Glass Slippers And Unicorns

‘Mother,’ Reed cut in on her ramblings in a strained voice. ‘You aren’t going to tell us that you calmly went off to visit a friend while Darcy was frantically trying to find you?’

‘Were you, dear?’ Maud looked at her concernedly. ‘I am sorry. You see, I——’

‘Mother, please!’

Darcy completely sympathised with Reed’s impatience this time; she felt like shaking the muddle-headed woman herself!

Maud sighed. ‘I went back to the car when I couldn’t find Darcy, but that had disappeared as well, and that was when I——’

‘Went off to visit your old friend Joyce Bennett,’ Reed finished icily.

Maud looked bewildered by his anger. ‘Well—yes. But——’

‘Didn’t you realise that Darcy would be worried about you? That I would be worried about you when she arrived back here without you?’

‘I didn’t mean to be gone quite as long as I was,’ she grimaced. ‘Once Joyce and I started talking——’

‘I’m sure,’ Reed grated. ‘I think you owe Darcy an apology—I think we both do!’

‘You do?’ His mother frowned. ‘I hope you haven’t been shouting at her, Reed,’ she rebuked. ‘It wasn’t Darcy’s fault that I was late getting here.’

‘I’m beginning to see that,’ he sighed heavily. ‘Let’s go through to my office, Mother. I’ll talk to you later, Darcy.’ It was an order, not a request.

‘Can you believe that?’ Marc chuckled as he sat on the edge of Darcy’s desk once they were alone. ‘That sweet little old lady, Reed the Rake’s mother!’

‘He isn’t a rake.’ Darcy automatically corrected Marc’s nickname for her employer, while busily tidying the papers on her desk-top that had no need of it; her desk was always completely organised. ‘And yes, I can believe she’s his mother.’ No two people who weren’t related could have eyes of such a deep green. But other than those eyes the two had no similarities whatsoever!

‘Sounds like he’s going to have his hands full.’ Marc still grinned.

‘She’s only here until tomorrow,’ Darcy supplied absently. ‘Reed is driving her down to Southampton then to get on her cruise-ship.’ He had told her that much before she left for the airport this morning, although he had told her little else about his charming but vague mother.

‘That’s what I could do with, a nice long cruise.’ Marc stretched lazily. ‘I don’t suppose you would care to come away with me this weekend?’

Her brows rose mockingly at his teasing expression. ‘I don’t suppose I would,’ she drawled.

He grimaced his disappointment. ‘I thought not. So, how is my birthday girl?’

Birthday girl; this was the worst day she had known in a long time! ‘She’s fine,’ she lied, having forgotten that it was her birthday. ‘She is also busy,’ she added pointedly.

He stood up, holding up his hands defensively. ‘I was only doing my good deed for the day——’

‘I know.’ She sighed at her lack of gratitude for the fact that he had safely delivered Maud to Read. ‘I’m sorry.’ She gave him a tight smile. ‘It’s been chaotic here the last few hours, and——’

‘Reed been throwing his weight around, has he?’ Marc sympathised.

‘Only a little.’ She grimaced at the understatement. ‘And he had the right.’

‘Want to talk about it?’ he encouraged softly.

Darcy shook her head, feeling too shaken to go into the details of her argument with Reed. ‘Maybe tonight.’ She shrugged.

‘Ah yes, tonight.’ Marc’s eyes lit up excitedly. ‘Put your glad rags on because tonight I have a surprise for you!’

She warily searched the glow of his eyes. ‘What sort of surprise?’

He tapped the end of her nose playfully. ‘If I tell you it won’t be a surprise any more. Just do what little there is to improve on that beautiful face and wear your sexiest dress.’

‘Beautiful face’, Darcy thought despondently a short time later as she looked in the mirror she had used to finally put her contact lenses in. Marc photographed beautiful women all day long, and no one in their right mind could compare her to the multitude of beauties that went into his studio each day. But then, when had Marc ever claimed to be in his right mind?

She looked critically at her reflection, at the bubbly red-gold curls that refused to be tamed, deep blue eyes that seemed to have taken on a permanently vague look, a short nose liberally sprinkled with freckles even during the winter months, a pretty smiling mouth, with a dimple in her elfin chin. No make-up in the world could make her appear sophisticated and worldly; in fact it had the opposite effect, making her look garishly childish. She had been told once that her long dark lashes framing deep blue eyes were her best feature, and so the only affectation she did have was the use of contact lenses rather than glasses, although even that effect was ruined when she forgot to put them in, looking owlishly bewildered then. No wonder Reed lost all patience with her!

‘Marc gone?’ he suddenly rasped behind her.

Darcy jumped guiltily at being caught staring at her reflection, hastily putting the mirror away in her bag, embarrassed by the apparent vanity. She nodded, not quite able to meet Reed’s gaze. ‘He was going to lunch, remember?’ she dismissed lightly.

His mouth twisted. ‘I’m surprised you didn’t go with him!’

‘I thought I had better wait around and see if you wanted me to clear out my desk and leave now or if you want me to stay on until you have my replacement.’ She moistened her lips nervously, finally looking up at him, able to see him clearly for the first time today. He looked as forbidding as she had imagined he would! ‘Maybe an incompetent secretary who doesn’t possess a memory is better than none at all; I don’t know.’ She shrugged.

The hard lines of his face tightened even more. ‘I was angry when I said that, Darcy,’ he grated. ‘I didn’t mean it.’

‘Didn’t you?’ she said dully, knowing that at the time he had said it he had meant every word.

‘No.’ He grimaced, moving to stand next to her desk. ‘You’re a damned good secretary, better than I——’ He broke off, sighing impatiently.

‘Better than you ever thought I would be,’ Darcy finished for him ruefully. ‘I manage, as long as I only concentrate on one thing at a time,’ she added bitterly.

‘Darcy——’

‘At least, I thought I was quite competent.’ She frowned uncertainly.

‘You are,’ Reed acknowledged forcefully. ‘Hell, I’m not making a very good job of this apology.’ He ran a hand through his already tousled black hair. ‘My only defence for my behaviour towards you earlier is that I was worried out of my mind.’ He gave a weary sigh. ‘You’ve seen my mother at her worst; you can guess why!’

Yes, she could guess why, quite easily. Reed was a man who made important decisions in a matter of seconds, who gambled on the Stock Exchange in millions rather than hundreds, and his mother’s vagueness must be quite an irritation to such a man. But how could she explain to him that her own forgetfulness had been acquired and wasn’t part of her fundamental character? She couldn’t do it without going into the past, and so she knew she would never tell him.

‘Does this mean you don’t want me to leave?’ She frowned.

‘Of course I don’t want you to leave,’ he dismissed impatiently. ‘Do you accept my apology?’

Now wasn’t the time to point out that he hadn’t actually got around to making one, not if she wanted to continue working for him. And she did want to continue doing that, very much.

‘Of course.’ She smiled her forgiveness. ‘Would you like me to take your mother to your apartment now? I’m sure she would like to rest.’

‘She would.’ He nodded tersely. ‘But I’ll take her.’ His expression darkened as her eyes shadowed over with pain. ‘It has nothing to do with the fact that between the two of you you would probably forget where you’re going,’ he refuted impatiently. ‘As she only has today in England this end of her trip, I think I should spend a little time with her.’

‘Of course,’ Darcy acknowledged noncommittally.

‘Darcy——’

‘Reed, could we go to Harrods on the way to your apartment?’ His mother came out of his office. ‘I want to buy some tea to take back with me.’

‘Wouldn’t it be better if you waited until you get back from the cruise before doing that?’ he suggested after shooting a resigned look in Darcy’s direction. ‘You won’t need it until then.’

‘I suppose not.’ She nodded thoughtfully, going to the door he held open for her. ‘Maybe we can look at the coffee instead?’ she suggested hopefully.

‘Doesn’t the same thing apply?’ he pointed out drily.

‘Oh, yes.’ She frowned her chagrin. ‘Well, couldn’t we— Bye, Darcy,’ she called out belatedly as Reed followed her from the office. ‘It was lovely meeting you. I hope I see you again before I go back to the States.’

Darcy had time to lift a hand in parting to the other woman before Reed firmly closed the door behind them, his face having taken on a hunted look as his mother suggested other shopping she would like to do while she was in London.

Darcy slumped back in her chair once they had gone, knowing now that Reed would never ever see her as a woman he could desire, that with her own single-minded forgetfulness she reminded him too forcibly of the vague mother he obviously adored but had no patience for! He might pity her, but he would never desire her.

It was a stunning realisation for the woman who loved him more than life itself, who had felt that way about him from the first night they met.

CHAPTER TWO

WEAR your sexiest dress, Marc had told her. She didn’t own any sexy dresses, although she had several she had bought to go on business trips with Reed, when acting as his hostess was often necessary; classically designed dresses that were suitable for any occasion. She had taken the black dress she wore tonight the last time they went away together, and for all the notice Reed had taken of her the material might just as well not have clung to her every curve so that the minimum of underwear could be worn beneath it.

Reed just didn’t see her as a woman, only as his secretary. And she had loved him from the moment he had arrived at the office building in answer to the night security man’s call that night not quite seven months ago. He had seemed amused by the mistake she had made then, had taken her out to dinner so that they could conduct the interview. After only managing to get four interviews in the two months she had been in London, and only being short-listed for one of those, she had found Reed’s relaxed way of interviewing her highly enjoyable.

She had told him about her family, being her parents’ only child, talked confidently of her last two jobs, her five years at the bank and the three months as a family helper to a widower and his three children, had shrugged off his surprise at the complete change of career she had made by telling him she had quickly realised it had been a mistake. He had told her how he sympathised with that, how after moving to America with his English mother, American father, two sisters and a brother at the age of ten he had been urged by his father to enter into a sporting career but had found the excitement of high finance much more to his taste. They had talked like old friends, and at the end of their meal Darcy had been so bemused by him that she had left the table wearing only one shoe! That had been when she had told him, in her embarrassment, about the dozen unmatched shoes in her wardrobe, because of her habit of slipping off her shoes while she ate and forgetting to put them both back, always feeling too embarrassed to go back to the restaurant and ask for her left shoe back! After meeting his mother today she was surprised Reed had still given her the job after she had told him that!

She knew for certain the love she felt for him would never be reciprocated.

And in the meantime there was Marc. Five years younger than Reed, at thirty, he was also much less intense; their dates were always fun and entertaining, Marc accepting the way she occasionally forgot things with a casualness that spoke of tolerant affection. She hoped it wasn’t more than that, because Reed occupied all of her heart.

‘Where are we going?’ she asked with suspicion as Marc kept turning to grin at her as he drove.

‘My apartment.’

‘Your apartment!’ Her eyes were wide.

‘Yes,’ he confirmed with relish. ‘I’m going to throw you down on the bed and have my wicked way with you!’

‘Marc …?’

‘You should see your face!’ He laughed at her nervousness. The open-necked brown shirt and fitted trousers he wore were casual but smart. ‘You’re so easy to tease,’ he chuckled. ‘I can assure you I don’t intend having an audience the first time I make love to you.’

‘Audience? But— First time you make love to me …?’ she repeated in a squeaky voice, as the second part of his statement was absorbed.

This time he gave a shout of laughter. ‘Fun to be with, too,’ he told her warmly. ‘After spending the day with women who take their clothes off for me as soon as they get in the door, your naïveté is totally refreshing!’

She knew that a lot of the work Marc did was for magazines and advertising, that very often it involved scantily clad women parading about his studio most of the day. In fact, the first time she had taken some papers down to Marc’s studio from Reed, a model wearing only a pair of bikini briefs had answered the door! She had run back upstairs to tell Reed she thought his photographic partner was making blue movies on the side! Reed had found that very funny, accompanying her back down to the studio, to be greeted by the same model as Reed explained Marc was doing a publicity layout for the briefs. No one had explained—and she hadn’t liked to ask—why the model wasn’t wearing a bra!

She did know that Reed had been very friendly with the model, that he was on the same terms with a lot of the models Marc used, hence his nickname of Reed the Rake. Reed did seem to be an advocate of ‘safety in numbers’, dating no woman exclusively in the almost seven months Darcy had known him.

‘Marc, if this is your surprise——’

‘You would rather pass,’ he mocked self-derisively. ‘No wonder Reed finds you easy to have around; you’re probably the only woman in his near vicinity that he hasn’t been to bed with!’

Darcy flushed, the statement evoking her own fantasies of being in bed with Reed, fantasies that she knew would never come true. ‘My relationship with Reed is purely business, you know that,’ she said stiffly. ‘We work well together.’ Usually!

‘Hey, I’m not complaining.’ He punched her playfully on the chin. ‘Reed would be a difficult man to follow. In fact, I don’t think I’d even try!’

Not for the first time she wondered why it couldn’t have been this man she fell in love with. He was so much less complicated than Reed, had a wickedly attractive sense of humour, was handsome enough to have been one of his own male models. And he took care of her with an easy familiarity she hadn’t known since she left home. But all she could feel for him was liking, or the love of a friend, a good friend.

‘Then why are we going to your apartment?’ she persisted.

‘Wait and see, birthday girl.’ He drove the car into the underground car park beneath his apartment building. ‘But try and look a little less like I’m kidnapping you!’

She was still badly shaken from the events of this morning, and wasn’t being very good company for Marc; she forced a bright smile to her lips. Whatever Marc’s surprise was, it couldn’t be that bad!

At least Marc had had the decency to warn her to look her best, although after ten minutes of meeting people she barely knew Darcy decided she hated surprise parties, especially ones given for her. She had met most of the people before because she knew Marc, but even so none of them were actually good friends of hers. But Marc, at least, seemed pleased with his surprise.

‘Can we expect an announcement tonight or is Marc going to wait until you get to the church before telling you about that, too?’

Darcy turned sharply at the sound of that mocking voice, forgetting the drink she held in her hand as it slopped precariously over the side of the glass, only narrowly missing the front of Reed’s pale green silk shirt as he stepped back out of its way.

She swallowed hard, hadn’t realised he was here until this moment. ‘Your mother?’ she croaked incongruously.

He swept a mocking glance over the gathering, the beautiful men and women standing around talking in relaxed groups, the drink flowing freely as loud music blared from the new stereo unit Marc was so fond of. ‘I don’t think she would quite fit in here, do you?’ he drawled softly, his gaze returning to her.

‘No,’ she acknowledged ruefully, knowing she didn’t exactly ‘fit in’ either.

Reed frowned at the slightly lost look that had come over her face. ‘If you don’t stand up for yourself now, Darcy, you aren’t going to stand a chance after you become his wife!’

She blinked up at him owlishly. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘Marc,’ he said abruptly.

She glanced over to where Marc was standing, four women making up the rest of his group, all of them hanging on his every word. She shrugged. ‘He’s enjoying himself.’

‘Darcy, he— Never mind,’ he dismissed violently. ‘Each to his—or her—own.’

‘Marc isn’t mine. And I certainly don’t intend marrying him.’ She shook her head. ‘I don’t know whatever gave you the impression I was. Marc is just a friend.’

‘Like we’re friends?’ Reed scorned.

Colour darkened her cheeks. Until today she had believed she and Reed were at least that, although there was so much more on her side. ‘No, not like we’re friends,’ she acknowledged. ‘But——’

‘I didn’t think so,’ he derided. ‘He’ll walk all over you if you give him half a chance!’

Her mouth tightened resentfully. ‘That won’t be anything new!’ She gave a small gasp of dismay as she realised what she had said. ‘I meant——’

‘I know what you meant, Darcy.’ He sighed heavily. ‘And I realise I was rough on you earlier, but this is different. Marc is not husband material. Not for you anyway.’

‘I really don’t know what business it is of yours, but I have no intention of marrying him.’

‘No?’

‘No!’

‘He isn’t going to object if I whisk you off to Florida on Sunday?’

Her eyes widened. ‘Florida?’ She knew his family had lived in Orlando the last twenty-five years, that he occasionally visited them. But he had never taken her with him before.

‘Don’t look so surprised, Darcy,’ he taunted. ‘I do have business dealings in the States, you know.’

‘I do know, but—it’s a bit sudden, isn’t it?’ Even for him! He hadn’t mentioned anything about it earlier today.

His mouth thinned, his eyes narrowed. ‘Something has come up. Are you willing to come with me or not?’

‘Of course I’m willing.’ She frowned. ‘There’s nothing wrong, is there?’

‘Nothing I can’t handle,’ he bit out in a voice that boded ill for someone.

‘Reed!’ Marc joined them, slapping the other man on the back in greeting. ‘I know I invited you, but after your mother’s arrival this morning I didn’t expect to see you tonight.’

‘My mother has gone to bed,’ he drawled. ‘And she assured me that she wanted me to go out and enjoy myself.’

‘And are you?’ Marc challenged, his arm about Darcy’s shoulders.

Reed met that challenge. ‘Not particularly. Don’t you think it might have been a little—kinder, to have warned Darcy about all these people being here?’

‘Then it wouldn’t have been the surprise it was intended to be,’ Marc scorned.

‘Darcy doesn’t like surprises; haven’t you noticed that?’ he rasped.

He made her sound about as interesting as yesterday’s bath water! OK, so she liked her private life ordered and repetitious, but things were less likely to get forgotten that way! Besides, she had enough excitement in her life just being his secretary.

‘She liked this one,’ Marc claimed stubbornly. ‘But if you aren’t enjoying the party you can always leave.’

‘I think I will,’ Reed snapped, pulling Darcy’s hand up from her side to slap a small parcel into it. ‘Happy Birthday. I’ll give you a call tomorrow about Sunday,’ he added abruptly, striding over to the door, to be waylaid by a beautiful red-head as he pulled it open. He murmured something in her ear; the woman’s throaty laugh floated in the air as they left together.

‘I wonder what—or who—has upset him?’ Marc mused a little dazedly, the two men usually being good friends away from the office.

‘His mother,’ she said wearily, slowly unwrapping the present Reed had given her.

Marc pulled a surprised face. ‘She seemed rather sweet to me.’

‘Reed can’t stand it when someone isn’t as organised as he is,’ she murmured, tears filling her eyes as she looked at the gold necklace nestled in the velvet box, a gold unicorn threaded on its length. A fantasy animal for a woman who lived in a dream world sixty per cent of the time!

‘Dear, are you sure you’re going the right way?’ Maud Hunter fretted. ‘I’m sure that sign back there said——’

‘Mother,’ Reed interrupted patiently. ‘As you always read a road map upside down because it “makes more sense", I don’t think you’re in a position to judge signposts!’

Maud turned to give Darcy a vague smile as she sat in the back of the Mercedes, and Darcy sighed softly as she was once again left to her silent perusal of the countryside on the way to Southampton, feeling as if Maud had made her a conspirator to her vagueness with that smile.

Reed had telephoned her early that morning and asked her if she would like to accompany them to Southampton, saying that his mother would like it if she did. Darcy had still been a little befuddled from waking up, otherwise she might have found an excuse not to come.

The party had dragged on until almost three in the morning, and as it was supposed to be for her she hadn’t been able to leave until everyone else had without offending Marc, then had insisted on helping him tidy the apartment, refusing his invitation to stay the night, despite his assertion that he would sleep on the sofa. Considering the early hour of Reed’s call she had a feeling he had expected either to have Marc answer the call or for her to still be at the other man’s home.

She was also sure that Reed would rather she hadn’t come today, despite his mother’s obvious pleasure in having her here. After all, he had two of them to keep in line now!

She wished it could have been different, wished she could have been as cool and self-assured as the women who had occasionally called for him at the office. But she doubted she would ever be any different now, had trained herself too well. As long as she continued her efficiency in the office she could continue seeing Reed; she would be the one to hand in her resignation if she thought her work was below the standard he demanded. But it was going to be a long time before he forgot what had happened yesterday.

She held the unicorn aloft in the palm of her hand as it hung suspended about her neck. It was a beautiful piece of jewellery, and she knew she would always wear it simply because Reed had been the one to give it to her. But it represented how Reed felt about her, a woman who lived in a world that wasn’t quite real, as the unicorn wasn’t. He could have no idea how close she had come to living completely in that shadow world, how much more attractive it could look than the starkness of reality. But she never talked to anyone about that twilight world except Rupert. And she knew her secret was safe with him.

‘… continue on, Darcy?’

She looked up guiltily as she realised Reed’s mother had been talking to her, paling a little as she saw the fierce glitter in Reed’s eyes as she met his gaze in the driving-mirror. It wasn’t fair! Yesterday had knocked her confidence in her abilities for six! She wouldn’t normally be so nervous about a little lapse in concentration.

She sat forward in the seat, giving Maud a dazzling smile. ‘I’m sorry, I was miles away,’ she admitted honestly, challenge in her eyes as she met the mockery in Reed’s.