‘Uncle Edgar?’ He quirked dark brows at her questioningly as he tied the belt in place.
‘It’s an honorary title.’ She was relieved to talk of something normal after the impact this man had made on her senses, hoping she wasn’t making too big an idiot of herself. Although she thought she probably was! ‘My name is Madison McGuire,’ she told him lightly, holding out her hand. ‘Edgar Remington is my godfather.’
Gideon Byrne didn’t look impressed by this explanation; his mouth twisted scornfully as he touched her hand only lightly in return. Although it was enough for Madison to feel the thrill of electricity that ran up her arm. That aura didn’t just surround him, it went right through him!
‘Edgar is many things, to many people, but this is the first time I’ve heard him referred to as The Godfather!’ he drawled.
Madison gave him a look of amused reproval. ‘I doubt he would be flattered by that name!’
‘Probably not,’ Gideon Byrne accepted dryly. ‘But he’s a first-class manipulator nonetheless!’
She had known Edgar Remington all of her life. She knew him as a good friend of her parents, and also as her benevolent godfather, but she was aware there had to be another side to him, the side that headed one of the top film production companies in the world, and headed it well.
As a film director, perhaps that was the side of him that Gideon Byrne knew best…?
‘I wouldn’t know about that,’ Madison dismissed with a shrug; her very minor part in a film might have been in one produced by Edgar’s company, but even so she had had no contact with her uncle because of it, her almost non-existent role having been filmed on location in Scotland.
But what she did know was that dinner was going to be in an hour, and her hair was drying into tangles; she needed a shower and to wash her hair before the meal. She had half excused herself from attending dinner to Edgar earlier, saying she was too tired to be very good company for anyone, but after meeting this man she was wide awake. And hungry, she inwardly acknowledged.
‘Wouldn’t you?’
She gave Gideon a startled look, as much for the coldness of his tone as for the question itself. Was it her imagination, or was there an accusing edge to his voice? And, if so, what possible reason could this man have for feeling that way?
She gave a puzzled frown, shaking her head. ‘It’s getting late, Mr Byrne—’
‘Call me Gideon,’ he rasped harshly.
This man might be one of the most handsome men she’d ever set eyes on, but his manners certainly left a lot to be desired! And she’d always been led to believe Englishmen had the best manners in the world; obviously no one had acquainted Gideon Byrne with that fact!
She gave an acknowledging inclination of her head. ‘It was very kind of you to jump into the water to save me earlier.’
‘When you’ve known me a little longer—Madison, you’ll realise kindness is not part of my nature!’ he retorted harshly.
No, she didn’t think it would be; he came over as a hard, unyielding man, one who rarely smiled. And she very much doubted she would get to know him ‘a little longer’ their paths would never cross again after this weekend.
‘Besides,’ he added derisively, ‘according to you, you didn’t need saving!’
No, she hadn’t, but it had still been kind of him to jump into the pool fully clothed, no matter what he might say to the contrary. ‘If there’s any permanent damage to your clothes, please do let me know,’ she told him evenly. ‘I’ll be happy to replace them.’ She wasn’t quite sure how a silk shirt would stand up to the chemicals in the pool water!
‘Oh, don’t worry, you’ll hear from me if that’s the case,’ he rasped. ‘Tell me, is that the natural colour of your hair?’
‘What…?’ Madison was stunned by the abrupt change of subject—and the fact that the question didn’t just border on being rude; it was rude!
At the moment, her hair was the colour of dark honey, but once she had washed and dried it it would be the colour of ripe corn, long and straight almost down to her waist. And, yes, it was her natural colour. As was the green of her eyes. And the light golden tan of her skin. In fact, all of her was real!
‘You never can tell nowadays,’ Gideon Byrne added insultingly, making no apology for the very personal remark.
‘It’s natural,’ she answered him hardly, a perplexed frown marring her brow.
If she hadn’t known better, she would have said this man disliked her. But surely that couldn’t be so—the man didn’t even know her. Probably he was just annoyed with her because of his unnecessarily wet clothing?
He nodded abruptly. ‘I thought so.’
And…? But maybe there wasn’t an ‘and’ with this man. He might be one of the top film directors in the world, with an Oscar at home to prove it, but he was also one of the coldest, rudest men Madison had ever met…
And, thinking of cold, she was starting to shiver now, and was badly in need of that hot shower she’d promised herself a few minutes ago. ‘If you don’t mind, I think I would like to go upstairs and take a shower before dinner,’ she told him pleasantly.
He met her gaze challengingly. ‘And if I do mind?’ he drawled.
Madison didn’t so much as blink at his rudeness this time. ‘Then I’m still going upstairs to take a shower,’ she said bluntly. Maybe that was the only way to be with this man; politeness certainly didn’t seem to work!
To her surprise, he smiled. And it transformed his face from austere coldness to friendly warmth. Well…almost, she decided. Friendly was perhaps going too far! But he did look more approachable, Madison tried to convince herself. Not that she intended ‘approaching’ him; she was quite happy to just part on that one smile, sure that it was more than a lot of people got out of him.
‘Maybe you and I are going to get on after all, Madison McGuire,’ he murmured enigmatically.
She wasn’t sure she would go quite that far on the basis of one smile! Besides, there must be mere hours left of his visit—hardly long enough for them to need to ‘get on’…
‘If you say so,’ she acknowledged noncommittally. ‘Nice to have met you, Mr Byrne,’ she added politely before turning to leave.
‘Liar!’ came his softly taunting reply from behind her.
Madison paused, turning slowly back to face him. ‘I’m not in the habit of lying, Mr Byrne—’
‘I thought I told you to call me Gideon,’ he rasped harshly.
She frowned. ‘Perhaps you did—Mr Byrne,’ she felt stung into replying; really, the man was nothing but an arrogant bully! ‘But—’
‘We haven’t been formally introduced?’ he cut in derisively. ‘I think it’s a little late in our acquaintance for that; after all, I did attempt to save your life a short time ago!’
‘Attempt’ just about described it! If he hadn’t startled her in the way he had, she wouldn’t have fallen into the water in the first place!
‘I was about to say—but I really couldn’t be so familiar with a film director of your calibre,’ she finished forcefully. ‘But on second thoughts…! I’m not in the habit of lying— Gideon, and it hasn’t been nice meeting you at all!’ She turned on her heel and walked away, going up the stairs that led back to the main part of the house.
And, as she did so, she could swear she heard the sound of Gideon Byrne chuckling down in the pool-room.
Ridiculous.