The Wedding-Night Affair (Harlequin Presents)

by Miranda Lee

  Everything was as ready as it was going to be. Fiona cast a final glance around the marquee, which looked superb with its elegantly draped ceiling and ultra-plush table settings. No expense had been spared, of course.

  Fiona felt satisfied she’d done everything she could to make the wedding truly memorable, although there was a moment of panic when she realised the celebrant hadn’t arrived. A quick call to his mobile reassured her he was on his way, in fact just around the corner.

  Kathryn reappeared downstairs, looking truly lovely, but just a little strained. Weddings did that to the mothers. They did that to the consultants as well. Fiona told her she looked beautiful, pinned a delicate mauve orchid to her jacket—a red rose simply would not have done for this elegant lady—then helped her to another brandy.

  ‘You have one too, Fiona,’ she insisted.

  Fiona didn’t say no.

  The first guests made an appearance around six-fifteen. Kathryn and Fiona both played hostess, directing everyone inside the huge front living rooms, where the pre-wedding drinks were being served and the orchestra was playing suitable music. Later on Fiona would move the musicians out onto the terrace.

  ‘Doesn’t everyone look lovely in their black and white?’ Kathryn whispered to Fiona at the door as the grandfather clock in the corner chimed six-thirty.

  But Fiona wasn’t listening to either Kathryn or the clock. Her ears had gone deaf as her attention focused on the car which had just purred to a stop at the front door.

  A black Jaguar.

  ‘I...I have to go check on the lights by the pool, Kathryn,’ she said hurriedly, and left.

  Oh, dear God, Fiona agonised as she fled through the house, her emotions in instant disarray, her control in danger of slipping. I thought I could do this but I can’t! I just can’t!

  She moved as swiftly as her dress and high heels would allow, not stopping till she practically collided with one of the marble columns by the pool. Her hands shot out to grab at it, at first to steady herself, and then more tightly as a kind of impotent fury crashed through her. She wanted to crush the column between her hands, to topple it over, to dash it to the ground.

  It took a great effort of will for Fiona to let the darned thing go. Slowly, she turned and leant her head back against the smooth marble, closing her eyes and taking a deep, deep breath.

  Calm down, she ordered herself. What is this achieving? Where did you think you were running to? You have to see this through, Fiona. You have to drink from this cup.

  A light tap on her shoulder sent her eyes flying open on a gasp.

  ‘Goodness, Philip,’ she exclaimed, struggling for composure. ‘You... you startled me.’

  ‘Sorry,’ he said abruptly. ‘You looked strange, standing there like that with your eyes shut. I thought you might be feeling unwell again. Not that you look sick,’ he added in rueful tones. ‘If I may say so, you look good enough to eat.’

  Fiona gaped up at him and he slanted a travesty of a smile down at her.

  ‘Not the sort of the thing the groom should be saying at this precise moment to a woman other than his bride?’ he mocked. ‘Perhaps not, but I can’t seem to help the way you make me feel, Fiona. You seem to have a direct line to my male hormones.’

  ‘Philip, I...I...’

  ‘Yes, I know, you’re sorry and I’m sorry,’ he bit out. ‘We’re both sorry. Ahh...here’s my best man, Steve, come to rescue me from myself. Don’t worry,’ he muttered under his breath. ‘I haven’t said anything and he won’t recognise you.’

  He didn’t.

  He’d changed a lot too, Fiona thought at first sight of the big sandy-haired man walking towards her. Better-looking and much more confident. But still not a patch on Philip.

  He smiled as he looked her up and down. ‘So this is the mysterious Fiona I never seem to meet. Philip didn’t tell me you were a goddess when you weren’t being a wedding consultant.’

  ‘Fiona has a steady boyfriend—Mark,’ Philip said drily. ‘So save it.’

  ‘Girls like Fiona always do, mate. But she’s not wearing a ring, and all fair’s in love and war. What are you doing after the wedding tonight, loveliness?’

  Fiona might have been flattered by the jealousy on Philip’s face—ten years ago. Now, she just felt sad.

  ‘Sorry, Steve,’ she responded politely. ‘But Philip’s right. There’s another man in my life at the moment, and he’s enough for me. Now I must go. You boys stay here and I’ll see about getting the guests seated. No doubt Corinne will be a little late coming downstairs, Philip, but please...don’t go away.’

  ‘I’m not going anywhere, Fiona. I’m here to get married.’

  ‘And I’m here to make sure you do.’ She moved off, not looking back, even when Steve wolf-whistled at her departing figure.

  Half an hour later Philip and Corinne were man and wife. Three hours later Corinne left the reception to go up and change into her going-away outfit, Carmel going with her to help. Philip started doing the rounds of thanking the guests for coming.

  An increasingly depressed Fiona saw Steve making a beeline for her through the crowded marquee, so she fled into the house, where she found Kathryn standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking pale and shaken.

  ‘Kathryn! What is it? Are you ill?’

  The woman gave her a stricken look. ‘Oh, Fiona, I’ve just had the most dreadful shock, and I...I don’t know what to do!’

  ‘What kind of a shock? Can I help?’

  ‘I don’t think anyone can help,’ she said weakly.

  ‘Let me be the judge of that,’ Fiona said firmly. ‘Now tell me what’s happened.’

  ‘It’s Corinne,’ the woman said reluctantly. ‘I went upstairs to see if I could help in any way. I knocked on the door but there wasn’t any answer. I...I opened the door, but the room seemed to be empty. I was puzzled and went in. It was then that I... that I...’

  ‘That you what?’ Fiona urged.

  ‘Saw them,’ Kathryn blurted out. ‘In the bathroom... reflected in the mirror...’

  Fiona’s stomach tightened. ‘What, exactly, did you see, Kathryn?’

  ‘Corinne and Carmel... They were...hugging, and kissing.’

  ‘Only hugging and kissing?’

  ‘Yes, but not like friends, Fiona. Like...lovers. I do know the difference,’ she said unhappily.

  Fiona could only shake her head as all the pieces of the puzzle which was Corinne slotted into place. She felt absolutely furious with the girl, and dreadfully upset for Philip.

  ‘You have to tell Philip,’ she insisted.

  ‘Oh, but I can’t. I can’t. You don’t understand.’

  ‘You can’t let him go off on his honeymoon with that girl! You can’t, Kathryn.’

  Kathryn’s head dropped into her hands. ‘I don’t know what to do!’ she wailed.

  ‘You know what you have to do. Here, come into the study and wait there. I’ll get Philip and you can tell him exactly what you saw.’

  Reluctantly, Kathryn agreed.

  Philip didn’t want to come with her, insisting on bringing Steve with him. Fiona felt sick at heart over his attitude, but nothing weakened her resolve to expose the truth about Corinne. She hadn’t given Philip up all those years ago to have him betrayed by some deceitful female with a secret agenda!

  ‘So what’s all this about?’ he asked impatiently, as soon as Fiona shut the door behind them.

  Kathryn was sitting stiffly in the chair she was occupying, her hands twisting restlessly in her lap. Philip finally got the message that something was very badly wrong.

  He looked first at his anguished mother and then at Fiona.

  ‘What’s happened?’ he asked sharply. ‘Is it Corinne?’

  ‘Your mother will tell you,’ Fiona said tautly.

  Kathryn finally got the words out. Philip went white, while Steve swore.

  ‘Are you absolutely sure?’ he asked his mother.

  ‘They...they were only wearing underwear,
’ she whispered.

  Now Philip swore, then he looked hard at Fiona.

  ‘Come with me,’ he snarled.

  She blinked. ‘Where?’

  ‘Upstairs. I need an eye-witness to confront Corinne with and I don’t think my mother can manage right now. Steve, you stay here and get Mother a cup of tea or something.’

  ‘I’ll do that, Phil. You go sort Corinne out. I don’t like to say I told you so, but I always had some misgivings about her. You know I did.’

  ‘Yeah, I know.’

  Fiona had to almost run to keep up with Philip as he took the stairs two at a time. Up on the top landing he stopped abruptly and wheeled to face her. ‘Did you know about this before today?’

  Fiona was taken aback. ‘No! I would have said something if I had.’

  ‘You implied Corinne didn’t really love me. Why was that? Don’t hedge. Just tell me the unvarnished truth. You must have known something!’

  ‘I didn’t really know anything for sure, but on the day I took her shopping for her wedding dress she said that with a father like hers she had to get married before she had a baby, and that was why she was marrying you. I thought it was an odd comment to make if she really loved you.’

  ‘That’s all?’

  ‘That’s all; I swear it. If you think I would deliberately let you marry Corinne, knowing the truth about her, then you can think again. I told you I cared about you, Philip, and I do.’

  ‘Do you, now? In that case, then, lie for me in here. Tell Corinne you were the one who saw her with Carmel.’

  Fiona’s chin lifted. ‘Gladly.’

  Philip didn’t knock. He just barged in. The bride and the bridesmaid were no longer in a compromising position—they were also fully dressed—but Philip’s angry entry sent guilt leaping into their faces.

  ‘Philip!’ Corinne gasped. ‘What is it? Is there anything wrong?’

  ‘You tell me, Corinne. You tell me.’

  The bride didn’t look so beautiful with an ashen face and worried eyes. ‘What...what do you mean?’

  Carmel just looked terrified.

  ‘Fiona came up to see if she could help you a little while ago,’ Philip relayed harshly. ‘She knocked, but you didn’t answer, so she came in. It seems you and Carmel were...otherwise occupied,’ he said mockingly. ‘In the bathroom, I gather. That’s right, isn’t it, Fiona?’

  ‘Yes,’ she reaffirmed, and watched the two girls squirm.

  ‘You have nothing to say, Corinne?’ Philip ground out.

  Guilt gradually changed to a sullen defiance. ‘No,’ came her sulky reply. ‘There’s not much point, is there, if she saw us?’

  Philip looked at her bride with disgust. ‘Just tell me one thing. When were you planning on leaving me? After our first baby was born, or earlier?’

  ‘I had no intention of leaving you.’

  Philip’s face showed shock, and Corinne finally had the grace to look sorry.

  ‘I did like you, Philip,’ she insisted. ‘Honestly. You’re the only man I’ve ever met whom I could stand touching me. That’s why it had to be you, don’t you see?’

  ‘I only see that you took my love and spat on it.’

  ‘Oh, Philip, don’t be so melodramatic. You never really loved me I know because I know what it is to really love someone. I love Carmel and Carmel loves me. We’ve loved each other since we were fifteen. You liked me; that’s all. I suited you. And I suited your mother. But you didn’t love me.’

  ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he said coldly. ‘Now I want you and your...girlfriend... out of this house. You have a car here, I presume?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Then go downstairs, get in it, drive off and don’t ever contact me again. You’ll be hearing from me in due course. Not in person, however. I’ll send the annulment papers to your father’s address.’

  ‘Don’t tell him, Philip. I beg of you. He’ll disinherit me. That’s why I had to get married. Because he’s paranoid about gays, and unmarried mothers, and just about everything else in this world.’

  ‘I won’t tell him. I won’t tell anyone. Do you think I want to look that much a fool?’

  ‘You’re not a fool, Philip. You’re a very nice man. You’re—’

  ‘Oh, for pity’s sake, just go, will you?’

  He watched over them like a vigilante till they did as he wanted. Only when their car had disappeared down the hill did he speak to Fiona, who’d stayed silently by his side all the time.

  ‘Do you have a coat?’ he asked abruptly.

  ‘I have a jacket upstairs.’

  ‘Get it and meet me here in two minutes. You’d better bring your handbag too, as well as anything else you might need. We’re leaving.’

  ‘Leaving!’

  ‘You’re just about to become my blushing bride. We’re sneaking off early to avoid any of those ’just married’ antics drunken wedding guests like to indulge in. My mother can tell Corinne’s father his darling daughter and her beloved have departed prematurely.’ Philip’s smile was savagely sarcastic. ‘He’ll think she means the bride and groom. Then I’ll have Steve grab a couple of selected people to run out and wave us off as we speed away in my Jag. They won’t notice you’re not a blonde through the tinted windows.’

  ‘But—but...’

  ‘Just think of the alternative, Fiona. Do you really want everyone to know this wedding turned out to be fiasco? What do you want people to remember it for? Its creativity and picture-perfect splendour? Or the fact the bride and groom never made it past the reception? Of course, I suppose I could always drive off with my mother, but I think she’d rather stay here.’

  Fiona saw the sense of his idea, and sighed. ‘I’ll get my jacket.’

  Philip’s smile was chillingly hard. ‘I thought you might.’

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  EVERYTHING went as Philip had planned, the Jaguar speeding off down the hill and through the open gates with no one at the wedding discovering the masquerade. The tyres squealed as Philip reefed the wheel to the right and sped up the road.

  ‘Is there any need to go this fast?’ Fiona complained.

  ‘Yes,’ he snapped, but he did slow down.

  Fiona breathed a little easier, aware that Philip had to be very upset. What had just happened to him had been horrific. Whether he was deeply in love with Corinne or not was not the point. He cared for her and had committed himself to marrying her. He’d been expecting to go off on his honeymoon tonight with a beautiful girl who’d said she loved him and wanted to be his wife and the mother of his children.

  Instead, he was driving into the night with a woman whom, any sexual attraction aside, he didn’t particularly like anymore.

  It was a drive to nowhere, for both of them.

  ‘Where are you taking me?’ Fiona asked tautly.

  ‘Who cares?’

  ‘I care.’

  ‘Why? Because of your stupid bloody Mark? You don’t love him,’ he snarled.

  ‘I never said I did.’

  ‘Then why are you still sleeping with him?’

  ‘I’m not.’

  His head whipped round to stare at her.

  ‘Watch the road,’ she warned.

  Philip was broodingly silent for a few seconds.

  ‘When did you break up with him?’ he asked.

  ‘A while ago.’

  ‘When?’

  ‘I can’t remember, exactly.’

  He flashed her a scornful look. ‘You don’t care, do you, about any of us? We’re all just male bodies to you, to be used and discarded at your pleasure and leisure.’

  ‘That’s not true. Not about you, anyway.’

  ‘Oh, good. That makes me feel a whole lot better about this.’

  Fiona sighed. ‘Philip, I know you’ve been through a lot tonight. I’m truly sorry. If there was anything I could do to make you feel better, I’d do it.’

  ‘Oh, there is, Fiona. Believe me. We’re on our way there now so you can
do it.’

  ‘Pardon?’

  ‘Don’t play ignorant—or the innocent—with me. You know exactly where I’m taking you, and what we’re going to do when we get there.’

  ‘No,’ she denied, her mind whirling. ‘I don’t.’

  ‘In that case let me tell you. We’re heading for the honeymoon suite I booked for tonight. It’s just sitting there, waiting for me and my blushing bride, complete with harbour view, champagne, spa bath and satin sheets. You said you wanted to make me feel better, Fiona? Then be my blushing bride for tonight.’

  Fiona’s heart began to pound.

  ‘No, I take that back,’ Philip swept on caustically. ‘I don’t want a blushing bride. I want a female who knows exactly what she’s doing and how to do it. In short, Fiona, I want you.’

  ‘You don’t mean that,’ she said, shocked not only by his suggestion but by her immediate reaction to it.

  A dark excitement began fizzing along her veins, tormenting her, tempting her.

  ‘If you won’t oblige me, honey, I’ll find someone else who will. I won’t have any trouble. I’ll just cruise through some of the sleazier city bars and I’ll soon find someone eminently qualified. She might even be pretty. Not that I’ll care after I down a few Scotches. I nobly didn’t drink much at my wedding dinner because I knew I’d have to drive, and I wanted to be right on the ball for my bride tonight. But the ball game has changed, hasn’t it? Once I hand this chariot over to the hotel valet it’s going to be full steam ahead in the alcohol department.’

  ‘Philip, don’t be insane! You can’t go getting drunk and picking up some trampy female. You never know what diseases she might have, for one thing.’

  ‘You’re volunteering, then?’

  Fiona didn’t know what to do. She wanted to go with him. She couldn’t deny it. Already, just thinking about being with him was turning her on.

  But she also knew there was no future in it.

  ‘You seem to be having some trouble making up your mind,’ he drawled. ‘What’s your dilemma? Worried about catching something from me?’

  ‘No...’

  ‘It can’t be pregnancy bothering you,’ he ventured drily. ‘A sophisticated, independent career girl like yourself would always have that base well covered.’