Читать книгу Marriage At A Price - Miranda Lee - Страница 8

WHAT kind of woman, Courtney puzzled as she sat there, could inspire such strong emotions in a man like Jack Falconer?

If Courtney had been alone, she’d have simply spun round in her chair and taken a good, long, hard look. But this situation called for a bit more subtlety, despite the fact that subtlety was not her strong suit.

She improvised. ‘I need to go to the loo. I won’t be long.’ Standing up, she turned and pretended to search the room for the ladies’ whilst zeroing in on the direction of Jack’s piercing gaze.

And there she was, standing by the bar, clinging to the arm of a white-haired gentleman whose suit jacket was struggling to remain done up over his portly stomach.

Courtney had no doubts it was Katrina.

Lois had said she would understand Jack’s infatuation once Courtney saw her. And she did.

Katrina would have given any supermodel in the world a run for her money. She had everything they had, and possibly more. The height. The figure. The face. The hair. Definitely the clothes.

She was wearing a superbly cut calf-length cream woollen dress which hugged her stream-lined body, revealing every flowing but delectable curve. Her hair, which was a similar cream colour, was worn up in a rather severe French pleat which served to emphasise the perfection of her classically beautiful face. Gold and diamond earrings winked in her lobes. Her neck was bare, perhaps because she didn’t want to distract any man’s eyes from its elegant length, and the impressive cleavage the dress’s deep V-neckline put on display.

Courtney couldn’t see the colour of her eyes from that distance but she could certainly see the colour of her mouth. A rich blood-red.

Jack’s blood, she thought angrily.

Seeing the man Katrina had chosen over Jack, however, confirmed Courtney’s guess that this was all a matter of money. Katrina had obviously wanted to marry money, and Jack no longer had enough. What a cold-hearted money-grubbing bitch!

‘The ladies’ room is over there,’ Jack said, misinterpreting her lengthy hesitation.

Courtney whirled back to face him. He’d sounded totally composed, but his eyes betrayed emotions best not explored. ‘Where?’

He pointed to a far corner.

Courtney quickly assessed that there were two routes she could use to make her way there. One went straight between the tables, the other skirted the bar. Courtney went between the tables on her way there, and skirted the bar on her way back. Superbitch was still there, sipping a cocktail and hanging on hubby’s every word.

‘Hi, Katrina,’ Courtney said breezily as she passed, but without stopping. Long enough, however, to see the cow’s green eyes—they would be green, wouldn’t they?—lift in surprise, then trail after her.

Courtney threw Jack a blinder of a smile as she walked towards him, and he automatically smiled back, as she had known he would. ‘You were quick,’ he said once she’d sat down again.

‘Didn’t have to touch up my make-up,’ she said truthfully. ‘Or my hair.’

He gave her face and hair a long, thoughtful look. ‘You don’t need to. You look great.’

‘Thanks. You look great too.’

His laughter was real, and his eyes warm with genuine amusement. ‘You are a very unique girl, do you know that?’

‘Yep.’

He laughed again. ‘Didn’t your mother ever teach you modesty?’

‘Lord, no. She taught me to say what I thought and do what I pleased.’

Jack’s straight dark brows shot upwards. ‘A very unusual mother, from the sounds of things.’

‘She was.’

‘You must tell me more about her. And about yourself. But first, I think another drink is—’

When he broke off, his eyes freezing once more, Courtney knew the reason why. She’d bargained on Katrina watching where she went, then not being able to resist coming over. It was one thing to dump a man. Quite another to find him seemingly happy in the company of another woman. And a much younger woman, at that.

If there was one thing guaranteed to get up the nose of a thirty-something female, it was seeing her ex with a younger woman.

And Courtney wanted to get up Katrina’s oh, so perfect nose to the nth degree.

‘Jack,’ came a softly purring voice which could belong to none other but the scheming cow herself. ‘I didn’t expect to see you here today.’

She drifted into Courtney’s view. Hubby, however, was nowhere in sight.

Jack smiled a smile that sent shivers running down Courtney’s spine. Here was a man who would not forgive easily. Or forget. It occurred to her that Jack’s embezzling partner would be wise to stay exiled for ever in his South American hide-away.

‘Why ever not, Katrina?’ Jack drawled, leaning his broad shoulders back against his chair. ‘Big Brutus is going to win today and I’m going to be there to accept the trophy. Along with Courtney, here.’

Glittering green eyes swung her way. ‘I’m sorry,’ Katrina said with lemony sweetness. ‘You said hello to me, but I can’t seem to place you.’

‘Oh, you don’t actually know me,’ Courtney trilled back. ‘But I feel like I know you. Jack has told me so much about you.’

‘Really,’ Katrina said coldly.

‘We didn’t want to have any secrets between us, did we, Jack?’ Courtney smiled over at Jack, who thankfully wasn’t looking too poleaxed by her bold charade.

‘How nice,’ his ex managed to grate out between her dazzlingly white but grindingly clenched teeth. ‘So how long have you two been going out together?’

‘Gosh, I’m not sure,’ Courtney jumped in again. ‘I haven’t been counting. How long has it been, darling?’ By now, she hoped and prayed Jack would back up her story.

‘Lord knows, sweetheart,’ he returned, his eyes amused on her. ‘I haven’t been counting, either. All I know is it’s been one remarkable experience.’

Courtney could practically feel the woman’s hostility. If she gripped her purse any tighter, her scarlet fingernails would sink holes in the leather.

‘She’s a little young for you, don’t you think, Jack?’ Katrina sniped.

Jack’s expression was superbly indifferent to the woman’s barb. What a man, Courtney thought. City-smooth and city-smart. But with such adorably macho looks. A most unusual combination.

‘I would have thought she’s just the right age,’ he replied coolly. ‘Can’t say the same for old George, however. He’s only got a few good years left in him, I would imagine. Look, I’d love to chat, Katrina, but the horses are in the barrier. We’re sure to run into each other later, after Big Brutus wins his race, since George is going to present the trophy.’

With that, Jack picked up his binoculars from the table and focused them on the race that had just jumped. Katrina glared pure hate at Courtney, then stalked off.

‘She’s gone,’ Courtney whispered, smiling satisfaction to herself.

‘I’m not sure if I should be angry with you, or grateful,’ Jack muttered drily, but without shifting his eyes away from the binoculars.

‘Grateful would be the more sensible option.’

‘I presume Lois told you about Katrina.’

‘Only the bare facts. I asked her if you were rich and she told me of your own recent money troubles, which led on to her mentioning Katrina’s defection to George.’

‘Ah… I see… Yes… That explains everything.’

He fell silent then, seemingly intent on the race. It was only a sprint and the runners were already approaching the turn into the straight, with three of them vying for the lead and another pair hot on their heels. It looked like being an exciting finish.

Yet, for the first time during the running of a horse race, Courtney found her mind wandering away from the action.

A couple of things had begun puzzling her. She could understand why Jack hadn’t quite got over Katrina yet. After all, he was the one who’d been dumped. And the woman was simply stunning to look at. Courtney suspected she was hot stuff in bed as well.

But Katrina’s jealousy on seeing Jack with another female seemed over the top. What on earth had she expected? That a man like him would never turn his eye elsewhere? Had she imagined for a moment that she was irreplaceable in Jack’s life, that her betrayal would turn him into an embittered celibate?

The idea was laughable. The woman had to have a screw loose.

Unfortunately, it did seem as if Jack hadn’t turned his eye elsewhere as yet. He’d come here today alone, hadn’t he? She was just a pretend girlfriend.

‘You’re far better off without her, you know,’ she announced with pragmatic logic just as the horses flashed past the post. ‘If she didn’t love you poor, then she didn’t love you at all, did she?’

Jack lowered his binoculars and gave her a long, hard look. ‘I know you meant well in doing what you just did, Courtney. And in a way I’m grateful to you. But you really don’t know what you’re talking about where Katrina and I are concerned. Neither does Lois. She…oh, oh, talk of the devil. Lois is about to descend upon us. Now, for pity’s sake, don’t relay to her anything that just happened. And you can drop the besotted girlfriend bit. Katrina and co have left the bar.’

Courtney pulled a face. ‘Pity. I was rather enjoying myself. What about when Big Brutus wins? Shouldn’t I revive the role, at least for the presentation?’

‘Let’s wait till the horse actually wins, shall we?’ Jack stated drily. ‘Hi, there, Lois. Time for a glass of champers?’