Taming the Last St Claire (6 page)

‘Personally, I think we’re better off just forgetting about it,’ Joey said with a shrug. ‘It’s been my experience that people will carry on thinking what they want about you, no matter what you might have to say on the subject, so it’s better not even to bother to offering explanations in the first place.’

Gideon frowned slightly as he heard the underlying
thread of cynicism in her voice. Was it because most people—including him—tended to judge her on that let-people-think-of-me-what-they-will attitude? It was an opinion Gideon knew he was guilty of harbouring towards her, and it had already been made something of a nonsense of earlier that morning. And yet it was an opinion he had to continue to maintain if he were to have any defences against the attraction he obviously now felt for her—perhaps always had?

‘Maybe you don’t care what people think about you, Joey, but I do,’ he said coldly. ‘Especially people I have to work with on a daily basis.’

Bright wings of angry colour heightened her previously pale cheeks. ‘You’re working with
me
on a daily basis at the moment, Gideon—perhaps you would be interested to know what
I
think of
you?’

No, he really didn’t care to hear what Joey’s opinion of him was!

She had made it obvious from their very first meeting in her office two months ago that she didn’t like his high-handed attitude, or him—that in fact, she resented his interference in solving the problem of Stephanie having been wrongly accused of being ‘the other woman’ in the divorce of Richard Newman, one of her male ex-patients. An accusation Newman, for reasons of his own, had been happy to allow to continue.

Gideon had only stepped in at Jordan’s behest, when his brother had become worried about the mental stability of Richard Newman’s wife Rosalind, who had come dangerously close to causing Stephanie physical harm in her distress over the divorce. Maybe Gideon
could
have been a little more tactful in the way he had resolved the situation. Maybe he
should
have consulted Joey, who at the time had been acting on Stephanie’s behalf, before instructing
a private investigator to follow Richard Newman and ascertain who the man was really having an affair with. That it had turned out to be his boss’s wife explained the man’s reluctance to clear Stephanie of blame!

Gideon hadn’t hesitated in using that knowledge to extract Stephanie from all involvement in the divorce, and he hadn’t felt any guilt when Richard Newman had deservedly lost his job, as well as his wife and family.

Yes, Gideon accepted that he might have handled the situation more tactfully than he had, by including Joey in what he was doing, but he liked and respected Stephanie, knew how much Jordan loved her, and at the time hadn’t thought of how Joey might interpret his behavior. He had only been concerned with extricating her sister from what had rapidly been becoming a dangerous situation.

He realised now—although Joey had obviously been relieved to have her sister removed from that tangled web—she had every reason to resent the arrogance of Gideon’s abrupt intervention. The resentment had been there in Joey’s manner towards him every time the two of them had spoken since…

He owed this woman an apology, Gideon acknowledged. An apology he daren’t even
think
of offering at this moment, when emotions had been so heightened between them a few minutes ago.

‘Only if I can return the favour and tell you what I think of you too,’ he said.

Perhaps not, Joey acknowledged. Earlier fantasies of being held in Gideon’s arms aside, they obviously just didn’t like each other.

‘I’ll pass, thanks,’ she replied in a bored voice.

‘Then perhaps we should both just get back to work?’ He raised dark brows in mute query.

No, they didn’t like each other at all!

‘Yes, sir!’ She gave a mocking salute before turning to go back to her own office.

‘Joey?’

She looked back at him with guarded eyes. ‘Yes?’

‘Put some shoes on, hmm? It sets a bad example for the troops!’

Joey’s husky laugh was completely spontaneous, and the shake of her head rueful as she sobered. ‘Be careful, Gideon—you might start to develop that sense of humour, after all!’

His mouth twisted wryly. ‘I doubt it, when I have that I’m-so-superior stick up my backside.’

She looked ashamed. ‘I shouldn’t have said that to you.’

Gideon shrugged. ‘Why not? If it’s what you really think.’

Joey was no longer sure
what
she thought of him. Maybe there were reasons why Gideon was always so emotionally shut-off? An impression that had been severely dented earlier, when he’d admitted that he missed his own twin as much as Joey missed hers, she had to acknowledge.

The break-up of his parents’ marriage when Gideon was only ten years old couldn’t have been a pleasant experience. Stephanie had confided in her that Alexander St Claire’s abandonment of his wife and three sons twenty-five years ago had definitely affected Jordan’s opinion of long-term relationships. Perhaps Gideon had similar issues? Maybe that was the reason—

Good Lord—she couldn’t actually be making
excuses
for this man’s coldness, could she?

‘Would you please leave, Joey, and allow me to get on with some work?’ he growled, and at the same time pointedly moved to sit behind his desk.

No, Joey answered her own question. She certainly
wasn’t
about to make excuses for Gideon; he
was
cold and arrogant and superior, and every other uncomplimentary name she had ever called him—to his face or otherwise!

Gideon watched through narrowed lids as Joey finally left his office, waiting until the door had clicked firmly closed behind her before leaning against the back of his chair to let out a deep sigh.

He was acutely aware that the reason he had moved so quickly to sit behind Lucan’s desk was because he was once again aroused by thoughts of passionately kissing Joey McKinley—and he wanted to do more to her than just kiss her, damn it!

Three weeks, six days, and one hour and thirty minutes of this torture left to get through…

‘Need any help? ‘

Joey closed her eyes and wished herself anywhere but down on her knees in the underground car park of the St Claire Corporation, with Gideon looming over her as she attempted to replace the tyre that had gone flat since she’d left her car parked there that morning.

She had left her office a little before six o’clock, convinced by the silence in the adjoining office that Gideon had already left for the day—until she’d arrived in the underground car park and seen their cars were the only two still parked there. Even so, she had still hoped to get away before Gideon came down in the lift.

It was a hope that had been dashed once she had approached her car and found that the front tyre on the driver’s side was completely flat. Which was why, after trying to pump the thing up again with no success, Joey was now down on her knees on the blanket she had spread on the oil-spattered concrete, attempting to replace the wheel
with the spare from the boot of her car. She’d heard the lift descending and then Gideon walking over to her.

‘It’s nothing I can’t handle,’ she assured him as she continued to struggle with that last nut.

‘Would you like me to—?’

‘No!’

Gideon bit back a smile at Joey’s vehemence, well aware of the reason for it, and knowing that she didn’t like appearing at a disadvantage any more than he did. ‘Perhaps I could—?’

‘Perhaps you could just get into your damned car, drive away and let me get on with this!’ she grated as she turned to glare up at him.

Maybe he would have done just that if he’d thought she was ever going to be able to get that wheel off and replace it with the spare. Although perhaps not: one thing Molly St Claire had drummed into her three sons when they were growing up was that a gentleman always helped a lady in distress. And, whether Joey liked it or not, she was definitely in distress.

Besides which, he had no intention of driving away and leaving a woman alone in a deserted car park at almost six-thirty on a dark winter’s evening.

‘Give that to me,’ he instructed firmly as he moved to kneel beside her on the blanket and took the wrench out of her hand. Or at least attempted to take it, because her fingers instantly tightened about the metal tool, refusing to relinquish it.

‘Joey, stop being so damned childish and give me the spanner!’ Gideon glared down at her.

Jade green eyes glared right back at him. ‘I’m not being childish. I just resent being treated like the helpless little woman to your big strong man!’

Gideon growled in his throat. ‘Would it help you to know that I consider you as helpless as a Sherman tank?’

Joey’s lips twitched at the description coming so soon after his comment earlier about ‘the troops’. ‘We aren’t in a war zone, you know, Gideon.’

‘No?’ He arched blond brows.

‘No.’

‘Then stop being so stubbornly independent and give me the spanner.’ He met her gaze challengingly.

Joey slowly released the metal tool into his hand, and sat back on her heels to watch as he easily undid that last traitorous nut before sliding the wheel off completely. He stood up to place it in the boot of her car, and then briskly rolled over the spare.

‘Don’t you just hate it when that happens?’ she muttered irritably as she straightened up.

Gideon smiled at her patent annoyance. ‘It’s no reflection on your capabilities that the last nut was slightly rusted.’

Maybe it wasn’t, but Joey
hated
appearing less than capable of dealing with her own problems.

‘There didn’t seem to be a problem with the tyre this morning.’ She strolled over to the boot of her car to inspect it, but couldn’t see any visible reason for the puncture. ‘Never mind. I’ll go and get a replacement at lunchtime tomorrow.’ She turned to look over to where Gideon had finished putting on the spare and was now tidying the tools back into the box before folding the blanket.

His tailored suit and white silk shirt were as pristine as always, but there was a small smudge of oil just to the left of his mouth, which meant he probably had oil on his hands, too.

‘Here you go.’ He placed the toolkit and the folded blanket back in the boot, beside the punctured tyre.

Joey swallowed. ‘I—thanks for your help.’

‘No problem.’

‘Nevertheless, it was kind of you.’

His mouth twisted wryly. ‘Considering how ungracious you were when I first offered? ‘

Joey frowned slightly. ‘I don’t remember you offering. As usual, you just took over.’

‘The way I took over in the Newman case a couple of months ago?’

Joey looked up sharply at the gentleness—and the unexpectedness—of Gideon’s query.

‘Yes,’ she finally answered slowly. ‘Exactly the way you took over in the Newman case.’

‘I owe you an explanation and an apology for that.’

Joey’s uncertainty deepened. Her resentment towards Gideon’s arrogant intervention two months ago was the basis upon which she had placed all her future dealings with him. If he now explained and apologised she would have no defences against this rapidly growing attraction she felt towards him. Towards a man who so clearly showed that he only tolerated her at best…

‘Joey …?’

Her startled gaze moved up to meet shrewd brown eyes, and there was a hint of a blush in her cheeks. ‘I’m sure you had your reasons for doing it.’

He nodded. ‘Because I liked Stephanie from the first, and Jordan asked me to see what I could do to help her. But I realise now that I should have considered your feelings before I acted.’

Much as Joey appreciated knowing that Gideon liked her twin enough to want to help her, she really wasn’t sure she could cope right now with his apology. It had been such a strange day already. Not least because she had realised her deepening attraction towards Gideon had already
severely battered the defences she usually kept about her emotions.

‘You have a smudge of oil beside your mouth,’ she said, deliberately changing the subject.

‘I do?’ Gideon instantly raised a hand and wiped the wrong cheek.

Why did people invariably do that? Joey wondered ruefully. ‘Wrong cheek.’

He quirked one brow. ‘Maybe you should just do it for me?’

Joey winced inwardly at the thought of touching him so intimately when she was already so completely aware of him. Maybe it would have been better if she hadn’t mentioned that smudge of oil at all!

‘I have some wipes in my handbag.’ She hurried to open the car door, and bent down to get the wipes from where she had placed her handbag on the passenger seat before attempting to change the wheel, sincerely hoping that the visible warmth in her cheeks would fade by the time she straightened.

‘Here.’ She held the wipe out to him.

‘It really would be easier if you did it for me,’ he insisted.

Not for Joey!

‘You’re a big boy now, Gideon, and perfectly capable of cleaning your own face,’ she muttered irritably, her nerves already frayed enough without the added possibility of touching him accidentally. ‘Use one of the side mirrors on my car,’ she suggested when he didn’t move.

Gideon could see Joey’s reflection in the mirror as she stood just behind him, and was very aware that not only had she refused to discuss the Newman case with him, but she had also dismissed his attempt at an apology.

Which didn’t bode well for them having to continue to work together for the next four weeks.

Gideon’s mouth tightened determinedly as he balled the damp wipe into his hand before turning back to face her. ‘Look, Joey, we seem to have got off to something of a shaky start—’ he began.

‘We did that a couple of months ago.’

‘And I have just tried to apologise for that,’ Gideon reminded her gently. ‘Why don’t we go somewhere and have a glass of wine together and discuss it further?’

Much as he might have thought he was acting for the best at the time, he knew that if the situations had been reversed he would have felt exactly the same resentment she did.

Joey didn’t want to ‘go somewhere’ and have
anything
with Gideon St Claire! Not if it meant she would be in danger of the physical attraction that had been growing between them throughout the day deepening even further.