Charlotte Lamb Runaway Wife (pdf)

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

crack as if it was breaking inside her, she loved him and hated him because
he had hurt her more than she could bear.
Oliver tried to put his arm around her. Fran, darling, don t, he muttered
unsteadily. You still love me, we just proved that. . . `
We proved I still enjoy sex with you! I d probably enjoy it just as much
with some other attractive guy!
Oliver breathed hoarsely. I don t believe that . . . you couldn t . . . I d kill
you if I thought . . . He lay there in silence for a moment, then said flatly,
I swear to you, I never had an affair with Janice.
Oh, please! No more lies! she said furiously.
Oliver sat up in bed, still naked, his body taut, his face dark with anger.
How can I prove it to you, for goodness sake? It s all a question of
whether or not you believe me, isn t it? And if you can t accept my word,
after being my wife for ten years, you really don t think very much of me!
I d be wasting my time trying to convince you that although I liked Janice
and we got on well, as far as working together went, I never had an affair
with her. I ve never slept with her or even really dated her, not in the
personal sense.
Francesca sat up, pulling her white nightdress down over her body, feeling
more at ease at once, now that she was covered and hidden from him.
What does that mean, for heaven s sake? How do you date someone--but
not in the personal sense? Can you date someone impersonally? Or do you
mean it was personal, but it wasn t a date?
The sarcasm irritated him. He ran an impatient hand through his thick,
black hair, smoothing it down where her urgent fingers had so recently
ruffled and dishevelled it in the wildness of their lovemaking.
It isn t easy to put into words--
'I'll bet! she interrupted bitingly, and he glared at her.
Can you let me get a word out? Janice was my secretary, and a damn good
one, too. I had to see a lot of her. It s unavoidable for a boss to see a lot of
his secretary, in the office and out of it, but it was never personal; never
just us two alone, certainly never with sex in mind, or romance, or
whatever name you want to give it. It was always office business: dinner
with clients, receptions, cocktail parties, trips abroad.
Oh, yes, those trips abroad . . .just you and Janice, staying in some hotel?
Once or twice, maybe, it was just the two of us, but no more than that.
Usually there was a whole team of us, and anyway, I told you. . .there was
never anything but business, Francesca! I never damned well slept with
her!
Maybe you hadn t got that far, Francesca said, looking into the angry
grey eyes and feeling a queer little tremor run through her. He was very
convincing, and she wanted to be convinced, but wasn t that just the
danger? She was hoping he would convince her.
He had fired Janice, she was going, and Francesca knew that all his
attention was focused back on herself, which was where she wanted it to
be. Hadn t that been her plan in joining him in London? Oliver belonged to
her. She had talked Matt into giving her a job so that she could be near
Oliver every day. She had never meant to let him go without a fight, and
Janice had known that, just as she had known that Janice wanted him, too,
and would fight for him.
I suppose you re going to tell me you didn t even know she fancied you?
she mocked, and Oliver shrugged.
I knew she liked me. She made it pretty obvious, in fact she was rather too
obvious about it. Men like to be the ones who do the hunting; they don t
like to feel like they are being hunted. Janice chased me too hard; it was
beginning to annoy me.
If it annoyed you, why did you keep her on? Francesca said at once, her
face unbelieving.
He gave her an ironic smile, his grey eyes gleaming between black lashes,
like water hidden behind dark reeds. She was a good secretary, as I said. I
was reluctant to have my working arrangements upset just because the
stupid girl had designs on me. . .I could handle it well enough until you left
me and she thought her big chance had come.
Francesca frowned, suddenly sorry for Janice. Had she really loved Oliver?
Or had it all been ambition and a desire for the status of his wife?
What will she do now? she asked flatly. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Podstrony