Читать книгу His Christmas Acquisition - Кэтти Уильямс, CATHY WILLIAMS, Cathy Williams - Страница 6

‘BUT you don’t understand …’

Jamie took time out from loading the dishwasher to glance round at her sister, who was wandering in a sulky fashion around the kitchen, occasionally stopping to pick something up and inspect it with a mixture of boredom and disdain. Nothing in the house was to her taste; she had made that very clear within the first few minutes of Jamie pushing open the front door and walking in.

The place, she’d announced, was poky. ‘Couldn’t you have found something a little more comfortable? I mean, I know Mum didn’t leave us with much, but honestly, Jamie!’ The furnishings were drab. There was no healthy stuff in the fridge to eat and, ‘What on earth do you do for alcohol in this place? Don’t tell me that you while away your evenings with a cup of cocoa and a good book for company?’

Jamie was accustomed to the casual insults, although it had been so long since she had actually set eyes on her sister that she had forgotten just how grating they could be after a while.

Their father had died when Jamie was six and Jessica still a three-year-old toddler and they had been raised by their mother. Jamie had been a bookworm at school, always studying, always mentally moving forward, planning to go to university. She left Jessica to be the one who curled her hair and painted her fingernails and, even at the age of thirteen, develop the kind of wiles that would stand her in very good stead with the opposite sex.

Jamie had never made it to university. At barely nineteen she had found herself first caring for her mother—who, after a routine operation, had contracted MRSA and failed to recover—then, when Gloria had died, taking on the responsibility of looking after her sixteen-year-old sister. Without Jamie even noticing, Jessica had moved from a precocious pre-teen to a nightmare of a teenager. Where Jamie had inherited her father’s dark looks and chosen to retreat into the world of literature and books, Jessica had been blessed with their mother’s striking blonde looks. Far from retreating anywhere, she had shown a gritty determination to flaunt as much of herself as was humanly possible.

A still-grieving Jamie had suddenly been catapulted into the role of caretaker to a teenager who was almost completely out of control.

What else could she have done? Gloria had begged her to make sure to keep an eye on Jessica, to look after her, ‘Because you know what she can be like—she needs a firm hand …’

Jamie often wondered how it was that she hadn’t turned prematurely grey from the stress of it.

And now, after all that muddy water under the bridge, stuff she still could hardly bear to think about, here was Jessica, back on the scene again, as stunning as ever—more, if that was possible—and already making Jamie grit her teeth in pointless frustration.

‘I understand that you have responsibilities, Jess, and they may be getting to you but you can’t run away from them.’ Jamie slammed shut the dishwasher door with undue force and wiped her hands on a tea towel.

Dinner had been a bowl of home-cooked pasta with chicken and mushrooms. Jessica had made a face and flatly refused to eat any of the pasta because she was off carbs.

‘It’s all right for you!’ Jessica snapped, scooping up her poker-straight blonde hair into a ponytail before releasing it so that it fell in a heavy, silky curtain halfway down her back. ‘You don’t have to deal with a bloody husband who works all the hours God made and expects me to be sitting around with a smile pinned to my face, waiting for him to return for a nice hot meal and a back massage! Like some kind of creepy Stepford wife.’

‘You could get a job.’

‘I got a job. I got eight jobs! It’s not my fault if none of them suited me. Besides, what’s the point me going out to work for a pittance when Greg earns so much?’

Jamie didn’t say anything. She didn’t want to think about Greg. Thinking about Greg had always been a downhill road. Once upon a time he had been her boss. Once upon a time she had fancied herself in love with him—a secret, pleasurable yearning that had filled her days with sunlight and made the burden of looking out for her younger sister more bearable. Once upon a time she had actually been stupid enough to think that he would wake up one day and realise that he cared for her in the same way she cared for him. Unfortunately, he had met Jessica and it had been love at first sight.

‘Have you thought about volunteer work?’ she offered, fed up.

‘Oh, purr … leese! Can you really see me doing anything like that, Jamie? Working in a soup kitchen in Edinburgh? Or arranging flowers in the local parish church and doing fund raisers with the old biddies?’

She had dragged one of the chairs over and was sitting with her long legs propped up on the chair in front of her so that she could inspect her toenails which were painted a vibrant shade of pink.

‘I’m bored,’ she said flatly. ‘I’m bored and I’m fed up and I want a life. I’m too young to be buried in the outskirts of Edinburgh where it rains all the time, when it’s not snowing, hanging around for Greg, who only cares about sick animals anyway. Did you know he’s got a fan club? The dishiest vet in town—it’s pathetic!’

Jamie turned away and briefly squeezed her eyes tightly shut. It had been years since she had last seen Greg but she remembered him as clearly as if it had been yesterday. His kind face, the way his grey eyes crinkled when he smiled, his floppy blond hair through which he constantly ran his fingers.

The thought of her sister being bored with him filled her with terror. In the end, Greg had been her salvation. He had taken over the business of worrying about Jessica. Jessica might not need him, but she, Jamie, most definitely did!

‘He’s crazy about you, Jess.’

‘Loads of guys could be crazy about me.’

Jamie felt her body go cold. ‘What does that mean? Have you? You’re not doing anything stupid, are you?’

‘Oh, don’t be such a prude.’ But she sighed and leaned back against the chair, letting her head flop over the back so that she was staring glassy-eyed up at the ceiling. ‘No, I’m not doing anything stupid, if by that you’re asking me whether I’m having an affair. But the way I feel …’

She allowed that possibility to take shape between them and it was all Jamie could do not to slap her sister. However, years of ingrained caretaking papered over the passing temptation. This, she felt, was a subject best left alone in the hope that it might just go away. She was busy wondering what topic she could choose that might be safer when the doorbell rang.

‘Someone flogging something,’ she muttered, relieved for the distraction. ‘Please, Jess, just give Greg a call. He must be worried sick about you.’

She left the kitchen to a disgruntled Jessica informing her that she had no intention of doing any such thing, that he knew perfectly well where she was, just like he knew that she needed some space.

Jamie wondered how long Greg would carry on waiting while Jessica hunted around for this so-called space she was intent on finding, and she was still chewing it over in her head as she pulled open the front door.

The sight of Ryan standing on her doorstep was so shocking that for a few seconds her mind went completely blank.

He had never, ever been to her house before. Not even when they had happened to drive out of London to attend a meeting. He had never picked her up or dropped her off. She hadn’t even thought that he knew where she lived.

Eventually, her brain caught up with what her eyes were telling her, and she stopped gaping at him open-mouthed and actually croaked, ‘What are you doing here?’

‘You were stressed out. I was worried about you. I thought I’d drop by, make sure you were all right.’

‘Well, I’m fine, so I’ll see you tomorrow at work.’ Belatedly, she remembered her sister scowling in the kitchen and she stepped outside and pulled the door quietly closed behind her, taking care not to shut it completely.

‘How did you find out where I live?’ she hissed under her breath. Under the lamplight, his face was a contour of harsh shadows and his eyes glittered in the semi-darkness. He was still in his work clothes, the jeans, the faded sweater, the trainers and the coat, which she knew had cost the earth, but which he wore as casually as if he had got it from the local Oxfam shop.

‘Personnel files. It really wasn’t too difficult.’

‘Well, you have to go.’

‘You’re shaking like a leaf. It’s cold out here—let me in for a few minutes.’

‘No!’ She saw his eyebrows rise fractionally and added, stammering, ‘I mean, it’s late.’

‘It’s eight-forty-five.’

‘I’m busy.’

‘You’re on edge. Why? Tell me what’s going on.’ Ryan laughed. ‘You’re my indispensable secretary. I can’t have you storing up nasty secrets and then suddenly deciding to walk out on me, can I? What would I do without you?’

‘I … I’m obliged to give a month’s notice,’ Jamie stammered. Ryan Sheppard on her doorstep suddenly seemed to throw that all-important distance between them into confusion and she didn’t like it.

‘So you are thinking of leaving me. Well, it’s a damn good thing I turned up here to get the full story out of you, isn’t it? At least this way I can defend my corner.’ For some reason he felt disproportionately let down by the thought of her just dumping a letter of resignation on his desk without any forewarning and then jumping ship. ‘So, why don’t you invite me inside and we can discuss this like two adults? If it’s more money you’re after, then name the amount and it’s yours.’

‘This is crazy!’

‘I know. And I hate dealing with crazy.’ He reached out and pushed the door open just as Jessica’s petulant voice wafted from the direction of the kitchen, carolling to ask where Jamie was, because she really needed something to eat—and was there anywhere they could go for a halfway decent salad? She didn’t fancy being cooped up for the rest of the night.

And then there she was, long and beautiful and blonde, and all the things that Ryan looked for in a woman, standing by the banister as Jamie turned around with a sigh of resignation. Stunningly pretty, stunningly fair-haired and dangerously bored with her husband.

If Jamie could have reached out and pushed Ryan straight back out of the front door, then she would have done so, but he was already inside the tiny hall, removing his thick coat while his eyes never strayed from Jessica.

‘Well, well, well,’ he drawled in a lazy undertone. ‘What have we here …?’

‘My sister,’ Jamie muttered.

The glitter in Jessica’s eyes mirrored his lazy speculation and Jamie felt a chill run down her spine.

There was no need for her to make introductions. Not when her sister was sashaying forward, hand outstretched, introducing herself—with, Jamie noted, her left hand stuck firmly behind her back.

‘You never told me that you had a sister,’ Ryan said, turning his fabulous eyes to Jamie.

Standing to one side like an uninvited spectator in her own house, Jamie’s voice was stiff when she answered, ‘I didn’t see the relevance. Jessica doesn’t live in London.’

‘Although, I might just be thinking of changing that.’

Jamie’s head whipped round and she stared, horrified at her sister. ‘You can’t!’

‘Why not? I told you. I’m bored in Scotland. And, from what I see here, London certainly has a hell of a lot more to offer. Why did you never mention that you had such a dishy boss, Jamie? Did you think that I might dash down here and try to steal him from you?’

Jamie held on to the banister, feeling faint, and Ryan, lounging only feet away from her, took the opportunity to gauge the electric atmosphere between the sisters. Arriving unannounced on his secretary’s doorstep had been a spontaneous decision which he had begun to regret on the drive over, but now he was pleased that he had made the journey.

‘How long are you in London?’ He looked at Jessica but his mind was still on Jamie and on that ferocious wall of privacy she had erected around herself. Purpose, he thought, unknown.

‘She’s literally only here for a day or two before she returns to Scotland. She’s married and her husband will be waiting for her.’

‘Did you have to bring that up?’

‘It’s the truth, Jess. Greg’s a good guy. He doesn’t deserve this.’ And you certainly don’t deserve him, she thought.

‘I’m having lots of marital problems,’ Jessica insisted to Ryan. ‘I thought that I could come down here and find some support from my sister, but it looks like I was wrong.’

‘That’s not fair, Jess! And, besides, I’m sure Mr Sheppard doesn’t want to stand here and listen to our family history.’

‘Please, feel free to go on. I’m all ears!’

‘You need to go.’ Jamie turned to him. Every muscle in her body felt like it had been stretched to snapping point and the ground under her feet was like quicksand. One minute she had been on solid ground and then, in the blink of an eye, her sister was on her doorstep, Ryan was in her house breaking down her fortifications just by being there, and she was struggling in quicksand. ‘And you, Jess, need to go to bed.’

‘I’m not a kid any longer!’

‘You behave like one.’ In terms of condemnation, it was the first time Jamie had ever taken such a dramatic step. She had been conditioned to look after Jessica, to treat her like a baby, to make sure that her needs were met because she, Jamie, was the stronger one, the older one, the one upon whom the responsibilities lay.

In the tense silence that followed her flat statement, Jessica hesitated, confused, then her lips pursed and she glared sulkily at her sister.

‘You can’t make me go back up to Scotland, you know,’ she muttered.

‘We can discuss this in the morning, Jess,’ Jamie said wearily. ‘I think I’ve had enough stress today.’

‘And she is stressed.’ Ryan inserted himself into the conversation and Jessica sidled a little closer to him, her body language advertising her interest in a way no amount of words could have done. ‘She arrived late for work this morning.’

Jessica giggled and looked at her sister slyly. ‘If you’d told me that you were running late, I would have got off the phone sooner. I know you’re a stickler for punctuality. Don’t worry. I’ll be good as gold while I’m here, and you can be the perfect little secretary again and get in to work on time. Mind you …’ She looked at Ryan coyly. ‘If I had a boss like this one, I’d be getting in to work at six and leaving at midnight. Or maybe not leaving at all …’

Jamie turned on her heels and stalked off towards the kitchen. She knew how these conversations with her sister went. The slightest whiff of criticism and she would react with jibes below the belt that were designed to wound. Jamie had long discovered that the fastest way of dealing with this was to walk away from the situation, to treat her sister like a child who was not responsible for her tantrums. They blew over as quickly as they materialised and making herself scarce removed her from the eye of the storm.

She half-expected Jessica to linger on the staircase, turning on the full-wattage smile and bringing all her feminine wiles to play in an effort to charm Ryan. But, in fact, barely had Jamie sat at the kitchen table than Ryan appeared in the doorway and looked at her quietly, his hands shoved into his pockets.

An uncomfortable silence gathered around them which she broke by reluctantly offering him a cup of coffee.

She would cheerfully have sent him on his way, but there were things that needed to be said, and, reluctant as she was to open up any kind of discussion on her private life, she had no idea how she could avoid the issue.

‘Where’s Jessica?’ she asked, standing up and moving across to the kettle.

‘I sent her on her way.’

‘And she listened?’

‘I have that way with women.’

Jamie snorted, no longer bothering with the niceties that would have been more appropriate given that he was the guy who paid her salary. He had invaded her territory, and as far as she was concerned niceties were temporarily suspended.

‘Now you know why I got in late to work this morning. Jessica kept me on the phone for nearly an hour. She was a mess. I only knew that she had decided to sort herself out by coming down here when she phoned me from the train.’

‘No big deal.’ Ryan took the mug she was holding out to him and sat down. ‘Family crises happen. Why didn’t you just tell me the truth this morning?’ He watched her and realised that she was barely seeing him as she walked towards the kitchen table, nursing the mug in her hands. For a man who was fully aware of the impact he had on the opposite sex, being rendered invisible was a new experience.

He, on the other hand, keenly noted this new casual dresscode of hers, the one she used when she wasn’t wearing her work hat. Lazy eyes took in the way her jeans clung to a body that curved in all the right places and the way her long-sleeved tee-shirt skimmed a flat stomach and lovingly contoured pert, full breasts. Even her hair looked different—less neat and pristine, more tousled, as though she had spent time running her fingers through it. Which, judging from what he had picked up of the atmosphere in the house so far, she probably had.

‘I suppose because I happen to think that what happens in my private life is no business of yours.’

‘Oh, for God’s sake, I didn’t even know that you had a sister! How much of a state secret could that possibly be?’

Jamie flushed and fiddled with the mug before taking a sip of coffee. ‘I … I’m not really the confiding type.’

‘Really? I’d never have guessed.’

‘I didn’t tell you about Jessica because the chances of you ever running into her were non-existent. I live in London, she lives just outside Edinburgh. She isn’t a part of my daily life.’

‘And that was exactly the way you wanted it until she had the misfortune to need your support.’

‘Please don’t presume to have any insight at all into my family affairs!’

‘If you don’t want me to presume, then you’re going to have to be a bit more forthcoming.’

‘Why? What difference does it make? I do a very good job for you and that’s all that matters.’

‘Why are you so uncomfortable with this conversation?’ He could have let it go. She was right; she delivered the goods when it came to her job and whatever happened outside it was absolutely none of his business. But Ryan decided that he didn’t want to let it go. It was as though a door had been partially opened and what lay behind it promised to be so intriguing that he was compelled to try and push the door a little wider.

‘You don’t understand. You’re my boss, for a start, and like I said I’m not into confiding. I prefer to keep my own counsel. Maybe it’s a reaction to having a sister like Jess. She always made so much noise that it was just a lot easier to keep quiet and let her get on with it.’

‘Easier, but maybe not better. Forget for a minute that I’m your boss. Pretend that I’m just anybody—your next-door neighbour who has come over to borrow a cup of sugar, coincidentally just at a time when you need a shoulder to cry on …’

‘I’m supposed to think of you as my next-door neighbour on the scrounge for a cup of sugar?’ She was momentarily distracted enough by the image to feel her lips twitch. ‘What would you be doing with the cup of sugar?’

‘Baking a cake, because I happen to be a kindly and caring neighbour who enjoys baking. It’s my favourite pastime. Next to flower arranging and cross stitch.’ She was relaxing. She was even smiling and he felt a kick of gratification that he had been responsible for that. For some reason, he didn’t care for the idea of her stressed out, tearful and unable to talk to anyone about it. His experience of women was that they couldn’t wait to pour their hearts out and confide in whomsoever happened to be willing to listen. He was the youngest of four and the only boy in the family. He could remember many an instance of sitting out one of his sister’s ridiculously long phone calls, waiting impatiently to use the telephone.

This level of reticence was new to him. ‘So …?’ he prompted encouragingly.

‘So, look, I’m not sure how to say this but …’ Jamie sighed and adopted a slightly different approach. ‘Now that you’ve met my sister, what do you think of her?’

‘After all of my five-second acquaintance, I’m only qualified to tell you that she’s very attractive.’

Jamie felt a stab of disappointment but she nodded sagely at him. ‘She’s always been the prettier one.’

‘Hang on a minute …’

‘Spare me the kindness. I’m stating a fact, and it’s not something that’s ever bothered me anyway.’ But for a fleeting second Jamie wondered what he had been about to say. Of course, it would have been a polite lie, but nevertheless … ‘Jessica’s beautiful and she knows it. She’s also married and going through a bit of a bad patch which will blow over just so long as …’

‘As she’s not offered any distractions by someone like me?’ He looked at her coolly.

‘I know what type of girls you go for—tall, blonde, beautiful and pliable. Well, Jess is tall, blonde, beautiful and at the moment she happens to be very pliable. I know you probably think that I’m being totally out of order in saying this stuff, but you chose to come here, and now that you’re here I’m afraid I have every right to say what’s on my mind.’ She licked her lips nervously. ‘I hope I’m not jeopardising my job by telling you this.’

‘Jeopardising your job? What kind of person do you think I am?’ He was outraged to think that she could even consider him the type of man who would penalise her for speaking her mind. Was that what she thought of him? Under her cool, dutiful exterior, did she think that he was some sort of monster?

‘Don’t worry, your job is perfectly safe, and if you’re so obsessive about your privacy then I’m happy to walk out that door right now and leave you to get on with hiding behind your walls. As for your sister, she might be the sort of woman I date, but I don’t date married women, even married women who claim to be unhappily married.’

He stood up and the colour drained from Jamie’s face. She had enjoyed the free and easy way he had always had with her. It was all part and parcel of his unconventional personality, that curious, alluring mix of creativity, intelligence and self-assurance. Did she want to lose that? Did she want a boss who stuck to the rules and never teased her, or over-stepped the boundaries in asking about her personal life? That thought left her cold and she hurriedly got to her feet and reached out to put a restraining hand on his arm.

‘I’m sorry. I know how that sounded, but I have to look out for my sister. You see …’ She hesitated a fraction of a second. ‘Our dad died when I was six, and when Jess was sixteen Mum died after complications following an operation. It was horrible. I was left in charge. Mum made me promise that I would look after her. I was about to go to university, but I found myself having to get a job and look after Jess.’

‘That was a lot of responsibility for someone so young,’ Ryan murmured, sitting back down.

‘It wasn’t easy,’ Jamie agreed. ‘Jess was boy crazy and I nearly tore my hair out making sure she showed up at school every day and left with a handful of qualifications.’

‘What were you doing for a job?’ he asked curiously, and was even more curious when slow colour crept into her cheeks and she looked down.

‘Oh, just working at a vet’s. It wasn’t what I had expected to be doing at the age of nineteen, but I enjoyed it. The thing is …’

‘What had you expected to be doing?’

‘Huh?’

‘Your plans? Dreams? Ambitions? What were they before your life was derailed?’

‘Well …’ Jamie flushed and hesitated. ‘I wanted to go to university and study law. Seems like a lifetime ago! Anyway, that’s not important. The important thing is that I just wanted to warn you off her.’

‘Tough, having to give up on your dreams. There must be a part of you that resents her.’

‘Of course there isn’t! No one can help what life throws at them.’

‘Noble sentiment. Alas, not many of us are noble creatures.’

‘As I was saying …’ Jamie chose to ignore the invitation to elaborate. ‘I just wanted to warn you off her.’

‘Because she’s going to dutifully return to her husband and they’re both going to live happily ever after?’

‘Yes!’

‘Warning duly noted.’

‘What warning?’

Jessica was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, and with a sinking heart Jamie realised that she hadn’t vanished because she had been instructed to vanish—she had vanished so that she could have a shower and resurface in the least amount of clothing possible. She was kitted out in slinky lounging culottes and a tiny vest, worn bra-less, that left nothing to the imagination. She had a stupendous figure and every inch of it was available for inspection as she walked slowly into the kitchen, enjoying the attention.

Through the thin, grey vest, Jamie could see the outline of her sister’s nipples. Ryan would similarly be taking that in. Yes, he had told her that he would keep away from Jessica, but how strong was any red-blooded man’s will power when it came to a sexy woman who was overtly encouraging?

‘Well?’ Jessica paused and leaned against the counter, legs lightly crossed at the ankles, her back arched so that her breasts were provocatively thrust forward. ‘What warning?’

‘A warning,’ Ryan drawled, ‘that I’m not to interfere and try and persuade you to return to your husband.’

Jessica looked at her sister narrowly. ‘That true, Jamie?’

‘Why would he lie?’

‘So you don’t mind me staying with you for a while? Maybe until Christmas is over? I mean, it’s only a couple of weeks away. I could help you decorate the tree and stuff and by then I might have got my head together.’

Boxed in, Jamie had no choice but to concede defeat.

‘Hey, we could even have a party!’ She looked sideways at Ryan and shot him a half-smile. ‘I’m great at organising parties. What are you up to at Christmas, anyway?’

‘Jessica!’

‘Oh, don’t be such a bore, Jamie.’

‘I’m in the country,’ Ryan murmured. ‘Why?’ He had already received so many invitations to join people for Christmas lunch that he was seriously considering ignoring them all and locking himself away in his apartment until the fuss was over.

‘You could join us here.’

Adjacent to Jamie, he was aware of her look of pure horror at the suggestion. He nearly burst out laughing, but he managed to keep a straight face as he appeared to give the offer considerable thought.

‘Well …’ He hesitated. ‘I am in the unique position of spending Christmas day without my family.’

‘Where are they?’ Jessica strolled towards him, her thumbs hooked lightly into the elasticated waistband of the culottes so that they were dragged slightly down, exposing a flat, brown belly and the twinkling glitter of her pierced navel.

No wonder Jamie worried about her sister, Ryan thought. The woman was clearly a walking, talking liability to anybody’s peace of mind.

‘They’re in the Caribbean.’

Jessica’s eyes rounded into impressed saucers and her mouth fell open. ‘You’re kidding.’

‘I have a house there and this year they’ve all decided to spend Christmas and New Year in it.’

‘I don’t know why we’re having this silly conversation,’ Jamie interrupted crisply. ‘Ryan already has his own plans for Christmas.’ She rose to her feet and pulled open the dishwasher, which was her way of announcing that it was time for the impromptu evening to come to an end. But Jessica was in full flow, quizzing Ryan about his house in the Caribbean, asking him what it looked like, while he answered with just the sort of indulgent amusement that she was accustomed to getting. It had never mattered what boundaries Jessica had over-stepped; the world had always smiled and allowed her to get away with it. Whoever said that beautiful people didn’t lead charmed lives?

‘I’m open to persuasion,’ Ryan finished, leaning back and watching Jamie bang pans into cupboards, frustration stamped on her face, her mouth downturned and scowling. ‘What were you going to do, Jamie? Bit boring if you had been planning to stay in on your own.’

‘I would rather call it peaceful,’ she snapped. ‘And, besides, I had plans to go out for drinks on Christmas morning with some friends and I would probably have hung around for their alternative Christmas lunch.’

‘I want traditional,’ Jessica stated flatly.

‘What’s Greg going to do?’ Jamie spun round to look at her sister. ‘Does he know that you’re planning on abandoning him for Christmas day?’

‘He won’t mind. He’s on call, and anyway, his parents can’t wait to have him all to themselves so that they can tell him what a rotten wife I am. So …’ That technicality concluded, Jessica turned her attention back to Ryan, who looked as comfortable and settled in the kitchen as though he had been there a million times. ‘Will you come? Jamie’s never been into Christmas, but I’ll make her stick up a tree, and it’ll be festive with a turkey and all the trimmings!’

‘I’m sure he’ll think about it. Just stop nagging him, Jess!’ Jamie was pretty sure that she could convince Ryan to ignore her sister’s rantings. He was a guy who was in great demand. The last thing he would want to do would be to sit around a small pine table in a kitchen and dine on a turkey reluctantly cooked by his secretary. Just the thought of it made her shiver in nervous apprehension.

‘It’s wonderful the way you can answer on my behalf.’ Ryan grinned at Jamie, who scowled back at him. ‘It’s probably why we work so well together. You know just when to read my mind.’

‘Ha-ha. Very funny.’

‘But she’s right.’ He stood up and glanced at Jessica. ‘I’ll think about it and let Jamie know.’

‘Or you could let me know. I’ll give you my mobile number and you can get in touch any time at all. No need to go through Jamie.’

He left five minutes later and Jamie sagged. The peace of having her sister upstairs safely in bed was greatly diminished by the nasty tangle of thoughts playing in her mind.

Not only had Ryan found out more about her in the space of an hour than he had in eighteen months, but she was now facing the alarming prospect that, having wedged his foot through the door, it would be impossible to get him to remove it.

Everything that had always been so straightforward had now been turned on its head.

And what if the man decided to descend on them for Christmas lunch?

Apprehension sizzled in her and, alongside that very natural apprehension, something else, something even more worrying, something that closely resembled … anticipation.