The Yuletide Engagement & A Yuletide Seduction by Carole Mortimer Page B

else to her, about “jumping from the frying pan into the fire”. Well, she had certainly done that where Patrick was concerned; he was a more unsuitable man for her to have fallen in love with than Gareth had ever been!

CHAPTER EIGHT
    â€œD ID you enjoy yourself on Saturday?”
    Ellie gave a startled glance towards the open door of her office, her gaze narrowing as she focused on Gareth standing in the doorway, looking incredibly cheerful. As well as self-confident.
    The latter instantly made Ellie more wary than she would normally have been in his unwanted presence, and she glanced towards the door that connected hers to George’s, to make sure it was firmly shut, before replying. “The Delacortes gave you and Sarah a wonderful engagement party,” she answered non-committally.
    Gareth grinned, coming fully into the room before closing the door behind him. “That didn’t exactly answer my question, now, did it?” he reproved derisively, moving to sit on the edge of her desk as he looked down at her with mocking blue eyes.
    Ellie sighed. “I didn’t think it really needed an answer,” she dismissed, still eyeing him warily, sure his pleasantness wouldn’t last for long; nowadays it usually didn’t.
    Besides, she remembered all too well his nastiness on Saturday evening. Still had the bruises to prove how angry he had been then.
    He shrugged. “Thanks for the cut-glass crystal vase, by the way. Sarah will be writing to everyone formally,of course, but I thought I would come and thank you personally.”
    Cut-glass crystal vase? Ellie had been aware that Patrick had carried a gift-wrapped present into the house on Saturday evening, of course, but even if it had been a cut-glass crystal vase, what did it have to do with her…?
    â€œâ€˜Congratulations, love from Patrick and Ellie’,” Gareth continued tauntingly. “You’ve been ‘Patrick and Ellie’ for how long?” he added scathingly.
    A matter of days. Except they weren’t “Patrick and Ellie” at all.
    She’d had no idea that Patrick had put her name beside his on the gift card that had accompanied the engagement present he’d given to his cousin on Saturday. She realised why he had done it, of course, but he might have warned her!
    She gave Gareth a stony look. “Gareth, I have no idea why you should be in the least interested,” she scorned.
    â€œI’m not. Not really.” He still looked incredibly pleased with himself. “It will be quite a coup for the Fairfax family if you and Toby manage to pull this off.” He gave her an admiring look. “I must say, Ellie, you’re something of a surprise. Especially after your holier-than-thou attitude before.” He shook his head. “Those people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, you know.”
    Ellie gave him a suspicious look. Could he possibly have been drinking? Admittedly it was only eleven-thirty in the morning, but she couldn’t think of any other explanation for the fact that what he was saying made absolutely no sense to her.
    She shook her head, not wanting to prolong thisunwanted conversation any further by asking him for an explanation. “I’ll bear your advice in mind, Gareth,” she dismissed. “Now, if you wouldn’t mind, I have some work to do…?” She gave a pointed look at where he sat on some of the papers on her desk.
    Gareth grinned, making no effort to move. “Don’t you see, Ellie? There’s no longer any need to be all coy with me. The truth is, you and I are more alike than I would ever have guessed.”
    She stiffened defensively. “I don’t think so!” she snapped distastefully.
    â€œBut of course we are,” he contradicted happily. “It’s a pity you came on so prim and proper six weeks ago; you and I would have made a great team. And Toby, of course.” He had been