To Woo A Wife

by Carole Mortimer

  Now it was Jarrett's turn to feel on his guard. Exactly what did this woman know about him and his family? 'Circumstances?' he repeated defensively.

  Violet-blue eyes met his narrowed gaze unflinchingly. 'You aren't the only one with reliable sources, Jarrett.'

  Which told him precisely nothing! That Abbie had had him checked out he didn't doubt; she probably did that as a matter of course after the problems she'd had two years ago. As long as she hadn't learnt of his meet­ings with Cathy and Danny! That was the reason he had panicked after speaking to Stephen; Abbie didn't exactly appear as if she and her stepchildren were on speaking terms! Although her agreement to see him today, albeit with Jordan in tow, had reassured him that she had no idea of his acquaintance with Cathy—yet

  But no doubt she had learnt of his varied private life, so it was no wonder she viewed him with distrust!

  He decided to take her remark at face value. 'Jonathan and Jordan might seem like a couple of jokers, but they're actually very good at what they do. We make a pretty formidable team!' he told her with satisfaction.

  'I'm sure you do,' she returned satirically. 'Jordan teases and cajoles, Jonathan renders them speechless with his lazy charm—and then you move in for the kill!'

  He drew in a sharp breath. It wasn't the first time she had levelled that charge at him, and, although it had never mattered him before what other people thought of him, it mattered to him now. 'I'm always fair, Abbie,' he told her. 'I know only too well myself what it's like to be on the receiving end of financial difficulties,' he added without bitterness; things had worked out well for him, so what was the point of regret?

  Yes, it had been hard when his father had gone bank­rupt and his mother had walked out on them all, but Jarrett knew he had made a success of his life in spite of that, not because of it. And Jonathan and Jordan hadn't suffered too badly because of it; he had made sure of that. And his father, now in his sixties, had finally met someone he was completely happy with, and lived in Australia. From disaster had come success, and if he and his brothers were slightly cynical concerning women, then so be it.

  Although his cynicism concerning Abbie had become less so as he had come to know her. Although she was still such a mystery to him. Why had such a young and beautiful woman married a man so much older than herself? Abbie had been a successful model, earning big money by all accounts, so why had she chosen to change her life so drastically? There were so many questions about this woman he wanted answers to—and he knew she wasn't going to be the one to provide them!

  'My offer for Sutherland Hotels is a genuine one, Abbie,' he told her briskly. 'Business, pure and simple.'

  She studied him warily. 'Why do you want them?'

  He replied casually, 'I own hotels all over the world myself—as I'm sure you know,' he explained, sure that she did know. 'Sutherland Hotels are all in prime posi­tions, and with minor modifications they could become viable again.'

  'If that's so, why haven't I made those modifications myself?' she said, unconvinced.

  He answered, completely unperturbed, 'I don't know—why haven't you? Probably because Sutherland Hotels represent something to you—prestige and exclu­sivity, to name but two things.'

  'And by "minor modifications" I presume you mean to eliminate both those things?' She looked disapprov­ing.

  'They wouldn't be Sutherland Hotels any more, Abbie,' he reasoned. 'So it wouldn't affect Sutherland's reputation. Business, Abbie,' he reminded her hardly. 'Put aside your dislike of me, and see what Hunter's have to offer you.'

  'You are Hunter's,' she reminded him wryly.

  'Principally, yes. But so are Jonathan and Jordan,' he rejoined. 'And you seemed to find them amusing enough.'

  Again Abbie smiled at the mention of his brothers. Much to Jarrett's chagrin. If this was jealousy, he thanked heaven he had never felt it before now. It was the most uncomfortable of emotions!

  'Probably if I had sent one of them to Canada to talk to you, instead of going myself,' he continued gratingly, 'this would all be settled by now!'

  Abbie looked at him with that customary coolness in her violet eyes. 'I find them amusing, Jarrett,' she con­ceded. 'But no more convincing than you are. Why don't you send the details of your proposed deal to me here, and I'll give them due consideration?' she added with a briskness that smacked of dismissal.

  'I can easily tell you the details now—'

  'I don't do business that way, Jarrett.' She cut him short. 'I have assistants, people I would need to discuss it with. Plus, as you've already reminded me,' she added tersely, 'I have two business partners who have to be consulted too!'

  Which, as far as Jarrett could see, was where the prob­lem really lay. If he told Abbie he had already spoken to Cathy and Danny and they were already in agreement with the sale, then she would probably throw him out without a second thought. But if he didn't tell her, and she found out anyway, the result would be the same.

  When he had telephoned Jordan from Canada it had been with only one thought in mind, and that was to reach Abbie before she had any contact with Cathy or Danny. Well, it seemed he had managed to do that, but now what did he do? Business, pure and simple, he had told Abbie, but he had lied... He wanted to know this woman better. Much better...

  'You're the guardian of the principal shareholder, Abbie,' he stated flatly. "Therefore you have the deciding vote.'

  'And if it were left to Cathy and Danny the whole of Sutherland's would be sold off and the money divided!' she told him heatedly.

  He was sure she was right; Cathy and Danny hadn't given him the impression they were in the least inter­ested in the business it had taken their father a lifetime to build.

  'Wouldn't that be the easiest thing for you, too?' he prompted with caution,.

  'I made Daniel a promise before he died, Jarrett.' Her eyes glittered with anger. 'And I don't break my prom­ises.'

  She was magnificent when she became emotional like this. How he would love to see her emotional, and na­ked, in his bed!

  'Perhaps it was a little unfair of Daniel to ask you to make such a promise,' he reasoned softly. Although it explained why she pushed herself so hard. A woman of honour—that was a novelty in itself! It also brought back those uneasy feelings he had concerning her; she was the sort of woman he had spent a lifetime avoiding. The sort of woman you found yourself promising for ever to...

  'Life itself can be unfair, Jarrett,' she told him dis­tantly. 'All any of us can do is take the cards we're dealt in life and play with them.'

  Jarrett looked at her assessingly. She sounded so cyn­ical for one so young. But, hell, he had been cynical by the time he was twenty-seven too—long before he was twenty-seven! It just didn't sound right coming from Abbie...

  'Were you happily married, Abbie?' he pressed gently, at once seeing the way she stiffened, her expres­sion once again shuttered down. 'Bear with me, Abbie.' He attempted to cajole her as he could see she was on the point of asking him to leave again. 'I'm the result of a broken home; I'm just curious as to whether there are any happy marriages!'

  She relaxed slightly. But only slightly... 'Alison and Stephen are happy,' she said briskly.

  'They have only been married two weeks!'

  Even Abbie had to smile at that, and Jarrett felt his own tension ease as he looked at the warmth in her eyes. He would give anything to have her smile at him like that again, to be genuinely comfortable in his company.

  'Have dinner with me, Abbie,' he burst out instinc­tively. 'Don't say no without even thinking about it,' he added before she could do exactly that. 'What is wrong with me that you won't even have a meal with me in a public restaurant?' He felt as if he was pleading with her, something he had never done with any woman, but at the same time he wanted to spend time with her.

  Her mouth curved into a rueful smile. 'You're cynical. Manipulative. And extremely arrogant.'

  He raised dark brows. 'Besides that?'

  Abbie gave a husky laugh. 'Pig-
headed. Rude. Totally unprincipled.'

  He pursed his lips thoughtfully. 'And what about the bad points?'

  She laughed again—which was a great improvement on the wary way she usually viewed him. Perhaps he was making progress, after all.

  'How about if I promise not to even mention business if you'll spend the evening with me?' he persisted.

  'In that case, what would be the purpose of us having dinner together at all?'

  'It's called being sociable, Abbie,' he said. 'People do it all the time, I believe.'

  He could see by her perplexed expression that she didn’t have any social life at all. What sort of life had she led the last two years be so sceptical? Stupid question, Jarrett instantly reminded himself. She had been dealing with people like Cathy and Danny Sutherland the last two years, that was that she had been doing, fending off people who wanted something from the Sutherland name, or Abbie herself, he would hazard a guess. There were all too many men who, while considering Abbie beautiful, would see the Sutherland millions as being even more attractive than the woman herself.

  Well, he had made his views on marriage more than plain, so she couldn't think that of him! Although she had, no doubt, still suspect his motives...

  'Do they?' she returned lightly. 'Then perhaps I should try it.'

  Jarrett found himself staring at her; was she saying yes to his invitation?

  "Would eight o'clock suit you?' she continued in a businesslike fashion. ‘I'll leave you to book a table, and then perhaps you could let me know where later today that I can meet you there?'

  Jarrett hadn't moved. He had the feeling he had some­how missed something in the conversation. He just wasn't sure what it was...

  "You've changed the tele­phone number, remember?' he reminded her.

  'Of course.' She gave a small smile to herself.

  'Never mind,' Jarrett said. 'I'll call for you,' he told her distractedly, still slightly bewildered by her acqui­escence.

  Her mouth quirked. 'You know the address?' 'I know the address,' he confirmed flatly.

  'Fine,' she nodded. 'If there's nothing else...? As I've been away for a few days, there are a few things here that need my attention,' she added pointedly as he made no move to leave.

  Jarrett got up, his confusion deepening minutes later, when he found himself in the carpeted corridor outside her office.

  He had missed something. He was sure of it. He just couldn't place what it was...

  CHAPTER NINE

  Abbie remained sitting in the chair behind her desk, shaking from head to foot, thanking God she had been able to control herself until after Jarrett had left her of­fice. She had thought she wasn't going to be able to, had agreed to have dinner with him tonight only as a means of speeding his departure before her nerves got the better of her.

  Had she been happily married to Daniel? Jarrett had asked her.

  The marriage had been a nightmare. A living hell. One she had only escaped from on Daniel's death...

  She had had to avoid answering Jarrett's question at all costs. Yes, she had accepted a dinner invitation from him as the price for that evasion, but in the circum­stances it had been a small price to pay...

  it was years since she had got herself ready to go out en a date. Although perhaps this evening couldn't strictly be called a date. But it wasn't a business meeting, either, Jarrett had assured her all too forcibly.

  She felt nervous, like a young girl, instead of the widow she was. Ridiculous.

  She looked at her reflection in the full-length mirror in her bedroom: the dress was right, blue bordering on violet, an exact match for the colour of her eyes, its high-necked, long-sleeved, fitted style ending discreetly above her knee. Flattering, but at the same time not seductive. Her make-up was light and also discreet, although she could do nothing about the natural high colour in her cheeks, or the sparkle that lit her eyes.

  Her hair. She really didn't know what to do with her hair. She preferred it long and flowing down her back, as it was now, but instinct told her to pin it at her nape as she usually did. She looked older, less approachable, with her hair confined, and—

  'You look lovely, Mummy.' Charlie stood in the door­way, smiling her pleasure at her mother's appearance.

  "Thank you, darling.' Abbie held out her arms to her daughter. 'Have you come to say goodnight?'

  'Can I say hello to Jarrett first?' Charlie pleaded wist­fully. 'He's just arrived,' she explained. 'I heard a car, and when I looked outside I saw him in the driveway.'

  Jarrett was here already! Abbie quickly looked at her slender gold wristwatch: eight o'clock. Jarrett was ex­actly on time. And now she didn't have time to do any­thing with her hair even if she had decided she wanted to.

  'He looks gorgeous, too, Mummy,' Charlie added ex­citedly. 'Like the Prince in my story books!'

  Jarrett Hunter looking like a prince! Abbie could barely stop herself from laughing at the image that evoked. He certainly wasn't Prince Charming; of that she was certain!

  'If you say so, darling.' She humoured her daughter, still smiling. 'And yes, I suppose you can say hello to him. Two minutes!' she warned as Charlie's excitement deepened, knowing she would be lucky if her daughter kept to those two minutes; visitors to the house were few and far between, in fact a rarity. Jarrett Hunter had no idea how privileged he was. Or perhaps he did...

  Charlie was skipping with happiness by the time the two of them reached the lounge where Jarrett had been eked to wait, and Abbie found her daughter's pleasure ns infectious, finding herself smiling across the room at Jarrett as Charlie almost launched herself into his arms.

  For a man who obviously wasn't used to small children he coped very well with Charlie's enthusiasm. And Charlie obviously liked him very much, chatting away to him now about the day she had just spent with her friend Clementine.

  Jarrett's gaze met Abbie's over the top of her daugh­ters head, the two of them sharing a moment of pleasure is the child's spontaneity, Abbie the one to finally look away, finding herself suddenly unnerved by those few moments of intimacy. Charlie had only been two when Daniel died, little more than a baby really, and so there had been few shared moments in her childhood like this me.

  Though Jarrett Hunter was not the man to share them with!

  'You're doing a wonderful job of bringing her up,' Jarrett straightened to tell her once Charlie had been per­suaded to go to bed. 'Charlie is like any other child of far, spontaneous—and, like her mother, utterly charm-

  Abbie stiffened. 'And why shouldn't she be?' she said defensively, ignoring his compliment to her.

  Jarrett smiled. 'I was complimenting you, Abbie, not criticising. A lot of four-year-olds in Charlie's privileged position would already be spoilt little brats!'

  She gave the ghost of a smile. 'Thankfully, Charlie has no idea yet of her "privileged position".' The only real difference so far in Charlie's young life, when com­pared with that of any other four-year-old, was that she had someone guarding her at all times. Even today, when she had spent the day with her Mend, Tony had been with her. Luckily, Charlie saw nothing odd in that. Yet...

  ‘The admiration seems to be mutual,' she told Jarrett. 'Charlie thinks you look like a prince this evening,' she explained at his questioning look.

  To her surprise, Jarrett laughed at the description, a genuine burst of laughter that lightened his eyes to gold, and totally erased his usual cynical expression, at the same time taking years off him. He looked more like the mischievous Jordan at that moment!

  'I hope you didn't disillusion her,' Jarrett drawled as he sobered, his eyes still warmly golden.

  Abbie shook her head. 'Time enough for disillusion­ment when she's older,' she replied sadly.

  'True,' he acknowledged wryly. 'Did Charlie also tell her mother mat she looks like a princess this evening?'

  She knew they had agreed not to discuss business this evening, but she wasn't sure having Jarrett flirt with her was a good idea, either! She didn't doub
t this man could be positively lethal when he set out to seduce. After all, according to mat report on him, he had had plenty of practice!

  "Then we'll make a dazzling pair, won't we?' she dis­missed briskly, picking up her small evening bag. ‘I'm ready to go, if you are.'

  He grinned at her businesslike tone. 'Used to making the decisions, aren't you?' he teased as he picked up his car keys.

  Not until the last two years, when she had been forced into making decisions that weren't always easy to make. Before that time, Daniel had made all the decisions, for all of them...

  She met Jarrett's gaze with her familiar coolness. 'Is that a problem?' He was a decision-maker himself...

  'I'll tell you if it gets to be that way.' He lightly her arm. 'I'm not particularly interested in indipedant women—or ones that pretend to be that way, until I get to know them better!'