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‘But Jared adores you, Susie.’ Clara turned back to her. ‘He really does. I mean—he hates most of my friends but I know he likes you. He would try to get rid of you if he didn’t. You know how possessive he is.’
Susie smiled wryly. ‘The men who love you always are…’
‘But he’s never done that with you. If anything, he’s encouraged our friendship.’
‘Well, he’s not encouraging it any more, is he?’
Clara’s lovely face went very still. ‘You don’t think that’s why he said all that, do you?’
‘I don’t know Clara-Bear.’
Their eyes met and held in poignant affection for a moment.
‘If he’s trying to break us up, I’ll never forgive him,’ Clara muttered fiercely under her breath. ‘I just won’t.’
‘Calm down,’ Susie said at once, taking her hand again. ‘It might be a false alarm. For all we know, he’ll stop being so bad-tempered once he gets to the reception.’
‘What if he doesn’t? What if he—?’
‘Susie! He wants to do the photos now!’ Gareth called suddenly from across the lawn, smiling and waving as he stood on a mound of grass with his family. ‘Bring Clara and Jared, will you?’
‘Okay, darling!’ Susie called, then turned back to Clara, whispering confidentially, ‘I’ll leave you to get Jared. But try to hurry him up. The quicker these are taken, the quicker we can all get to the reception.’ She glided away.
Clara took a quick drink of her champagne, then turned to walk over to Jared.
She stopped after one step. Her heart somersaulted with sick disbelief. Jared was flirting with another woman. Not just flirting but actively showing sexual interest. And the brunette beside him was lapping it up, thrusting out her cleavage, tossing her long hair and licking her over-painted lips.
I can’t believe it, she thought, trembling. He’s never flirted with another woman. Never even looked at one. Since the minute they’d met, Jared had only had eyes for her. Why was he doing this? Right in front of her? Right here on Susie’s wedding day, when he should have been at Clara’s side, sharing her joy and happiness—not behaving like a swine, biting people’s heads off then going to flirt with another woman.
Tears sprang to her eyes but she blinked them back. She groped around for her faith in him. He loves me, she told herself fiercely. I know he does. It’s just that something’s wrong and he can’t share it with me. Not yet. Whatever it is, I’ll sort it out with him later. Meanwhile, that little man-eater is not getting her hands on my man!
Straightening up fast, Clara put her best foot forward and went over to break up the little tête-à-tête.
‘Darling!’ Smiling brightly, she slid a possessive hand through his arm. ‘Sorry to drag you away, but it’s time for the family photos.’
‘Must I?’ he demanded tightly.
‘Yes, you must.’ Her heart skipped beats with fear. She was appalled that he could even consider turning her down, especially in front of this seductive stranger.
‘Family photos?’ drawled the brunette, with a withering glance at Clara. ‘What a bore, Jared. I’d decline if I were you.’
‘I’m afraid he can’t decline,’ Clara said thickly. ‘You see, the bride is my sister. Jared lives with me and has been my boyfriend—’ she enunciated the word ‘boyfriend’ ‘—for the last two years. So, he really is honour-bound to appear in the wedding photos.’ She tugged at Jared’s arm. ‘Come along, darling. They’re waiting for us.’
Relief overwhelmed her because Jared allowed himself to be pulled away, but his face was very tense and his eyes were dark. In silence they walked across the sunlit churchyard. Birds were singing above the laughter of the guests. The summer breeze was warm on Clara’s skin, but inside her heart was aching and hurt.
‘I don’t want to be in these damned photos!’ he muttered beside her, trying to guide her away from the grassy mound they were supposed to be going to.
‘Jared, what on earth is the matter with you?’ she asked hoarsely, keeping her voice low so no one could hear her. ‘You knew you had to be in the photos. I told you weeks ago.’
‘Did you? I forgot.’
‘You can’t possibly have forgotten. I’ve reminded you almost every day. And don’t try to tell me you deliberately flirted with that woman to avoid having your photo taken. You have your photo taken all the time.’
‘For business purposes.’
‘Don’t be evasive,’ she whispered fiercely. ‘You know what you did just now. How could you? How could you humiliate me by flirting with that woman so blatantly?’
‘I wasn’t flirting with her,’ he muttered under his breath, watching his polished black shoes as he walked.
‘Yes, you were. I’m not a fool. Nor are any of the people here today.’ Hurt flashed in her eyes. ‘And you made me feel very jealous. You did that deliberately. I know you did. Why did you do that? What on earth have I done to make you behave this way?’
‘I hate weddings,’ he bit out thickly. ‘I keep telling you that. You should have left me at home and come alone.’
‘I needed you with me.’
‘You keep saying that, but—’ He broke off, stopped walking and studied the waiting group a few feet from them.
The bride, the groom, the photographer and Gareth’s family were all smiling across at Clara and Jared. It was an idyllic, happy scene, thought Clara. Everyone looked so good, and the sun was high in a clear blue sky on what must have been one of the hottest days of the year so far.
But Jared’s face was pale with tension. And as he stared across at the little family group his breathing altered and his heart began to beat heavily.
He looked around, as though searching for a way to escape.
‘Darling…?’ Clara whispered with a sudden renewal of concern. ‘What on earth is wrong?’
‘It’s nothing,’ he muttered, but as he looked back at the group he drew a harsh breath and suddenly turned to Clara, his arm going around her as he pulled her close and kissed her cheek. As their bodies touched she felt the beat of his heart. Was he frightened? But what on earth could frighten him in this idyllic setting? Yet he was deeply worried about something. Otherwise why would he close his eyes for so long as he kissed her, and why would he let his mouth linger a second too long on the soft curve of her cheek?
Suddenly she was released. But he grasped her hand in his as he led her to the smiling wedding group. One or two of Gareth’s family said hello. Jared nodded, gave them a tense smile, but did not speak. The photographer started taking pictures. Clara smiled as Jared’s large powerful hand nearly crushed hers—his grip was tightening the longer he had to stand here.
‘Could I get one of you alone with Miss Maye, Mr Blackheath?’
‘This isn’t our wedding day,’ Jared said. ‘It’s Susie and Gareth’s, as you very well know.’
‘Yes, but it isn’t often I get to take a few shots of such a famous couple.’
Clara felt herself blush. She’d always been happy to be famous, and she knew Jared was. It was one of the things they had in common. But to be photographed like this in front of the whole wedding crowd on Susie’s wedding day felt uncomfortably like upstaging the bride. Her eyes flickered to Susie’s as the rest of the family moved obligingly away, leaving Clara and Jared alone on the grassy knoll, centre stage and in the spotlight once again.
‘Go on.’ Susie grinned at her approvingly.
Clara bit her lip and looked up at Jared. He didn’t look as happy as she felt. In fact his face was hard, and set in an angry expression. He was also, she noticed, staring across the churchyard at the church, not looking at the bride and the groom or the photographer at all.
‘Just one or two,’ murmured the photographer, already taking pictures.
‘Very well.’ Jared’s mouth tightened. He stood on Clara’s right, still looking at the church, giving the photographer his arrogant profile, refusing to look at the camera or the family. Aware that the photographs would need some kind of composition, Clara looked up into Jared’s face with a smile, making the photo double-facing.
He felt her stare, glanced down at her and saw the love in her green eyes. A brief smile touched his mouth. The sun glowed behind them. It must have made a beautiful shot because murmurs of delight went up from the crowd. Clara felt her smile widen—being an orphan had left her with a remarkable desire to be noticed and talked about, as though without public acclaim she somehow did not truly exist. She had often wondered if Jared felt the same. She wondered it again now as she saw the smile deepen on his handsome face, aware of the stir they were causing.
Everyone was watching Clara and Jared. Although Clara was a well-known face from the television, Jared was the big fish. Sexy, dynamic multimillionaire tycoons were a rarity in any arena. Most people simply stared at him in awe.
‘Lovely, thanks.’ The photographer wouldn’t let up. ‘Just one more…’
But before the shutter clicked, Susie called, ‘Here!’ She threw her bouquet at Clara. ‘Your turn next, blushing bride!’
‘Right, that’s enough!’ Jared muttered furiously to Clara. ‘No more photographs. We’re leaving.’ He raised his voice so the others could hear. ‘Thank you, but we’re very tired and need to go. See you at the reception!’
Without waiting for a reply from anyone, Jared turned on his heel and strode away across the churchyard, still holding Clara’s hand tightly so she could not get away from him. Guests scattered like a flurry of flamingoes, all tottering in hats and high heels to let Jared Blackheath pass. And, clinging with one hand to both her hat and her new bouquet, Clara skittered along beside him.
His hatred of weddings had reached an all-time high. But why had this wedding, above all others, provoked it? There had to be some secret ingredient that had gone into today that she didn’t know about. But what…?
CHAPTER TWO
OUTSIDE the church, Jared beckoned the limousine. Harrison had been sitting on the bonnet in his grey uniform and peaked cap. He had a half-eaten sandwich in one hand, a cup of coffee in the other and a steel flask resting precariously on the bumper.
‘He’s having his break, poor man,’ murmured Clara as Harrison fumbled around trying to get ready to leave.
‘I don’t pay him to make me wait.’ Jared strode across the leafy Kensington road without waiting. ‘He must have seen us coming out of the church. He should have been ready to leave at a moment’s notice.’
Harrison was already behind the wheel by the time they reached the car. He knew his boss too well to even consider getting things wrong when Jared had a face like thunder. Normally even-tempered and goodnatured, Jared in a bad mood was not a man to tangle with. And if he had been in a bad mood this morning, before they left for the church, he was in a much worse mood now as he wrenched open the rear door.
Clara slid in first, and shifted breathlessly along the dove-grey seats as Jared got in beside her.
He slammed the door and bit out thickly, ‘The Ritz!’
‘Very good, sir.’ Harrison murmured, but did not turn his grey head to look at his master.
As they drove away down the little Kensington mews, Jared was already shouldering out of his grey jacket. It was a sure sign of severe muscular tension. He frequently did it after a gruelling board meeting, and his next step was always to loosen his tie, which he was now doing. Clara watched for the final step—unbuttoning the top three buttons of his shirt and all the buttons of his formal grey waistcoat. Finally, he leaned back against the seats, with his arms spread out on either side, and closed his eyes.
Clara watched him with concern. ‘Would you like me to massage your shoulders?’
‘Yes.’ It was a curt reply, and she made a face at him while his eyes were still closed because of it. ‘I saw that,’ he muttered, watching through slitted lids.
‘Well, you are in a horrid mood, darling!’ she said lightly.
‘That doesn’t give you licence to make faces at me behind my back.’
‘Oh, yes, it does!’ she teased, but she also knelt up on the seats to better get to his shoulder muscles. As soon as her fingers began to knead the lock-tight muscles, he gave a deep groan. ‘Oh, that’s lovely…’
‘Does it hurt?’
‘Sublimely,’ he said from deep in his throat. ‘I love it. Don’t stop.’
As she massaged and pummelled and pushed and kneaded, she thought about today’s wedding and tried to hone in on the secret ingredient that had made it so intolerable for him. He should not, after all, feel as though he’d just beaten his arch-enemies in a grim boardroom battle for power. Most people felt light and happy after attending a wedding, especially one as beautiful and simple as Susie’s. If nothing else, it renewed one’s faith in love.
And Jared did have a great deal of faith in love. Oh, he huffed the way most men do—particularly powerful men—and talked a blue streak about weddings being ‘romantic nonsense’ or ‘a trap’. But underneath the hard-headed macho façade, Jared hid a deep romanticism that he was afraid to let anyone but Clara know about. He had to keep it hidden. There were too many sharks in the world of big business and he could not risk letting his enemies see how vulnerable he could be. How could such a sensitive man grow to hate weddings so much that he reacted like a cornered animal to them?
‘It was worse for you today, wasn’t it?’ she said gently as his muscles began to unknot and relax beneath her loving fingers.
‘I hated every second of it.’
‘You always have a bad time at weddings. But there seemed to be something different about today that I—’
‘There was nothing different about today.’
‘Then why are you so tense?’
His eyes flashed open, watching her with a guarded expression. ‘I’m not tense!’
Her pale brows rose.
‘I said, I’m not tense!’ He flushed angrily and shrugged her off. ‘In fact, there’s nothing wrong with me that a large brandy wouldn’t cure!’ Leaning forwards, he clicked open the drinks cabinet.
Clara watched with a frown as he poured himself a measure of cognac. A disciplined man, constantly driven to achieve, Jared rarely drank. In fact, she had known periods of up to four or five months go by without Jared touching even wine. Yet he had so far drunk two glasses of champagne, was now starting on brandy, and it was still only mid-afternoon.
‘Are you sure you want that brandy?’ she asked softly.
‘Quite sure, thank you!’ He glared over the rim of the glass.
Clara met his angry gaze and said, ‘Give me a smile. You look so grim.’
‘Why shouldn’t I look grim?’ He sat back, drank some more brandy. ‘You know I hate weddings. You know they irritate me. And you know I get badtempered just sitting through them. But you deliberately dragged me along to this one. Even though I told you this morning that I knew it would ruin the day for us.’
‘Darling…’ She was amazed that he could continue to be so unreasonable. ‘This wasn’t just any wedding.’
‘You knew it would ruin the day if I came along.’
‘But the day was the wedding. There was nothing else to the day. Just this. The church, the wedding, the bride, the groom—’
‘Precisely.’
She drew a patient breath. It was pointless arguing with him when he was in one of these moods. And it was true—she had known he would have a difficult time. She just hadn’t been able to see a way round it for either of them.
‘Well,’ she said with a placatory smile, ‘the ceremony itself is over. You can relax and look forward to the reception.’
‘I don’t want to go.’
Clara’s jaw dropped. For a second she just stared at him in speechless disbelief. Had he really said that? It wasn’t feasible. Not today.
Jared’s angular cheekbones ran red as he saw the shock in her face. ‘Look—I’ve had enough. All right? I know I’m not going to enjoy the reception.’
‘But, Jared, I—’
‘No. I’ve had enough. Can’t you see that?’ He sighed, ran a hand over the back of his neck as though the mere thought of the reception was sending his muscles back into a state of rigid tension. ‘It’s not just the marriage bit that I object to. It’s the press attention and the way everyone keeps staring at me.’
Clara found her tongue. ‘But press attention and admiring stares have been a part of your life since you first hit adulthood! In fact, you’ve been famous for over half your life! How can you possibly expect me to believe you’ve suddenly turned camera-shy?’
‘Yes, well, I’m not in the mood for cameras today.’
‘Why not?’
