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‘Mm, I heard it had a very good response.’ He shrugged. ‘Maybe you should be the critic and not me, Juliet.’
‘Maybe I should,’ she agreed challengingly.
His eyes openly mocked her. ‘I’ll suggest it to my producer and editor.’
‘You do that.’ She turned away angrily, eating her meal in furious silence.
Overbearing know-it-all! She couldn’t stand people who were as opinionated as this man—and he did it for a living! And Melanie must have known she would rather be anywhere than sitting next to this man. This was positively the last time she came to one of these dinner parties, friend or no friend.
‘Besides what I do for a living,’ that now familiar lazy drawl interrupted her thoughts, ‘what else have I done to offend you?’
Sherry-coloured eyes flashed as she looked up at him. ‘Isn’t it enough?’ she snapped.
‘I wouldn’t have thought so, no.’ His gaze was warm as he made no effort to hide his attraction to her.
‘I’ve invariably found that the job is the man,’ she told him haughtily.
‘I do other things besides book reviews.’
‘Oh yes?’ she said uninterestedly.
‘Yes,’ his eyes had hardened to icy chips, giving her a brief glimpse of the ruthless man beneath the surface charm. ‘It just so happens that I enjoy my work.’
‘I’m sure you do!’
He sat back. ‘Why are you taking this so personally?’ he asked easily. ‘Do you get upset at every critic’s views, or just mine?’
‘Yours tend to be more outspoken than most.’
‘You don’t have to watch the television programme, or read the column in the newspaper,’ he pointed out reasonably.
‘Oh, but I do,’ she smiled coolly. ‘I like to see what outrage you’re going to come out with next. Your attack on Gregory James was almost personal.’
‘And Caroline Miles?’
Her mouth twisted. ‘When you know nothing about the woman it can hardly be called personal.’
He looked at her for several minutes, his gaze admiring. ‘I’ll tell you what, Juliet,’ he finally said. ‘You write a book and I’ll tell everyone what a beautiful woman you are, very independent, intelligent, and prepared to stand up for what you believe to be right.’
Juliet blushed at his description of her. She had believed that, like most men, he would see only the surface attraction and not bother with the intelligent woman inside the body. But Jake Matthews was turning out to be a bit of a surprise altogether. Most people would have accepted her earlier snub, or at least avoided the subject that had caused it, but this man had gone straight back to it.
‘Wouldn’t that be rather unfair? Besides, I’d probably write a poor story.’
‘What work do you do?’ he asked interestedly.
‘I work for Michael.’ She sipped her wine.
Jake smiled. ‘Then you’re in the right place to get your book published.’
‘Have you ever written one?’ She couldn’t ever remember seeing a book written by this man, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t one. Besides, if he had any sense he would write under a pseudonym, as the nature of his profession meant his fellow-workers were likely to be over-critical about any book bearing the name Jake Matthews.
‘Never,’ he laughed softly. ‘And I’m never going to. You?’
‘I wrote one once,’ she revealed slowly.
‘What happened to it?’
Juliet shrugged dismissively. ‘It’s at home somewhere, turned down by a publisher. Perhaps I should let you read it, get your opinion. On second thoughts, maybe I’d better not. The sort of criticism you dish out would break me.’
He gave a husky laugh, a deep attractive sound that caused several of the other women present to turn and look at him. Juliet realised for the first time that she was actually being envied her dining companion, that most of the other women here would gladly take her place.
She looked at Jake Matthews with new eyes, seeing a wealth of experience in the deep cynicism of his face, a knowledge of women in those narrowed blue eyes that hadn’t been learnt just by looking at them. This man was at least thirty-five, there would have been many women in his life, could even be one now. He could even be married for all she knew!
‘I’d be very gentle on you, Juliet,’ he promised softly.
She searched his strong features for some sign of a double meaning, but could find none. But Jake had been flirting with her, she knew that. She hadn’t reached her mid-twenties without learning something of men, and Jake Matthews definitely found her attractive. ‘What would your wife think of you showing such favouritism?’ she asked pointedly.
His mouth quirked with humour, seeing right through her line of questioning. ‘I’m not married, Juliet.’
Her eyebrows rose as she couldn’t hide her surprise at his single state. ‘Have you ever been?’
‘No. Have you?’
‘No,’ she replied tightly.
‘I’m sure you’ve had offers, though,’ he taunted.
‘Several,’ she confirmed stiffly.
‘And I’ve never offered once,’ he drawled.
She knew that. If he had offered he would have been accepted. There would be few women who would turn him down. ‘You’re quite old not to be married,’ she said bluntly.
‘So are you,’ he replied as candidly. ‘What are you, twenty-three, twenty-four?’
‘Twenty-four. And you, over or under forty?’
‘Under,’ he grinned. ‘I’m thirty-eight. Now that we have the question of married status and age out of the way perhaps we can get to know each other a little better. Do you have any family, Juliet?’
‘Just my mother. She lives in Devon. And you?’ If he could ask personal questions then so could she!
He shrugged. ‘No parents, just a sister. She’s married to an American, living in California with her husband and two unruly brats.’
‘You don’t like children?’
‘I didn’t say that,’ he denied. ‘I like them well enough, and probably one day I’ll have a couple of my own. I certainly don’t intend remaining single for ever. I just haven’t found my other half yet.’
Juliet held back her gasp of surprise. ‘You really believe that everyone has a perfect partner?’
‘Yes,’ he nodded, grinning suddenly. ‘It’s a pity they rarely meet.’
‘You’re cynical!’ Juliet snapped.
‘Realistic,’ he corrected. ‘But I’ll marry one day, if only to have children. But they won’t become beach-bums,’ he added grimly.
‘Is that what’s happened to your sister’s children?’
‘Yes. The eldest one has already dropped out of school, the other one will soon follow. It’s a damned waste.’
‘And you?’ Juliet eyed him with amusement. ‘Did you dutifully finish your education?’ He didn’t appear to her to be the sort of man who would welcome the leash of authority, and she doubted he had been any different in his youth.
‘No,’ he smiled, that devastating smile that even Juliet was finding she wasn’t immune to. If anything he looked even more attractive when he smiled, his eyes a deeper blue, crinkled at the corners, his teeth very white against his tanned skin, the cleft in his chin more prominent. ‘But then you knew that, didn’t you?’
‘I guessed,’ she smiled back, and then stopped herself. The unaccustomed wine was making her enjoy talking to a man she should despise, in fact she was starting to like him, which wouldn’t do at all. ‘What did you do instead?’ Her tone was more stilted.
‘I went to sea for a couple of years. You grow up fast that way.’
‘I can imagine,’ she grimaced. It was a hard life, and Jake still kept himself very fit by the look of him, very lean and firmly muscled. It wasn’t the body of a man who sat behind a desk all day. ‘Did you like it?’
‘I enjoyed the stops in port—and I didn’t have a girl in every one,’ he added at her knowing look. ‘Just a couple of them,’ he grinned. ‘Believe me, after several months on board it’s nice to have someone to—go home to.’ He grimaced. ‘I stuck it for a couple of years before hitch-hiking over America. I really liked that. I did any work going to pay my way. Then when I got back to England I got a job as an errand boy on one of the big newspapers. I loved it—the tension, the excitement, the sheer hard work that went into putting out a newspaper every day. It was as if I’d come home.’ He shrugged. ‘I knew that atmosphere was for me.’
Juliet had been mesmerised by the different emotions flitting across his ruggedly tanned features. That he enjoyed his work was obvious, his expression one of tense excitement as he spoke of it.
‘Unfortunately, I can’t write,’ he added ruefully. ‘I tried for a while, but it was no good. But I’ve always liked reading, anything I could get my hands on, so I was finally taken on as assistant to the book critic of the time. When he retired I was chosen to take his place. The television programme came out of writing the column. A television studio has a similar atmosphere to a newspaper, everyone knowing what their job is, and determined to do it to the best of their ability.’
‘Including you,’ she recalled dryly.
‘Especially me,’ he nodded. ‘Juliet—–’
‘Hey, you two,’ Melanie appeared behind them, ‘everyone else has gone through to the lounge for coffee.’
And they had too. Juliet had been so intent on their conversation, so interested in spite of herself, that she had forgotten everyone else at the table, and she could tell by Jake’s almost surprised expression that he had too.
He stood up, pulling back her chair for her. ‘Forgive us, Mrs Dickson. I’m afraid Juliet has been too good a listener. I must have been boring her out of her mind.’ He gave a smile that said he knew she had been anything but bored.
She smiled at him politely, not denying the statement, watching as the smile died out of his eyes, even if his mouth remained smiling.
‘Come into the other room and have some coffee,’ Melanie encouraged. ‘You can continue talking in there.’
Juliet excused herself as soon as they reached the lounge, escaping thankfully to the bathroom. Jake Matthews was very easy to listen to, was fascinating in fact, and without realising it she had enjoyed being with him, had enjoyed his intelligence and humour.
But she wasn’t going to get involved with him. Despite her preconceived dislike of him she knew he wouldn’t be as easy to handle as Ben or Stephen either, all of their attempts at a more intimate relationship duly rebuffed by her. It might be old-fashioned in this day and age to reject physical intimacy, but she did so every time. She wasn’t a complete innocent, but in the true meaning of the word she was, never having met a man she wanted to be that close to. And Jake Matthews wasn’t that man either!
Melanie was waiting outside for her as she left the bathroom, and dragged her into the adjoining bedroom. ‘Well?’ her blue eyes glowed mischievously. ‘What do you think of Jake?’
She wasn’t even sure of that herself! ‘I hardly know the man,’ she evaded.
‘He likes you, I can tell.’
‘Don’t be silly, Melanie.’ Juliet vigorously brushed her auburn hair into gleaming waves and re-applied her lip-gloss, satisfied with her coolly composed reflection. ‘We’ve just been talking, that’s all.’ She turned from the mirror, shutting her small evening bag with a snap.
‘What about?’ her friend asked expectantly.
‘Oh, this and that,’ she evaded.
Melanie raised one blonde eyebrow; she was the complete opposite of Juliet, being small, bubbly and blonde. ‘That?’ she queried suggestively.
‘Not that,’ Juliet sighed. ‘Really, Melanie, I’ve only just met the man! Even you wouldn’t discuss sex with a complete stranger.’
‘I might, if he looked like Jake.’
‘You wouldn’t,’ she smiled. ‘But I really am very angry with you for putting the two of us together,’ she sobered. ‘You know what I think of him and his sarcasm.’
‘Did you tell him?’
‘I certainly did.’
‘And?’
‘And he didn’t seem to mind,’ she admitted reluctantly.
‘Maybe he can take criticism,’ Melanie teased.
‘I should think he would have to,’ Juliet said bitchily. ‘He’s so often wrong.’
Her friend laughed happily. ‘I must go and talk to Michael, he’s dying to know how you got on with Jake.’
‘Don’t bother,’ Juliet mouth twisted, ‘I’ll tell him myself.’
‘But what about Jake?’ Melanie gasped.
Juliet smiled at the other girl. ‘You go and entertain him,’ she opened the bedroom door. ‘Afer all, he’s your guest.’
‘But—–’
‘I’m just going to have a word, in fact a few words,’ she amended pointedly, ‘with your husband, and then I’m leaving.’ She quickly left the room, before Melanie had time to protest any further.
Jake Matthews was talking to one of the other guests, the cricket player he had derided being here, as Juliet made her way over to Michael’s side. But Jake seemed to know of her presence in the room, his narrowed gaze following her progress across the room, watching as she talked to Michael. And that blue-eyed gaze could be very unnerving.
‘You louse!’ she instantly accused Michael.
‘Me?’ he feigned innocence. At twenty-five he had inherited his father’s publishing company, and now, five years later, entirely due to his judgment, Dickson Publishing was one of the few publishers not to be suffering difficulty in this time of high prices and high interest rates. ‘What did I do?’ he grinned goodnaturedly.
‘Not just you,’ she scowled. ‘Melanie helped. I suppose you both thought it was very amusing. And don’t pretend not to know what I’m talking about,’ she carried on as he went to speak, ‘because I know you both too well for that. The two of you make a good comedy act!’
‘Now just calm down, Juliet,’ he patted her arm soothingly. ‘I’d forgotten you were going to be here tonight. Honestly,’ he insisted at her look of outrage.
‘You wouldn’t know honesty if it sat up and bit you!’ she dismissed scathingly.
