Bride By Blackmail. Carole Mortimer

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СКАЧАТЬ Jed walking behind her as they went through to the dining room, could feel the heat of his gaze on her back. That enigmatic grey gaze that could freeze with coldness or burn with desire…!

      But more often freeze with coldness, she reminded herself hollowly.

      She had been so looking forward to this weekend in the Hampshire countryside with Andrew; the Lawson family home edged the New Forest. But with Jed here it had turned into a nightmare from which she couldn’t seem to wake!

      To make matters worse, Jed sat opposite her at the oval dining table. Although it would have been even more unbearable if he had sat next to her. The simple truth was he shouldn’t be there at all!

      She looked at him from beneath lowered auburn lashes as their first course was served to them. He looked much the same as when she had last seen him a year ago, although there were perhaps more lines beside his eyes and mouth, and a faint dusting of grey amongst the black hair at his temples. Although that, she acknowledged disgustedly, only made him look more devilishly attractive!

      ‘Is the smoked salmon not to your liking, Georgie?’ Jed remarked mildly. ‘You aren’t eating,’ he pointed out as she gave him a startled look.

      She could feel the colour warm her cheeks at having attention drawn to her in this way. Deliberately so, she was sure. One look at the mocking amusement in Jed’s eyes was enough to tell her he was enjoying himself. At her expense.

      What else? Jed had been laughing at her most of her life, it seemed to her. But it was time it stopped!

      She gave him a brightly false smile. ‘You know, Mr Lord, I love smoked salmon.’ She picked up her knife and fork and began to eat.

      ‘Please, do call me Jed,’ he invited dryly, grey gaze assessing.

      ‘Such an unusual name,’ Annabelle remarked lightly.

      ‘Isn’t it?’ Georgie agreed, turning back to Jed, the light of challenge in her own gaze now. ‘Surely it must be the diminutive of something else…?’ She looked at Jed expectantly.

      His gaze hardened and his mouth twisted into a grimace. ‘Jeremiah,’ he supplied tersely.

      ‘Goodness me!’ Georgie laughed softly, easily holding his warning grey stare with her own clear green eyes. ‘No wonder you prefer Jed.’

      ‘That’s a little unkind to our guest, Georgie.’ Annabelle Lawson shot her a reproving glance.

      ‘As it happens, Annabelle,’ Jed turned to his hostess, smiling wryly, ‘I wholeheartedly agree with Georgie!’

      That must be a first, Georgie acknowledged ruefully. Still, at least she had proved—to herself, if no one else!—that this evening didn’t have to go all Jed’s way!

      ‘I wasn’t meaning to be rude, Mr Lord,’ she assured him, although she was sure Jed, at least, didn’t miss the edge of derision in her tone. ‘It was just a comment on the names some parents expect their children to live with!’

      ‘Your own, for example,’ Jed came back softly.

      ‘Touché.’ She gave an acknowledging inclination of her head; she should have known she wouldn’t have the last word! She never had where Jed was concerned. ‘I was named for my grandfather,’ she said determinedly.

      Jed raised dark brows. ‘You have a grandfather called Georgina?’

      ‘I—’ Georgie broke off her sharp response as Sukie, seated beside Jed, gave a shout of laughter.

      Really—Jed’s joke hadn’t been that funny, Georgie decided irritably as Sukie continued to chuckle.

      ‘I think you rather asked for that one, darling.’ Andrew, seated on Georgie’s left, lightly covered Georgie’s hand with his own as he smiled at her indulgently.

      Possibly, she inwardly conceded. But it really hadn’t been that funny. She could—

      Jed was looking at Andrew’s hand, which still rested on Georgie’s, his forehead furrowed over hard eyes.

      What on earth—?

      ‘The emerald of your engagement ring is the same colour as your eyes,’ Jed bit out unexpectedly.

      That was exactly what Andrew had said to her the day they had visited a jewellers to choose it!

      But she didn’t for a moment think that Jed meant it in the romantic way that Andrew had that day. She could clearly hear the accusation in Jed’s tone, even if no one else could.

      ‘When is the wedding?’ Jed’s icy gaze moved from the ring to Georgie’s face, although his closed expression gave away none of his thoughts.

      Had it ever? Georgie acknowledged disgustedly before answering him tersely, ‘Next Easter.’

      His mouth quirked wryly. ‘Such a long time away…’ he remarked enigmatically.

      Georgie gave him a sharp glance. Exactly what did he mean by that? Impossible to tell; his expression exactly matched his tone of voice. But he had meant something. She had known Jed long enough to know he was a man of few words, and the ones he did choose to say always had meaning.

      ‘We have our hearts set on an Easter wedding.’ Andrew was the one to answer Jed, squeezing Georgie’s hand reassuringly as he did so. ‘Are you a married man yourself, Jed?’ he asked interestedly.

      Georgie suddenly found she was holding her breath as she waited for Jed’s reply.

      His mouth tightened. ‘Not any more,’ he finally answered slowly. ‘I recently entered the statistics of divorced men,’ he added with humour.

      ‘How sad,’ Annabelle put in sympathetically.

      Jed turned to smile at the older woman. ‘Thank you, Annabelle, but I doubt my ex-wife thinks so! She was the one to divorce me,’ he enlarged bitterly.

      ‘What a very silly woman,’ Sukie put in throatily, her blue eyes full of invitation as she looked flirtatiously at Jed from beneath lowered lashes.

      ‘Not at all,’ Jed dismissed, picking up his glass to sip the white wine that had been poured to accompany their salmon. ‘The grounds for divorce were typical—my wife understood me!’ he drawled sardonically.

      ‘Shouldn’t that be, ‘My wife didn’t understand me’?’ prompted a perplexed Annabelle, obviously not at all happy with the slant the conversation had suddenly taken at her dinner table.

      Which wasn’t surprising, Georgie acknowledged impatiently. Jed Lord’s divorce—for whatever reason!—was hardly appropriate dinner conversation anywhere!

      ‘No, Annabelle, I do believe I had it right the first time,’ Jed replied meaningfully.

      ‘How absolutely priceless!’ Sukie was the one to answer now as she chuckled throatily. ‘Were you a very naughty boy, Jed?’ she prompted with amusement.

      He shrugged broad shoulders. ‘My wife obviously thought so, otherwise she wouldn’t have divorced me.’

      ‘Do СКАЧАТЬ