Читать книгу The British Bachelors Collection - Сара Крейвен, Kate Hardy - Страница 54

CHAPTER SIX

IN ADMIRATION, HAL had seen Kit turn what might have been a somewhat awkward entrance into the restaurant into a flawlessly smooth operation that he could never have managed on his own. Even though he was well-known, and it had no doubt not gone unnoticed by the other notable diners that he’d been injured in a foolish skiing accident, Hal hated the idea of inviting unnecessary attention when all he wanted to do was enjoy some of the finest cuisine in the country in peace with his chosen companion.

But even when he’d happened to catch someone’s inquisitive gaze Kit’s gracious smile and softly spoken reassuring words at his side had helped him to brush it off and they had proceeded to their table unhindered.

Pleased that his confidence in walking with the aids was definitely improving, Hal relaxed. His spirits rose even more when he saw that it was his beautiful Titian-haired companion who was drawing most of the attentive glances that came their way—he certainly wasn’t above feeling some typically masculine pride at having an attractive companion.

The interest in Kit had started with the charming French maître d’, who had all but gone into Gallic ecstasy at the sight of her rippling burnished hair. She wore it loose at Hal’s request, because he’d wanted to see it unbound again. And it hadn’t been hard to detect the curious minds of the other diners avidly whirring at their entrance into the restaurant. They must be wondering about their relationship, putting two and two together and undoubtedly making five...

But whatever people were imagining about his association with Kit Hal couldn’t deny that his idea of making their relationship more intimate had been growing stronger the more time they spent together, and he longed to make it a reality.

‘Can I tempt you with some wine?’ he asked as Kit’s extraordinary blue eyes gravely studied her copy of the leather-bound menu.

‘Wine?’ She blinked up at him in astonishment. ‘I’m driving. Did you forget?’

Unbelievably, he had. He was so lost in his contemplation of her captivating features that it seemed he had forgotten how to think straight. Embarrassed heat pulsed through his bloodstream and he knew it must have invaded his face. The atypical reaction made him feel like an inexperienced schoolboy instead of a thirty-two-year-old man who had always been supremely confident around women... It was hardly a feeling he welcomed.

‘I confess I did. It’s a shame. They have some incredible wine here.’ Lifting his own copy of the menu, he attempted to peruse it.

Taking him by surprise, Kit leaned across and curled her elegantly slim hand round his.

‘It doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have a glass if you want one. Although I’d advise you not to overdo it since you’re taking medication at the moment.’

Hal hardly registered her words because the touch of her skin against his was like receiving an electric shock that left him reeling. Now he didn’t just like her touch, he realised...he had begun avidly to crave it. But as his heartbeat slowly started to return to its normal rhythm he couldn’t deny that she’d pricked his pride by reminding him of his current despised condition.

‘I might have known my personal guardian angel would remind me of that fact. How fortunate that you always seem to be here when I need you, Kit.’

She instantly withdrew her hand. He might have slapped her face.

‘That’s what you’re paying me for, isn’t it...? To be a help to you while you recuperate?’ She made a show of being interested in the menu again but her gaze returned almost immediately to examine him. ‘If you don’t like the way I’m doing my job perhaps you’d be happier with someone else?’

‘Don’t do this. Not here.’ Lowering his voice, Hal glanced briefly across the packed restaurant. Then, leaning towards her with a frown, he said, ‘It might be interpreted that we’re having a personal relationship and it’s not going very well. I don’t want anyone getting the wrong impression and for a story to find its way into the tabloids so they can belittle me like they usually do.’

Her alabaster complexion flushed cerise and he realised he could have chosen his words a lot more carefully.

‘What do you mean by the wrong impression? I’m nobody,’ Kit demanded softly. ‘It’s not as if I’m your wife or girlfriend. Who cares what anyone else thinks?’

‘I do.’ He swallowed hard. It was impossible to tear his gaze away because he was mortified to think that he’d insulted her...hurt her, even. If he had, then he had a profound desire to make things right again. ‘And I didn’t mean to imply that it bothers me if people think our relationship is personal. Did you think it would? You sell yourself short if you do. You’re a very beautiful woman, Kit, and it wouldn’t be beyond anyone’s understanding if I was attracted to you.’

‘Now it’s my turn to ask you not to do this. I’d prefer it if we both remembered why I’m here and didn’t lose sight of that in some pointless, ridiculous fantasy.’

Self-consciously she’d lowered her voice, but the pink flush on her cheeks rendered her so irresistibly pretty that Hal didn’t think twice about reaching out his hand to gently stroke his fingertips across her cheek.

Kit bit down on her lip as though pained. ‘Don’t. The waiter’s coming towards us and we haven’t even discussed what we’re going to eat yet.’

‘I heartily recommend the herb-crusted lamb. Trust me—what they do with it is close to orgasmic.’ Grinning, Hal kissed his fingers with a deliberately theatrical flourish.

Kit had just about recovered her composure in time, he saw, as the waiter appeared to ask smilingly if they’d made their selection. Giving Hal the barest warning glance, she unhesitatingly went for the lamb. Despite the warning, he couldn’t resist giving her a teasing wink of acknowledgment that she’d taken him at his word and succumbed to his enthusiastic recommendation without a murmur. He took it as a good sign that she trusted him.

‘Well, well, well! I see the walking wounded has returned to the land of the living, looking as disgustingly handsome and fit as ever...despite the broken leg!’

Hal was seriously starting to relax and enjoy Kit’s company, as well as his indisputably delicious meal, when a familiar male voice sent a disagreeable chill down his back. Looking up, he came face to face with the insincere smile of his ex-business partner Simon Rigden.

Simon was wearing his trademark designer suit, and his mid-brown hair was slicked back and as perfectly styled as always. But his over-familiar air and polished appearance weren’t about to make Hal feel remotely friendly or predisposed to let bygones be bygones. The man was a wily snake and he’d be a fool to forget that for a second time. The pity was that he hadn’t recognised it as being the case when they’d first met and he had stupidly made him his partner...

Ignoring the slightly pudgy hand held out before him in greeting, he took his time in touching his linen napkin to his lips, then emitted a weary sigh. ‘If your aim was to ruin my day by appearing like this then you’re wasting your time, Simon. That skiing accident on the Aspen slopes confirmed the realisation I already had about you...of what a conniving, merciless little weasel you are.’

Glancing across the restaurant, Hal saw a couple of similarly dressed businessmen he didn’t know from Adam raise their glasses to him in a presumptuous gesture of acknowledgement. Clearly his one-time friend and business partner had company—and perhaps not so savoury company.

‘Why don’t you just slink back to what I’m sure are your equally disagreeable companions and endeavour to ruin their day instead? I have every confidence you’ll more than succeed.’

Beneath the tan that he liked to keep topped up with frequent trips to the Caribbean and other fashionable hot spots round the world, Simon visibly flushed. But then exerting a little sweat and doing an honest day’s work had never been one of his biggest priorities, Hal recalled. It was one of the reasons he had paid him off—in hindsight far too generously—and brought their partnership to an end. In another era Simon Rigden would have been known as being a reprehensible louche, he was certain.

‘You’re obviously feeling bitter because I won our little bet that I was a better skier than you and that I could beat you on what’s known to be one of the most challenging slopes in the world,’ Simon accused him mockingly. ‘You feel humiliated that you crashed into that snowbank in front of several of your cronies. Everyone knows how much you hate to lose, but you weren’t exactly “Lucky Henry” that day—were you, Hal?’

‘You’d better leave before I signal the maître d’ and have you thrown out for being a nuisance.’

‘And risk having your reckless reputation highlighted once again in the tabloids? Although I’ll concede this restaurant does make an admirable effort to keep out the riff-raff, one or two hacks always manage to sneak under the radar. See any faces you don’t recognise?’

Hal bristled. ‘Why don’t you just get out of my face and leave me and my companion to enjoy our lunch in peace?’

The other man’s gaze swung interestedly across the table to Kit.

‘And who might you be, sweetheart? I must say I’m surprised. I thought our friend’s preference was for voluptuous blondes—not dainty little redheads who look like they come straight out of the Renaissance. But I suppose you must possess one or two sexy little tricks to keep him keen. You’ll certainly need to invent a few more of those if you’re going to keep him happy whilst he’s immobile. I hear it was a particularly bad break, and my guess is his recuperation is going to be a long one. But if his interest starts to wane at any time, sweetheart, you should give me a call.’

His pudgy hand dived into his wallet to extract a business card. He threw it down in front of Kit in a gesture clearly meant to insult. ‘I’ve had my surfeit of blondes lately, and I must admit, I could use a change.’

The look on Hal’s face would have put the fear of God into a man with any modicum of sensitivity.

‘Carry on in that vein, Rigden,’ he warned, ‘and I swear you’ll live to regret it. Now, get out of my sight! You’re not fit to even look at her. In fact you’d better get out of here quick—before I call the police.’

‘It’s all right, Henry. I can deal with this.’ Calmly taking a sip of her orange juice, with both men staring at her in mute fascination, Kit followed up this remark with another confident assertion. ‘I’d rather take my chances in a pool of piranhas than waste even a second of my time on an unsavoury character like you, Mr...er...?’ Coolly she picked up the business card that had been so insultingly flung down in front of her and read the name on it out loud. ‘Mr Simon Rigden.’ Pinning him with a direct and frosty glare, she finished, ‘You can be sure I’ll remember that, if I’m ever interviewed as a witness when Mr Treverne takes you to court on a charge of harassment. One thing’s for sure—it won’t enhance your reputation.’

‘Touché,’ Hal murmured beneath his breath.

‘You little—’ Flushing, the businessman abruptly turned on his heel and promptly left the restaurant, not even troubling to return to his companions and explain the reason he was leaving.

Given the looks of resignation on their faces, Hal deduced they weren’t at all surprised by his sudden exit. Some people just had a knack for self-sabotage...

Immediately returning his gaze to the much more pleasing sight of his Titian-haired companion, he asked, ‘What made you do that?’

‘You mean cut him down to size and stand up for myself?’

‘Yes.’

Kit’s blue eyes flashed. ‘Let’s just say I’ve had plenty of experience in dealing with men like him. My mother brought men like Simon Rigden home with monotonous and painful regularity in her search for the man of her dreams. Needless to say it was a fruitless and soul-destroying exercise. Unfailingly, her dreams turned into a nightmare. She wasn’t the best judge of men. And when each of those men took what they wanted and then abandoned her—which they did, without exception—I was the one left to pick up the pieces and try and convince her that what didn’t kill her would make her stronger. Except that it never did...’ Her gaze looked far away for a moment. ‘Make her stronger, I mean...’

‘That must have left some scars on you,’ Hal remarked, expressing the compassion he was feeling that she’d endured such a horrendous experience. It explained a lot about why she was so guarded and self-contained, so determined to protect herself from similar predators.

Grimacing, Kit gave a brief shake of her head. Her blue eyes were like the most intense moonlit stars they were so bright.

‘Scars heal...but unfortunately memories don’t. But you were right...that Rigden chap really is a weasel. What decent, right-minded man would mock a friend because he had lost a bet and suffered serious injury? It’s clear he doesn’t have any principles. It’s none of my business, and I don’t mean to be presumptuous, but I’d steer clear of him in the future, if I were you.’

‘Trust me. I will. I only wish I’d known the low-life was going to be dining here today—I would have suggested we went somewhere else. He keeps trying to rile me because he’s still mad that I broke off our partnership.’

‘So he’s your ex-business partner? If you don’t mind my asking, what on earth made you go into business with someone like him?’

‘Ever heard the saying that a salesman can always be sold to?’ Shrugging his shoulders, Hal was still pained to admit he’d been so gullible. ‘I was in my early twenties when he approached me, having heard about the success I’d been having, and I was eager to prove to my father that I could do even better. So when Simon offered me what sounded like a good deal at the time I suppose I let down my usual guard and fell for his convincing spiel. He was an experienced businessman in the industry that interested me the most, and his record of success was impressive.’

He gave a wry grimace.

‘Anyway, getting back to the skiing incident, when I saw him on the slopes at Aspen the only reason I agreed to his stupid bet was because I was certain I could beat him. I’d never lost a similar challenge before. But the truth is I was an egotistical idiot and I paid the price. I should have just walked away. But I want to sincerely apologise for Rigden’s insulting you, Kit. If I were back on my feet he would have been the one who was immobilised.’

The comment clearly perturbed her.

‘I can understand the impulse, but I abhor violence. It doesn’t solve anything in my view. Doesn’t the fact that there are so many wars in the world tell you that? It would be much better to talk things out or simply just ignore him. That would wound him more.’

An amused quirk lifted a corner of his lips. ‘Well, the fact that you made it clear you weren’t interested and then warned him what might happen if he continued to make a nuisance of himself was more than enough to see him off. You were quite formidable in your defence of me, Kit. I’m seriously impressed. The only other person who would have been quite so protective is my sister Sam.’

Giving him a captivating smile, Kit picked up the pristine silver cutlery she had laid at the side of her dinner plate ‘I’ll take that as a compliment. But now I think we should finish eating our meal before it gets cold, don’t you?’

‘I can always get the waiter to bring us fresh food if need be.’

‘And waste all that money you’re paying for what we’ve got already? No chance!’

* * *

Kit was deeply reflective on their return to the apartment. The appearance of Simon Rigden at the restaurant had given her a graphic insight into Hal’s regret about going into partnership with such a man. ‘A salesman can always be sold to,’ he’d said drolly. One thing was certain: she was sure he’d never be sold to by such a merciless shark again.

Walking beside him over to the couch, where he carefully lowered himself onto the firm leather seats and handed her his walking aids, Kit noticed that he looked particularly tired—as if the outing had been more of a strain than he wanted to let on. Not only had it been his first visit to a restaurant since his accident but, along with negotiating the challenge of appearing in public again when he wasn’t as fit as he wanted to be, he had been confronted by the one person who was guaranteed to raise his stress levels... Kit hoped it wouldn’t set his recovery back in any way.

Intermingled with those thoughts was the memory of telling Hal about her mother and her history of failed relationships due to her poor choice of men. Would she have revealed something so personal if Simon Rigden hadn’t presented himself at their table to mock him?

‘I’m going to relax for a while. Why don’t you take the opportunity to do the same?’

Hal broke into her reverie with a beguiling smile. Was the man aware that if that smile were flashed up on a cinema screen it would have every woman and girl in the vicinity aching with longing for an opportunity to be intimately acquainted with him? Her body warmed helplessly. For Kit it was a new experience to be so acutely aware of a man...to the point where almost every other thought in her head evaporated when he directed that chameleon golden-eyed glance at her.

‘Later on this evening I thought we could watch a couple of movies together and afterwards have a talk about them?’

He settled back against the plumped-up cushions on the couch with his hands behind his head, which had the disconcerting result of drawing her gaze to the impressive muscular chest so lovingly hugged by his black cashmere sweater.

Her mouth nervously dried as he added, ‘Are you up for that? And don’t you dare tell me it’s what I’m paying you for.’

‘I’d love to do that...watch a couple of movies with you, I mean. But I think that I’ll pass on your suggestion to relax. I know that Mrs Baker has been in today to clean the house, but I’d like to check if there’s anything else that needs doing and if we need any supplies from the supermarket. If you’re resting, it would be a good opportunity. I know you probably won’t like me for saying it, but you’re not paying me to be idle. Besides, I like to keep busy and do what I can to make things a little easier for my clients. Talking of which...’ Kit couldn’t resist smiling ‘...I’d like to ice that leg for you at some point and check that everything’s okay.’

‘Everything’s fine.’ Hal moved his hands from behind his head to drive his fingers a tad irritably through his dark hair. ‘I’d tell you if it wasn’t...Nurse Blessington.’

Kit feigned a disapproving look. ‘I don’t profess to be a nurse, but I know what has to be done and how to do it, so I don’t mind if you think I’m a little bossy. Anyway, you should rest now. Just behave yourself while I’m gone,’ she chided, ‘and don’t do anything you shouldn’t.’

‘Really?’ he mocked. The devastating glint in his eye made her legs turn to mush. ‘Like what, for instance?’

Flustered, she hurried across to the door and opened it. ‘Oh, I don’t know... Abseiling out of the window, perhaps? One thing’s for sure: if there’s any mischief to be found you’re just the man to find it...intrepid thrill-seeker that you are!’

His delighted laughter followed her all the way down the hall and into the kitchen...