British Bachelors: Tempting & New: Seduction Never Lies / Holiday with a Stranger / Anything but Vanilla.... Liz Fielding

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СКАЧАТЬ me out here to find you. Is there a problem?’

      She glared at him. ‘It didn’t occur to you that you’re the last person I want to see?’ And especially when I’m wearing the old denim skirt and washed out T-shirt I’d have once opted for.

      ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘But I didn’t let it trouble me for long.’

      She said coldly, ‘I suppose you’ve come to apologise.’

      ‘Why? For suggesting you wake up and smell the coffee, or for kissing you? If so, you’ll be disappointed. I have no regrets on either count.’ Uninvited, he sat down on the grass, stretching long legs in front of him.

      More chinos today, she noticed unwillingly, and a shirt the colour of a summer sky.

      ‘Has the man at the top of your welcome list put in an appearance?’

      ‘No,’ said Tavy, fighting an urge to grind her teeth. ‘Nor is he likely to.’

      ‘Ah,’ he said, and gave her a thoughtful glance. ‘So you know.’

      ‘Yes,’ she admitted curtly.

      ‘How did you find out?’

      ‘I went over to his flat this morning—to talk.’ She lifted her chin. ‘She was—just leaving. It was clear she’d been there all night.’

      He said quietly, ‘And you’re upset.’

      ‘I’m devastated,’ she said defiantly. ‘Naturally.’

      Jago’s dark brows lifted. ‘Then I can only say—I’m sorry.’

      There was a silence, then Tavy said, ‘Tell me something. How did you find out?’

      ‘I became suspicious that night in the pub. She was so insistent we go there, and then the landlord told me they’d been quarrelling at the bar, and she’d been winding him up, apparently about being with me.

      ‘I also have the hidden advantage of knowing Fiona’s soon-to-be ex-husband,’ he added calmly. ‘We’ve had dinner a couple of times in London. I learned a lot about his brief marriage including his conviction that she’d been seeing someone else almost from the start. A boyfriend from the old days.’

      Tavy moved uncomfortably. ‘But as they’re getting divorced, anyway...’

      ‘It’s not that simple.’ Jago shook his head. ‘Apparently the Latimer family had their lawyers draw up a form of pre-nuptial agreement. Under it, Fiona gets a more than generous divorce settlement if the marriage breaks down, unless infidelity can be proved, when she only gets a fraction more than zilch.’

      He shrugged. ‘I believe that’s why she got Patrick to leave London, in case they were being watched.’

      Tavy said numbly, ‘And why he needed a local girlfriend—as a smokescreen.’

      ‘Try and look on that as a blessing,’ Jago said smoothly. ‘It could have been worse.’

      She bit her lip. ‘Is that why you’re here? To tell me all this?’

      ‘Not at all.’

      ‘Then what do you want?’ she demanded.

      ‘I came to offer you a job.’

      There was a silence, then Tavy said unevenly, ‘If this is some kind of unpleasant joke, I don’t find it funny.’

      ‘On the contrary, it’s a bona fide offer of employment with proper hours and real wages. Work starts on the house next week, and I cannot always be around to oversee it, so I need a project manager onsite to sort out any problems as soon as they happen and make sure it all goes smoothly and on time.’ He paused. ‘Obviously, I thought of you.’

      ‘I see nothing obvious about it. You must be mad.’

      ‘I’m being practical,’ he returned. ‘You live locally, so there’s no travelling involved. You’re currently unemployed. You’re totally trustworthy, computer literate, and you’ve worked capably in administration, according to your former boss’s grudging reference.’

      ‘How did you know that?’ she demanded furiously.

      ‘Your father told me. And, like me, he thinks you could do the job easily. For one thing, the firms I’ve hired are all local, and you’ll probably know them. That’s a big plus.’

      He added softly, ‘I’m naturally aware that you’re just waiting to tell me that you’d rather be boiled in oil than accept any help from a totally unreconstructed lowlife like me, but, in fact, I’m the one who needs your help. And all I’m asking is that you think about it.’

      ‘I have thought,’ she said. ‘And the answer’s “no”.’

      ‘May I ask why?’

      She bit her lip. ‘Because while you may have persuaded my father to trust you, I don’t. So, I prefer to keep my distance.’

      ‘And so you can,’ Jago said evenly. ‘Didn’t you hear me say that I have to be away a great deal over the coming weeks? Which is exactly why I need a project manager at the house.’

      He paused. ‘Besides, you’ll be company for Barbie.’

      She said tautly, ‘Who exactly is Barbie?’

      ‘She’s going to keep house for me.’ He smiled reflectively. ‘I hadn’t banked on her wanting to move in so soon, but it seems she can’t wait for it all to be finished.’

      ‘How sweet,’ Tavy said icily, aware that her heart had given a strange lurch. ‘In which case, why not let her be project manager? She sounds ideal.’

      ‘Oh, she is,’ he said gently. ‘In so many ways. Except she doesn’t know one end of a computer from another. Nor does she have your all-important rapport with the locals.’

      He got lithely to his feet, and smiled down at her.

      ‘But with her around, you’d certainly be safe from any unwanted molestation, wouldn’t you. If that’s what you’re afraid of.’

      ‘I’m not even remotely scared,’ she fired back.

      ‘Excellent,’ he said smoothly. ‘That’s one weight off my mind.’ He paused. ‘Now, I hope you’ll give some reasonable thought to my proposition, and not allow yourself to be ruled by your very natural prejudice against me. You can contact me at Barkland Grange when you’ve made your final decision.

      ‘As I’ve said—it’s a job, nothing more and purely temporary.’ He added softly, ‘Besides, half the time you won’t even know I’m there.’

      Tavy watched him wander across the lawn and round the side of the house. A minute later, she heard the sound of the departing Jeep.

      She leaned limply against the back of the bench, trying to calm her flurried breathing.

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