The Holiday Escapes Collection. Sandra Marton

frightened blue eyes and frowned as his conscience gave him a sharp little nudge. Had he pushed her too far? He hadn’t thought so but how could he tell? She was a master at deception and he wasn’t going to allow himself to forget it for a minute. She had fooled him before with her declarations of undying love but she had betrayed him in the end. She had ruthlessly used her relationship with him to get to his family’s wealth and that he would never forgive. Tonight was yet another example of her artifice. It could hardly have been a coincidence that her sister stole his wallet. Charlotte had known for months that he would be there that evening. What better payback for the way he had uncovered her thieving in the past than to do the very same again, albeit vicariously?

      ‘I will expect you to be available to me each evening,’ he said into the stiff silence. ‘There will be late nights on occasion.’

      She looked up at him, tears sparkling like tiny diamonds in her Aegean-blue eyes. ‘I can’t stay overnight…’

      His hand tipped up her chin. ‘Is there someone else?’

      What could she say? Yes, your little daughter, who will expect me to tuck her in each night. It would be asking for instant heartbreak. She’d have to find some way of fulfilling his expectations of her without compromising Emily’s well-being. It wasn’t as if she could rely on her sister, but her friend Caroline Taylor was another option she could explore. They often traded babysitting time when either of them had something important on in the evening.

      ‘No…no, there’s no one else…’ She had to think on her feet and added, ‘I’m doing an on-line course on archaeology. I have to study most nights. I have assignments to complete…It’s a big workload…’ She held her breath to see if he believed her, his eyes raking her face as if searching for the colour of her lie.

      He released her chin after an eternity and stepped back from her and held open the door. ‘I will see you tomorrow evening,’ he said, his voice detached and cold. ‘Seven-thirty in the bar downstairs. I will make sure the concierge issues you with a swipe card to my room if I am not there to meet you on time.’

      Charlotte walked past him on shaky legs. She turned around but he had already closed the door, the sudden movement of air feeling like a slap on her tear-streaked face.

       CHAPTER FOUR

      IT WAS only as Charlotte handed Damon’s cheque over at the bank in her lunch hour the next day that she realised something was amiss. Her brow creased in a worried frown as she watched the teller process the transaction, the young woman’s fingers flying over the keys as the funds were deposited into Charlotte’s credit card account.

      Why did Damon have an Australian bank account if he was only here for a month? But then she wondered if he’d made some arrangement with the bank after his wallet was stolen, for although his wallet had now been returned, she assumed he would have cancelled his cards when first realising what had happened.

      She pushed aside the disturbing thought that he might be here for longer than a month.

      That was just too terrifying to contemplate…

      She left the bank and called her friend Caroline on her mobile as she walked through the park back to the museum.

      ‘Emily was an angel as usual,’ Caroline said once they had greeted each other. ‘How was your cocktail party?’

      ‘It was…stressful.’

      ‘Well, you were thrown right in the deep end,’ Caroline consoled her. ‘I would hate to have to step into someone else’s shoes like that at the last minute.’

      Charlotte chewed her bottom lip for a moment before asking, ‘Caroline, I have some…er…work stuff to see to this evening. I know it’s a terrible imposition, but do you think you could mind Emily for another night? Something’s…cropped up.’

      ‘Of course,’ Caroline said. ‘Hey, you sound upset. Is everything OK?’

      Charlotte hated lying to her friend but there was no way she could tell Caroline about Emily’s father being in Sydney, or at least not yet.

      ‘I am a bit,’ she said. ‘You know how I told you my boss Julian Deverell is having a heart procedure done?’

      ‘Yes, that was a shock, wasn’t it? Is he going to be all right?’

      ‘As far as I know, but as a result of him being out of action I’ve been handed a whole lot more responsibility for the next month. I have to put in some extra hours and…and attend one or two functions in the evenings.’

      ‘You know I am always happy to help, Charlotte. Us single mums have to stick together,’ Caroline said. ‘Janie loves having Emily here and, to tell you the truth, two is better than one. You know how only children can be so demanding at times. The girls play so well together it gives me time to catch up on my dressmaking.’

      ‘So you really don’t mind?’

      ‘Of course not! But if you don’t want to disrupt Emily’s home routine night after night I could always get my mother to come over to your flat to babysit,’ Caroline offered. ‘You know how much she adores Emily and she certainly won’t expect payment, so you needn’t worry on that score.’

      Charlotte wished she could have taken up the generous offer, but with Stacey coming and going from her flat in various states of disarray, she couldn’t bear the explanations that would be necessary, especially to a woman of Caroline’s mother’s generation.

      ‘I wouldn’t want to bother your mum,’ she said. ‘Besides, it’s only for a few nights and, as you say, Emily loves being with Janie. I’ll pop over before I leave for my…er…function tonight to tuck Emily in, OK?’

      ‘Don’t worry about a thing,’ Caroline said. ‘You just concentrate on the job at hand. I’m sure you’re going to totally wow them at your thingy tonight.’

      Yeah, right. Charlotte grimaced as she stuffed her mobile back into her shoulder bag. The last thing she wanted was to wow anybody and certainly not Damon Latousakis.

      ‘I can’t believe you’re doing to this to me,’ Charlotte was close to screaming at her sister as she was rushing to get ready for her meeting with Damon.

      She was going to be late as it was, having spent time with Emily before she’d raced back to her flat to tidy herself up a bit. Her little daughter had been over-tired and a bit tearful and Charlotte had felt so torn, having to leave her when it was clear Emily wanted to be with her. Stacey turning up on the doorstep with a yet another plea for money had been the last straw.

      ‘I just want fifty bucks.’ Stacey pouted at her.

      Charlotte turned from the mirror where she was trying to insert an earring. ‘Yes, but for what?’

      Stacey gave a shrug. ‘Food and stuff.’

      ‘There’s food in the kitchen, help yourself.’

      ‘Come on, Charlie. I’ll pay you back.’

      Charlotte glared at her in fury. ‘If you so much as dare to hand me money you’ve earned by sleeping with…’ She stopped, suddenly realising how hypocritical she was sounding.

      ‘What’s with you this evening?’ Stacey asked with a surly look. ‘You’re like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.’

      Charlotte straightened her spine. ‘I’m going out.’

      Stacey’s eyes popped. ‘With a man?’

      Charlotte pursed her lips. ‘Yes, just the one actually, nothing quite like your turnover, I’m afraid.’

      Stacey whistled through her teeth. ‘So who is he?’

      ‘I don’t have time to go into details—I’m running late as it is.’