The Engagement Deal (14 page)

‘You can laugh!’ She raised indignant eyes to his amused face. ‘But you wouldn’t be,’ she added darkly, ‘if you had to sit on my—’

‘If you’re going to do anything as stupid as fall off a pony, it’s the best place to land.’ Niall was looking towards the area where her ‘best place’ was cushioned by blissfully soft upholstery.

‘It wasn’t a pony, it was a horse.’ A great stomping thing at least ten feet tall!

‘I thought, by the way you were looking at it, it might have been a fire-breathing dragon.’

Holly’s lips twitched. ‘I’m never getting on a horse again.’

‘Quitter,’ Niall taunted. He glanced over his shoulder into the back seat, where his son was already nodding off. ‘They can smell the fear…so can I.’ The swift sideways look he shot her was not nearly so casual as his sly dig.

Holly looked stubbornly at the road ahead and tried to brazen it out. Her brow furrowed in innocent incomprehension. She silently cursed his damned uncanny perception.

‘I won’t throw you if you mount me,’ he promised helpfully.

‘Niall!’
she remonstrated, hot-cheeked. She glanced furtively towards the back seat. Tom, who’d spent the morning playing a rough game of soccer with the menfolk, was already sound asleep.

‘I’m only trying to put you at your ease,’ he protested mildly.

‘Then I have to tell you you’ve failed,’ she croaked, trying to get all those lurid images of her astride…No she wouldn’t think about it!

‘Tell me what’s wrong, Holly,’ he persisted. ‘And don’t bother denying it. You haven’t insulted me for at least half an hour, so I know something’s got you worried.’

‘I’m not worried. It’s just this is all a bit unexpected. Circumstances have made things happen rather quickly. The couple thing…I mean…this…us…’

‘Are you trying to tell me you’re not the sort of girl who sleeps with the guy on the first date?’

‘I know you’re a good driver,’ she said, as his fingers curled around her thigh. The pressure they exerted was rather nice, actually. A small choking sound escaped her throat as she felt her nipples harden instantly. ‘But I’d prefer you kept both hands on the wheel.’ Her sigh of relief when he complied had less to do with fear for their physical safety and more to do with fear for her sanity. ‘We’ve not even had a date yet,’ she reminded him shrilly.

‘We can fix that. I’m taking Tom ice-skating tomorrow. We go most weeks. Come with us.’

‘Most weeks: does that mean you’re good at it?’ she wondered suspiciously.

‘I get by.’

What the hell? He’d already seen her fall off a horse; there wasn’t as far to fall on skates. ‘All right. Won’t Tom mind…? I mean, I don’t want to intrude on your private time with him. He might resent it.’

‘Tom thinks you’re cool.’

‘I like him, too,’ she admitted gruffly.

‘You’ve not had a lot of boyfriends, have you, Holly?’ he asked gently.

‘Nothing intense.’ Meaning I’m feeling pretty intense now—nicely done, Holly, she chided herself. There was no way Niall could have missed that. Rather to her surprise, he didn’t push her farther. ‘This is a bit of turnaround, considering what you thought of me at first…’

He winced. ‘I thought you’d forgotten that.’

‘I never forget anything,’ she boasted firmly.

‘
Nothing?
You’re starting to scare me,’ he told her drily.

‘Maybe you should be.’ Her brow puckered.

He sighed. ‘We’re talking adolescent trauma here, aren’t we? That night I chucked out your would-be lover? Perhaps we should get this out in the open.’

His perception once more was uncannily accurate. ‘Actually, he ran without any encouragement, Niall.’

‘Probably just as well. I wasn’t feeling very kindly disposed towards…Well, anyone, actually…including myself.’

‘It wasn’t just me, then? I suppose that makes me feel better.’ She wrinkled her nose dubiously.

‘I can still remember that hurt puppy expression in your eyes. I felt like a total bastard.’

‘You
were
a total bastard.’

‘Though it was easier to live with my conscience after you’d kicked me.’ He shuddered, and let his eyes momentarily rest on the moody quiver of her generous lower lip. ‘Jude had just told me she was pregnant and her precious bloody Richard still had a wife.’ The words came out quickly and his discomfort in revealing this to her was pretty obvious. ‘I think I’d run out of understanding, especially for young women bent on self-destruction.’

‘I wasn’t—’ she began to protest, only to be impatiently interrupted.

‘Just put semantics to one side, for once. I know you were a kid…’

Holly bit her lip and let his grouchiness pass. She’d actually been going to contest the self-destructive part of his statement.

‘Jude wanted me to explain to Mum and Dad that everything would be all right eventually because he was going to leave his wife when the time was right…
Can you believe it?’
The memory still had the power now to turn his knuckles white against the steering wheel. ‘As you can imagine, I was looking forward no end to that conversation. If I hadn’t been so bloody wrapped up in my own life, I might have been there to protect her…’ He made a sound of disgust in his throat and stared grimly at the road ahead. ‘I don’t suppose she’d have listened to me.’

With understanding came a surge of compassion for Niall—who had blamed himself for not being there when his sister needed him—and Jude. Poor Jude: you couldn’t compare an inexperienced teenage grope with what had happened to her, but Niall, frustrated by his inability to help his sister, had obviously seen a tenuous parallel.

‘She probably wouldn’t have,’ she agreed, sliding her hand between her knee and the leather upholstery, because the urge to reach out and physically comfort him was getting awfully hard to resist. ‘We don’t listen when we think we’re in love.’

‘Are you speaking from experience?’

It wasn’t until he spoke that she realised how her thoughtless words might be interpreted. ‘What sort of question is that to ask?’ she responded indignantly. ‘Do I go asking you details about your love life?’

‘Whether you ask or not, you seem to know one hell of a lot. Actually I wasn’t really thinking about the past…’

Holly went pale. ‘You’re asking me if I’m in love with you?’ she squeaked.

‘Possibly…In a subtle, roundabout way.’

‘Don’t worry.’ She managed a passably jaunty grin. ‘I won’t subject you to repeat performance of heavy sighs and soulful stares.’ She swallowed the taste of bile in her throat.

Talking about the dim and distant past, when she’d dogged his every step, had obviously aroused memories of her embarrassingly obvious devotion. The idea of a repetition was obviously filling Niall with alarm. It was the only reason she could imagine for the sudden inquisition. Niall didn’t want any complications in their relationship—like love. She was going to have to be more cautious in the future.

‘I’m relieved.’

Holly suspected she hadn’t quite convinced him. She put her all into her breezy response.

‘You won’t need to send out the heavy mob to get the ring back, either.’ She slid the ring off her finger and solemnly held it out to him. She thought for a moment that he was going to refuse it.

‘It suited you,’ he said almost absently as he dropped the gem into his breast pocket.

‘It made me nervous, walking around with a small fortune on my finger,’ she told him hoarsely.

‘I don’t think it was the market value that was bothering you.’

Holly didn’t want to go down that road. She smiled brightly. ‘I’d like to invite you in when we get back, but…’

‘I’d like to come in…but…’ Niall too looked at his sleeping son.

They both left it at that, but Holly was aware this was a subject which wasn’t going to go away. She couldn’t hide what she felt forever. Love was a hindrance, from Niall’s point of view, to the sort of adult, no-strings-attached relationship he wanted.

‘W
OW
, when did you learn to cook?’ Rowena sniffed appreciatively and dumped her overnight bag on the floor.

Jaw ajar, spoon in hand, a startled Holly whirled around. ‘What are you doing here?’ She blew the rebellious bright strands of hair out of her eyes and realised her response had sounded perilously like an accusation.

‘I live here—remember?’ One artistically plucked eyebrow rose towards her sister’s stylish hairline.

The mild mockery only increased Holly’s hot-cheeked dismay. ‘I wasn’t expecting—you took me by surprise,’ she babbled, trying to compensate for her lukewarm welcome with an extra bright smile. ‘Great to see you.’ Why did Rowena have to turn up now, of all times, looking so disgustingly
perfect
. Unfortunately her tone showed a tendency to echo her lack of enthusiasm.

Stifling a childish urge to push her sister back out of the door—if only the Rowena complication could be solved that easily—Holly put her spoon down before she hugged Rowena. ‘I like your new haircut.’

That at least was true. The soft style disguised but didn’t completely hide the fact that her sister had lost some weight. Rowena was still stunning, of course, in a new toned, lean, hungry—I work out twice a day—sort of way.

‘You should try a new look yourself, Holly. You’d be amazed at how much difference it could make.’

Holly didn’t take offence to the obvious implication that her old look needed a bit of work; it was true, especially at the moment when the steamy atmosphere in the kitchen had made her once-smooth chignon frizz around the edges.

‘Actually,’ Rowena continued slowly, surveying her sister from shrewd china-blue eyes, ‘you
do
look different. It’s not the hair…Speaking of which, I know a really good hairdresser who…All right.’ She gave a concessionary shrug. ‘Just promise me you’ll never again try and cut your fringe yourself.’

‘That was years ago. I couldn’t afford to go to the hairdresser’s then.’

‘You still couldn’t afford to go to a decent hairdresser.’ Rowena had been appalled to discover what her sister’s salary was after so many years’ study. ‘Talking money, how would you feel about a little monthly column when I come back: women and health, that sort of thing? It would be for a trial period to begin with, of course, but it’s the sort of thing that would take off, I’m sure.’

‘
Me
, write?’ Holly said blankly.

‘If you can’t, I’ll sack you. Nepotism is all right, so long as it’s good business. It pays.’

Rowena mentioned a sum that made Holly’s knees go weak.

‘Think about it,’ Rowena advised. ‘There really is something different about you. What…?’

Her words only confirmed something Holly had puzzled over when looking in the mirror earlier; they also sent alarm bells ringing in her head. It was only a matter of time before Rowena cottoned on the fact it wasn’t what, but
who
that had brought about these subtle alterations in her own appearance. True, she’d not been transformed overnight into a raving beauty, and to say she had an inner radiance would have been wildly over the top, not to mention soppy: but there was something indefinably different.

‘Is anything wrong? What brings you back?’ Holly put a lot of effort into sounding interested. She glanced nervously at the clock—oh, no! He’d be here any minute.

Rowena’s slender shoulders lifted as she shrugged off the beautifully cut linen jacket she wore over a plain black T-shirt and the sort of snug-fitting leather jeans that only one woman in fifty looked half-decent in—Rowena looked sensational. ‘Impulse.’ She didn’t quite meet her sister’s eyes. ‘I had a free weekend so I thought I’d see if you had remembered to feed the fish.’

Panic-stricken, Holly looked around the room, half-expecting to see some unfortunate creatures floating glassy-eyed and neglected in a tank. ‘Fish! You don’t…Do you…?’

‘No, Holly, I don’t; it was a joke, darling.’ She lifted the heavy strands of ash-blonde hair off the nape of her neck before she dropped gracefully into a deeply padded swivel chair.

Holly saw Rowena’s slow smile—the one that fascinated every man she’d ever met—appear as she rested her chin on the bridge of her interlocked fingers. Holly loved her sister dearly but she often wished Rowena wasn’t so fascinatingly beautiful.

‘It’s a man, isn’t it?’ Rowena gave a delighted crow of laughter as Holly squirmed uncomfortably. ‘I knew it! It must be serious if you’ve learnt to cook.’

Holly grimaced reproachfully at this reference to her culinary skills. During a brief flirtation with domesticity during her teens, the local birdlife had been the best-fed—although the
best
part had been hotly disputed—in the area. Famously,
nothing
Holly produced in the kitchen had ever made it as far as the table.

‘I’ve not learnt,’ she admitted, eyeing the cookbook from hell with loathing. ‘I’m learning and, if you must know, surprise, surprise, it’s a total disaster!’ She pressed a harassed hand to her sticky forehead. It hadn’t taken her long to realise that she’d been far too ambitious attempting the Thai dish. I ought to have bought Marks and Spencers ready-prepared and lied, she thought.

‘Careful!’ Rowena cried, leaping gracefully to her feet. ‘Are those chillies on your fingers? Don’t go near your eyes.’

Holly automatically snatched her hands away from her face and extended them gloomily. ‘I’ve lost count of the things I’ve chopped—including my fingers. I think I’ve made a wise decision, not opting for surgery.’

‘Go wash your hands,’ Rowena insisted, elbowing her away from the work counter. She glanced at the recipe and then looked at the cover of the book Holly was using. ‘I’ve used this one; it’s quite simple.’ She tucked her pale hair behind her ears in a businesslike fashion.

‘No, Rowena, really, it’s fine. You must be jet-lagged—we’ll eat out.’

‘I flew Concorde,’ Rowena announced with a mellow smile, ‘and cooking relaxes me. It
does
,’ she insisted, in reply to Holly’s scathing hoot of derision. ‘Besides, I want to hear all about this man of yours.’

Holly awkwardly avoided her sister’s curious gaze. They’d never had any cosy girlie chats about boyfriends over the years. She wasn’t sure whether, under the circumstances, now was the best time to start.

Considering Rowena’s long-standing and more importantly
unspecific
relationship with Niall, Holly felt distinctly uneasy about admitting to her sister that he was the new man in her life. It was almost as if saying it out loud would make her realise how foolish the idea was. She was also aware of the deep streak of possessiveness in her sister’s nature. Rowena had never been very forgiving if her little sister had messed with her things. She wasn’t pathological or anything, but…!

‘He’s not mine,’ Holly insisted awkwardly. Admitting it brought a bleak droop to her soft lips.

She perched on a stool and watched Rowena calmly creating order out of her chaos. It was amazing enough to be able to cook without so much as glancing at the endless list of exotic ingredients in the glossy cookery book, but to be able to do that and look like an ice princess was nothing short of miraculous in Holly’s book.

‘Do you do
anything
badly?’ she burst out with rueful affection.

Rowena’s laugh was bitter. ‘Where should I start? How about relationships…?’

Holly was amazed by this revealing remark. ‘Is something wrong, Rowena?…Ouch!’ She winced as she eased herself off the stool.

‘What’s wrong?’

Holly rubbed her tender rear. ‘I went ice-skating this morning…I spent all the time I wasn’t crawling on all fours on my backside,’ she admitted ruefully. ‘And I fell off a horse down at Monksleigh.’

‘I forgot you went there. Isn’t it a dreamy place? I could get used to the life of the landed gentry.’

‘I thought they were pretty down-to-earth,’ Holly suggested tentatively.

‘Yeah, I suppose they are. Tell me, was Miss Beautiful-but-dim there? Tara?’ she elaborated impatiently.

Holly nodded. ‘She’s not dim.’

‘No, but she is beautiful, so permit me a bit of green-eyed monster.’

Holly was amazed by the notion that her sister could envy any woman’s looks. Or perhaps the envy was directed more at the fact Tara had been married to Niall. Rowena’s next words seemed to confirm the latter might well be true.

‘I never thought she was the right woman for Niall.’ Rowena looked grimly pleased that time had proved her right. ‘I tried to warn him, but he wouldn’t listen.’

‘And you
expected
him to?’

‘Ouch! That sounds pretty bitter. Would I be wrong to assume Niall has been winding you up?’ She laughed. ‘The bad man. I’ll have words with him when I see him. The least he could do under the circumstances was be nice to you.’

Holly swallowed. ‘Actually, he was
quite
nice…Mostly,’ she admitted diffidently.

Rowena’s face cleared. ‘I should hope so too.’ Though I can’t imagine what possessed you to get on a horse, even for him. I know how persuasive he can be, but…’ The secret smile made Holly feel nauseous. ‘Now, skates I
don’t
understand. You’ve never had any sense of balance…Did you ever finally get rid of the stabilisers on your bike?’

‘After a fashion.’

‘Good God, was this a
date
today with your new man?’ From Rowena’s expression, it was pretty obvious that ice-skating wasn’t her idea of romance. ‘I suppose,’ she conceded, ‘there are romantic possibilities attached to slithering into the right set of arms.’

‘His son was there.’

Holly had done a lot of slithering and Niall had been there to catch her once or twice. Heat crawled over her skin as she recalled how it had felt on the occasions he’d felt obliged to clasp her unsteady figure protectively against his body—probably more often than was strictly necessary, if truth be told. Holly had felt no reason to complain at the time—she still didn’t.

‘He’s married?’

‘Divorced.’

‘Are you sure about that?’ Rowena enquired cynically.

‘Quite sure…Actually, Rowena he’s—’

Rowena gave a thin-lipped cynical smile and waved her hand. ‘Absolutely perfect, I’m sure,’ she sneered. ‘I suppose that’s him now.’

Holly nodded as the door bell pealed insistently. ‘Probably.’

‘Well, aren’t you going to answer it?’

Holly fumbled with the lock and wondered why she hadn’t just come straight out and told Rowena. It wasn’t as if she was doing anything wrong. Why the hell do I feel so guilty? she wondered.

Niall, a bottle of wine clasped in one hand, stepped over the threshold. His expression as his eyes lighted on Holly gave a very flattering impression of raw hunger.

Holly’s stomach-muscles clenched painfully, she felt weakly light-headed as a hot tide of desire rushed over her. As always, he looked incredible. How did he manage to do this to her, just standing there? In that second of breathless admiration and growing anticipation, she forgot all about Rowena and her disapproval.

‘Niall,’ she breathed huskily.

‘Niall?’ Rowena echoed, abandoning her steaming wok. ‘It is you!’ she exclaimed joyously as she flew straight past Holly, who automatically stepped back—she’d had a lot of practice stepping back for Rowena. ‘How did you know I was back? Did you get the message I left with your service?’ she asked, throwing her arms around his neck and planting a warm kiss on his lips.

The sound of Rowena’s voice had broken the spell for Holly, who was pierced by a stab of white-hot jealousy as she saw Niall’s free hand go automatically around Rowena’s slender waist.

They made a stunning pair. She masochistically forced herself to study the artistically pleasing picture they made as Niall returned the kiss with equally unselfconscious enthusiasm. The concerns Holly had almost successfully pushed to the back of her mind since they’d become lovers came rushing back. Were he and Rowena really just
good friends
? Rowena never flaunted her relationships and where her private life was concerned she was never very forthcoming.

Just when Holly had begun to darkly wonder whether they were going in for some sort of endurance record, they broke apart, although her sister’s hand did stay on the lapel of the black leather jacket he wore.

‘I didn’t know you were back.’

‘Then why this?’ Rowena pressed, taking the bottle from his hand. She surveyed the label and let out an appreciative whistle. ‘Not that I’m complaining. You can entertain me while little sister here is busy with her new man.’ She turned her teasing stare on Holly. ‘You’ve seen more of her recently than me, Niall.’

The satiric glitter in his eyes was too much for Holly’s composure. She sent him a reproachful look of wild appeal and began to choke noisily.

‘I told you to wash the chillies off, Holly.’ Rowena spared her a second before turning her full attention back to Niall. ‘You never did say: did your family swallow the girlfriend story? I must say, I had my doubts. You must tell me
everything
later. Right now, I want to know about this divorced man. Has Holly ’fessed up to you, Niall? She’s gone all mysterious on me. Do you know who he is…?’

Rowena saw his eyes move very obviously to her sister’s face. Holly, her smooth cheeks very pink, was looking pretty miserable. Perhaps she’d taken the teasing too far…

‘As matter of fact, I do.’

The possessive rasp of his deep voice had Rowena spinning back to him, an expression of burgeoning disbelief in her blue eyes. Then she saw the way he was looking at her sister…
Holly…?

Slack-jawed, she did a double-and treble-take. There was nothing very unambiguous about Niall’s expression; in fact, in some quarters it might be considered indecently explicit, but Rowena still couldn’t take it in.

When Holly had dressed earlier, choosing a short silky black skirt and simple cowl-neck matching top, her wayward imagination had wilfully supplied a picture of Niall sliding his hand under her skirt. She’d thought those erotic images had been pretty hot, not to mention fatally distracting, yet unbelievably what she felt now simply hearing his voice in the flesh did more for her than any steamy images could.