but then she’d never thought Jason had any secrets before. Or at least secrets worth knowing. ‘You’re a man of mystery now, aren’t you?’

‘Rather than boring?’ Jason filled in, one eyebrow arched.

‘I think I hurt your feelings when I said that.’

‘Only a little bit. As retribution, I told the waiter to bring you the calf livers rather than the chicken.’

Her eyes widened as she realised she actually hadn’t heard what he’d ordered. ‘You did not!’

‘No, I didn’t. But you believed me, didn’t you?’ His faint smile, for a second, formed into a fully fledged grin, and the effect of that smile had Emily unsettled yet again. She’d forgotten how white Jason’s teeth were, how the dimple in his cheek deepened…. He really was a handsome man, which was, of course, what had compelled her to flirt with him seven years ago. She would not make the same mistake again.

‘Only because you’ve always told me the truth, no matter how ungracious it is.’

He cocked his head, his gaze sweeping over her in considering assessment. ‘Would you rather I lied?’

Emily thought of times Jason had told her the unvarnished truth when no one else would: when she was fourteen, she’d had a terrible spot on the tip of her nose. She’d been horribly embarrassed, and in a moment of desperation she’d asked Jason if he’d noticed it.

Straight-faced, he’d said,
Em, how could I not? But I still like you, spots and all.

And when she’d been fifteen and missing her mother, who’d died when she was only three, she’d asked him if one ever stopped missing one’s mum. She’d never met his mother; she’d died when he was eight years old.

No,
he said,
you never stop. But it does get easier. Sometimes.

His words had comforted her because she’d known them for truth rather than mere sentiment.

‘No,’ she said now, with her own surprised honesty, ‘I wouldn’t rather you lied. I suppose you need someone in your life who will tell you the truth.’

‘I’ll always do that.’ His gaze lingered on her for a moment longer than she expected, so a sudden warmth spread through her limbs, a new unsettling awareness that she could hardly credit. This was
Jason.
She felt a rush of relief when the sommelier came with the wine and Emily watched as Jason, with that same easy assurance, swilled it in his glass before taking a sip and then nodding his approval. When the man had left, he raised his glass, the deep ruby-red of the wine catching the candlelight, in a toast.

‘To old friends and new beginnings,’ he said, his gaze still lingering, Emily raised her own glass, as well.

‘Hear, hear.’

‘So,’ Jason said once they had each taken a sip of wine, ‘how is Helen getting on?’

‘Ah, I knew there was an ulterior motive to this dinner.’

‘Not at all,’ Jason replied blandly. ‘But, since you interviewed her this morning, I thought I might as well ask.’

‘Well, I hired her as you asked me to. I think she’ll do well enough. She hardly has the experience, though.’

‘I didn’t expect her to.’

Emily raised her eyebrows. ‘A charity case?’

‘Just a kindness,’ Jason replied mildly.

Emily reached for her wine again, suppressing a sharp stab—of something. Whatever uncomfortable emotion was assailing her was not one she wanted to name. ‘She’s quite beautiful, you know.’

‘Actually, I don’t. As you might recall, I told you yesterday that I’d never met her.’

‘Ah, yes.’ Emily pursed her lips. ‘I do recall now. You wanted to hire her as a favour to Richard Marsden.’

Jason cocked his head. ‘I don’t think I mentioned him by name, but yes.’

‘Because,’ Emily continued wryly, but with a little bite to her words, ‘Helen and Richard are going to make a
go
of it.’

Jason paused, his wine glass halfway to his lips. ‘You sound as if you don’t approve.’

‘Who am I to approve or disapprove?’ Emily replied, her eyebrows arching innocently.

‘It sounds eminently sensible to me,’ Jason said with a brisk reasonableness Emily didn’t like.

‘Oh, yes, very sensible,’ she agreed. ‘Hardly romantic, though.’

‘Romantic?’ Jason frowned. ‘Is it meant to be romantic?’

He sounded so nonplussed that Emily almost wanted to laugh, yet something in her—some deep, hidden well of emotion—kept her from amusement. Instead, she almost felt hurt, which made no sense at all and so she pushed the thought away. ‘Well, in general, Jason,’ she said, as if explaining basic arithmetic to a slightly backward child, ‘the kind of relationship Helen was talking about with Richard is meant
to be romantic rather than
sensible.
You’re hardly choosing a…a pair of shoes when it comes to a girlfriend or even a wife—’

‘I’m a great believer in sensible shoes.’

Emily narrowed her eyes, unable to tell whether Jason was joking or not. She had a feeling he wasn’t. ‘A girl likes to be swept a little bit off her feet, you know.’

‘It sounds dangerous,’ Jason replied, straight-faced. ‘If you’re swept off your feet, you could lose your balance. You might even fall.’

‘Exactly,’ Emily replied. ‘You might fall in love, which is the whole point, isn’t it? Rather than making a go of it.’

He eyed her thoughtfully. ‘You seem to have taken exception to that expression.’

‘I have,’ Emily agreed with a bit more passion than she would have preferred to show. The glass of wine must be going to her head; she’d had hardly anything to eat since breakfast. ‘I’d much rather stay single my whole life than be with someone who asks me to make a
go
of it,’ she finished, her voice still sounding a little too loud.

‘Duly noted. And are you planning to stay single, then?’

‘As a matter of fact, yes,’ she said, glad to see surprise flash across his features. ‘I’ve no reason to get married.’

‘No reason?’

‘I’m not lonely or unhappy or dying to have children,’ Emily replied with a shrug and a bit more conviction than she actually felt. She didn’t want to admit to Jason that she had no reason to get married because she hadn’t met anyone worth marrying. Worth taking that risk for. ‘I’m not going to wait around for Prince Charming to come and rescue me,’ she declared, her tone starting to sound strident. Jason raised his eyebrows, a small smile playing about his mouth, clearly amused. ‘I want to have fun.’

‘Now that I can believe.’

She made a face at him. ‘What’s wrong with that? There’s plenty of time to settle down.’

‘For you, perhaps.’

‘Oh, yes, I forget how old you are. One foot in the grave already.’ She smiled at him, determined to stay light and teasing although for some reason she was feeling less and less so. ‘In any case,’ she said dismissively, ‘I have friends, a job I love, a niece and nephew to cuddle and a man who adores me.’

Jason stilled. ‘A man who adores you?’ he queried in a tone of polite interest.

Emily couldn’t help but laugh at Jason’s suspicious look. He looked as though he thought she had some sort of toyboy on retainer. ‘My father, of course.’ She eyed him mischievously. ‘Did you think I was talking about someone else?’

‘I wondered,’ he admitted blandly. ‘But since you’ve been wittering on about your determination to stay single, I had to assume we were not talking about a romantic interest.’

‘I wasn’t wittering,’ Emily said with some affront, and Jason raised his eyebrows.

‘I apologise. You were waxing poetically.’

She made a face. ‘That sounds worse.’ To her surprise, she found she was enjoying this little repartee. She leaned forward, a sudden, sharp curiosity making her ask, ‘And what about you, Jason? Any plans to be swept off your feet?’