by Lyons, Mary
‘Yeah. But what are we going to do about you and what’s-his-name? And no, I’m not referring to those frankly rude photos,’ Mike added grimly. ‘This is still a family newspaper, thank God. You’ll be pleased to know that I have personally destroyed all copies and the negatives.’
Alex could feel her knees almost giving way as she sagged with relief.
‘I wouldn’t look too happy too soon.’ Mike’s warning voice brought her sharply back down to earth. ‘There’s still no getting away from the fact that the only other pictures we’ve got of you and Leo Hamilton seem to consist solely of you two clasped in each other’s arms,’ he ground out irritably, lifting one of the photos from his desk and brandishing it in front of her. ‘And there’s no way we can pretend that that’s Fiona Bliss, right?’
‘We’ll just have to scrap the whole photo shoot,’ Imogen broke in quickly, taking the photograph from Mike’s hand and looking at it with a curling lip before tossing it back down on his desk. ‘Alex may have enjoyed herself last night, but there’s no way we can use that.’
‘I hate to say it—but you’re right,’ Mike agreed with a shrug. ‘So I suggest we run that piece on that singer-songwriter, Alice what’s-her-name, and how she’s decorated her new home, together with... What the heck’s going on?’ he suddenly demanded, raising his voice to be heard over the loud altercation going on outside the door of his office.
A moment later the door burst open... and Leo Hamilton strode into the room.
‘I told him ’e couldn’t come in here, Mr Tanner. I told ‘im to hop it, like you always said I was to do wiv strangers,’ a young office boy called out, giving Leo’s tall figure a wide berth and scampering across the room to stand panting in front of the editor’s desk. ‘I tried. I really did try and stop him, Mr Tanner. But ’e hit me! Look...’ He pointed to one of his ears. ’He hit me—‘e did!’
‘I’ll cheerfully box your ears again if you ever dare to be so insolent,’ Leo drawled, clearly dismissing the young man from his mind as he turned to survey the occupants of the room. ‘And you must be Mike Tanner, I presume?’ he said, gazing at the short, bulky figure sitting behind the desk.
‘Got it in one,’ Mike acknowledged, before jerking his head at the boy and telling him to get out. ‘While you, I take it, are Mr Leo Hamilton...?’ Mike added, leaning back in his chair, calmly puffing on his evil-smelling cigar.
‘That’s not too difficult to deduce, since you seem to have my photographs spread all over your desk,’ Leo replied coolly.
‘Yeah, so I have.’ Mike wheezed with laughter. ‘Looks like you had some fun last night, doesn’t it?’
While this exchange was going on, Alex was standing rooted to the floor, completely unable to believe her eyes. Leo...here? What on earth was going on? He’d made it absolutely one hundred per cent crystal-clear that he never, ever intended to have anything to do with her again. And now... marching into this office as if he owned it...?
‘Would somebody like to tell me what’s going on?’ Imogen demanded, staring fixedly at Leo as though he were some sort of alien life form, before getting out of her chair.
‘I think we’ve spent quite enough time over this bourgeois, sentimental nonsense of St Valentine’s Day,’ she continued in a firm, lecturing tone of voice. ‘The fact that Alex’s sibling was clearly sexually harassing her last night is surely not our business? Other than suggesting that the stupid girl clearly needs to talk out her problems—mainly concerning her own self-worth and her definition of herself in terms of her personal appearance—can I suggest that we get on with some rather more important items for today’s issue?’
While Imogen had been speaking, Leo had been gazing at her with dawning horror. ‘Good heavens!’ He turned to Mike. ‘Does this woman always go on like that?’
“Fraid so. Very politically correct is our Miz All-Nightly!’ Mike grinned.
Leo shook his head. ‘I don’t know how you manage to put up with it.’
‘To tell you the truth, mate, neither do I,’ the editor agreed. ‘All right, Imogen—you can push off now. I’ll go through those other items in about ten minutes. OK?’
With bad grace, Imogen strode grimly out of the room. Following her departure there was a long silence, only finally broken by Mike’s heavy sigh. ‘Well, I’m no fool. I reckon you must have come to try and get hold of those naughty photos. Right?’
‘You’re quite correct,’ Leo agreed, a faint flush rising over his cheekbones as he avoided Alex’s eye. ‘I behaved in an abominable manner last night. And, while I do of course understand that those photographs will have a certain market value—as far as this, or any other newspaper may be concerned—I am quite willing to make a financial settlement with the Chronicle, because I am most anxious to...’
‘Relax!’ Mike announced, holding up his hands to halt Leo’s words. ‘I’ve already destroyed both them and the negatives.’ He paused for a moment, his busy, inquisitive eyes darting back and forth between the pale-faced girl and the tall, handsome and clearly uncomfortable man.
‘So...’ Mike said at last, ‘Like I said, you’ve been a busy lad. Worked out which one you’re going to marry yet, have you?’
‘Of course I have—like you, I’m not entirely a fool,’ Leo snapped. ‘I’ve been in love with this damned girl since she was sixteen. So it looks like I’m stuck, doesn’t it? That’s if she’ll have me, of course,’ he added, finally turning around to face Alex.
‘Can you forgive me?’ he asked softly, walking over to take her hands in his. ‘I’m desperately sorry about last night. Quite honestly, my darling, I’m just so madly in love with you that I can’t even see straight any more.’
‘Oh, Leo...! That makes two of us,’ she sighed happily as his strong arms closed slowly about her trembling figure. Holding her tightly against his hard chest, the strong beat of his heart echoing her own, he lowered his dark head as his lips possessed hers in a kiss of total commitment.
They were only recalled to the reality of time and place by Mike’s dry remark, ‘Don’t mind me, folks! It’s only my office, after all.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry...’ Alex gasped, quickly lifting a hand to smooth down her hair. ‘I quite forgot where I was for a moment...’ she began, before catching the amused glint in Leo’s eyes, and bursting into laughter. ‘Oh, dear—I never thought I’d be proposed to in a newspaper office!’
‘Well, there you go!’ Mike said, rubbing his hands together happily. ‘You never know when things are going to turn out for the best, right? So, Alex, it looks as though we have got a story after all. Well...?’ he barked as she stared at him in confusion. ‘You’d better get on and write it up, hadn’t you? We’ll think about the headline later, of course,’ he added, leaning back in his chair and gazing up at the ceiling. ‘Maybe something along the lines of, “Banker Turns Down Heiress to Wed Journalist”, or “Chronicle’s Journalist Gets Her Man”.’
‘Over my dead body!’ Leo snapped.
‘Now, see here...’
Leo shook his head. ‘I couldn’t care less what stupid headline you use,’ he told the editor firmly. ‘But my new fiancée and I are off to buy a wedding ring. So, if you want the story,’ he added, clasping hold of Alex’s hand and drawing her after him towards the door, ‘you can damn well write it yourself!’
‘Are we really going off to buy a ring?’ Alex asked as Leo ushered her into the passenger seat of his silver-grey Porsche, which he’d parked outside the newspaper building.
‘Eventually, I’m quite sure we shall,’ he laughed. ‘But just at the moment, my darling Alex, I have rather more important matters on my mind. Such as,’ he added, letting in the clutch and roaring off down the street, ‘taking you back to my apartment and making mad, passionate love. I’ll probably think of some other items as well, but I think that will do for starters, don’t you?’
‘Yes...I think I could probably hack that,’ she murmured with a grin, a slight flush on her cheeks as she leaned closer to hi
s tall figure, resting her head on his shoulder. ‘I really...I really am terribly sorry about everything I said and did last night,’ she added with a heavy sigh.
‘Well, my behaviour was equally bad—so I suggest we just forget the whole episode,’ Leo told her firmly.
‘Yes, but what about your mother? There’s no way I can go on pretending to be Fiona, is there? And when she finds out the truth about you and me...’ Alex bit her lip. ‘Well, quite honestly, Leo—there’s likely to be a nuclear explosion all over Mayfair!’
Leo laughed. ‘Relax, darling! There’s no need to worry. In fact, I think you’ll find that Mother will be over the moon about our marriage.’
‘You must be kidding! Even if I’m prepared to bury the hatchet about the past—and I can assure you, most sincerely, that I am—I can’t see your mother managing to put everything behind her quite so easily.’ Alex sighed heavily. ‘It isn’t just what happened all those years ago. How can I expect her to forget all the awful things I said at the ball last night?’
“There won’t be a problem,’ Leo told her firmly. ‘I know my mother. And, believe me, she’s going to be so thrilled not to be forced to have anything more to do with Ethel Bliss that she’s going to welcome you with open arms. Besides,‘ he added with a grin, ’the fact that I’m marrying the heiress to the Rothstein fortune is bound to make her declare her undying love for her new daughter-in-law!’
Alex laughed. ‘Oh, come on! Be fair. Your mother may have many faults, but she never struck me as being a mercenary sort of woman.’
Leo shook his head. My mother’s a great believer in the adage, “You can’t be too thin, or too rich”! And, I agree with at least half of that sentiment. Which is why I’ve always been on the lookout for a really wealthy girl!’
“There I was thinking that you loved me for myself,’ Alex murmured in mock-sorrow. ‘And now I find that it’s just my money that you’re really after...’
‘Oh, yes—absolutely!’ Leo grinned. ‘When my uncle, Lord Hamilton, learns exactly which girl I’m about to marry—I fully expect to be appointed Managing Director almost immediately!’
‘You rotten man!’ she laughed, giving him a light punch on his arm. ‘It would serve you right if I gave it all away to my favourite charity.’
‘Well...knowing how keen you are on journalism, I’m surprised that you haven’t already bought yourself a newspaper. You can certainly well afford to do so.’
‘You’re a banker—I hope you don’t give that sort of advice to all your clients?’ She grinned. ‘I thought everyone knew that owning a newspaper was a surefire way of losing money? And in any case,’ she added, more seriously, ‘I haven’t been a journalist that long. In fact, I’m still learning the trade. And, truth to tell, it doesn’t look as though I can keep on working for the Chronicle. Not after everyone’s seen those photos!’
‘I’m more sorry than I can say about my behaviour last night,’ he murmured. ‘I know that I said we wouldn’t talk about it again. But I had a sleepless night worrying about what I’d done to you. And, of course, realising that it didn’t matter what you’d said and done. You were still the only girl for me.’
‘Oh, Leo...!’ she sighed happily as he brought the vehicle to a halt outside his apartment. ‘I’m just so happy. I can’t believe that after everything that’s happened to us we’ve finally found each other once again.’
‘And I’m never going to let you go,’ Leo vowed as he got out of the car and came around to open the passenger door, before leading her into the building.
‘My only request,’ he continued as the lift surged upwards, ‘is that you faithfully promise never to write about me in a newspaper ever again.’
‘Oh, no, I’ve definitely learnt my lesson,’ she assured him as they arrived outside the front door of his apartment. ‘From now on, as Miz Imogen All-Nightly might say, I fully intend to control my tendency to imitate male power patterns—especially with my chronologically gifted husband...’
‘Oh, come on!’ Leo laughed as he opened the door. ‘I’m only seven years older than you, for heaven’s sake!’
‘In future...’ Alex continued primly, struggling to keep her face straight, ‘I shall indulge in an explosion of bourgeois sentimentality—and concentrate on exploring the horizontal levels of physical attraction between the species.’
‘If that politically correct mumbo-jumbo means that we’re going to spend at least the next forty-eight hours in bed—I’m all for it!’ He gave a wolfish smile. ‘By the way, whatever happened to good, old-fashioned, love, honour and obey...?’
‘I’ll happily go along with “love” and “honour”. But “obey” is definitely out!’
‘I’m sorry to hear that.’ He gave a heavily dramatic sigh. ‘Especially as I was really looking forward to giving the orders around here from now on. For instance...I was just about to demand an explanation of exactly why you haven’t already started taking off your clothes,’ he added sternly, his green eyes gleaming with laughter as he propelled her swiftly towards the bedroom.
‘Well...maybe we could make an exception for that particular request in future,’ she murmured, giving a shriek of laughter as she found herself suddenly swept off her feet and tossed lightly down onto the bed.
‘My dearest, darling girl,’ Leo growled impatiently as he joined her on the soft mattress a moment later. ‘Believe me—it’s the here and now that I’m interested in,’ he added, taking her lovingly in his arms. ‘Now...and for ever.’
IMPRINT: e-book Sexy
ISBN: 9781460864647
TITLE: THE VALENTINE AFFAIR
First Australian Publication 2012
Copyright © 2012 MARY LYONS
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