‘Darling, come and say hello to Kelly and Jake,’ Sue smiled, and Kelly heard the note of uncertainty in her voice; heard it and shivered with apprehension when she saw the expression in Jeremy’s eyes.
‘Kelly.’ He reached for her, his eyes hard. ‘I suppose I can’t kiss you properly with your friend here looking on.’ He contented himself with a light peck, but Kelly was conscious of Jake’s interested scrutiny. He was too astute, she admitted uneasily, and there was something about the way he watched her that she found unnerving. Perhaps he was an out-of-work actor simply studying human reactions, and yet there was something in the look he gave her as Jeremy released her and turned to shake hands with him that told her his interest had been specific rather than general.
‘Come on inside,’ Sue encouraged. ‘Lunch is ready—a cold buffet meal, that’s all, but I’ll take you upstairs to your room first.’
Their room! Kelly froze and heard Jeremy saying smoothly behind her, ‘I’ve finally managed to persuade Sue to join the twentieth century and to realise that consenting adults don’t want separate rooms.’
He had done it deliberately. Kelly could see it in his eyes. She wanted to protest; she felt like a trapped animal and knew that Jeremy was waiting for her to retract, and then, astoundingly, Jake was slipping an arm round her waist, drawing her back against his body. She could feel the even beat of his heart against her back, her body enveloped in a protective warmth that made her eyes sting with tears as he lowered his head and murmured against her hair, ‘What delightfully tactful friends you have, my love! I confess I hate wandering about in the darkness looking for the appropriate bedroom door!’
CHAPTER THREE
LUNCH was a nightmare during which Jeremy alternately humiliated Sue with his deliberate cruelty to her and cross-questioned Jake with a condescension that made Kelly wince.
Jake himself seemed impervious to his host’s insulting manner, parrying his questions with a calm ease that Kelly couldn’t help admiring, almost against her will. Her heart was in her mouth when Jeremy asked Jake what he did for a living, but Jake didn’t hesitate for a moment.
‘This and that,’ he murmured with an easy smile, and from Jeremy’s scowl Kelly knew that he had gathered from Jake’s careless comment that he was implying that he was wealthy enough not to have to work.
From then on the two men treated one another with cool hostility, and Kelly was glad to escape into the kitchen on the pretext of helping Sue with the washing up.
‘That was a lovely lunch,’ she complimented her friend. Privately, now that the initial glow of excitement occasioned by the arrival had gone, she thought her friend looked far too pale and listless.
‘Do you think so?’ Sue grimaced. ‘I think Jeremy believes I should have made more of an effort, but we seem to be entertaining constantly at the moment.’ She pulled a face. ‘I feel so tired, Kelly,’ she complained. ‘I’ve tried to tell him, but he just doesn’t understand—about anything.’
She gave a muffled sob, causing Kelly to put aside the teatowel and take her in her arms. Her private opinion that Jeremy was a creep and that her friend would be better off without him was something she couldn’t voice, so instead she comforted her by saying slowly, ‘You’ve had a bad time recently, Sue, you’re bound to be feeling a bit under the weather. You need a decent rest.’
‘That’s what Dad says,’ Sue agreed shakily, ‘but Jeremy says it’s impossible for us to get away at the moment. Dad has a villa in Corfu, he’s offered to lend it to us for Easter, but Jeremy doesn’t seem very keen.’ Her face suddenly lit up. ‘Kelly, I’ve had the most marvellous idea!’
Kelly’s heart sank as she guessed the words trembling on Sue’s lips, but it was too late to stop them, and to her consternation Jake walked into the kitchen, both hands full of empty plates, his eyebrows raised in query, as Sue burst out impulsively, ‘Oh, and you too, of course, Jake, you must both come…’
‘Come where?’
‘I was just telling Kelly that my father has a villa in Corfu. He’s offered to lend it to us for Easter—I’d love to get away, but Jeremy isn’t keen. I was just asking Kelly if she’d come with me, but it would be fantastic if we could make up a foursome.’ She pulled another wry face at Kelly and said frankly, ‘In fact I think Jeremy would prefer a foursome.’ Her eyes clouded as she admitted unhappily, ‘He’s grown so distant recently, Kelly, I sometimes think that perhaps…’
‘The only thing you need to think about is getting well again,’ Kelly headed her off, dreading hearing Sue put into words any doubts about her husband’s fidelity.
‘And you will come? Oh, please!’ Sue begged, tears sparkling in her eyes. ‘Both of you must come. I can still remember what it feels like to be so much in love that you can’t bear to spend a moment part, believe it or not. You must be a very special man, Jake,’ she teased suddenly, blinking away the betraying tears. ‘I never thought Kelly would allow herself to fall in love again after losing Colin so tragically, but the very fact that she brought you down here proves me wrong, and I can’t tell you how glad I am. He obviously wasn’t the slightest bit deceived by that cool, efficient façade you hide behind, Kelly,’ she teased her friend, but tears still glimmered in her eyes, and Kelly felt a pang of pain for her friend that overrode her own embarrassment. Poor Sue, losing her baby was something she was finding it hard to come to terms with, and Jeremy didn’t help, she thought angrily. Couldn’t he see how much Sue needed his care and reassurance, or did he simply not care?
‘Kelly?’
‘Er…’
‘You haven’t told Sue whether we’ll be able to join her at Easter or not yet,’ Jake reminded her.
Kelly flashed him an irate glance. Of course it was impossible that they could. He knew that. She bit her lip, unnerved by the look she saw in his eyes. This man was her paid companion, she reminded herself, and he had no right to be behaving in the way that he was. She bitterly resented his assumption of control, the smooth way in which he had pre-empted her right to dominate their relationship.
‘I…I’m not sure if I can get away from the office, Sue,’ she lied desperately. ‘Can I let you know?’
She hated seeing the disappointment in her friend’s face, but what could she do?
After lunch they went for a walk. The countryside around the house was lovely, but the walk was spoiled for Kelly by Jeremy’s boorish manner towards his wife and his constant references to the financial status of the owners of the properties they passed. She stiffened at one point when Jake murmured softly against her hair, ‘You and Benson ought to get on like a house on fire—you both believe that everything can be calculated in terms of money; the only difference between you is that you have it and he doesn’t. I wonder why he didn’t marry you?’
‘Perhaps because he wasn’t given the opportunity,’ Kelly snapped. ‘Anyway, I was engaged myself when Sue met Jeremy.’
‘Ah yes, of course.’ They had fallen a little way behind Sue and Jeremy, and Kelly hesitated, glancing up into the mocking face above her as she heard the question in the smooth, drawling voice. ‘Colin! Sue mentioned a tragedy…’ He saw her wince and said coolly, ‘Believe me, I’m not prying or consumed by curiosity about your past, it’s simply that I don’t want to make any mistakes.’
‘Very professional!’ Kelly bit her lip when she saw his expression. It was useless telling herself that he had no right to be annoyed; she could tell that he was.
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