A Daring Deception (Harlequin Presents)

by Amanda Browning

  ‘You were there?’ She sought confirmation. He nodded solemnly. ‘I never saw you.’

  That made him laugh, and it was a far from pleasant sound. ‘Let’s face it, sweetheart, you only had eyes for one man. The rest of us were invisible, including his fiancée. As an interested onlooker, I admired the way you went after him with such single-minded determination. Your inventiveness knew no bounds. What a performance. You wanted him and you made sure you got him, no matter what. Then, in the blink of an eye, you were gone. Nobody could figure out what had happened. As a matter of interest, what did make you leave in such a hurry?’

  Her eyes widened as the realisation of precisely what he had seen came home to her. Her acting tour de force that summer had had a purpose beyond the obvious, but seen from the outside there was only one perspective anyone would have seen. Suddenly his attitude towards her became abundantly clear. He thought she was a… There wasn’t a nice way of describing what he thought her. Of all the nerve! Not to mention hypocrisy. There were shades here of the pot calling the kettle black. OK, so he didn’t know her side of things, and to give him his due it was easy to jump to the obvious and nasty conclusion. But he hadn’t had to cling to it all this time! Clearly he didn’t give anyone the benefit of the doubt.

  A cauldron of intense rage began to simmer inside her. She should put him straight right now, but the memory of all the things he had said to her, all the insinuations, kept her lips tight shut. She was damned if she would. She would tell him only when she was good and ready.

  The truth was she had gone to Antibes that summer with the express purpose of saving her cousin Emma from an ill-advised relationship. Word had reached the family that the man Emma had become engaged to whilst staying with a friend in the South of France was a fortune-hunter. The Shaw family, and its various branches, were extremely wealthy, and Rachel and Emma had sizeable trust funds in their names, though both had chosen to work for their living. With their business still at the fledgling stage, Rachel had decided to stay at home, so it had been the first holiday they hadn’t spent together in years.

  Which was how Emma had come to fall foul of Anton, because Rachel hadn’t been there to advise her. Of course, when her parents had tried to intervene, Emma hadn’t believed them, hence the family had turned to Rachel, who had gone in fighting as usual. She had flown over with the express purpose of making Emma see reason. An unenviable task, yet she had gone because she loved her cousin dearly and hadn’t wanted to see her hurt.

  Naturally, knowing Rachel’s negative attitude towards love having lived through her parents’ rollercoaster marriage and messy divorce, Emma hadn’t believed her either. No amount of talking—and they had talked long into the night—had put a chink in Emma’s rose-coloured glasses. In the end Rachel had been forced to take strong measures. If Emma was so certain that Anton was for real, then she, Rachel, wouldn’t possibly be able to steal him away. Emma, just as stubborn as Rachel, had dared her to do her worst. So she had, and that was what Nathan Wade had seen.

  Playing a man-eater had been relatively easy, for Rachel had always had a natural aptitude for acting. Basing her character on a girl she had known in college, Rachel had thrown herself into the part of a wild and wilful seductress who used her beauty and her fortune to get whatever man she wanted. She had pursued Emma’s fiancé, and, being without scruple, he had dropped Emma like a stone.

  To cut a long story short, after several days of watching her fiancé dance attendance on her cousin there had been a showdown between Emma and Anton. It had been an unpleasant scene, especially when Rachel had revealed exactly who she was. Anton had vanished after saying some very nasty things, and once Emma had had a cleansing bout of tears the two cousins had packed up and flown home. The rest, as they say, was history. What neither of them had known, so wrapped up had they been in their personal drama, was that Nathan Wade had witnessed the juicier moments and taken his cue from that.

  Emma and Rachel still ran a growing catering business, and shared a flat in London. That brief interlude in France was long forgotten—except by Nathan. Had he been a different man, Rachel wouldn’t have hesitated to clear the matter up forthwith, but she was too incensed.

  Instead of doing the sensible thing and making a case for herself, she merely shrugged in her most offhand way. ‘How does urgent family business sound?’ she quipped lightly, and knew from the narrowing of his eyes it hadn’t gone down well. Not that she cared in that instant. His opinion could hardly get any worse when it was at rock bottom already.

  ‘Anton and his fiancée departed about the same time, too,’ Nathan went on. ‘I suppose they also had “urgent family business”?’

  Rachel couldn’t speak for Anton, but Emma certainly hadn’t been able to get back to her family quickly enough. ‘I imagine so. They didn’t say,’ she agreed blithely.

  ‘Anyway, having seen you in action, you can imagine my consternation when I took over the running of the bank and found you were Linus’s granddaughter.’

  Rachel sank down onto the arm of the chair. She had no difficulty imagining that at all. Having caught her act and believed the worst, she understood why he had disliked her on sight. But why had he remained silent all this time?

  ‘Why didn’t you say something before?’

  ‘I admit my first instinct was to confront you, but then I became intrigued. You looked so different from what I remembered. You acted differently, too. I began to wonder what you were up to. I waited to see what sort of game you were playing,’ Nathan explained smoothly.

  Her brows lifted in an arc of surprise. ‘I wasn’t playing a game,’ she pointed out, and he half smiled.

  ‘On the contrary; you play it all the time. You have that look of innocence down pat. No wonder Linus thinks the sun rises and sets in you. Does he know anything at all about the men in your life?’

  Her eyes narrowed at that. ‘He knows I date,’ she conceded cautiously.

  Nathan laughed. ‘That’s a quaint way of putting it, but it keeps him happy, and that’s the way you want it. The game you play, sweetheart, is to keep him believing you’re still made out of sugar and spice and all things nice, when in reality your private life wouldn’t bear scrutiny.’

  She frowned darkly, thinking she understood him all too clearly, but seeking clarity before she hit the roof. ‘My…private life?’ she probed in a tight voice.

  ‘You know, the things you get up to after hours. I don’t care what man you’ve set your sights on now, or how you go about getting him. It’s none of my business. What I do need, however, is for you to use that talent on Luther Ames. Use it to keep him occupied whilst I search for the letters.’

  She was stunned by what he was suggesting. Now she understood his continued disdain. He had never seen her differently. All this time he had believed there were two Rachels. The one he saw during the day, who did her job and caused her family no harm, and the one who came out at night to prey vampirically on unsuspecting males. Dear God. It was almost too incredible for words.

  Unable to sit still in the face of this, Rachel sprung to her feet, striding over to the window, battling to keep her temper in check. All this time, whilst she had been mooning like a lovesick idiot, he had believed her to be spending her nights having a good time with countless men whose names she doubtless couldn’t remember! Ooh! Never mind that she had, in fact, been a model of rectitude. In his mind she was branded a man-eater, and so she remained to this very day. The injustice of his blindness made her see red, but she fought with her own personal devil. She had promised her family she would do her best to curb her instinct to respond blindly in anger, but never had she needed to use more self-restraint. Turning back to face him, she folded her arms to hide the way her hands were balled into angry fists.

  ‘That’s quite an opinion you have of me. Tell me, Nathan, did it never occur to you that you could be wrong about me? Did you ever give thought to the possibility that I’m not the person you think I am?’ she asked in a s
eriously controlled voice.

  Nathan’s lips curved mockingly. ‘No, but you couldn’t seriously expect me to. I’m one of the few people who know from experience that there’s more to you than meets the eye.’

  She laughed out of sheer disbelief. ‘You truly believe you know me that well?’

  ‘Like I say, I’ve seen both sides of you. One I can respect; the other… Well, we both know what you’re capable of. We both know you can do what Linus is asking of you. Why bother to waste time denying your alter ego?’

  She shook her head helplessly. Every word he said was pushing her towards an outcome her family knew only too well. When the devil got in her, there was no stopping her, but she was prepared to give it one more try. ‘You’re wrong, you know. There is no other me.’

  His brows rose sceptically. ‘Are you asking me to believe that you’re a reformed character? Sorry, darling, but as felines go, you’re as sleek as they come. A prime example. And, as the saying goes, a leopard cannot change her spots.’

  ‘I don’t need to change,’ she argued through gritted teeth. ‘Think about it. There hasn’t been one breath of scandal linked to my name in all the time you’ve known me, has there?’

  ‘I’ll agree you’re certainly more discreet than you used to be. I haven’t heard any recent gossip about you,’ he conceded dryly, and it was the way he said it which put her back up and had her teetering disastrously on the brink.

  ‘Even with that you won’t accept that you heard nothing because there was nothing to hear. Damn it, why do you find it impossible to accept that you’re wrong about me? That there might be an innocent explanation for what you think you saw in Antibes?’

  His expression became remote. ‘Because I’ve known women like you before. I’ve seen all the tricks they use to blind a man to their true character, but what they all forget is that in the end nature will out. They always give themselves away.’

  The scales began to tip dangerously. What he didn’t say was that he considered her to have given herself away already. His arrogance was beyond belief. ‘How can you make such a sweeping statement? Nothing is so cut and dried. Surely it’s possible for at least one to have a change of heart?’

  ‘Am I supposed to believe that’s what happened to you? You saw the error of your ways and reinvented yourself?’ he challenged incredulously, and she wanted to shake him till his teeth rattled.

  She wasn’t saying that at all, as he would know if he really knew her as well as he thought he did. Well, he was about to learn a great deal more. She went over the edge, waving caution goodbye. As far as she could see, she was damned if she did and damned if she didn’t, so to hell with it. ‘Oh, believe what you like! You will, anyway,’ she snapped, with a defiant lift of her chin.

  Nathan stared at her through eyes dancing with amusement. ‘Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe you’re now as pure as the driven snow. But frankly, sweetheart, that doesn’t interest me right now. What does is that you know what to do and how to do it to get the best result,’ he added trenchantly.

  His patent disbelief fanned the flames of her anger. ‘Perhaps I do, but that doesn’t mean I’m prepared to help you.’

  ‘You think not?’ he murmured softly. ‘Don’t be too sure. Everybody has their price, Rachel. What’s yours, I wonder?’

  Rachel laughed hollowly. ‘Don’t try to blackmail me, Nathan. It won’t work,’ she pointed out as coolly as she was able.

  ‘What if I were to put it this way? What would you do for my continued silence?’

  The soft words seemed to ring around the room, and Rachel froze. ‘I beg your pardon?’ she asked in total disbelief.

  He smiled mockingly. ‘I thought that would get your attention. I’ll give you my ultimatum. Do what Linus wants, and he’ll never hear about your private life from me.’

  Rachel stared at him, wondering if she had somehow crossed a time warp into another life. He couldn’t be serious. How could he have rubbed shoulders with her for so long and not know that there was nothing to tell? Linus knew all about Emma, had been the one to send her out to sort the matter three years ago. He knew, too, about her inability to trust men after the way her father had behaved to her mother. He didn’t know she had fallen for this blinkered man he admired so much, though.

  God, Nathan was so certain he knew her. So certain he was right. He deserved to have some of that arrogance knocked out of him, and, the way she felt now, she was just the person to do it.

  Her heart began to race as she dealt with the temptation. What pleasure it would give her to throw the truth in his face! Her eyes narrowed in a way that should have sent a wise man running for cover. Nathan unwisely stayed right where he was. ‘You’d say nothing, ever?’ she checked, and his eyes glittered with amusement.

  ‘You’re getting more like yourself by the minute,’ he observed mockingly. ‘Do what Linus asks of you and my lips will remain sealed. You can get any man you want, any way you want, and yet you’ll remain as innocent as the day is long in Linus’s eyes.’

  With a mental grinding of her teeth, Rachel rose to her feet once more. ‘Well, now, that does make a difference,’ she mused thoughtfully, crossing to the mirror and making a show of smoothing her hair back. Tucking in a stray lock, her eyes darted to his reflection and caught the curl of his lip. It hurt to finally realise what his opinion of her was, but she was a fighter, not a quitter. He would get the person he thought her to be, in spades. Starting now.

  ‘After all, I have nothing but Grandfather’s best interests at heart,’ she reasoned, and Nathan’s smile broadened.

  ‘Of course you do. Which is why you couldn’t stand by and refuse to help him now, could you?’ he enlarged simply.

  Rachel smiled too as she swung round. ‘It isn’t that I didn’t want to help him,’ she explained with a shrug, getting into character.

  Nathan appeared only too happy to follow her lead, which did nothing for her mood. ‘Of course not. It’s just that a girl needs to know where she stands.’

  The rat. Her smile widened. ‘Absolutely.’

  ‘OK, now that we understand each other so much better, why don’t you come and sit down and we’ll make some plans,’ he drawled sardonically, making her palms itch. He would never understand her. Never.

  She didn’t want to sit, but standing made her look tense when she needed to appear at ease. She chose the chair opposite. ‘What sort of plans are you referring to?’ she asked, determined to sound businesslike at the very least.

  ‘Getting our stories straight, for one thing. We’re supposed to be lovers. I’m the high roller and you’re my lucky mascot. Think you can play the part?’ he asked her with a decided glint in his eye.

  Rachel shot him an equally mocking look. ‘So long as you don’t expect me to bring you luck.’ What she wished for him right now was quite the opposite.

  As she was fast coming to expect, Nathan laughed. ‘Just remember we’re on the same side, lover.’

  Lover. The word shivered across her skin like the faintest breath of hot desert air. She didn’t feel in the least lover-like. Murderous, yes. The trouble was, loathe him as she might for his blindness, she was still strongly attracted to him. The last thing she needed was for him to discover the fact, but how to prevent it when the pretence of their relationship would entail certain behaviour which would put her in close proximity with the man? Danger signals flashed. It would be as well for her to set the parameters of this fictional relationship right now.

  ‘I’ll remember we’re on the same side, and you remember that we aren’t lovers,’ she told him bluntly.

  He looked over at her with a faint curl of his lip. ‘A fact for which I am extremely grateful. Rest assured I don’t want you, and never will. Try any of your games on me and you’ll regret it.’

  He couldn’t have said anything more guaranteed to get her dander up. She forgot in that moment that she didn’t want him to want her and acted purely on feminine instinct.

  ‘Oh, really?’ she mur
mured with sweet viciousness. ‘I’ve heard it said that people who protest too much generally have something to hide.’

  He had no trouble following her drift. ‘Some men might, but I’m not one of them. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s concentrate on the real problem,’ Nathan responded evenly, and it annoyed her no end that she couldn’t rattle him. She wanted to knock the wind clean out of him, and upset his complacency once and for all. She’d do it, too. Somehow. Before this was over. It was a promise she made to herself right there and then. She would find his weakness and use it against him. Everyone had their Achilles’ heel—even men like Nathan Wade.

  She eyed his bent head as he opened the envelope Linus had given him. ‘You’re very sure of yourself, aren’t you?’

  He looked up, blue eyes glittering sardonically. ‘Very sure. Remember that, if you’re ever tempted to take me on.’

  Oh, she was tempted all right, and when the time was right she would act. ‘I’ll be sure and make a memo in my diary,’ she drawled, and his teeth flashed whitely as he smiled in acknowledgement.

  ‘So you don’t know anything about Luther Ames?’

  She shook her head. ‘I only know what Linus said, that he prefers blondes.’

  ‘Exactly. Just remember, although he prefers them, he’s no gentleman.’

  His warning surprised her, given his opinion. ‘Don’t tell me you’re concerned about me, Nathan?’ she charged with patent disbelief.

  He sent her a reproving look. ‘Don’t take it personally. I’d worry about anyone who got tangled up in Ames’s sticky web of corruption. A man who would stoop to blackmailing his own aunt doesn’t have an ethical bone in his body. We don’t know what else he gets up to. Keep your wits about you, but don’t let him see you have any. His women aren’t required to think, just look decorative. Add all their vital statistics together, and they still wouldn’t reach your IQ. You should fit right in.’

  Rachel came as close as she ever had been to smacking another human being. ‘Are you trying to be deliberately offensive?’