Dream Wedding

by Helen Brooks

  'It wasn't a gift. Not in the traditional sense anyway,' she added quickly as she felt the words sounded un-grateful. 'And it was very kind of you to arrange everything without paying for it too.'

  Most of them, she thought bleakly. Most of them?

  'I'm a kind man.' Before she realised what he was doing he had kissed the tip of her nose lightly and moved her to one side. 'As I'm sure you will appreciate once you get to know me better,' he added enigmatically as he opened the door and ushered her through.

  Mrs Goode was older than she had expected, and frailer, but it was Reece's attitude to the elderly housekeeper that surprised Miriam the most. She had expected— She hadn't known what she'd expected, she thought silently as she watched Reece fetch the small woman a cup of tea from the tray that Jinny had just brought in and adjust the rug on her knees; but this gentleness that he was displaying was a definite jolt to the picture she had began to form in her mind's eye. And Mrs Goode clearly worshipped the very ground her employer walked on.

  'Such a silly thing to do,' she said ruefully, with a small shake of her bird-like head as she gestured to her ankle which was heavily encased in plaster. 'I must be getting old.'

  'It's nothing to do with age and you know it.' Reece smiled at the older woman as he spoke and something twisted in Miriam's chest as she saw the warmth between them. 'Sheer stubbornness as usual. I'd told you and told you not to carry too much when you go down those stairs; Jinny can do all of that.'

  'Oh, away with you.' Mrs Goode flapped her hand at him and Miriam's mouth opened slightly with surprise. 'I'm too old a bird to change the habits of a lifetime now.'

  They sat for some minutes discussing the schedule and lists that Miriam had brought to show the housekeeper, who expressed her approval of Miriam's plans with wholehearted enthusiasm. 'Lovely, my dear.' Miriam noticed the slightly strained look in the housekeeper's eyes and it appeared that Reece did too, because he stood up suddenly, his voice firm as he glanced at the older woman's white face.

  'Bed for you.' He smiled at Mrs Goode gently. 'I'm going to help you upstairs before I go, and there you stay for the rest of the day.'

  'But there's so much to do.' The elderly woman peered up at him anxiously. 'And Barbara won't be able to help.'

  'It's all in hand, Mrs Goode,' Miriam said carefully, not wishing to step on the older woman's toes but realising that she needed to rest. 'If I run into any problems I'll give you a call, if I may—pop and see you. But there are several things that can only be done in the last two or three days so I was hoping you'd be able to do those when you're feeling better, and perhaps oversee the temporary staff.'

  'I'm getting you a wheelchair tomorrow, just for a couple of weeks,' Reece added firmly, 'and you'll be able to skitter about in that to your heart's content, but just for today do as you're told and stay in bed, would you?' He helped his housekeeper to her feet and supported the thin little body with a hand round her waist as Mrs Goode turned and smiled at Miriam.

  'Goodbye, dear.' She patted Miriam's hand quietly. 'You're doing wonders, dear; well done.'

  'It's my job.' Miriam smiled cheerfully.

  'And such a lovely smile,' the old woman continued with the embarrassing candour of the elderly. 'Have you got a young man?'

  'No, she's fancy-free,' Reece interposed, with a sardonic glance at Miriam's pink face. 'Married to her job, so I understand.'

  It was clear that Mrs Goode wanted to say more, but Reece led her very firmly from the room as Jinny appeared to take the old woman's other arm, and Miriam sped off back to the kitchens with her face burning.

  Vera and Dave had organised a quick snack and switched the coffee-pot on,, but just as she took a big bite of her ham and tomato sandwich Reece appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. 'Could I have a word?' he asked grimly as she hastily swallowed and rose. 'In the flat?'

  'Of course.' She followed him out into the corridor and into the small flat warily. What now?

  'I just wanted to thank you for being so tactful with Mrs Goode,' he said surprisingly as he turned to face her in the bright little lounge. 'She's fretting about the arrangements but you put her mind at rest at the same time as making her feel useful.' The silver eyes narrowed on her clear face. 'You understand people quite well, don't you?'

  'Some,' she said lightly. There was one within a hair's breadth who was a complete enigma if he did but know it.

  'And I was going to suggest that at the end of the week, or maybe at the weekend, it might be a good idea for you to move in here,' he added quietly. 'With the amount of work that needs to be done it seems to make sense to be living on the job.'

  'I—' It did make sense but somehow, without knowing why, the thought of actually living in his house made something hot and liquid trickle shiveringly down her spine. Stupid. Animal chemistry. Imagination. It was probably all of those things, but this feeling that made her catch her breath as she faced him wouldn't be denied. 'I'll see later; it might not be necessary,' she prevaricated uncomfortably, flushing as he laughed derisively.

  'I'm not going to break the door down in the middle of the night,' he said with cool mockery. 'You'll be quite safe even if you are in the wolf's lair.'

  'I never doubted that for a minute,' she said stiffly, her cheeks getting still hotter as he raised a disbelieving eyebrow before sauntering out of the room with a silent wave of his hand.

  He had to be the most irritating, annoying man she had ever met in her life, she thought crossly as she closed the front door to the flat and joked the others across the corridor. But she wasn't going to think of him now; there was too much to do. And too little time in which to do it.

  They worked hard all day, and when they left the house just before six Reece still wasn't home. She dropped Vera and Dave off and arrived back at the bedsit utterly exhausted and longing for a relaxing hot bath. After an hour's soak she felt a little more herself, and she fixed a quick meal of cold meat and salad and ate it to her dressing gown in front of the fire, flexing her toes to the warmth from the gas jets now and again as she watched TV.

  She had just settled down to planning the time sheet for the next day when Mitch rang. 'You'll never guess, Mim.' Her brother's voice was both relieved and faintly apprehensive. 'Reece Vance has paid off all the remaining debt with the garage and old man Gregory hasn't made a murmur. We had all the papers through today, so that's that little problem out of the way.'

  'But—' She stopped abruptly. So now they were under obligation to Reece financially. She didn't like that; she didn't like it at all. 'What were the terms for paying Reece back?' she asked carefully.

  'I knew you'd ask that so I phoned him,' Mitch said quickly. 'He insists he doesn't want a formal agreement; we just pay him back what we can when we can, and he made the point that he definitely doesn't want any interest added. Not quite what you'd expect from an astute businessman like him, is it?' her brother asked wryly.

  'No, it certainly isn't.' It had got them out of a bad situation with Gregory, it was undeniably generous and more than kind of him. So why was she finding it so difficult to be pleased? she asked herself silently. What was it, some sort of pride?

  Sudden self-knowledge made her flush painfully. That was exactly it, she admitted slowly. He was extremely wealthy and, by his own admission, used to women who were inclined to take when they could and she wanted to be…different. She closed her eyes tightly as a hot dose of self-contempt burnt in her chest. She had wanted him to respect her, admire her principles, know that she wasn't like all the others.

  She shook her head at her own stupidity. Who was she trying to fool? She had fallen for the guy, and no amount of lying to herself would alter the fact that she had to put a brake on this thing now. It was just physical attraction, a chemistry bombshell between opposites, but it was hot and strong and incredibly dangerous—for her at least.

  'We must pay him back as soon as we can, Mitch.' She took a deep breath and tried to make her voice less shaky. 'Perhaps when we've done
this job we'll be in a position to repay at least half of it.'

  'Perhaps,' her brother agreed quietly. 'Although, like I said, he's in no hurry—'

  'Well, I am.' Her voice had been too sharp and she moderated it quickly. 'He's done us an enormous favour and I don't want him to think we might take advantage. I'd be the same with anyone,' she added defensively, when Mitch still didn't speak.

  'Right.' Mitch cleared his throat and changed the subject. 'How did things go today?'

  They discussed the day's events for a few minutes more before finishing the call, but the earlier conversation got between Miriam and the time schedule over and over again in the following hour before bed. When she found herself thinking of several perfectly ridiculous ideas to pay him back she caught her thoughts abruptly, forcing herself to stop.

  They hadn't asked him to do this; he had done it quite willingly because, presumably, he'd wanted to, and he was prepared to wait until the debt could be paid. She would make sure that every spare penny went into doing just that and now she had to leave the matter alone, she told herself firmly. She would thank him tomorrow for his help, make sure he understood that repayment was a priority and then let the thing drop. She slid into bed with a determined nod. No problem.

  Vera and Dave used their own car for work the next morning, now that they knew where the house was, and left early for an open evening at their son's school. Miriam hadn't seen Reece in the morning but had arrived at the house to find that he had established Mrs Goode downstairs in the drawing room, with a wheelchair within reach if she needed to get about, and had left a note for her from Barbara, who had thought of some last-minute items she wanted adding to the menus.

  She worked solidly all day without even stopping for lunch, and was just wiping down the work surfaces in the kitchen, preparatory to leaving, when the same sixth sense as before brought her head turning to the doorway.

  'Hi.' He had obviously changed after leaving the office, unless he usually wore jeans and a denim shirt for big business, she thought silently as she nodded her reply to his greeting. And he looked gorgeous. 'Everything going to plan?' he asked lazily as he levered himself off the doorframe where he had been leaning watching her.

  'More or less.' She smiled carefully.

  'You look tired.' She stared at him in surprise, not knowing quite how to respond as he walked across to stand in front of her, his eyes thoughtful as he lifted her head by tilting her chin gently with one hand and looked down into her face. 'I suppose you just had a sandwich again for lunch?' he asked disapprovingly.

  'Lunch?' she asked faintly. 'I didn't have any lunch. An order was delivered just as we were going to eat soup and rolls, and by the time I'd finished checking things in…' Her voice trailed away as the silver eyes took on a distinctly steely hue.

  'You didn't bother to eat,' he finished for her. 'Well, you make sure from now on that you take time out at lunchtime; I mean it, Miriam.' He stepped back a pace and surveyed her condemningly, his gaze piercing. 'It won't help anyone if you fall ill, and Barbara's wedding is only days away now.'

  The wedding—the damn wedding, she thought tightly. That was the only thing of concern to him in all of this; she might have known. And she had to talk to him about the Gregory matter.

  'And stop frowning,' he added drily. 'That's my prerogative.'

  'I wanted to talk to you,' she said quickly. 'About the money you paid to the garage. We must put things on a legal footing, Reece— arrange an amount to be repaid each month.'

  'Must we?' He crossed his arms in the gesture that was becoming familiar to her and stared down at her with narrowed silver eyes. 'Why?'

  'Why?' She waved her hands helplessly. 'Well, it's obvious, isn't it? You can't go around lending people money and saying they can pay you back whenever they like—'

  'Oh, I don't.' He smiled slowly. 'Believe me, I don't, Miriam.'

  'No, well, then…' She really wasn't handling this very well, she thought weakly. 'You shouldn't with us either.'

  'You're friends of Frank,' he said mildly as he settled himself on one of the high breakfast stools scattered about the vast room. 'You aren't 'people'. And forget about the loan if it troubles you—look on it as a bonus for helping Barbara out.'

  'No way.' She stared at him as though he were mad. 'You're paying us for doing this job and the loan is something quite separate. I've still got to settle up with you for my car too.'

  'What is this preoccupation with money tonight?' he drawled mockingly as his eyes wandered over her troubled face and wide eyes. 'Do you imagine I shall want something other than financial reimbursement? Is that it?'

  'No, that is not it,' she snapped angrily. 'And there is no way on this earth I'd agree to anything like that anyway.'

  'Pity.' His smile was a white flash in the dark face and she saw that for once he was genuinely amused. 'If you knew the number of times I'd been propositioned exactly along those lines, and the one time I might consider it it's no go.' His smile widened at her outraged face. 'There's no justice in this world,' he said softly. 'No justice at all.'

  'You're just…just—'

  'Hungry.' He interrupted her shaking voice firmly as he stood up again, smiling and amused. 'I will go and change into something more formal and then we will go out to dinner.'

  'We won't.' It was the most ungracious refusal that she had ever made, although that fact didn't occur to her until much later. Now all she was concerned about was the almost tangible arrogance of the man. 'And I've got my cheque-book with me, so if you will just tell me how much I owe you for the car—'

  'How much?' He eyed her quietly as the laughter slid from his face. 'You're determined to consider yourself in debt to me?'

  'Yes.' She forced a smile from somewhere, although he would never know the effort it cost. 'It was very kind of you—'

  'Don't go all through that again,' he countered irritably. 'Well, if you absolutely insist, the price is going out for dinner with me,' he said grimly, 'although I have to say this is the first time I have had to force a woman to spend an evening in my company.'

  'Don't be ridiculous.' Her chin jutted out at an impossible angle and spoke volumes to the man watching her so closely.

  'I'm not.' His voice was very cold and very menacing.

  'I couldn't possibly go out to dinner dressed like this anyway,' she said quickly as she gestured at the old cotton trousers and casual cotton jumper that she had worn for the day's work. 'I was just going to call in for a hamburger on the way home. I tell you what,' she added slowly as she glanced up into his darkly frowning face, 'I'll treat you to dinner at a hamburger joint as payment for the car, yes?'

  'You'll…' She was immensely pleased to notice that he was lost for words and pressed home her advantage quickly.

  'Treat you, yes. It probably won't be as much as you paid out, but—'

  'It'll be fine.' He had clearly decided to concede and shook his head as he gazed down into her smiling face. 'Am I allowed to take you in my car or have I got to endure more hospitality by riding in the rust-bucket?'

  'We'll go in your car,' she said cheerfully, disguising her incredulity that he had actually agreed to her impulsive suggestion with enormous will-power. 'And at least you won't have to change now, will you?'

  'True.' He shook his head again as he watched her fetch her coat, and held it for her as she slipped her arms in the sleeves. 'We'll go out the front way so I can let Jinny know what's happening. Mrs Goode has already retired for the night; this accident has knocked it out of her more than she will admit. I've been trying to get her to retire for the last couple of years, buy her a little bungalow somewhere, but she won't hear of it.'

  He sounded worried and Miriam realised with a little throb of pleasure and surprise that he had actually let his guard down for a few minutes, that he was really talking to her about something that mattered to him.

  'Well, you told me she's been with you since you were born,' she said carefully as they left the corridor an
d entered the big hall. 'I suppose it'd be like leaving her family—being turned out, so to speak. Has she got anyone of her own?'

  'No.' He shook his head slowly. 'Her husband died before she came to work for my father and they had no children. I think there's a sister somewhere, but they only communicate with Christmas cards to my knowledge.'

  'There you are, then.' She shook her head mentally at his lack of perception. 'Don't you see you ate all she's got? I noticed the two of you get on very well.'

  'Yes.' She had clearly disturbed him with this new angle on things and he said no more as they crossed the hall and entered the main house.

  He called Jinny and explained that they were going out to dinner, although she noticed that he didn't explain where and bit back a smile at the knowledge that he was more than a little embarrassed at the circumstances. Then they left the house and walked over to the Bentley parked on the drive, its beautiful pale gold paintwork gleaming silver in the moonlight. The night was crystal-clear and bitingly cold, the smell of frost already cutting the air with its distinctive fragrance.

  'You'll have to direct me once we're on the main road,' he said shortly as he opened her door. 'I'm not sure which particular place you mean.'

  'OK.' She smiled up at him brightly, suddenly deciding to make the most of an evening that would only ever be a one-off, and he looked down at her for a long moment before shutting the door, his face unreadable.

  As they drove into the large car park she had to bite back a wry smile as Reece parked the car between an old, beaten-up Mini and a less than clean breakdowns truck. There was every kind of vehicle known to man in the big compound but only one Bentley, and it sat like a king among paupers as they walked over to the brightly lit building and through the main entrance into an atmosphere heavily redolent of beefburgers and French fries.

  Reece stopped just inside the door, glancing round the huge room with a distant, aloof expression on his cold face, but Miriam sensed instinctively that the cool, implacable exterior hid a certain degree of uncertainty. He was out of his depth, she realised suddenly with a dart of amazement. In one of the most ordinary places on earth. It was almost as though he had never been in a fast-food establishment before.