Dangerous to Know
Page 10
Gemma’s heart slammed against her ribs and her stomach did a back flip as they rounded a corner and she was face-to-face with the man she’d been so desperate to see.
“Gemma.” Jerome’s mouth fell open in surprise and he hurried over to her.
She fought for air as she gazed into his eyes. “I had to come.” Her voice was husky.
“Thank you.” He took her hands in his and her fingers trembled at his touch.
“Jerome, you’re wanted on stage.” A woman with a clipboard called him from a doorway on the far side of the room.
Gemma stretched up on her tiptoes and kissed him gently on his lips, relishing the feel of his mouth against hers, no matter how brief. “For luck.” Thoughts of him saying those same words to her once before lingered in her memory.
“Jerome, you’re needed now,” the woman called out again, her voice sounding impatient.
“Promise me you’ll be here at the end,” Jerome asked.
She nodded as the clipboard woman looked at her watch again and signaled frantically at Jerome.
“Go on,” Gemma urged.
She blinked back a tear as he hurried away from her with so much left unsaid between them.
“I’ll show you where to stand.” Evan rejoined her and led her out into the main hall. Every seat had been filled and a buzz of expectant chatter filled the air as Gemma squeezed her way through the top of the stall area to stand with some of the TV crew at the back.
The debate opened with a film of Maggie’s Fell. The invited audience was a mix of local people, officials from various departments, seasoned wildlife campaigners and councilors. Gemma wondered how any of those watching the clip could fail to be moved by the desolate beauty of the mountain.
Gerald was then invited by the veteran broadcaster refereeing the debate to open his case for developing the land. A series of glossy promotional slides followed, with promises of affordable housing for local people, sympathetic development and eco-friendly jobs.
Gemma wanted to snarl every time Gerald offered the audience his fake smile. She clutched the back of the seat in front of her so tightly her knuckles hurt as she focused on Gerald’s arguments. It worried her that some of the people around her were nodding in agreement with the man.
After that, Jerome opened his case for the protection of the land. He showed the wealth of wildlife that lived on the mountain before moving to Gerald’s Scottish project and several of Gerald’s other projects around the world. The beachside development that had wiped out a coral reef in the Bahamas, a Canadian project that had devastated a small town, and an Australian development which was under investigation by that country’s government.
Gemma cheered out loud when the large screen above the debate platform showed close-ups of Gerald’s face turning claret as Jerome nailed home each of his points.
When the presentations were done, the floor was opened up to the audience for questions. Gerald had clearly planted supporters among the audience to ask questions designed to show him in a positive light. The mood of the crowd had swung, however, after Jerome’s presentation and Gerald was soon taking a verbal pasting.
The people standing next to Gemma moved a little closer to her, squashing her against a stone pillar. She was about to protest until she realized uniformed police officers had entered the auditorium and taken up positions around the hall.
The presenter in charge of the debate called a halt to the questions and summarized the main points that Jerome and Gerald had made. Gemma held her breath as the audience was asked to vote using the handheld electronic devices which had been placed ready under each seat.
She watched as the big screen showed close-ups first of Jerome, his face impassive, and then of Gerald, still flushed like a turkey cock. Finally the results came up as a colored bar chart. Ninety-five per cent of the audience had sided with Jerome. Gemma guessed the other five per cent to be Gerald’s stooges.
The presenter closed the debate and she waited with elation for the cameras to stop filming. Instead, as the audience began to file from the hall, she realized that some were being stopped at the door by the police.
She tried to make her way forward towards the stage, desperate to get to Jerome, but the crush of people meant she was headed against the flow. There was something happening on the podium. She struggled to see over the heads of the crowd.
Police officers had climbed on to the stage and Gerald appeared to have suffered some kind of collapse. She looked frantically for Jerome. Evan was with the TV presenter and she saw a paramedic with a bag run from the back of the stage.
She fought her way through, her breath coming in ragged gasps of fear as she looked for Jerome.
“Gemma.” He appeared in front of her, pulling her into his arms when she would have faltered with relief, knowing now that Gerald hadn’t attacked him.
“I couldn’t see you. I thought something had happened when the police arrived and I saw the paramedics.”
He pulled her close against him, shielding her with his body from the ebb and flow of the people going past them. “Come with me.”
She allowed him to lead her by the hand through a small door and into a quiet corridor. He stood facing her, both her hands still enclosed in his.
“I’m fine. Gerald is having some kind of angina attack. The police were here to arrest him. I suppose the stress must have brought it on. Either that or he’s milking it to get lenient treatment.”
The door swung open and Gerald was escorted past them in handcuffs accompanied by a paramedic and one of the film crew.
Tension drained from her body. She hadn’t realized how scared she had been for Jerome until now, when the nightmare finally seemed to be over.
“I couldn’t see what had happened. I thought he might have snapped and attacked you.” She couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes, afraid of what her own gaze might reveal.
“When Evan got the call from Nathalie to say you were on your way, I didn’t know what to think. It gave me hope that maybe you did have feelings for me that were more than friendship.”
She lifted her head at his words and swallowed hard.
“Gemma, ever since we met I’ve liked you. When it looked as if I’d lost you to Carl, I couldn’t believe I’d missed my chance with you. Then, last weekend, being with you, seeing the real you, I fell in love with you, Gemma.”
Colour flew into her cheeks at his words. “But I led you on by pretending to be confident and flirty.”
“Neither of us was particularly honest at first. I led you to believe I wanted a quick fling, something temporary, because I thought that was what you wanted. I knew you’d had your heart broken by Carl. I didn’t want to make it worse.”
“Then what did you want?” Hope flared within her as she finally understood.
“I want you. I love you, Gemma.”
The sincerity of his feelings was written in the depth of his eyes.
“I love you, too.” She barely managed to finish the sentence as his lips met hers and she savored the feel of his body against hers, the taste of him and the smell of his cologne as he kissed her.
“Nathalie warned me you were dangerous to know,” Gemma murmured a moment later, when he released her mouth from his.
A tiny frown knotted his brow. “You mean because of the fire and the shooting?”
Gemma shook her head and traced the faint line at the side of his mouth with her finger. “I think it was my heart that was in danger.” She kissed him gently on the lips.
Desire fired within her as he responded to her touch.
“Your heart will always be safe with me.” And he kissed her once more to seal his vow.
About the Author
Nell Dixon is a Black Country author. Married to the same man for over twenty-five years, she has three daughters, a tank of tropical fish and a cactus called Spike. Winner of the RNA’s prestigious Romance Prize in 2007 and 2010, she writes warm-hearted contemporary romance for a number of publishers
in the US and the UK including Samhain Publishing, Little Black Dress, Astraea Press, E-Scape Press and Freya’s Bower. Her latest titles include Animal Instincts, Just Look at Me Now, His Darling Nurse and Making Waves.
Visit her website at http://www.nelldixon.com
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