The Engagement Deal (18 page)

‘There’s a lot of that in the air,’ Quinn muttered, with a sudden surge of fellow-feeling for the man who’d knocked him down.

Niall didn’t display any similar feelings of camaraderie as he rounded angrily on his contemporary. ‘When I want your opinion, Tyler, I’ll ask for it—only don’t hold your breath. On second thoughts,’ he snarled childishly, ‘
do
!’

‘What do you sound like?’ Hands on her hips, Holly divided her withering glance equally between the two men. ‘For God’s sake, grow up, the pair of you!’

Quinn reluctantly smiled as he struggled to his feet. ‘Yes, ma’am.’ He clutched his head in obvious discomfort.

‘Well, you’ve only yourself to blame!’ Holly told him callously, her sympathy sorely tried.

‘That makes it worse.’ Quinn confided.

‘If you can’t stand the pace, perhaps you should stay out of her bed.’

At this fresh slur, Holly caught her breath angrily. ‘This has gone far enough, Niall. You’re behaving like a jealous—’

Niall’s eyes darkened; his body was rigid with barely contained fury. He’d make her want him so badly she’d beg and he’d just walk away—yes, that was what he would do, he brooded, gaining no comfort from his dark thoughts of revenge.

‘Of course I’m jealous, woman!’ he snarled contemptuously. ‘What man wouldn’t be, finding the woman he’s stupid enough to love has just spent the night with a bed hopping Casanova!’

A silent implosion went off inside her skull.
‘What did you say?’

Niall’s head snapped back, as if an invisible fist had just landed a blow dead centre. The dull slashes of high colour made his cheekbones seem more prominent.

‘I said,’ he ground out, in an obvious effort to distract and confuse the issue, ‘I was going to spoil his pretty face.’

In Holly’s admittedly biased opinion, Niall had a
much
prettier face. ‘No, you didn’t.’

‘That’s as maybe, but I am anyway,’ he growled.

Quinn was looking from one to the other with a wry expression on his bruised face.

‘Well, you know where to find me, Niall, if you feel the urge to do anything about it.’ He ignored Niall’s savage hiss as he bent to kiss Holly’s cheek. ‘Thanks, Holly…’ She was impressed he didn’t recoil under the white-hot fury when he turned his head slowly to look directly at Niall. ‘For giving up your bed for me.’

‘Your shirt…jacket…’ Holly mumbled, dashing back into the bedroom and returning with both. Hurry up… Hurry up, she silently urged him, bundling the garments into his arms.

‘Where do you think you’re going, Tyler?’ Niall asked suspiciously.

‘Home, mate,’ Quinn informed him wearily. ‘I’d invite you, but I suspect you’ve got better things to do.’ He looked pretty pointedly at Holly.

He looked like hell, and Holly felt a spasm of guilt because she selfishly couldn’t wait to see the back of him. She made a determined effort to compensate for her callous behaviour, although all she was actually conscious of was the anticipation growing inside her—he had said it, he really had—Niall loves me! She gloatingly luxuriated in the warm glow of this revelation as she touched Quinn’s arm.

‘You won’t drive, will you, Quinn?’ she fussed as he eased on his jacket.

‘To tell you the truth, Holly, I’ve not the faintest idea where I left my car.’ He reached into his jacket pocket. ‘Or my wallet. I don’t suppose you…?’

Holly extracted her purse from her shoulder-bag, which lay on the work counter, and handed him the small wad of notes from inside.

‘I’ve said it before, you’re an angel of mercy. I did say it, didn’t I…?’

Holly grinned. ‘Bye, Quinn.’

‘Er, Holly, you won’t mention this to…erm…anyone…will you?’

It didn’t take a genius to work out who that particular anyone was. Holly nodded understandingly.

‘You didn’t answer my question, Niall,’ she reminded him softly as the door clicked closed.

Niall started. ‘What?’

‘Don’t play dumb. You heard.’

He’d have been blind not to see that nothing in that little interchange had said lovers. Niall swallowed; it was dawning on him that he had egg on his face in a big way!

‘You didn’t sleep with him last night, did you?’

Holly smiled righteously, enjoying his patent discomfort. He deserved to suffer…Had he really said what she’d thought he’d said…? The tight knot of excitement in her chest gave an odd fluttery feeling.

‘Not ever?’

‘You sound disappointed, as would I have been if I’d lusted after Quinn’s body last night—he was comatose.’

‘You must admit, it looked pretty bad,’ he protested feebly.

‘To someone who doesn’t know what trust is,’ she agreed with a sweet smile. ‘Having a mind like a sewer probably helps, too.’

Niall ground his teeth. ‘I just can’t imagine anyone
not
wanting to sleep with you.’

‘You can’t?’ she echoed, not unnaturally entranced by this point of view.

‘You’re the most beautiful, desirable woman I’ve ever seen.’ His hungry eyes roamed restlessly over her face. ‘I love you. I’m in love with you, Holly—have been almost from that first night.’ His voice cracked. ‘Although it took me a little while to catch on, myself, add up all the clues that kept hitting me in the face,’ he rasped.

Holly could hardly credit that she—ordinary run-of-the-mill Holly—had aroused this depth of his feeling in a man like Niall Wesley.

‘You’ve only known me a little time, Niall.’

Niall sighed heavily and brushed a hank of dark hair impatiently from his eyes. ‘That’s part of the problem, isn’t it?’

Holly remained silent with difficulty. She didn’t want to stop him mid-flow but from where she was standing there wasn’t any problem at all! For the first time in what felt like a long long time, there wasn’t a single cloud on her personal horizon.

‘I knew it was too soon.’ Niall shook his head morosely. ‘People don’t fall in love overnight.’

‘You did, it would seem.’ She couldn’t resist the opportunity to hear him say it again. She felt light; flying, she reflected joyously, could not be more exhilarating than this!

‘I did.’ Niall gritted his teeth; his compelling gaze refused to release her. ‘I know you’re not in love with me,’ he continued urgently. ‘But you could be if you let yourself. We can go slowly…’

Holly lowered her eyes. ‘I don’t think so.’

The colour seeped from his skin, leaving an unhealthy grey sheen. ‘I respect your career…’ His voice was low and urgent as his hands curved tightly around her forearms. ‘I’ve already got Tom; there would be no pressure to have a family. As for marriage…’ His shoulders lifted expressively. ‘What does a little piece of paper mean…?’ he said without much conviction. ‘I know I can make you happy if you let me!’ he ground out fiercely.

If she’d let him!
Holly felt tears of pure happiness well in her eyes. She sniffed them back. So, deep down, Niall Wesley was an old-fashioned sort of guy. Holly raised her still-swimming eyes and the sultry glow he saw there immobilised Niall.

‘Don’t give up your day job. As a salesman, you stink,’ she told him huskily.

A glimmer of something like relief started to shine in his extraordinary eyes. ‘Is that so?’

‘I’m just not interested in the product you’re selling.’ Gravely she placed her hands along the sides of his face and gazed lovingly up into his face. ‘I do want babies and the piece of paper—not necessarily in that order, you understand, and not immediately—I mean the baby bit, here.’

His old ruthless grin blazed out. ‘And will just any old father do for these babies?’

Holly found she was happy to see his arrogant confidence back in place. ‘I’m a bit choosy,’ she confessed with a gusty sigh and let her hands slide all the way down his strong broad back until they came to rest with casual familiarity on the taut curve of his bottom. ‘Trust would be important, of course—essential, actually…’ she couldn’t resist teasing.

‘You hypocritical little wretch,’ Niall cried out, kissing the provocative pout clear off her lips. ‘I suppose if you’d discovered your sister or Tara walking half-naked out of my bedroom, you’d have been objective as hell!’

Holly chuckled, a delightfully rich wicked sound. ‘I’d have killed you stone dead,’ she confessed. ‘I don’t know which one I’ve been more jealous of…I mean, it’s not as if I’m exactly a show stopper…’ A troubled frown puckered her smooth brow.

‘You’re a heart-stopper,’ he told her with unflinching conviction. ‘At least, as far as my heart is concerned. I’ve never felt about anyone the way I feel about you. You do believe me, don’t you?’ His voice throbbed with emotion.

‘Yes, oh, yes, Niall, and I feel that way too. Only you can’t blame me for wondering. You didn’t say or even hint even once,’ she protested.

‘I asked you to move in with me,’ he pointed out.

‘For purely practical reasons.’ His lecherous grin made her blush. ‘Well, not quite entirely practical,’ she conceded, ‘but I know love didn’t enter into the argument…Believe me, I’d have remembered,’ she assured him drily.

‘I wanted to show you I was that man prepared to wait for you.’

‘Oh, Niall! That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard,’ she sighed.

His broad shoulders lifted almost self-consciously. ‘I have my moments. Unless he’s a masochist, my love, a man doesn’t tell a woman who goes out of her way to tell him that she’s
not
in love with him that he’s fallen hook, line and the proverbial sinker!’

‘Say it again!’ she insisted urgently.

‘What?’

‘My love…my love!’ she parroted eagerly.

‘My love,’
he repeated obligingly.

Holly happily hooked her arms around his neck and squirmed as close as she could get to his body. ‘You were the big cynic about love, marriage and all that sort of thing. The original once stung man!’ she reminded him with a reproachful pout.

‘I don’t like failure,’ he admitted, ‘but that’s as deep as it went for me with Tara. We were both too young and I, at least, was as shallow as hell. But we had Tom, so I can never regret that. Holly…?’

She responded to the unspoken question in his eyes hastily. ‘I’d have to be pretty shallow myself, not to mention mean, to resent Tom, Niall. He’s part of you, and,’ she explained simply, ‘I love you. You’ve no idea how good it feels to say that,’ she breathed rapturously.

His eyes blazed. ‘You’ve no idea,’ he responded huskily, ‘how good it feels to hear you say it.’ His arms tightened around her narrow ribcage.

‘I thought the quickest way to send you running for cover was to tell you I’d fallen in love.’

‘For the short time I was in denial, you’d probably have been right,’ he conceded with a self-derisive grimace. ‘It’s taken some time,’ Niall conceded slowly, ‘but I think I’m finally ready for a proper grown-up marriage. How about you?’

‘I feel extremely grown-up,’ she confessed.

‘Hell, you look about eighteen,’ he laughed. ‘Thank God you’re not!’ he added with feeling.

‘This isn’t to be a marriage of convenience, then?’ she teased.

‘How’s that?’

‘Well, you must admit it will be very convenient not having to explain to your family that you’ve dumped me.’

‘If you carry on looking at me like that, little one, I’ll have to explain to them why we got married before they got back!’

You ain’t seen nothing yet, she thought happily. ‘Truly…?’ she prompted with a sly sultry smile.

‘Truly.’ He produced a small velvet box from his pocket. ‘Just on the off chance,’ he explained glibly, ‘I had this made smaller and never did put this back in the bank vault.’ He slid the big sapphire on her finger.

‘It’s perfect.’

‘No, you’re perfect. Let’s go and celebrate your perfection!’ he enthused, sweeping her up into his arms.

‘Oh, dear!’ she groaned, burrowing her head against his chest. ‘We can’t…’

‘Can’t?’

‘Not can’t as in “don’t want to”,’ she assured him with flattering frustration. ‘Can’t as in I’m on duty in forty minutes.’

With a rueful grin Niall set her back down on her feet. ‘I suppose we might as well start as we mean to go on. This is going to happen a lot, isn’t it?’

Holly tried to gauge his reaction. ‘It is,’ she confirmed unhappily. ‘Do you mind?’ she asked worriedly.

‘Mind that I can’t spend the morning and possibly the afternoon, too,’ he added, making a lecherous inspection of the open neck of her robe, ‘making love to you? Of course I mind! But, I’m not about to stamp my feet and ask you to choose between me and your work.’ His expression tender, he took her chin in his hand. ‘Give me some credit, Holly.’

‘Sorry,’ she whispered.

‘You can have us both.’

How did I get this lucky? she wondered. ‘If I did have to choose, Niall, I’d—’

He placed a finger to her lips. ‘Do you think I don’t know that, Holly?’ There was a fiercely possessive gleam in his sky blue eyes. ‘You know I won’t be asking.’

Holly swallowed the emotional constriction in her throat. ‘I know. Actually,’ she began unsteadily, ‘I could always be late…?’

Niall caught his breath at the slumberous desire gleaming in her sloe-dark eyes. There was nothing he’d like to do more than respond to that smoky invitation. There was an expectant pause. He pulled himself together and did the decent thing, even though it hurt like hell.

‘On your first day? Shame on you, woman!’ he chided. ‘Get some clothes on before I dress you myself.’ He aimed a firm hand at her rear.

Head on one side, she regarded him with smouldering eyes. ‘How about if I dress myself now and you undress me tonight?’

Niall grinned. ‘Done! So long as those stripy pyjamas aren’t involved,’ he added cautiously. ‘One of these days, you’ve got to tell me who they belong to…’ he brooded.

‘One of these days, I will,’ she agreed solemnly. ‘If marriage is about compromise like this, I think I’m going to like it.’

‘Oh, my darling, you are, I promise,’ he rasped with husky sincerity.

Holly believed him.

ISBN: 978-1-4268-7287-7

THE ENGAGEMENT DEAL

First North American Publication 2004.

Copyright © 2000 by Kim Lawrence.

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

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