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‘I doubt if Danny will think so.’
‘Danny?’ Rachel frowned.
‘Danny,’ Hilary nodded, looking pointedly over Rachel’s shoulder.
She turned with a groan, seeing Danny making his way determinedly to their table. And he didn’t look very happy, far from it in fact.
‘Hilary,’ he nodded tersely in her direction.
‘Danny,’ she greeted in a tight voice. Danny Maxwell was not one of her favourite people, something he was only too well aware of.
‘Can I talk to you, Rachel?’ he asked tightly.
She flushed. ‘Well I—–’
‘Don’t mind me.’ Hilary stood up, as slender as Rachel but slightly taller. She picked up her cup. ‘I want to get a refill anyway. Rachel?’
‘Not for me, thanks,’ she refused, watching as Danny sat down in Hilary’s vacated chair. ‘That wasn’t very kind,’ she told him sharply.
‘I’m not feeling particularly kind,’ he scowled. ‘Did your mother tell you I telephoned last night?’
‘Yes,’ she nodded.
His eyes narrowed. ‘But you didn’t feel like calling me back?’
‘I got home late, Danny—–’
‘From taking that woman to hospital?’
‘Yes. You see—–’
‘I told you you’d get dragged into being involved—–’
‘I didn’t get dragged into anything, Danny,’ she sighed. ‘I stayed with her because I wanted to. She had a little girl, if you’re interested.’
‘I’m not,’ he said coldly.
‘I didn’t think you would be.’
‘And what’s that supposed to mean?’ He was instantly on the defensive.
‘Nothing,’ she muttered, gathering her books together. ‘I have to get to my next class.’
His hand on her wrist stopped her, but there was none of the tingling sensation she had experienced with Nick St Clare. ‘Is our date for tonight still on?’
She had forgotten all about their arrangements to go and see the latest James Bond film. But she didn’t want to go anyway, she found Danny’s behaviour of yesterday had put her off the boy himself. ‘Not tonight, Danny—–’
‘Why?’
‘I—Well, because—–’
‘You don’t want to see me any more, right?’ he said roughly.
Oh dear, she always hated breaking up with boys, especially as Danny didn’t appear to be going to make it easy for her; his grip on her wrist was unrelenting. ‘I think it might be better if—–’
‘Oh, spare me the little speech about how you don’t want to see me any more but we can still be friends,’ he sneered, releasing her wrist. ‘I’ve said it too many times myself to know it isn’t true.’
‘Danny, I’m sorry—–’
‘I’m not,’ he said insultingly. ‘You’re a little prude, Rachel. I think two months is long enough to tell me you aren’t going to give me anything but kisses.’
She flushed. ‘Is that all you can think about, what you can get from a girl?’
His mouth twisted mockingly, marring his good looks. ‘What else is there?’ he scorned. ‘You surely didn’t think I intended getting serious about you?’
‘I hope not,’ she told him with blunt honesty, standing up to look down at him with cold grey eyes. ‘I think you have a lot of growing up to do before you become serious about anyone.’
‘Ready, Rachel?’ Hilary appeared at her side.
Rachel looked down at Danny’s angrily flushed face, flicking her hair back. ‘More than ready,’ she nodded, leaving with her friend.
Hilary giggled as they stepped into the lift. ‘What did you say to upset him?’
‘Just the truth,’ she shrugged. ‘That I didn’t want to go out with him any more.’
‘You finished with Danny Maxwell?’ her friend gasped.
‘Well … yes.’
‘You really did?’ Hilary frowned.
‘Yes.’
‘Goodness!’
‘Well, don’t sound so surprised,’ Rachel laughed. ‘It isn’t unheard-of, you know.’
‘To Danny Maxwell it is!’
‘Not any more,’ she grinned, feeling no remorse. Danny had been as surprised as Hilary by her decision not to see him any more, and his reaction had shown him in his true colours.
‘I’m glad,’ Hilary said seriously. ‘I never did like him. He’s all tight jeans and biceps.’
‘Hilary!’
‘Well, he is,’ her friend muttered. ‘Now Nicholas St Clare is what I would call a real man.’
Rachel stiffened, glad that the lift had arrived at their floor. ‘I don’t want to talk about Mr St Clare.’
‘But—–’
‘Hilary!’ she said in a warning voice.
‘Well, I think you’re mad. Even if you never saw him again you would at least have had this one evening to remember.’
She knew that, that one thought had been going through her mind all morning. Maybe she should have just had this one date with him. But what good would it do? He was probably another one of those men who weren’t interested if he couldn’t have more than kisses.
‘I’m not interested,’ she told Hilary firmly.
The rest of the day seemed to drag to Rachel, and for once she wasn’t giving her whole attention to her work, something one of the tutors warned her about.
‘Do you want to come over tonight?’ Hilary offered. ‘We could play a few records, chat, you know.’
‘I know,’ Rachel pulled a face. ‘You only want to try and get my innermost secrets out of me.’
‘How did you guess?’ her friend grinned.
She laughed. ‘It wasn’t difficult. Thanks for the offer, Hilary, but I have to wash my hair.’
Hilary looked admiringly at the long dark tresses. ‘I bet it takes all evening, hmm?’
‘More or less. My mother usually brushes it dry for me. It takes hours.’
‘Your poor mother!’
Rachel grinned. ‘I tell her it’s the price she has to pay for my growing it this long.’
Hilary touched her own boyishly styled hair. ‘I sometimes wish I hadn’t had mine cut, but when I hear I’d have to waste an evening just washing and drying hair your length I’m glad mine only takes half an hour to wash and dry.’
‘It has its benefits,’ Rachel agreed.
‘It does?’
‘Hm, it fills an empty evening.’ And it looked as if she would be having a lot of them in the near future.
Hilary shook her head. ‘And you could have filled this one with Nick St Clare, not a shampoo bottle.’
‘Hilary, I’d rather—–’
‘Well, well, well,’ drawled an insulting voice. ‘If it isn’t the little girl that likes to date tennis stars!’
Rachel turned to face Danny, finding he had two of his friends with him. Billy and Malcolm were nice enough boys on their own, but Danny was obviously their leader, and they were following his lead in this, their expressions as mocking.
‘I don’t know where you got your information—–’
‘Why, your little friend here.’ Danny’s gaze strayed to Hilary. ‘She’s full of the fact that her best friend is going out with Nick St Clare.’
Rachel looked at her friend, knowing by her flushed cheeks that Danny spoke the truth. ‘Hilary!’ she groaned.
‘I’m sorry,’ the other girl looked at her appealingly.
‘No wonder you aren’t interested in going out with me any more,’ Danny scorned. ‘Some hot-shot with a lot of money comes along and I’m no longer good enough for you.’
‘It wasn’t like that,’ Rachel flushed. ‘I—–’
‘Rachel?’
She instantly paled, turning at the sound of that familiar drawl, her eyes widening as she looked at Nicholas St Clare. He was standing only a couple of feet away from them, the dark brown shirt stretching tautly across his chest and shoulders, partly unbuttoned, the sleeves turned back to just below his elbows, the cream trousers fitted to his muscular thighs.
Danny’s stance instantly became challenging. ‘How nice,’ he taunted. ‘Your boy friend has come to pick you up from school!’
Rachel gave him a distressed look, and she heard Hilary gasp at her side. Nick looked unmoved, eyeing the younger man with amusement. She had no idea what he was doing here, or even how he had got here. She didn’t remember telling him what time she finished, or even what college she attended. ‘Ready?’ she repeated dazedly.
‘I told your mother and father I’d take you straight home,’ he further astounded her by announcing.
She swallowed hard, still not understanding, but getting his message that he was here to drive her home. She could see the Jaguar parked a short distance away, although with the hostile audience they had it could seem like a mile.
‘You haven’t forgotten?’ he prompted, his eyes narrowed.
‘I—er—No, of course not. ‘Bye, Danny, boys.’ She couldn’t quite look at any of them.
‘Would your friend like a lift home?’ Nick offered as she reached his side.
She had forgotten all about poor Hilary, although in the circumstances perhaps that wasn’t so surprising. ‘Hilary?’ she asked softly, almost pleadingly.
Hilary’s awed gaze hadn’t left Nick St Clare since he had first spoken, and she had some difficulty answering Rachel. ‘Er—no—thanks,’ she finally managed to stutter. ‘I have some shopping to do.’
Rachel knew the other girl must be completely bowled over, otherwise she would never have refused!
‘I’ll see you tomorrow, Rachel,’ Danny put in softly, obviously still out to cause trouble.
‘Probably,’ she answered coolly. ‘The college isn’t that big.’
‘Goodbye,’ Nick said generally, his hand firm on Rachel’s elbow, and guided her over to the Jaguar, opening the passenger door with a flourish.
She daren’t look in Danny’s direction as the car moved away from the kerbside, knowing she would see contempt in his face if she did.
‘I gather he’s a friend of yours?’ Nick spoke abruptly.
Her lashes fluttered nervously as she looked at him, the realisation of seeing him once again washing over her. His presence outside the college really had come as a surprise to her, so much so that it hadn’t occured to her to protest when he told her he was driving her home. It had almost been as if she had no mind of her own.
‘He was,’ she answered huskily.
‘Was?’ Nick prompted.
‘Yes,’ she almost snapped her reply.
‘He wouldn’t happen to be the boy you were kissing in the park yesterday, would he?’ Nick taunted.
