The Wedding-Night Affair. Miranda Lee

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      CHAPTER THREE

      ‘OH!’ FIONA gasped, sitting up straight. ‘You did recognise me.’

      ‘Keep it down, for pity’s sake,’ he hissed. ‘I don’t want my mother to hear any of this. And, yes, of course I recognised you. How could you possibly imagine I wouldn’t? I knew it was you the moment I drove up. You weren’t quite quick enough putting on those sunglasses. Still, I can understand why my mother didn’t twig. That’s some make-over, Noni. Most impressive. But back to the point. What are you up to? Why this sick little charade?’

      Any momentary elation Fiona had felt at Philip’s having recognised her quickly faded at his sarcastic and accusing tone. She automatically moved back into survival mode.

      ‘I’m not up to anything,’ she defended coolly. ‘It’s exactly as I said earlier. My business partner made this appointment with your mother without my knowledge. I tried to get out of it. I explained to Owen that you and I had been married briefly years ago, and that I couldn’t possibly do your wedding, but he still insisted I show up today in person. He said the future of Five-Star Weddings was at stake. He wanted me to apologise and recommend him instead, but when Kathryn didn’t recognise me I hesitated too long, and then you showed up unexpectedly and...well...’ She shrugged.

      ‘Things got even more complicated,’ Philip finished drily.

      ‘Yes,’ Fiona agreed.

      There was a short, sharp silence while he just stared at her.

      ‘You must have suspected my mother wouldn’t recognise you,’ he said curtly, ‘looking as you look today.’

      ‘It did briefly cross my mind.’

      He laughed. ‘More than briefly, I’ll warrant. So...did you enjoy fooling her? Did you get a kick out of it?’

      She contemplated lying, but couldn’t see any point. ‘I thought I would,’ she confessed ruefully.

      He frowned. ‘But you didn’t?’

      ‘No,’ she confessed, still a little confused by her reaction to his mother. ‘No, I didn’t She’s not the same woman I remember, Philip. Somehow, I couldn’t find it in my heart to hold any more malice towards her.’

      His frown deepened. ‘What do you mean...malice?’

      ‘Oh, Philip, don’t pretend you don’t know what she did all those years ago, how she made me feel.’

      ‘I know she made things difficult for you. But, believe me, she would have made things difficult for any girl I wanted to marry back then. The bottom line is it wasn’t my mother who ended our marriage, Noni. It was you.’

      She opened her mouth to defend what she’d done, then stopped herself. Once again, she couldn’t see the point It was over. Philip was getting married again. No doubt to some rich, beautiful girl he loved to death and of whom his mother heartily approved.

      As for herself. Well...she had her career.

      ‘I was very young,’ Fiona said flatly. ‘So were you. We were from two different worlds. Our marriage would never have worked. I did the right thing.’ She looked away from him then, afraid that she might do something appalling like burst into tears.

      When she looked back, several seconds later, she was once again under control. ‘What’s done is done,’ she stated brusquely. ‘Let’s not hash over ancient history, Philip. Just tell me what you want me to do about your mother and your wedding.’

      He didn’t answer her straight away, considering her at length from behind his sunglasses till her irritation table rose to dangerous levels.

      ‘Will you be in trouble with your partner if you lose this job?’ he finally asked.

      ‘Probably,’ she snapped

      ‘Then do it.’

      Fiona automatically shrank from the idea.

      ‘Come now, Noni, it’s no big deal. It’s not as though we mean anything to each other any more,’ he said dismissively. ‘As you just said, our marriage—such as it was—is ancient history. We don’t have to tell anyone who you really are. I’ve never told Corinne about you, and Mother will never recognise you. On top of that, you’ve been offered double your usual fee. You’d be a fool to knock it back.’

      His cold pragmatism put her mind—and her emotions—back on track. He was right, of course. She’d be a fool to say no. And she was no longer a fool, either over money or men.

      ‘You’ll have to practise calling me Fiona,’ she pointed out drily.

      ‘No trouble. Fiona suits you better these days, anyway.’

      Fiona gritted her teeth. ‘And you’ll have to practise not being sarcastic.’

      ‘I wasn’t being sarcastic. I was just saying it as it was.’

      Fiona bristled. ‘You don’t like the way I look?’

      ‘Does it matter what I like? My mother thinks you’re the ant’s pants. That must give you great satisfaction.’

      ‘It does, actually.’

      ‘Then that’s all that matters. She’s the one you’ll be working with most of the time. The groom has very little to do with wedding preparations.’

      ‘True.’ She’d never agree otherwise.

      ‘Of course I am a little curious as to how you achieved this stunning transformation, and how you came to be a partner in a highly successful business. The last I heard of you, you were married to some truck driver.’

      Fiona’s mouth dropped open. ‘How...how did you know about that?’

      His mouth smiled, but his eyes remained a mystery behind those increasingly irritating sunglasses. Yet, at the same time, she was grateful for her own.

      ‘Curiosity sent me looking for you after I finished university,’ he explained. ‘I didn’t find you but I did find your father. He seemed happy to tell me about your marriage to a trucking mate of his, a man named Kevin Kirby. That’s why I called you Mrs Kirby when we were introduced just now. But you soon put me straight about that! Since you’re a little young to be a widow, I gather there was a divorce?’

      ‘You gather right.’

      ‘Your decision again, Fiona?’

      ‘It СКАЧАТЬ