‘Oh?’ Garth looked extremely surprised at this. ‘Well, you know I’m always willing to give my considered opinion.’
‘Yes, but I can see you are rather...tied up, so I won’t impose on you this afternoon,’ Marc said, his eyes slipping over Sabrina.
‘Well, how about tomorrow?’ Garth said hopefully. ‘I have——’
‘It will be too late tomorrow. I have a meeting on it this afternoon.’ Marc shrugged. ‘But don’t worry about it, Garth. I’ll sort it out.’
There was a moment’s silence and Garth looked helplessly at Sabrina. Sabrina knew he was torn in two. Obviously he wanted to help Marc out.
‘If you like, I’ll make a start at clearing up that desk for you, Garth,’ she said softly. ‘I’m sure I’ll manage on my own while you discuss this business with Marc. If I have any problems I’ll come in and ask you.’
‘You don’t mind?’ Garth asked in a dubious tone.
She shook her head.
‘That’s really very good of you,’ Marc said smoothly.
As she glanced across at him she thought she detected a gleam of satisfaction in his dark eyes. It was almost as if he had just engineered that situation. That idea was so ludicrous that she dismissed it immediately.
‘I’m really sorry about this,’ Garth said in a worried tone as he showed her into his study a few minutes later.
‘It’s all right, Garth, really it is,’ she reassured him.
‘But it’s not all right,’ he grated impatiently. ‘I wanted so much to have a few quiet moments where we could just sort ourselves out.’
‘Never mind.’ Sabrina glanced at his desk with a smile. ‘At least I can put this into some sort of order for you.’
He grimaced as he took in the chaos that was spread over the large rosewood desk. ‘I meant for you to have a relaxing afternoon,’ he sighed. ‘You know, I’m really surprised that Marc’s asking my advice. I know I have a degree in law but he has a battery of high-powered solicitors to advise him.’
‘Must be something you’ve had prior experience of,’ Sabrina answered lightly, her mind already occupied with sorting through the correspondence on Garth’s desk.
‘I’ll be as quick as I can,’ Garth said with determination.
In the event he was nearly three hours. Garth’s housekeeper brought her coffee and then a little later some light lunch. By that time Sabrina had reorganised Garth’s desk for him and put his filing cabinet back in order. She was just closing it when some photographs at the far end of the room caught her attention.
She walked across to have a closer look at them. There was one of Garth with his wife Nadine and their daughter Madeline. She picked it up to have a closer look. Sabrina had never met Madeline, who had been living in the States for the last two years. Garth had often spoken about her, though, in very glowing terms. Madeline was just twenty years of age and an extremely talented artist.
Sabrina was filled with curiosity as she looked at that picture of her half-sister. After all these years of thinking she was an only child it was so strange to suddenly find out she had a sister. Not that it made any difference, she thought sadly. She would probably never get to meet Madeline.
The door opened behind her and Marc came in. ‘Finished your work?’ he asked drily, his eyes taking in her relaxed stance by the mantelpiece.
She frowned. It almost sounded as if he didn’t believe that she had been working. ‘Yes, I have actually.’
He came to stand beside her and glanced at the framed photograph in her hands. ‘My half-sister Madeline,’ he informed her.
He reached for another photograph. ‘And this is my mother and Garth on their wedding-day’
Sabrina glanced at the smiling, happy picture of Garth and Nadine and nodded. ‘Yes, I’ve seen that photograph before. Garth has it on his desk at Westminster.’
‘Garth’s very devoted to my mother,’ Marc said matter-of-factly as he put the picture down again. ‘I think they are still as much in love today as they were back then.’
‘Yes, they seem very happy,’ she said lightly.
For a moment his gaze locked on her heart-shaped face. ‘You seem very fond of Garth,’ he said quietly.
She looked away from him. Sometimes there was a look in Marc’s dark gaze that was deeply disturbing. ‘Yes, I am. He’s been very good to me.’
‘Garth has a kind heart.’ He paused before continuing. ‘It would be very easy to play on his sympathy.’
Sabrina looked up at him with a frown. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
He smiled, then reached out a hand to tip her chin upwards so that she was forced to hold his dark gaze. ‘Perhaps I’m just a little jealous? After all, you seem to spend a lot of time with Garth and I can’t get so much as a lunch date out of you.’
She laughed breathlessly at that, unsure whether to take that comment seriously or not. ‘That’s ridiculous ... I’m doing work for Garth.’
‘You could always come and do some work for me.’ He was standing very close to her, she noticed suddenly, her heart skipping a beat nervously. ‘What do you say?’ he asked huskily. ‘Shall we go out for lunch tomorrow and discuss it?’
‘Marc, I——’ Her polite refusal was cut short abruptly as his head lowered towards hers. ‘Marc,’ she whispered in a helpless tone as his lips brushed against hers. The kiss was gentle at first but it sent shock-waves racing straight through Sabrina. She felt herself leaning weakly against the soft material of his jacket. Then she was kissing him back, her whole body trembling as she arched towards him, hungry for the sensuous heat spiralling through her.
He was the one to pull back from her, his hands resting on her shoulders as he looked down at her. ‘Shall I pick you up at about ten o’clock?’ he murmured. He sounded so cool and calm while Sabrina felt as if a time bomb had just started to tick inside her.
Confused at the way she had just responded to that kiss, Sabrina could only stare at him for a moment. ‘I...I don’t know.’ She shook her head, trying to clear it of her muddled thoughts. ‘Isn’t ten o’clock a little early for lunch?’
For a brief moment there was a glimmer of triumph in his dark eyes. ‘Not for what I have in mind,’ he drawled softly. Then his hands left her shoulders.
She felt strangely bereft as he moved away from her. ‘So ten o’clock it is,’ he said decisively and Sabrina had the strange sensation of being carried along with something that was already out of control.
Garth joined them at that moment. ‘There you are, Marc,’ he said, looking slightly harassed. ‘I’m sorry about that. Nadine has just been on the phone—she says she will be flying home tonight after all.’
‘Well, that’s marvellous news.’ Marc smiled at Sabrina. ‘Can I give you a lift back to town now that you’ve finished here?’ he asked silkily.
‘It’s all right, Marc, I’ll drop Sabrina back,’ Garth cut in quickly. ‘There are one or two things I want to discuss with her before she goes.’
Marc shrugged. ‘As you wish.’ For a brief moment his eyes rested on Sabrina. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow,’ he said calmly.
Sabrina sat down for a moment as Marc left the room. Her legs felt as shaky as if she had just run a marathon.
‘What was that all about?’ Garth asked with a frown as his eyes moved over her