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‘The woman I marry will know that she has my respect and loyalty. If and when I make a vow, I’ll never break it. I only intend to get married once.’
‘Sounds to me like you’ve had a nasty experience. What caused you to get so disenchanted with marriage?’
‘Over-familiarity. My father has been married four times and my mother is currently on her third husband. Both swore it was love each time, but as soon as the passion faded, they headed for the divorce courts. I have brothers and sisters dotted around the globe from their various forays into the wedded state.’
Not exactly good role models, she agreed. ‘It doesn’t have to be that way for you.’
He shrugged. ‘It isn’t going to be. I intend to honour my vows—when I make them.’
‘I’m pleased to hear it, but have you heard the one about leopards not changing their spots?’ she gibed.
Roarke smiled. ‘There’s always an exception to the rule, sweetheart.’
‘True, but I haven’t seen any flying pigs recently,’ Ginny mocked.
He gave her a long look for that, to which she smiled sweetly and he grunted, ‘I should have fired you months ago. Lord knows why I didn’t.’
‘Because it isn’t in your power to do so. Your grandfather hired me, and only he can fire me,’ she told him confidently, only to see him give a crocodile smile.
Tugging at the knot of his tie, he pulled it free and loosened the buttons of his shirt. ‘On the contrary. I could fire you at a moment’s notice. However, you’re damn good at your job. You’ve a good eye for colour and style, and we’ve heard nothing but acclaim for what you’ve done so far.’
His praise gave her a warm glow inside, though she didn’t let him know it. ‘Would this be a good time to ask for a rise?’ she asked, tongue-in-cheek, and he grinned appreciatively.
‘You’d probably get it, too. A good worker is worthy of her hire.’
Ginny wasn’t greedy. She had had a rise only a short while ago. The company rewarded its workers for their efforts without prompting, and she had received her share. That was enough for her. ‘Don’t worry, I have no intention of taking you up on that. So, what did the poor wastebasket do to incur your wrath?’
Reminded of what had happened earlier, Roarke let his expression become rueful. ‘It grinned at me.’
Vastly amused, Ginny smiled. ‘Grinned at you?’
‘Knowingly,’ Roarke confirmed.
‘Ah,’ she nodded wisely, knowing the feeling. ‘Lunch was not a success.’
His laugh was scornful. ‘To put it mildly. Which is why I need your help.’
Her mind was rioting with questions. Ginny reined them in. ‘Things must be bad if you need my help.’
‘You have no idea!’
Ginny waited for more, but when none came she frowned. ‘Are you going to tell me, or is it a game of twenty questions?’
Roarke took a deep breath and swung his chair round so that he was facing her. ‘My sister’s getting married at the weekend.’
Whilst interesting, it was not quite what she was expecting. ‘I’m sure I’m pleased for her, but what’s that got to do with me?’
His eyes flashed sparks at her interruption. ‘I was coming to that. I’ve been invited.’
It occurred to Ginny that he was uneasy about asking her for whatever it was, and that was quite unlike the usual confident Roarke Adams. Bemused, she nodded. ‘OK, that was to be expected, but I still don’t see what that has to do with me.’
There followed a momentary hesitation, then he took the bull by the horns. ‘I need you to go with me…as my lover.’
That took the wind out of her sails like nothing else. ‘What?’ she gasped out, sure she must have misheard somehow.
Having broached the subject, Roarke quickly regained his composure. ‘I want you to attend the wedding with me,’ he repeated.
She had that part; it was the other she took exception to. ‘As your lover?’
Roarke hastily held up a hand to forestall the protests he knew were hovering on her lips. ‘I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I need you to pretend to be my lover.’
Ginny felt as if she were gaping at him like a fish, her mouth opening and closing repeatedly but nothing coming out. She shut her mouth with a snap of teeth and took a steadying breath. ‘You have to be joking!’
‘I only wish I were. Believe me, I wouldn’t be doing it if it wasn’t important.’
Instinctively she knew that was true. Neither would seek help from the other unless business was involved. But what he was asking was out of the question. ‘What about what’s-her-name, the brunette you’re dating? Why don’t you ask her to help?’ That would be the ideal solution.
The question had him grinding his teeth again. ‘She was going to go with me, but as we are no longer an item, I’m left without a partner.’
Ginny stared at him, aware that there was a story he wasn’t telling her, and he wasn’t going to get away with keeping it to himself if he wanted her help. Not that she was promising anything. ‘What happened?’
Roarke’s fingers tapped out an irritated tattoo on the desktop. ‘She informed me at lunch that her stars told her the weekend was a bad time to travel, so she wouldn’t be going. I told her only an idiot would believe such rubbish.’
Ginny winced. ‘Bad move,’ she pronounced sympathetically and he grimaced.
‘Tell me about it! The upshot was she took offence. Apparently, her stars also said it was a good time to end relationships that were going nowhere.’
‘Oh, dear!’ Ginny commiserated, biting back a laugh.
Sensing it, he sighed ruefully. ‘I know, I know. Things went from bad to worse. Which brings me to you. Will you help me out?’
‘Why me?’ Ginny asked, spreading her hands questioningly. ‘Why not ask one of those women who aren’t in the little black book you haven’t got?’
She got some idea how serious the situation was when she didn’t get a smart comeback to her remark. ‘Because most of them are known to the family, and I need someone who is a complete stranger. Grandfather won’t be there and he’s the only person that knows you.’
‘Now, that you’ve simply got to explain,’ she insisted.
His reluctance was palpable. ‘It’s complicated. There are…family complications.’
Family complications covered a multitude of sins, as she knew only too well. As an explanation, it fell way short of the mark. ‘You’re going to have to come up with a better reason than that if I’m to help you,’ she declared bluntly, and his eyes snapped to hers.
‘Does this mean you’re going to do it?’ he wanted to know.
Ginny shrugged, kicking herself for the slip. ‘It means I’m thinking about it,’ she conceded. Families were a touchy subject. Her inclination, due to her own experience, was to help if an injustice was being done, but otherwise she preferred to keep out of it. Roarke was going to have to do some fancy talking. ‘Just tell me, Roarke. Whatever you say, and whatever my decision, nothing is going to go outside this room.’
He looked at her for so long a time she thought he would refuse, but then he nodded. ‘OK, listen up. My latest stepmother’s name is Jenna. When she was still my father’s fiancée, she thought it would be fun to make it with father and son. To put it bluntly, she did her best to seduce me. Contrary to your beliefs, I don’t sleep with every woman I meet. I especially do not get involved with those attached to my own family. Jenna did not take kindly to my refusal to play the game with her. She went running to my father with the tale that I had tried to force myself on her. Naturally, I denied it, but my father has always been jealous of his women, and he chose to believe her rather than me. The consequence was that he refused to talk to me for the better part of three years.
‘We are back on speaking terms now, but the relationship is still fragile. Which brings me to the problem. When I visited him recently on his birthday, Jenna started getting up to her old tricks again. I managed to fend her off without upsetting my father, but I know how she works. If I turn up alone, she’ll try again, and heaven alone knows what my refusal will lead to this time.’
Ginny studied his grim face and sympathised with his dilemma. ‘Perhaps if you were to go to your father first, this time he would react differently,’ she proposed, without any real expectation of that happening. Her own experience with her father had taught her that they didn’t change that easily.
Roarke grimaced. ‘I thought about it, but I can’t take the risk. I decided my best option was to arrive with a woman on my arm. That way Jenna will have to keep her distance.’
‘And if she doesn’t, I’ll be there to ward her off?’ she murmured, following his line of thought easily. Roarke looked at her sharply.
‘Will you be there?’
Ginny glanced down at her hands. Though he didn’t know it, he had her. When it came to families she had her own vulnerabilities, which made it virtually impossible for her to walk away from helping someone else. She didn’t want what had happened to her to happen to Roarke, whether she liked him or not.
‘I must be crazy to even consider it,’ she sighed as she raised her head.
‘But you’ll do it?’ he urged hopefully, and she rolled her eyes.
‘Yes, I’ll do it,’ Ginny confirmed, and was instantly consumed by doubts. But it was too late to back out. She had given her word, and it was a matter of honour with her that she kept it. Ever since the man she had trusted had abandoned her after making all sorts of promises, she had vowed that any she made she would keep, no matter what.
Roarke’s famous smile appeared, but there was no glitter of satisfaction in his eyes at having won her over, only gratitude. ‘Thank you, Ginny. You’ve probably no idea what you’ve done, but you’ve just saved my relationship with my father from total meltdown.’
She understood better than he thought, but that was another story. ‘Just remember you owe me one.’ She dismissed his thanks uncomfortably. ‘So, what time is the wedding, and how are we getting there?’
‘Saturday afternoon, so if we fly out Friday evening, we’ll have some time to settle in before the ceremony,’ Roarke obliged, sending a shock wave through her.
‘Fly out? What do you mean, fly out?’ she demanded to know, sitting up straighter. ‘Just where is this wedding taking place?’
‘Switzerland. Lake Constance, to be exact. At my mother’s summer residence. You’ll like it there,’ he declared confidently.
Ginny ignored that last point and concentrated on the first. ‘Switzerland! Damn you, Roarke Adams, you said nothing about the wedding taking place abroad. You know darn well I thought it was in this country!’ she remonstrated with him.
Now there was a gleam in his eye as he grinned at her. ‘I thought you’d refuse to go if you knew.’
Ginny ground her teeth helplessly. She might well have refused, but the die was cast. She had given her word and that was that. Getting to her feet, she glowered down at him. ‘You are an impossible man. You don’t just owe me, you owe me big time,’ she pronounced, then promptly spun on her heel and headed for the door.
‘Ask for anything you like, and it’s yours,’ Roarke called after her.
She halted but didn’t turn round. ‘Anything?’
‘Just name it.’
A catlike smile curved her lips. ‘Very well, I’ll get back to you when I’ve made up my mind,’ she agreed, closing the door behind her. Roarke Adams was about to find out her help didn’t come cheap.
CHAPTER TWO
GINNY went out to dinner with Daniel that evening. She liked him a lot, but it wasn’t always easy to enjoy his conversations, because he could be rather stuffy. He could also, though it pained her to admit it, be something of the cold fish Roarke thought him. Tonight, though, she had to work extra hard to concentrate whilst he told her about his terrible day. Unfortunately, Ginny’s thoughts were miles away, and that irritated her, because she didn’t like the fact that Roarke kept floating into her mind. Thankfully, Daniel didn’t appear to notice her distraction, and she made a concerted effort to be more attentive whilst they waited for their desserts.
When Daniel reached across the table and took her hand, she smiled at him just a little curiously, because he wasn’t a ‘touching’ sort of person.
‘I have a surprise for you,’ he declared with boyish enthusiasm, and Ginny’s heart suddenly leapt into her throat as she wondered if this was to be the moment he proposed.
‘You have?’ she asked a tad breathlessly, whilst mentally she prepared herself for what she would say in response. The surroundings could have been more romantic—the restaurant was chosen for its convenience, not its ambience. ‘What sort of surprise?’
Daniel’s smile broadened at her apparent eagerness. ‘My parents have invited us both to their place for the weekend. When I told them how wonderful you are, my mother insisted that she had to meet you. I know she’ll adore you as much as I do.’
Ginny tried her best to hold on to her smile, but she could feel it fading and her facial muscles stiffening. It wasn’t that it hadn’t been the question she had hoped for, but rather the fact she was going to have to refuse what was close to being a royal summons.
‘Oh, Daniel, I’m so sorry, but I can’t go. I was going to tell you later. I have to go to Switzerland this weekend,’ she told him apologetically, hoping to soften the blow, but she could tell from the way he dropped her hand that he was not best pleased.
‘With Adams, I presume!’ Daniel responded frostily, causing her to blink at his tone.
Ever since she had agreed to this trip, Ginny had been wondering what she was going to tell Daniel. She abhorred deception, but his reaction told her clearly that the truth was out of the question. She had known for a long time that Roarke didn’t think highly of Daniel, but she hadn’t realised until now just how deeply Daniel disliked Roarke.
‘Of course. It’s business,’ she lied, watching him sit back and fold his arms.
‘I don’t trust him,’ Daniel pronounced bluntly, and Ginny frowned just a little. She could see where this was going, but she had never given him cause to worry. It surprised her to think he had given the possibility credence. He had no need to be jealous.
‘You trust me, don’t you?’ she asked soothingly, and he instantly reached for her hand again.
‘I do. Of course I do. It’s just that that man…’ Daniel let the sentence hang, and she knew what he meant. Roarke’s reputation went before him.
She squeezed his hand. ‘Is someone I have no interest in at all. However, the trips are part of my job.’ OK, not this one, but he didn’t need to know that.
Daniel nodded reluctantly. ‘I know, but Mother won’t be best pleased. She hates having her arrangements altered. She won’t like it, and I need her to like you.’
Ginny did a swift mental double-take. Daniel made the visit sound as if she was being presented for inspection, and whether or not he married her depended on his mother’s report. She didn’t much care for the sound of that, for good reason. Her father had insisted on vetting her boyfriends, and for the most part had found them wanting. They had not been welcome in his house and she had been compelled to follow his dictates until she was old enough not to need his approval.
To find herself on the receiving end of a similar situation now, when she had put all that behind her, made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. There was no way she was prepared to go through that.
‘Does it really matter if she likes me, Daniel? After all, I’m going out with you, not her.’ She tried to make light of it, seeking reassurance.
She got it—of a sort. ‘I suppose not,’ he agreed uncomfortably, then laughed. ‘No, no, of course it doesn’t. Though I would prefer her to like you. There’s no reason why she shouldn’t, of course. It’s simply that I’ve always sought her opinion on the important things,’ Daniel explained, as if that would make it acceptable.
Ginny swallowed her unease. The situations weren’t the same. All she would be doing was meeting his parents. It had to happen eventually. ‘I shall do my best to make her like me, if that will make you happy. All we have to do is postpone the visit for a few weeks.’ If it was important to him, then she would bite the bullet. As he said, there was no reason why his mother shouldn’t like her. She shouldn’t allow the past to cloud the present.
Daniel looked relieved. ‘That would be wonderful. I just know she’s going to like you. My mother has a very discerning eye.’
Ginny let the matter rest there, but later, when she was lying in her bed trying to sleep, the conversation went over and over in her mind. An uncomfortable feeling of déjà vu came over her. Daniel was the man she’d settled for, but she didn’t want to have to battle his mother for him, and that was what she feared was going to happen. She had been through that, and wasn’t about to let it happen again. But maybe she was seeing bogeymen where there were none. After all, she was predisposed to balk at the idea of being inspected. It would be best to reserve judgement until she had met his parents.
They couldn’t be as bad as her own. Nobody’s could. With which comforting thought she was finally able to drift off to sleep.
The rest of the week was hectic, and Friday came round all too quickly. As she packed for the trip that evening, Ginny decided she was out of her mind. Not only had she bought a new outfit for the occasion, which would have been acceptable, but she had bought several other things as well. For a trip she hadn’t wanted to go on, and certainly wasn’t looking forward to. The truth of the matter was that she couldn’t just turn out in any old rag. Never mind she was going to be playing a part, these people were Roarke’s family, and a wedding was a very special occasion. She couldn’t bring any sort of disharmony to the day by treating it as a non-event. Besides, she had the feeling Jenna Adams would be dressed in only the best, and there was no way she would let the woman upstage her.
A glance at her watch told Ginny that Roarke would be here soon. Closing the case, she took it out to the hall, then double-checked that she had her passport in her handbag. Which left her with nothing to do but wait, and nerves started to churn in her stomach. They had nothing to do with flying, because she was well used to it. Nor was it due to the fact that she was travelling with Roarke, for she had done that countless times too. No, the nerves were due to the fact she hated waiting. Waiting gave her time to think, and her thoughts were rarely pleasant.
She had learned to keep herself busy, to always have something on hand in which to engross herself, but she couldn’t do that now because Roarke was due any minute. She paced to the window of her flat and stared down at the road, but no car was pulling up. Where was he?
The silent question triggered a memory, and she could see herself looking out of the window of that grotty bedsit, waiting for Mark to come home so she could tell him her news. He had never come. Instead he had abandoned her to a terrifying future which had ultimately led to tragedy. She had waited that night, too. Alone in the dark, in pain.
‘No!’ With a low moan Ginny spun round, closing out the thoughts. She wouldn’t go there. Not again.
The sound of the intercom buzzing made her jump, but it was closely followed by a sense of relief. He was here. She crossed to the intercom.
