“The fuzzy slippers don’t scare me,” he said wryly. “What were you doing before I interrupted your evening?”
“Listening to this lovely, unexpected concert,” she told him.
“And before that?”
“I was curled up with a good book, if you must know. The days are long past when I felt the need to be out reveling till the wee hours of the morning on New Year’s Eve.”
He smiled at the obvious attempt to prove she was succumbing to middle-aged stuffiness. “That must be because there’s no one around stimulating enough to keep you awake,” he teased.
“And you intend to change that?”
“Absolutely.”
“I’m not a girl any longer, William. I’m a mature woman. I don’t have to be on the go constantly or surrounded by people to feel alive.”
“Not people, Destiny. One person,” he said lightly, holding up the champagne. “Would you like some?”
“One glass,” she said, her expression filled with caution.
He lifted a brow. “Are you afraid I intend to ply you with champagne and steal corporate secrets?”
She shrugged. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”
Filled with a sudden surge of anger at the injustice of the accusation, William set the bottle down carefully. He waited for an entire minute, pretending to concentrate on the music, before he finally looked her in the eye. “You can’t possibly believe that,” he said quietly.
“Why can’t I?” she retorted, her jaw set stubbornly. “It’s true, isn’t it? You used things you learned from me to hurt my family.”
“That’s absurd,” he said furiously. “It’s been years since we’ve even seen each other, Destiny, and how often did we ever discuss business back then? Beyond knowing that Carlton Industries was in your family, I knew nothing of its holdings then. Nor did you, for that matter.”
She kept her gaze steady, obviously intent on not backing down even when confronted with the facts.
“Come on, Destiny, answer me,” he insisted. “And be honest. Did we ever once lie awake nights while you poured out Carlton secrets? Who’s revising history to suit them now?”
“We must have,” she said, though her voice lacked conviction. “Otherwise you couldn’t have pulled off half of the sneak attacks you’ve made on the company.”
He stared at her, nearly struck dumb by the fact that she actually believed that she was somehow responsible for leaking information to him. “Have you been blaming yourself all this time for the actions I’ve taken in recent years against Carlton Industries? Is that what brought you charging over here?”
Her eyes flashed dangerously. “Yes, if you must know. The constant disasters in the European division are making people question my nephew’s leadership. Since everything that’s happened over here has been my fault because of my connection to you, it’s up to me to make it right.”
William had to fight the hysterical laughter that was bubbling up inside him. “Destiny, it wasn’t like that. Not at all.”
“Words, William. Just words. Your actions speak loudly enough to the contrary. You’re simply not to be trusted. I must remember that.”
He could see that she honestly believed what she was saying. “Okay, let’s get to the bottom of this. I won’t let you make yourself out as some sort of traitor,” he said. “Sit down.”
She sat primly on the edge of the sofa, her hands folded in her lap, her entire demeanor radiating skepticism. William sat next to her, close, but not so close as to make her more skittish than she already was.
“Now, look me in the eye,” he commanded, and waited until she did. “Have you ever known me to lie to you?”
The answer was a long time coming, but Destiny was too honest to tell anything less than the truth, or at least the truth as she saw it. “No,” she finally admitted. Her eyes flashed with barely banked anger as she added, “That only means I never caught you.”
William choked back an exasperated retort. “I have never lied to you,” he said emphatically. “And I never will.”
“But you have attacked my family’s business,” she said. “You can hardly deny that.”
“No,” he agreed calmly. “I can’t deny that. Do you know why I’ve done that?”
“Because you’re a typically greedy and vicious businessman and you wanted to get back at me.”
The accusation stung, but he could see how it would seem that way to her. “I understand why that would be your interpretation,” he said.
She gave him a scathing look. “Is there any other?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact.”
“Then, please, enlighten me.”
“This had nothing at all to do with retaliation. I simply wanted to get your attention, Destiny. I wanted you mad enough to come over here and confront me. I wanted to get everything out in the open between us, to say all the things we should have said years ago and didn’t.”
She stared at him with openmouthed astonishment. “This was some sort of game? All of those bids were simply meant to get my attention?”
He nodded. “It’s been a rather successful game, as it turns out.”
The first hint of doubt flickered in her eyes. “Why should I believe you?”
“Because if you search your heart, you’ll know I’m telling you the truth.”
“Wouldn’t it have been easier just to come to the States and see me?”
William shrugged. “Probably. And if I’d come to my senses years ago, that’s what I would have done. Since I didn’t, this seemed to make more sense.”
“But why, William? Why did it even matter after all this time?”
Now it was his turn to look astonished. “I thought that was obvious.”
“Not to me.”
He hadn’t intended to get into this yet. He’d wanted time to woo her, to show her how he felt, not just say the words. Unfortunately, it seemed he didn’t have a choice, if he wasn’t to derail his whole plan right here and now.
He looked her directly in the eyes and reached for her hands, holding them tightly so she couldn’t immediately pull away. “Because I’m still in love with you, of course. Never stopped loving you, to be brutally honest about it.”
Her mouth gaped. “You’re still in love with me,” she echoed weakly, then blinked as an odd flash of light lit the room. “What on earth was that?”
He nearly laughed at her astounded expression. “What?”
“That light.”
“It was nothing, I’m sure. Now, stop trying to change the subject. You asked why I did everything I’ve done and I’ve told you. I love you,” he repeated.
“But that’s not possible,” she said flatly.
“Of course it is,” he said, annoyed.
“No, no, it isn’t.” She stared at him, obviously flustered. “I think you’d better go, William. Now.”
He stared at her, but she was obviously serious. “You actually want me to leave now?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because this is all wrong. You almost had me believing you, but then I remembered one thing.”
“What? What on earth could you have remembered that would make you question my sincerity?” he asked, exasperated by her attitude. “We’re two mature adults who’ve wasted far too much time as it is. We’ve both been alone because we were too foolish and filled with pride to reach out to the one person we loved.”
“Speak for yourself,” she muttered.
He ignored her. “It’s time to get our cards on the table, Destiny. It’s time to move forward to claim the happiness we deserve.”
Destiny looked as if he’d suggested sunbathing nude in Hyde Park. “Absolutely not,” she said fiercely.
“Why are you fighting this?”
“Because…” she said, looking miserable. “Because I can’t risk trusting you. Not for a minute. Have you forgotten Fortnum Travel, William, because believe me, I haven’t. If you have your way, you’ll steal it right ou
t from under us.”
That said, she ran from the room. A moment later, William heard her bedroom door slam shut. He sighed. Oddly enough, he had forgotten about the blasted travel agency. If David Fortnum hadn’t been so intent on a merger with Harcourt & Sons, rather than a takeover by Carlton Industries, he would let it go. Fortnum was a friend, and William had little choice but to honor his promise to the man. He might have explained all that to Destiny if she hadn’t run off, but he doubted she’d believe him, and he honestly couldn’t say he blamed her.
The last notes of a flute sonata faded away and the musicians looked to him for some direction. “Go,” he said wearily. “Thank you, but I think the evening is over.”
They nodded.
“Happy New Year, sir,” they murmured as they left, but they obviously knew, as he did, that there was nothing happy about it.
Destiny knew she’d behaved appallingly by running out on William, but it had suddenly been too much for her. The admission that he’d lured her to London deliberately, the announcement that he still loved her, the suggestion that they merely pick up things where they’d left off years ago, the convenient lapse of memory about his ongoing attempts to interfere in Carlton business—it was all too much.
There had been a time when him wanting her back would have meant everything to her. Now it was merely a taunting distraction. Perhaps that was what he was after, a way to get her thoughts so scrambled that she couldn’t effectively counteract whatever sneaky plot he had planned to ruin Carlton Industries.
If only he hadn’t sounded so sincere, if only her heart hadn’t taken in every word, every declaration, and slowly but surely softened toward him. Which was, no doubt, exactly what he’d been counting on, the dirty scoundrel. If Richard had been a fly on the wall during this scene, he’d have been laughing his head off at her gullibility.
It had been some time now since she’d heard the music end and the front door close. She was alone again and her eyes were dry. She felt a little foolish for having run away, but it wouldn’t be the first time she’d taken the coward’s way out of a sticky situation. If she’d stayed in that room with him another second, there was no telling what she might have done. She might have launched herself straight into William’s arms, Fortnum Travel and Carlton Industries be damned. It was exactly the kind of impetuous thing she would have done years ago. William had probably been counting on that.
Her stomach growled insistently, reminding her that they’d never gotten around to eating so much as a bite of that delicious dinner he’d sent over. She wondered if he’d left it. Without bothering to wash her face or put some drops in her red and stinging eyes, she walked into the living room and stopped dead.
William sat where she’d left him, leafing through a magazine, looking as at ease as if he were in his own home. He’d taken off his jacket and loosened the tie of his tux, which gave him a rakish, far too approachable look. How could a man his age look as attractive and as exciting as he had at thirty? It didn’t seem fair. Even if she’d scrubbed her face, spent hours on her makeup and clothes, she never looked anything other than what she was—a fifty-three-year-old woman who worked to stay presentable. Oddly enough, she felt better than that when William’s appreciative gaze was on her.
“Ah,” he said when he saw her, immediate warmth lighting his eyes. “Just in time.”
She scowled at him. “Why are you still here?”
“I came to celebrate New Year’s with you. I waited to do just that.”
“What if I’d stayed in my room?”
He grinned at that, mischief written all over his face. “Then I would have joined you.”
She could see he meant it. She hugged her robe a little tighter and tried not to think of what a sight her tear-streaked and swollen face must be. “I thought I’d made it clear that I wanted you to go.”
His gaze never faltered. “And I thought I’d made it clear that I don’t intend to be put off this time. I’m not giving up, Destiny. Not again. No matter what it takes, I will win your trust back.”
“Just give up for tonight,” she pleaded, desperately needing time to regain her equilibrium, time to sort through the priorities she’d set for herself when she’d come to England. Allowing herself to succumb to William had not been on the agenda.
He shook his head. “Not even for tonight.”
She regarded him with irritation. “You always did insist on having your own way.”
“As did you,” he said mildly. “Perhaps it’s time we both learned to compromise. Share a glass of champagne with me. Greet the New Year. And then I’ll go. There’s nothing too scary about that, is there?”
“I’m not scared of you,” she said sharply.
He laughed. “Sorry. My mistake. It must be your feelings for me that scare you, then.”
She felt her lips twitch, despite her annoyance. “You never did lack for ego, did you?”
He winked at her. “Never saw any need to.” He stood up. “Champagne, Destiny?”
If it would get him out of here sooner, then she would drink the entire bottle. “Yes.”
He handed her a glass, then glanced toward the clock. “Eleven-thirty. We’ve just enough time to eat before the clock strikes twelve.”
“Isn’t it all ruined?”
“I moved most of it into the kitchen. The salads are chilled and still crisp, I imagine. And the prime rib is warming in the oven. Shall I bring it in here?”
“Let’s eat in there,” she suggested. Perhaps the informal setting and the stark, uncomplimentary lighting would take the romance out of things, though if her attire and her blotchy face hadn’t accomplished that for him, nothing would.
“Fine with me,” he said agreeably.
Destiny led the way and saw why he’d been so amenable. He’d already set the table, anticipating her choice. He’d added candles, as well, and he promptly lit them and cut off the glaring overhead lights.
Sighing, Destiny helped him put the food on the table without comment.
When he’d graciously pulled out her chair and seated her, she took the first bite of salad—a mix of field greens, pears, walnuts and blue cheese—and her appetite returned. She ate the rest ravenously, then eyed his untouched plate.
“A good cry always did make you hungry,” William noted as he gave her his salad. “It always shocked me that you could be so emotional one minute and starving the next. Maybe that’s what passion is all about.”
She regarded him curiously. “How so?”
“Everything is approached with total abandon—emotions, work, food.” His gaze caught hers. “Sex.”
“Don’t go there,” she admonished.
He grinned. “If you say so. Are you ready for the prime rib now?”
She nodded. But after he’d placed it in front of her, she couldn’t seem to make herself cut into it. William regarded her with concern.
“Too rare? Too well done?”
“No, nothing like that.”
“Do you no longer eat beef? It used to be your favorite.”
Destiny sighed. “That’s it, actually. The fact that you remembered that it’s my favorite. It’s caught me by surprise that you still know me so well.”
“Those were memorable times, Destiny. At least for me.”
The clever words slipped past her defenses and snuck into her heart yet again. She’d never been a silly, sentimental woman, or at least she didn’t think she had been, but she was succumbing far too easily to every charming word William uttered.
Determined not to let him see her vulnerability for an instant, she picked up her fork and knife and savagely cut into the tender meat.
“Pretending that’s me?” he asked dryly, laughter dancing in his eyes.
“As a matter of fact, yes,” she responded.
“Ah, Destiny, how am I going to win your trust again?”
“I’m not sure you can,” she admitted with an unmistakable hint of sorrow in her voice.
“I will,”
he responded, undaunted.
Just then the clock chimed midnight. William stood and rounded the table, even as Destiny’s heart thumped wildly in her chest. When she didn’t look up, he waited and waited some more.
“Destiny,” he said quietly, a chiding note in his voice.
She stood and faced him then, reminding herself that it was only a New Year’s kiss he was after, at least for the moment.
His mouth covered hers and she knew in an instant that she’d been right to hide from the kiss. Because in that sweet moment, with his lips hard and persuasive against hers, with their breath tangling and her pulse racing, she knew with absolute certainty that he was after more. He wanted her heart.
And if she didn’t maintain the most rigid self-control, she would very likely give it to him.
11
William returned to work after the holidays feeling more upbeat than he had in years. Everything was going according to plan. Not that Destiny was exactly falling straight back into his arms, but her resolve to fight him was weakening. That much had been evident in the kiss they’d shared on New Year’s Eve.
Well-satisfied with the several successes of his plan over the holidays, he whistled as he poured his first cup of tea of the morning. He was startled when Malcolm knocked and then entered his office without waiting for an invitation. Not that William stood on formality, but it was rare that Malcolm didn’t. He regarded his assistant warily.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“I suppose that depends on your point of view, sir.” Malcolm held out one of the London tabloids. He gripped it by its corner as if he feared contamination, then dropped it gingerly on William’s desk. “If you’ll look at page three, sir, I think you’ll see the problem.”
Page three of this particular paper was filled with the latest gossip making the rounds in London. It relied on rumor and half truths, often skirting libel. Because of its generally lascivious tenor, respectable members of London society preferred not to be mentioned, even in the most innocent way.
“Just tell me,” William said impatiently.
“I’d rather you see for yourself.”
Destiny Unleashed Page 13
