Wedding-Night Baby by Kim Lawrence Page B

be the one they wanted. But then I suppose we all like to be indispensable to someone.’ She gave a faint, bitter smile. ‘I think he was quite flattered when people thought I was...’ She paused, hot colour seeping beneath the creamy tinge of her skin as she realised she’d voiced her private speculations out loud.
    â€˜You mean you managed to keep him dangling on a string. How clever of you.’
    â€˜I’m not responsible for the sordid state of people’s minds,’ she snapped.

    â€˜If they knew about your little windfall I’m sure even the most charitable would imagine the worst.’
    As he did, of course, she thought bitterly. ‘Is that a threat?’ she asked derisively. ‘I didn’t ask your uncle for anything except a chance to show what I could do. I haven’t the faintest idea why he made such a gesture.’ Though, knowing Oliver, there had to be some reason; he had never done anything without a reason. Her troubled mind returned to the unopened manila envelope. She still hadn’t been able to bring herself to examine its contents.
    â€˜I don’t know why you don’t come clean with me, Georgina. I’m not interested in your morals, just the smooth running of this firm.’
    â€˜That’s rich,’ she said incredulously. ‘It seems to me you’re exceedingly interested in my morals. Just because I spent one night with you you seem to think you’re the world authority on me. Why am I classed as the tramp? Weren’t you there that night too?’
    The air of casual humour dissipated in the blink of an eye. His legs shot down from their resting place and he was on his feet in an instant.
    â€˜ I was also there in the morning. Which reminds me, I have something that belongs to you.’ He withdrew a handful of notes from his wallet and flung them at her. Caught in a warm current of air, the pieces of paper fluttered slowly to the floor. ‘I’m not liberated enough to allow a woman to pay for my room.’
    She ignored the action, telling herself such childishness was beneath her contempt, but she couldn’t ignore the lick of pure rage that was visible in his eyes.
    â€˜I made a mistake,’ she said flatly. ‘Even before I realised who you were.’ She almost choked on her sense of outrage. What right did he have to act so superior? Anyone would think he was the injured party. ‘Do you think I would have slept with you if I’d known the truth?’ she
demanded, her voice hoarse with anger. ‘You knew that. Why else would you have carried on with the subterfuge?’
    â€˜You’re the one who wanted me to act a part. How was I to know how far you wanted it go to?’ he bit back. ‘Or have you chosen to forget that you instigated one deception? It just gave birth to another. As for telling you who I was, at the moment you’re talking about we were both fairly incapable of thinking much past the gratification of our primitive needs.’ His glittering gaze challenged her to deny this version of affairs.
    But Georgina was far too concerned with coping with the surge of life that jolted her composure to its foundations. Images spun in her head to torment and tease her; even closing her eyes didn’t block them. When she opened them again he continued, his tone now caustic and harsh.
    â€˜You took away any opportunity for me to remedy the situation when you sneaked away like a thief in the night.’
    Thief? If anyone had had anything stolen it was her! But innate honesty made her bite back this retort. He hadn’t taken anything she hadn’t been anxious to give away. The awful irony of it was that, even now, in the midst of hating him, she could still see how easy it would be to give again. It was difficult to think straight when she was reliving those intimate moments.
    â€˜Am I supposed to believe you’d have done that?’ she sneered with as