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The splendid swimming pool, Olympic in size, was set amidst perfectly manicured lawns, and was flanked by
changing rooms, a sauna and a snack bar. The rockery below was a profusion of colourful spring plants and led down to the tennis courts, and beyond lay lush tropical flower gardens.

They seated themselves on a cushioned hammock beside the pool, alone except for a pretty girl in a very brief bikini, lounging at the far end. A waiter appeared instantly, and they ordered soft drinks before Caroline, who was wearing a swimsuit under her dress, decided to have a swim. It did not take much encouragement to persuade Tom
to
join her, even though he had to trudge back up to his room to change.

He dived in from the highest board, executing a perfect somersault, which Caroline knew was not for her benefit but for the young girl.

'She's a smasher,' he remarked as he churned water next to her. 'Just what I need. All work and no play would make an exceedingly dull boy!'

'As you're in such an athletic mood,' she teased, 'I'll race you to the far end. The loser pays for the drinks.'

'Thanks for the treat!' he grinned. 'You'll have a fit when you see the prices!' With a parting splash he set off at a terrific pace for the shallow end.

They fooled around for a while, then climbed out and relaxed on the poolside mattresses, drying off in the late sun.

'Are you coming up?' Caroline asked as she finished her iced Coca-Cola and beckoned to the waiter for the bill. 'I'm going to have a pest before I change. I didn't get much sleep last night.'

'And Matt will see you don't get much tonight. Thank goodness you're in love with him—it helps salve my conscience.' Tom's eyes narrowed. 'Although I get nightmares worrying what we'll do if you don't manage to get him to propose.'

'The one thing we won't be able to do is repay Mark,' Caroline sighed. 'I hate all this deceit. If only I could think of some other way ... Perhaps if I told Matt the truth ...'

'You mustn't—not at this stage. Waft till you've got him hooked.'

'Next time I'll let you do your own dirty work. I mean it,' she added, as she saw his slight smile. 'If I hadn't wanted to repay Uncle Bill, I'd have let you stew in your own juice.'

'There'll be no more stewing,' her brother assured her. 'I'm a reformed character.'

With a grunt Caroline stood up. 'Coming?'

'I'll stay down a little longer,' said Tom, throwing a quick glance at the girl at the far end of the pool.

'I'm so glad you've found something to take
your
mind off
my
pressing problem!' she commented dryly, and walked off to her room.

After a shower she lay down to rest, but was far too tense to relax, and she wandered round the room.

Of course Tom was right. She dared not tell Matt the truth yet. His trust in her was far too delicately balanced, and it would not take much to tip the scales back again and convince him she was only interested in him for his money. She sometimes wondered if she would ever be able to tell him the truth. But once again she put that unpleasant thought aside. The thing to do was to get over this first hurdle. Once past the winning post it should be easy to convince him he had picked himself a winner in the love stakes.: Or would it? With his strong feeling for honesty would he forgive her for her initial deception? That was the crux of the matter.

When the time came for her to dress, she changed three times, flinging each garment on the floor without care, in her anxiety to find something suitable.

Finally she chose one of her most simple dresses, a deep blue chiffon whose bare top enhanced the fine bones of her shoulders and turned her fair hair to silver. Excitement added colour to her high cheekbones, and she knew that Matt would not see her as a sleeping beauty tonight, but as a girl on the brink of awakening.

When Tom called for her he was formally attired in a white dinner jacket. He grinned at her expression as he came into her room.

'Aren't you rather overdressed?' she asked.

'I'm not planning to go with you. I've got a date with that smasher who was down at the pool. I'm taking her to the Casino in Cannes.'

Caroline was alarmed. 'I thought you'd given up gambling?'

'I have—with other people's money. But I got an advance from Penny.'

'If you blow that lot, don't expect me to help you out.'

'I won't.' He was unabashed. 'Give my apologies to Matt and the others. I'm sure he won't miss
me.
He'll only have eyes for you!'

'What's your girl-friend doing down here oh her own?' she asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

'Chantal's her name, and she's not on her own—or at least only during the week. Her husband joins her from Paris at the weekends. She's been terribly bored,
poor dear. Until we arrived, she was the only one here under sixty!'

'That's probably the reason her husband thought it safe to leave her here,' Caroline retorted. 'Don't forget we have to be up early.'

'A short, well-deserved sleep is better than a long restless one!'

Against her will she laughed, then made her way down to the lobby, where Lee and Ann were waiting by the Mercedes. Their descent to the coast was swift and they were soon driving through the ancient stone arch that led to Antibes harbour. Hundreds of boats were moored there, although most were not in use, as it was too early in the year. The variety of craft was endless—sailing boats, cabin cruisers and motorboats —but Matt's yacht,
Mystique,
dwarfed them all, its blue and white painted hull giving it the appearance of a mini-liner.

Matt stood at the top of the gangway, tanned and handsome and casually dressed in navy slacks and open-necked sports shirt, that disclosed the dark hairs on his chest. His wide, sensual mouth broke into a friendly smile as he welcomed Lee and Ann, though the smile lightened as he turned his attention to Caroline, his eyes devouring her hungrily.

'You look wonderful,' he said as he kissed her. 'I've missed you,' he whispered, his heartbeat quickening to match her own as he felt her response.

'I've missed you too,' she admitted. 'Thank you for the flowers. They were lovely.'

'Red roses for a blue lady!' he grinned, and walked with her across the deck where Mark and Helen were waiting.

'Welcome aboard,' said Helen, sounding as if she were welcoming Caroline to a funeral. No doubt if Helen had had her way, the dinner party would have been turned into a wake!

Over cocktails in the main saloon they all chatted amiably, though Helen tried to address as few remarks as possible to Caroline.

'Your hotel is lovely,' Caroline turned to Matt. 'Why didn't you tell me it was yours?'

'I thought you knew.' His eyes caressed her. 'I only send my special friends there.'

'Business friends or girl-friends?' she teased.

'Both,' he replied, then added with a glint in his eyes: 'If you want, you can stay here. This is one place where I can guarantee the room service!'

Dinner was announced before she could reply and Matt propelled her towards the main deck, seating her next to him. The night was exceptionally mild and because of it they ate under the orange and white fringed awning. The boats around them were in darkness, but the harbour lights glowed softly, reflecting on the water and turning it to black satin.

Caroline felt as if she was in fairyland. Candles flickered in Baccarat crystal holders on the glass-topped table, and orchids lay scattered between the plates. A sigh escaped her and Matt was quick to hear it.

'Tired?' he asked.

'No,' she smiled. 'Happy.'

'So am I.'

Before he could elaborate, Helen called to him from the other side of the table, and he obediently turned his attention towards her. Some of Caroline's happiness
ebbed. Helen might be engaged to Mark, but she was still determined to retain her hold upon Matt.

The dinner was half way through before he was again able to talk to Caroline, and. because she was irritated with him—did he always have to do as Helen ordered?—she refused to let him return to anything intimate.

'You have a superb cook,' she said brightly.

'I know. He used to work in one of the best restaurants in Cannes.'

'How did you persuade him to leave?'

'By offering him more money. That never fails— with anyone.'

Caroline trembled and was glad he could not read her thoughts.

'Do you spend enough time here to warrant a full-time chef?' she asked.

'I come here often—but only for days at a time, and it's impossible to get decent help on a temporary basis. This way, if I feel like coming down on the spur of the moment, I know I don't have to worry.'

She did not reply. How little one worried about money when one had a surfeit of it. She tried to imagine the cost of running a boat this size and boggled at the sum.

'What next?' asked Matt, and with a start she saw a waiter standing beside her with a small sweet trolley.

'I should only have fruit,' she replied.

'But you won't?'

'I never do what I should.'

'Only where food is concerned!' he grunted. 'Whatever I offer, you always refuse.'

'Then you should make me an offer I can't refuse.'

'I might at that.' He did not elaborate. 'Let's have coffee inside.'

They moved into the elegantly pine-panelled saloon, and Caroline strolled over to look at the Bonnard still life. Although she knew Matt regarded the yacht as another home, she could not believe he would keep such a valuable painting here.

'They're exquisite,' she said as Matt joined her when she moved on to a small Renoir portrait of a young girl. 'But surely this can't be a very safe place to keep them?'

'Safer than you imagine. The yacht is alarmed and there's always someone on board. In any case, there's no point having beautiful possessions if you're going to keep them locked away in a vault.'

'I like the pictures you have in your home too,' she told him.

'At one time I collected purely as a hedge against inflation. I very often didn't even bother to inspect what my agent had bought.'

'Another William Randolph Hearst?' she asked with a smile.

'Hardly,' he replied dryly. 'My humble collection would fit into one of the maids' bedrooms at San Simeon!'

'What happened to arouse your interest, then?' she asked.

'I went to a Sotheby's auction one morning. I'd never been before and it was an eye-opener to me. The challenge of outbidding a rival is something that appeals to my competitive nature—although there's always the danger of being carried away. I occasionally was at first—but I soon learned. Since then I've attended sales
all over the world and learned to appreciate what I buy.'

'Don't you think it's time Caroline went home?' Helen called from across the room. 'Lee wants to start work early in the morning.'

Knowing how quick a camera lens was at picking up fatigue, Caroline conceded that Helen had a point, though Matt did not appear to appreciate it.

'I'll drive you back to the hotel,' he told her. 'Lee and Ann can take the other car.'

Wondering if this was the moment she had been anxiously awaiting, Caroline said goodnight to Mark and Helen, and carefully made her way down the gangplank.

'The sooner Helen marries Mark, the better,' said Matt as they drove out of the harbour. 'I think she's jealous of your past relationship with him.'

'Or my relationship with you?'

'I can't think why she should be. If I were off her hands it would stop her worrying about me. She watches over me like a mother hen.'

'Or a jealous woman.'

'Don't be silly.' He dismissed the idea and took her hand in his. 'Let's not talk about Helen. Right now all I want is to talk about us.'

With a sudden squeal of brakes he brought the car to a halt at the side of the deserted country road and pulled her into his arms.

Caroline surrendered to his embrace, knowing this was what she had been longing for since they had been apart. Her senses became alive at his touch and she drowned in the ecstasy of their kiss. Her desire mounted and she pressed closer to him.

'Matt darling,' she murmured, her body trembling. The sound of her own voice reawakened her sensibilities and she forced herself to draw away, knowing she would be lost unless she did.

'Don't move,' Matt held her tightly. 'I've never wanted a woman as much as I want you. Each time I see you, I want you more.'

She did not trust herself to speak, but instead brushed back her hair which had tumbled over her face.

He stopped her with his hand. 'You look even more desirable when you're untidy. It's how I picture you when we're apart—wanton and abandoned.'

'But not in your car,' she joked shakily.

'No,' he said. 'In my bed!' and with a quick flick of a switch, the front seats tilted back.

Caroline struggled to sit up, so furious she was speechless. But Matt held her down, and only as he bent lower over her did she realise his body was shaking with laughter.

'If you could have seen the expression on your face as you fell back,' he chuckled, his mouth against her hair. 'For a sophisticated girl, you're very naive about men.'

'And for a sophisticated man you have a childish sense of humour!' she snapped.

'I'm sorry you didn't find my joke funny.' He pressed the switch again, and the seats rose back to their former position. 'When I do make love to you, it won't be in a car like some adolescent youth.' He switched on the ignition. 'I'll take you back to the safety of your hotel, my darling Caroline. But don't forget to lock your door in case I come prowling in the middle of the night!'

He resumed driving and she was silent for several moments as she regained her composure, and with it her sense of humour.

'It was silly of me to get so upset,' she apologised.

'And it was silly of me to play such a stupid trick on you.' Matt lifted his foot off the accelerator as they approached the drive to the hotel. 'I can't remember the last time I apologised to a woman—other than you. It's because you're so quick to admit when
you've
been wrong.' He pressed the tips of her fingers against his mouth. 'Forgive me, sweetheart.'

BOOK: Unknown
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