It was immensely satisfying to sail into the building and go straight to the executive offices, bypassing her old cubbyhole in the research department. The buzz of talk followed her but she kept her face impassive. This time she would give them something else to gossip about besides her love life.
Slade’s secretary had the files open on his desk when Eden arrived. She assessed them steadily and made some quick decisions, surprising herself with how quickly she grasped what needed to be done.
Her former co-worker from Research, Denise, appeared in answer to her summons. ‘Production tells me they’re held up until you provide background for the last educational video,’ Eden said, her tone intentionally brisk.
Denise’s mouth dropped open. ‘I have almost all the material, Eden...Mrs Benedict.’
‘Almost won’t do it. They need the stuff by five this afternoon. Pull someone out of Secretarial if you need an extra pair of hands.’
‘Yes, Mrs Benedict.’ There was a new respect in Denise’s tone as she picked up the files and left. Now we’re even for lunch, Eden thought although she chided herself for being petty. Nobody’s perfect, she consoled herself.
She had been right to come here. Clearing Slade’s desk gave her little time for thinking about her own concerns. But subconsciously the decision-making process had continued. By the end of the afternoon her mind was made up. If Slade would agree, she would remain as his wife until Katie came of age. He hadn’t wanted a love match in the first place, so the proposal should suit him. Then she would take her family problems and disappear from his life. Cutting out her heart would be easier, she acknowledged, but what else could she do?
Tears began to film her eyes and she forced herself to concentrate on the file in front of her. It was already late. The office had emptied around her an hour ago. But the thought of going home to a house without Slade kept her at the desk.
Suddenly her shriek tore the air as a dark figure loomed over her. It was Slade and her heart turned over, until she got herself under control, at least outwardly. ‘You gave me a fright. What are you doing here?’
His expression was impassive. ‘I understood it was my office.’
She half rose, but he motioned her to remain seated. It was just as well. Her legs felt boneless and her heartbeat was so erratic that she wondered if she was going to faint for the first time in her life. It was as if she had conjured him up out of her deep longings.
He looked as if the last couple of days had taken a toll. A bluish shadow darkened his jawline, and his eyes seemed deeper-set, the hollows of his cheekbones more pronounced. Rather than face his censure, she concentrated on his hands, which gripped the edge of the desk. The sight reminded her so forcibly of his touch, exploring every inch of her body with intimate assurance, that she closed her eyes. If she was to retain any vestige of dignity, she couldn’t afford to look at him at all.
‘I decided to make myself useful,’ she explained, fixing her gaze at a point beyond his shoulder.
‘Of course. I’d expect nothing less.’
His tone mocked her and her anger rose. ‘If you object to my being here, please say so.’
‘I object to your being here.’
Fighting back tears, she closed the files and gathered her personal papers, then started for the door.
Her way was blocked by his body and she froze. ‘I’d rather you were at home, looking after Katie and planning how many brothers and sisters she should have.’
Why was he being so cruel? ‘That isn’t fair or funny, Slade.’
He lifted the files from her arms and dropped them on to a side-table. ‘I know. You aren’t the only one who’s been making themselves useful over the last few days.’
Another wave of faintness swept through her. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I’ve been tracing your family tree.’
‘What’s the point? If you hoped to find enough relatives for the genetic test, you’ve been on a wild-goose chase. Neither of us gets off that easily.’
‘I didn’t want any easy option. I wanted the truth.’
‘Which sometimes hurts,’ she admitted softly.
‘And sometimes it helps.’ He steered her to a leather couch. ‘Sit down, Eden. What I discovered may come as a shock to you.’
It couldn’t be a greater shock than the feel of his hands against her bare arms. It was a lover’s touch, warm and gentle, and it was a poignant reminder of all she could have had.
He steered her to a chair and urged her to sit down. Then he took her hands. ‘There’s no easy way to tell you this, but Peggy Lyle isn’t your real mother.’
She shook her head, unwilling to accept what she was hearing. ‘No, I don’t believe it.’
His grip tightened around her fingers. ‘You must believe it, darling. I found out when I went hunting for your relatives to help you with the genetic testing.’
As she saw what he was getting at, fury blazed through her mind and she tore her hands free. ‘You wanted to find out if I was worth keeping as a wife, is that it?’
‘Good lord, no. Nothing was further from my mind.’ He dropped to his knees beside her and took her unyielding body in his arms. ‘I know this is a shock to you. You aren’t thinking too clearly right now, and no wonder. The only reason I went looking for your relatives was for your sake, to save you years of waiting and wondering. I did it for you, Eden, because I care about you. Your happiness and peace of mind mean more to me than anything else.’
She pressed her face into her hands. Slade had gone searching for her relatives and found that she had no one, not even her mother. ‘This must be what Peggy tried to steel herself to tell me,’ she whispered. If only she had, how much closer they could have been all these years.
‘By the time she was really ill, she was probably afraid to take the risk. She needed you too much.’ His expression hardened. ‘Although she could have spared you so much torment if she’d told you when she was first diagnosed.’
Eden nodded numbly. ‘Even her doctor can’t have known I was adopted or he’d have reassured me when he explained what was wrong with her.’ Suddenly she turned wide, anxious eyes to him. ‘So who am I? Who are my real parents?’
He stroked the hair back from her forehead. ‘Don’t fret about it now, darling. We’ll find out everything you need to know. I’ll use every resource at my disposal, I promise.’
Her eyes swam as she nodded her thanks. ‘I don’t know what to say. All these years, I never suspected...’
As her voice broke on a sob, his arms tightened around her. ‘I know how hard this must be to accept, but think what else it means to you.’
She didn’t want to think, didn’t want to face any more shocks. She felt rootless, cut adrift from all she had known and loved all her life. None of it belonged to her. She was a changeling.
The only reality was Slade’s rock-steady hold on her. Had she really heard him say he cared and call her his darling? Could it be that he really did feel something for her, after all?
Her breath tangled in her throat as she fought the hope welling insistently inside her. But she was forced to accept the facts. He hadn’t deserted her, as she’d feared. He’d gone searching for her family for her sake, not because he needed reassurance, but because he knew she did.
‘Oh, my lord,’ she breathed as realisation finally came. ‘If I’m adopted, then I don’t have... I’m not...’
He pressed her hands to his lips. ‘I’d rather think of what you do have—a healthy future filled with promise.’
‘I feel reborn,’ she confessed, her voice rising. ‘You’ve given me the greatest gift in the world.’
Unthinkingly, she flung her arms around his neck. His own tightened around her and he cradled her against his chest. ‘I’ve given you no more than you deserve—a lifetime of happiness,’ he said thickly. ‘I hope you’ll use it to the fullest, to have the marriage and children of your dreams.’
Fresh anguish gripped her as his words penetrated the mis
ts of happiness fogging her mind. ‘What do you mean? I thought I already had those things in you and Katie.’
He took a long, shuddering breath. ‘You’re sure? Our marriage is what you really want?’
‘More than anything in the world.’
His laughter erupted between them. ‘Hallelujah! You don’t know how much it means to me to hear you say so. I thought once you found out there was no reason you couldn’t marry for love...’
Her finger pressed against his lips, silencing him. ‘I already married for love. But I thought you were the one who didn’t want a hearts-and-flowers marriage.’
‘Some men don’t know what’s good for them,’ he said, his eyes glowing as he looked at her. ‘Thank goodness I had you to show me what I was missing.’
‘Even though I bluffed my way into working for you?’ she asked, unable to resist the teasing reminder.
‘Even then. I told myself I was a fool but it didn’t seem to help. Now I know why you had to do it—to get the job and promotion you needed to care for your mother—so my instincts about you were right all along.’
Her breath caught in her throat. ‘But you became so distant. I thought you’d lost interest in me.’
‘My God, it was the opposite. I wanted you so much I was afraid I’d scare you away. It almost killed me to leave you alone but I was determined to give you breathing space. I hope you’d discover you loved me after all.’
‘I do love you,’ she confessed in a rush. ‘But I thought you didn’t want it because of your father.’
He nodded. ‘Given my family’s track record, was it any wonder that I was cynical about love? Until I found myself falling in love with you in spite of everything. I knew it was a lost cause when I found myself wanting to tear apart the men I thought you were seeing.’
The strength of his passion made her heart swell. ‘There was never anyone but you,’ she confided.
‘I know it now. I understand about the pills and the mysterious absences. But love isn’t logical. I thought you’d guessed how I felt when I told Dana why I’d married you.’
‘I thought you said it for her sake. I never dreamed that you really meant it.’
‘Maybe this will convince you.’ He swept her into his arms and sought her mouth, his kiss more gentle yet more passionate than she could have dreamed possible. When her mouth opened, he invaded the moist cavern with mind-shattering thoroughness, leaving her in no doubt that she was well and truly loved.
Suddenly she remembered where they were. ‘What if someone comes in?’ she asked.
The hunger in his eyes intensified as he began to undo the buttons of her businesslike blouse. ‘They won’t,’ he said thickly. “The building is locked and I’ve instructed Security not to admit anyone.’
They were finally alone together and her heart began to pound. ‘What do you have in mind?’ she teased, knowing full well.
With loving efficiency, he proceeded to show her. She would never be able to look at this couch again without picturing this night and blushing, she realised. It was just as well she wouldn’t be spending much time in the office in future.
In the dreamy aftermath, she regarded him curiously. ‘What happened to change your mind about love and marriage?’
He stroked her hair. ‘You happened, my darling. You’re enough to change any man’s mind. No matter what my searches uncovered, I still intended to come back to you. I promised you “for better or worse” and I meant it, my love.’
Her heart sang. She had both her love and her future. It was almost more than she could take in. ‘I love you, too,’ she said, her voice shaking with emotion. ‘You’ve given me so much. My life, in fact. How can I ever repay you?’
His arms tightening around her left no room for doubt. ‘How about one kiss at a time?’ he suggested huskily.
Her delighted laughter greeted this idea. ‘At that rate, it could take a while.’
He kissed her again, his body hardening deliciously against her. ‘A lifetime, I imagine. And it won’t be nearly long enough.’
As he pulled her down on to the couch, her sigh of ecstasy signalled complete agreement. A lifetime of Slade’s love. What more could she possibly want?
ISBN : 978-1-4592-6341-3
FLIGHT OF FANTASY
First North American Publication 1998.
Copyright © 1993 by Valerie Parv.
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher. Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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