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‘Something you should maybe have thought about before putting on the act in the first place!’
‘True,’ he agreed with maddening calm. ‘Call it a momentary aberration.’
‘You really don’t give a damn about anything or anyone but yourself, do you?’ she accused. ‘In fact, the sooner your grandfather dies, the better for you!’
It didn’t need the sudden flare in the grey eyes to tell her she had gone too far. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said thickly. ‘That was a lousy thing to say!’
‘If it’s what you think, why bottle it up?’ he rejoined.
‘It isn’t.’ Jessica paused in some confusion. ‘At least, not quite to that extent.’
‘It just came out under pressure?’ Zac suggested on an ironical note. ‘Rather different circumstances, maybe, but I know the feeling.’ He studied her, expression unreadable again. ‘So, what’s the decision? Are you going to insist I tell him the truth?’
‘How can I?’ she said. ‘There’s no knowing what it might do to him. We’ll just have to carry it through. Just don’t try taking advantage, that’s all.’
‘I’ll do my best to keep my distance.’
Jessica shot a glance at him, infuriated once more to see the faint smile hovering about his lips.
‘I see nothing even remotely funny about this!’ she snapped.
‘Me neither,’ he agreed. ‘But better a smile than a frown. However much I might regret it, what’s done is done. Wallowing in guilt isn’t going to help.’
Reluctant though she was to acknowledge it, he was right, she supposed. If there was to be no confession, they were left with no choice other than to continue the sham. With conviction too if his grandfather wasn’t to begin suspecting something.
‘You’ve told him we’re only here until tomorrow?’
‘Not in so many words.’
Jessica hardened both heart and voice. ‘Have you given any thought at all to what you’ll do if he asks to see the pair of us again?’
‘Another bridge to cross if and when necessary.’ His gaze roved her face, his lips twisting. ‘A pity it has to end like this.’
‘It never started,’ she retorted, steeling herself against the response he could still draw from her. ‘I’ll be ecstatically happy never to see you again!’
Humour sprang briefly in the grey eyes. ‘A little overstated for total conviction, but I get the message.’
Jessica turned away, unable to sustain the degree of anger that had kept her going these last minutes. An anger which, she had to admit, had been directed as much at herself for her inability to repress the emotions he aroused in her still. Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough!
Henry Prescott ate sparingly at dinner, though he enjoyed a glass of wine. Watching him surreptitiously, listening to him talk, Jessica found it difficult to believe he was even as old as he was, much less on the verge of dying.
‘We’re usually in bed by ten o’clock,’ said Esther over coffee, ‘but you mustn’t feel you have to retire then yourselves.’
‘Just try not to waken us when you do come up,’ said her husband. ‘At our age, we need our beauty sleep.’
‘You neither of you look your age,’ Jessica commented, and drew an appreciative smile.
‘I’d like to say I don’t feel it either, but it wouldn’t be entirely true. You must make sure you have your children while you’re still young and fit. This modern idea of waiting until middle age is abominable! I had my two sons by the time I was twenty-three.’
His two sons, Jessica noted. She stole a glance at his wife, expecting to see some sign, however faint, of resentment, but her face was devoid of expression.
‘We’re a bit late getting away from the starting post,’ said Zac easily, ‘but we’ll do our best.’
‘Good.’ His grandfather looked from one to the other. ‘So, when’s the wedding to be?’
Jessica drew in a long slow breath. It should have been a foregone conclusion that the question would be asked at some point, but it hadn’t even crossed her mind until this moment.
‘Soon,’ Zac answered.
‘How soon?’ Henry insisted. ‘I’d like to be around for it.’
Esther made a sound as if about to say something, shaking her head as he gave her a sharp glance. It was left to Zac to fill the silence.
‘Weddings take time to arrange. We didn’t even set a date yet.’
‘Then it’s high time you did.’ The older eyes were unyielding. ‘What reason is there to wait if you know your minds?’
Jessica sent Zac an urgent signal via a foot under the table. There was no way they were going to get out of this other than admitting to the whole fabrication, so best to just get on with it and face the consequences.
Zac gave no sign of even feeling the kick. ‘No reason at all,’ he said. ‘We’ll set things in motion.’
‘Good,’ his grandfather said again. His gaze shifted to Jessica. ‘You’ve no objection, I take it?’
She had every objection, but no nerve to voice them. Calling all kinds of curses down on Zac’s head, she managed a creditably steady answer in the negative. This was one bridge he would definitely be crossing on his own. Once away from here, she was out of it!
There was no further talk of weddings, to her relief, but she found it far from easy to act naturally. Zac appeared completely at ease. The hallmark of a born con man, she thought wrathfully.
She refrained from immediate comment when the Prescotts departed, seeking just the right words. Zac forestalled her.
‘Get it off your chest,’ he advised drily. ‘Then we can decide where we go from here.’
‘There’s no going anywhere from here!’ she snapped back, losing track of the flak she’d been about to turn out. ‘You have to tell them the truth!’
‘You think that wise?’ he asked after a moment.
‘I think it quite likely you could lose your precious shares, but I doubt if it will kill him outright.’
‘There’s no certainty of it though. He has little enough time left as it is. Would you want to be responsible for adding to the stress?’
Jessica was silent for a lengthy moment. When she spoke again her voice sounded strained. ‘So, what’s your proposal?’
‘Just let it ride for now.’
‘Where will that get you if he lives longer than expected?’ she asked. ‘And don’t say you’ll cross that bridge if and when necessary, or I swear I’ll hit you!’
‘I won’t, then.’
Jessica glanced at him suspiciously, sensing a certain lack of gravity in his voice. ‘I must have been mad letting you talk me into any of this!’
‘Not mad,’ he declared. ‘Just exceptionally charitable. I can’t think of anyone else who would have agreed to do what you’re doing unconditionally.’
‘Some would have been prepared to take money for it?’
‘I reckon I might have been called on to offer a great deal more than that.’
‘A real engagement rather than a spurious one, you mean?’ Jessica gave a short laugh. ‘I’m sure you’re considered quite a catch, but a woman would have to be pretty desperate to take that kind of advantage.’
‘You might be surprised by the lengths some will go to when it comes to securing a comfortable future.’
‘You’ve been mixing with the wrong type then!’
‘There could be some truth in that. Your cousin aside,’ he added. ‘Leonie regards marriage the same way I’ve always seen it up to now, as something to be avoided at all costs.’
‘So all that talk last night about gaining breathing space to find a woman you could contemplate sharing your life with was so much hogwash!’ Jessica berated.
‘I said up to now. Given the right woman, it might be possible to make something worthwhile out of it.’ He slanted a glance. ‘Fancy giving it a try?’
‘I’d as soon jump off a cliff!’
The sigh was exaggerated. ‘You’re probably right. I’d make a lousy husband!’
The flickering glow from the log fire crackling in the wide stone hearth highlighted the firm masculine features, bringing an all too familiar tension in the region of her stomach. Two nights ago they had shared a bed. At this precise moment she could think of nothing else but the muscular feel of him. Whatever her views on his conduct, there was no denying the need he aroused in her.
He knew it too, if the expression in the grey eyes was anything to go by.
‘Electrifying, isn’t it?’ he said softly. ‘The question is, what are we going to do about it?’
Making out she didn’t know what he was talking about was pointless, Jessica acknowledged. He knew exactly what was in her mind.
‘Absolutely nothing,’ she said flatly. ‘After tomorrow you’re on your own. I don’t want to see you or hear from you again.’
His smile was slow. ‘You don’t lie very well.’
‘It’s the truth.’ She did her best to keep both voice and expression impassive. ‘As Leonie won’t be expecting me back for a day or two I’ll have to check into a hotel for a couple of nights at least. You can pay for that, but nothing more.’
‘And after?’ he prompted.
‘I’ll be staying with Leonie while I look for a job.’
‘No secretarial position alone is ever going to satisfy you,’ Zac declared. ‘You need a challenge in life.’
‘You’ve no idea what I need!’ she retorted, drawn despite herself.
‘Yes, I do.’ There was a wicked light in his eyes. ‘You’re a vibrant, passionate woman aching for the same thing I’m aching for myself right now.’
Jessica was slow to react as he reached for her. The hands curving her upper arms were firm in their grasp though in no way hard, the kiss a heart thudding, stomach curling, totally irresistible force.
Her response was instinctive, all thought temporarily suspended. His mouth was a source of endless pleasure, the silky slide of his tongue between her lips no intrusion. She tremored as the long tensile fingers lightly traced the curve of her breast.
She came to her senses with a jerk. Zac made no move to detain her as she thrust herself away from him.
‘This has to stop!’ she breathed.
‘You’re not going to try making out it’s all one-sided,’ he said softly.
Grateful for the dim light, Jessica made a supreme effort to bring her emotions under control. Her voice sounded steadier at least. ‘Obviously not, but this is as far as it goes. I’m here for the one purpose, and one purpose only! After tomorrow, that’s it!’
‘It doesn’t have to be,’ he said. ‘We could see how things go.’
‘I know exactly how things would go,’ she declared. ‘The same way I imagine all your affairs go! Thank you, ma’am, and goodbye!’
‘Succinct—’ he grinned ‘—but not true. I’ve never had any interest in one-night stands.’
‘Which category does Leonie come under?’
‘Leonie comes under her own category. She certainly has no proprietorial instincts, if that’s what’s worrying you.’
‘In two years, you must have slept together on a fair number of occasions.’
‘With long gaps in between.’
‘And you think I’d be prepared to help fill in the gaps?’
‘That isn’t what I have in mind.’ His gaze roved her face, lingering on the provocative fullness of her mouth. Voice roughened, he said, ‘I want you, Jess!’
The abbreviation of her name failed to irk her; she was too intent on trying to keep her feet on the ground. ‘Why?’ she asked huskily.
‘Why?’ His regard was quizzical. ‘Because you’ve been driving me wild since we met. Because you’re an outstandingly attractive young woman with far more than just your looks about you. Whoever Paul is, he isn’t worth putting your life on hold over. You need to move on.’
‘I already did.’
‘Not far enough. I could make you forget him.’
Her lips twitched involuntarily. ‘You’re certainly not lacking in confidence!’
‘Would you like me better if I was backward in coming forward?’
‘I’m unlikely to find out.’
‘The love of a good woman could make a new man of me,’ he said with mock gravity.
‘Leopards don’t change their spots,’ she rejoined.
‘Black ones don’t have any to start with.’ Zac was silent for a moment. When he spoke again the banter had gone from his voice. ‘Were you in love with him?’
Coming out of the blue, the question took her by surprise. She found herself answering before she thought about it. ‘I believed I was.’
‘How long were you together?’
