by Kim Lawrence
‘Someone you know?’ Angel murmured, looking curiously from her brother, who had frozen to the spot, to the slim, flame-haired figure approaching them as fast as the bag she was lugging would allow.
‘Stay out of this, Angel.’
Anna, close enough to hear this terse aside, didn’t know who she felt more scornful towards. Him, for speaking that way, or the woman for tolerating it.
Anna’s glance slid over Cesare Urquart’s predictably glamorous companion, a tall, utterly stunning brunette, made taller by the crazy spiky heels she was wearing, which she’d teamed with a retro-styled tea dress and a leather biker jacket. A challenging combination that she managed to carry off with style.
Pulling herself up to her full five feet three, Anna halted and, breathing hard, levelled an accusing finger at Cesare’s broad chest. She was struggling to articulate her fury, so she stuttered. ‘Y-you!’
His right eyebrow hitched a little higher as he tipped his head. ‘Miss Henderson?’
Previously his hostility had been masked, now it was overt. Her inarticulate fury gave way to bewilderment.
‘Look, you’re a bully, I get that, but what I would like to know is why?’
‘You are a bad loser, Miss Henderson.’
She lifted her chin and declared proudly, ‘But an excellent teacher.’
The furrow between his brows deepened as she wrapped her arms around herself, but carried on shivering.
‘Why have you not got a coat on?’ he demanded irritably.
The question briefly threw Anna off her stride. ‘I lost it,’ she snarled through gritted teeth.
‘Why?’ she repeated, her militant attitude giving way to genuine confusion. It was utterly impossible for soft-hearted Anna, who would not have deliberately set out to injure her worst enemy, let alone a total stranger, to understand how or why someone would do what he had.
‘It was my job to ensure that the school has the best possible head, and you were simply not up to the job.’ He curved his fingers around the beautiful brunette’s elbow. ‘If you’ll excuse me.’
The dismissal relit the smouldering flames of Anna’s fury. ‘No, I won’t!’ she cried, catching his arm.
He swung back, his metallic stare conveying astonishment before it moved with significance to the small white hand against his sleeve.
Anna’s hand fell self-consciously away, her nerve endings still retaining the impression of hard muscle even after she rubbed her hand against her thigh. ‘There is something else—I know there is.’
He arched a sardonic brow. ‘Beyond your incompetence?’
‘The others thought I was competent. I am competent,’ she qualified angrily as her fingers itched to slap the contemptuous smile off his hatefully perfect face. ‘Until you arrived, the panel thought I was the right person for the job.’
His lip curled. ‘On paper you looked an adequate candidate.’
The comment sent his sister’s interested glance to the file her brother had flung onto the back seat.
‘Adequate?’ Anna growled.
Cesare dragged his gaze up from the full pouting curve of her lush lips, where it kept sliding. ‘I am sure you are accustomed to smiling and getting your own way. Being born beautiful does not grant you special privileges in life, Miss Henderson.’
Anna blinked. Beautiful? She half expected to see sarcasm in his stare, but she saw only anger and something she struggled to put a name to. The indefinable dark something made her stomach muscles quiver.
She wasn’t beautiful.
‘For a moment I thought you were Rosie.’
Anna had lost count of the number of times she had heard that comment while she was growing up and she understood it: her older cousin, whom she admired and loved, was beautiful.
It was a subtle thing, beauty. She was Rosanna, though she much preferred to be called Anna. She had freckles, with a not quite straight nose and a mouth that was too wide. She was okay-looking whereas Rosemary was stunning. Her cousin could have had any man; instead she had fallen for the creep who had very nearly ruined her life.
‘If anyone here is privileged...’ She gave a scornful hoot of laughter. ‘You know what I think? I think you like to prove what a big man you are because you’re not—what you are is a bully, a pathetic bully.’ He looked so astonished she almost laughed. ‘What do you do as an encore? Kick puppies?’
‘I hardly think the analogy is apt, Miss Henderson.’ Not a puppy, but there was definitely something feline about this sexy red-headed witch.
She gave a cranky grunt and snarled through clenched teeth, ‘Will you stop calling me that?’
‘Would you prefer Rosie?’
She blinked. It was weird to hear this man call her by her cousin’s diminutive. ‘My name is Rosanna.’ It didn’t really matter what he called her because he’d always manage to make it sound like an insult. ‘My friends.’ She gulped, suddenly feeling very far away from those friends. ‘They call me A-Anna.’
Was this display of quivering bravery meant to make him feel guilty? ‘Have you ever heard the phrase what goes around comes around, Miss Henderson?’
‘If that were true something large would fall from the sky and hit you on your fat, self-important head!’
The snort of laughter drew Anna’s attention to the beautiful brunette, who rather unexpectedly grinned at her in an encouraging way and gave a thumbs-up sign.
Cesare flashed his sister a look without having any real expectation of it having any effect, then returned his attention to the slim redhead who, when she wasn’t abusing him, was playing for the sympathy vote.
‘Do you mind lowering your voice?’
She adopted a puzzled expression. ‘Why? It can’t be a secret you’re a cold-hearted bully.’
His silver-grey eyes narrowed to slits at the jibe. ‘We can trade insults if you wish.’ His smile suggested he thought he’d come off better in this exchange. ‘What do you call a woman who targets married men?’
Anna’s jaw dropped. ‘What?’
‘Paul Dane is a good friend of mine.’
The name caused the blood to drain out of Anna’s face, leaving her marble pale as the day’s events clicked into place. Suddenly it all made sickening sense. This man thought she was Rosie!
‘Suddenly you have less to say.’
Her eyes blinked wide open. Not, as he anticipated, filled with the shame of discovery, but angry. Sparkling like blue sapphires. His contemptuous smile faded as a furrow formed between his darkly defined brows.
Of course, this man and Paul Dane were friends. ‘A marriage made in heaven,’ she murmured.
‘Paul’s marriage is still strong, despite your efforts to end it.’
‘My efforts?’ She shook her head, her chest dramatically lifting as she struggled to control her feelings. ‘Sorry, did I get that right? You think your friend Paul is some sort of a victim?’ Anna began to laugh, her anger growing cold. It had taken her cousin a very long time to recover from the affair with the married man who had broken her heart. Rosie, whose only sin had been that she was too loving and trusting, that she followed her heart.
And she was brave too. A lesser person would have been destroyed by what had happened, but not Rosie. Anna’s admiration for her gutsy cousin was tinged with worry. Yes, Rosie had found her happy-ever-after scenario, but following her heart could just as easily have led to another heartbreak, another Paul Dane.
Rosie had taken the risk but even the thought of following her example was enough to send a ripple of horror through Anna. The nightmares of the night she had discovered her cousin semi-conscious beside a half-empty bottle of pills and a bottle of booze were less frequent now, but they still came. If one positive thing had come from that experience it was the knowledge that she would never allow her heart to rule her
head.
Her expression sobered as she angled a scorn-filled look up at his dark lean face. So certain, so superior! She gave a snort of disgust. ‘Stupid question, of course you do.’
‘Paul was not without blame,’ he conceded, slinging her an impatient look.
‘Big of you to say so.’ She tilted her head back to direct a contemptuous look at his face. ‘This is how I know it to be. A man, a married man who seduces an inexperienced, starry-eyed girl ten years his junior, a man who tells her he loves her and is going to leave his wife for her.’
Too furious to consider her words, she gave a bitter laugh and added, ‘Yes, the girl knows she is doing wrong.’ An image of Rosie’s tear-stained face as she clutched that bottle of pills flashed into Anna’s head as she relived that awful moment.
‘But she does it anyway,’ Anna finished in a voice husky with emotion. ‘She lies to her family and when he dumps her and goes back to his wife she thinks her life is over. I’m not sure what I’d call a man like that but it sure as hell wouldn’t be victim!’
At least she had stopped short of revealing the whole story. Even so, Anna immediately felt guilty and disloyal. She had promised Rosie never to reveal what she knew to anyone, it was a promise that up to this point she had honoured.
The only comfort was that this man thought she was the person who had fallen victim to his friend and while she hated being thought of as this naïve victim, it was preferable to having this man sneer at Rosie, judge her.
Let him think what he liked about her. Anna was more than willing to take one for the team if it meant protecting Rosie from his sneers and accusations.
Her passion caused the permanent indentation between Cesare’s ebony brows to form into a V of doubt, which quickly smoothed. He resented the fact that this woman had made him even briefly doubt a man who had literally saved his life. He realised that she’d probably told this version of events so often that she believed it. A lot easier to believe a lie than admit you’d targeted a married man and relentlessly pursued him.
While Cesare didn’t consider himself intolerant of weakness—he had enough of his own—when it came to the subject of fidelity within marriage there were no grey areas. It was simple: you stayed faithful or you didn’t exchange vows you were not able to keep. This was the reason that he did not plan to take the marriage route. Loving the same woman for a lifetime or even a year? Impossible. Lying was a strong word even when the lie in question was directed to yourself. Did people, intelligent people, really believe it?
He gave a mental shrug. Maybe he was just wired differently? But for his money the existence of the Easter Bunny was easier to buy into than this soul-mate stuff. Sure, you grew comfortable over the years but who wanted to be comfortable when you could have passion and fire?
However, if you went down the marriage route, straying was not an option. It was true that Paul had not behaved well, but at least he’d come to his senses in time to save his marriage. Basically, Paul was one of life’s good guys, capable of selfless acts. If he hadn’t been Cesare knew he wouldn’t be standing here now—Paul’s selfless act had saved his skin.
‘Get in the car, Angel,’ he snapped at his companion before turning on his heel and presenting Anna with his broad-shouldered back.
Infuriated by the dismissal, Anna surged forward. The hasty action took her close to the edge of the pavement just as a bus drove by, depositing the contents of a deep puddle down the front of her suit.
‘He didn’t even slow down,’ she wailed, looking from her dripping muddied front to the bus that was picking up speed as it continued down the road.
Just before he slid into the high-powered car beside his beautiful companion, Cesare Urquart turned his head. He didn’t say a word, just looked her up and down and then smiled. Hateful, hateful man!
CHAPTER THREE
ANGEL SMOOTHED THE pages she had retrieved from the back seat. ‘So that was Miss Henderson?’ She tapped the typed name on the page before flashing a look at her brother. ‘I take it she didn’t get the job? Pity—anyone that gives as good as she gets with you might be just what we need.’
‘That is private, Angel,’ her brother snarled.
Angel read one of the attached references. ‘It says here she has a natural empathy with children and she’s—’
Cesare, making an effort to slow his breathing, interrupted irritably. ‘Yeah, I know, she’s perfect.’
A thoughtful expression crossed his sister’s face. ‘You know, I think she might be...’
‘Put that down, Angel.’ He clenched his teeth as his sister predictably tuned him out and turned another page.
‘I’m curious,’ she admitted, still skimming the page. ‘Who was better than her?’
‘Paper qualifications are all well and good.’
‘You mean she’s another one of Paul’s victims.’
‘What the hell do you mean by “another”?’
‘I mean if you’ve got a blind spot it comes to that man. Don’t look like that. I love Paul, he’s a total charmer but, let’s face it he’s—’
Without warning Cesare pulled the car to the side of the road, drawing a startled gasp from his sister.
‘Are you trying to tell me he made a pass at you?’
Reassured by his sister’s peal of laughter enough to start breathing again, he released a deep sigh and turned the engine back on.
They had travelled a silent mile before Angel voiced the question she already knew the answer to. ‘And if he had?’
‘I’d kill him,’ Cesare informed her, with a total lack of emotion.
His response told Angel nothing she didn’t already know. ‘So saving your life makes it all right for him to mess with the—’ she wafted the printed CV his way ‘—Miss Hendersons of the world, but not your sister?’
‘Shut up, Angel.’
Smiling, she licked her finger and chalked up an invisible point in the air, drawing an almost smile from her grim-faced brother before she began to read the CV, which described the sort of person who even the most paranoid parent would feel happy about leaving in charge of their child.
* * *
‘Hi...Anna?’
Anna, who was on the point of leaving, turned and saw the beautiful brunette who had been with Cesare Urquart standing in the doorway of the hotel room she had been forced to take for the night. This morning the brunette was wearing jeans tucked into a pair of knee-high boots and a short fur-collared leather jacket, her river-straight, silky, waist-length jet-black hair secured in a ponytail at the nape of her neck. Even if Anna hadn’t been having a bad hair day, and she really was, the woman would have made her feel hopelessly inadequate.
‘I don’t think your boyfriend will like it if you’re seen talking to me.’
Angel scowled. ‘I don’t care much what Cesare likes.’
Her brother had not reacted well to her suggestion over breakfast that his attitude to this woman was coloured by their own mother, and even less well when she had said that just because someone saved your life it didn’t mean they were a saint. And when she’d mentioned her totally brilliant idea he had suggested she had lost her mind.
‘And he’s not my boyfriend, he’s my brother.’
Anna’s chin dropped from the defiant angle as her eyes widened. ‘Brother!’ Were the whole family this stunning?
Anna’s shocked exclamation drew a grin.
‘I’d like to say he got the looks and I got the brains but I’d be lying.’ Her expression sobered. ‘But brainy or not, Cesare can be pretty stupid sometimes and he’s pathologically loyal to his friends even the ones who haven’t...’ She broke off, giving the impression of someone biting their tongue. ‘And, of course, sorry doesn’t come easy to him.’
Anna gave an unamused snort. The idea of that hateful man wan
ting to apologise was a joke. None of this was his sister’s fault so she forced a faint smile, but was unable to bite back her bitter retort. ‘Especially as he’s always right.’
The willowy brunette winced. ‘Ouch! So you are heading back to...London?’
Anna glanced at her watch. The information she’d received advised that passengers should only travel if their journey was strictly necessary because there were still flood warnings, and though some trains were running today there were numerous delays. The likelihood was her journey would take a lot longer than normal. At best, according to her enquiries, the trains were running on average three hours behind schedule.
‘I haven’t much reason to hang around.’
‘I suppose you have plans for your summer break.’
The seemingly casual remark drew a sigh from Anna. Break? Her summer break might end up being longer than she would have liked. Still, she’d done stints of supply teaching before and she could again.
‘Is there something I can help you with, Miss Urquart?’
‘It’s Angel and, yes, there is. When is your train due? Do you have time for a coffee? The place on the corner is actually pretty good.’
Her last phone call to the help line had suggested she had time for a three-course banquet but she shook her head in a negative motion. Despite her refusal she was actually rather intrigued by this woman’s appearance.
‘Sorry.’
‘You’re probably wondering what I want?’
‘I’m curious,’ Anna admitted.
‘I have a daughter.’ She waved her ring hand at Anna. ‘And, no, I’m not married.’
Half the children in her class of thirty in the inner-city school where Anna had worked had come from single-parent backgrounds.
‘And I never have been. Jas...Jasmine is a great kid. I just wish I could spend more time with her. It’s hard juggling.’ The frown on her brow smoothed as she added, ‘I’m luckier than most because my work is more flexible. Normally I keep the holidays free and, of course, Cesare is great but obviously he can’t be here all the time. He’s a victim of his own success.’ She looked at Anna and, after receiving a blank look back, loosed an incredulous laugh. ‘You’ve no idea who he is, do you?’
