Terms Of Engagement

‘What makes you say that?’ Emma was instantly on the defensive.

He shrugged. ‘Intuition.’

Emma didn’t like the analysis, especially as it wasn’t a million miles away from her own feelings, but out loud she said firmly, ‘It just makes good business sense. Jon and I are still friends. What was between us is in the past.’

‘As I said, it’s none of my business anyway.’ Frazer shrugged. ‘What would I know? I’ve never been married.’ He hesitated for a moment. ‘I have learned though, that sometimes it’s safer to leave the past behind you. Digging around in it can be a painful experience.’ He finished his coffee and looked out towards the window. ‘Sun is out.’

‘So it is.’ Emma wished it would rain again. She would have liked to ask him what had happened for him to draw that conclusion.

‘If you change your mind about selling, give me a ring.’ He got out his wallet to pay for their drinks and slid a card with his number on it towards her.

‘I’ve already made it clear that I won’t.’

‘I’d be prepared to rent some of your lower pastures.’ He smiled, not one bit deterred by her obstinacy. ‘I’ll pay good money. Maybe not as good as your film producer, but it’s an option if you decide you don’t want a lot of strangers trudging around your house.’

Emma picked up the card and played with it absently in her long fingers. ‘I’ll think about it.’

He nodded, and then glanced at his watch. ‘I’d better get going. I’ve got a lot of work still to get through.’

‘Yes, I have too.’ Emma wondered if his earlier gentle friendliness had just been a ploy to soften her, so that he could get his hands on some of her land. She was surprised by how disappointed that idea made her feel.

Despite his words, he made no move to leave. Their eyes met. She felt a flare of red-hot heat inside her. Frazer McClarran was just too disturbingly sexy. Suddenly she found herself wanting to detain him, to talk to him some more.

‘Can I ask you something?’ she said impulsively.

‘Sounds ominous.’ He smiled.

Emma had never met a man whose smile could arouse butterfly sensations in her stomach. With determination she pushed the feelings away. ‘I’m just curious to know why my uncle fell out with you.’

‘Ah.’ Frazer’s lips twisted ruefully. ‘It was an old feud between him and my father. So long ago now that I’ve almost forgotten what it was about. But Ethan didn’t forget. He kept the fires well stoked even after my father died.’

‘And you can’t remember what it was about?’

Frazer shrugged. ‘Ethan withdrew away from society after his daughter died. He was a very bitter, stubborn man. The more people tried to help him the more he drove them away.’

‘I take it he wouldn’t sell to you either,’ Emma said with an impish grin.

‘Something like that,’ Frazer agreed. ‘I told you. You’re a lot like him.’

‘Well, I wouldn’t know. I never met my uncle, or for that matter my cousin who died.’

Frazer looked surprised. ‘Why not?’

‘It’s a long story,’ Emma said softly. ‘And I wouldn’t want to bore you with it.’

‘I wouldn’t be bored.’ Frazer seemed to settle himself back down against the sofa.

‘I suppose you knew Ethan and his family quite well? You sound as if you’ve lived in these parts for a long time.’

‘My family go back several generations here.’ Frazer nodded.

‘Well…Ethan’s brother, Robert, was my father. My mother met him when they were both studying at Oxford. Their affair was passionate and my mother fell wildly in love. But the relationship was never meant to be long-term as far as Robert Daniels was concerned. He had no intention of marrying my mother. In fact, when he discovered she was pregnant he said he didn’t want to see her again. She left Oxford and went to live with her sister in Kent. My father got his degree and went back to take over the running of his family estate. I never met him.’

‘A nice guy,’ Frazer murmured caustically.

‘Was he?’ Emma asked, curious to hear any snippets of information about the man she had always wondered about.

‘I was being facetious.’

Seeing the look of disappointment in her eyes, he added, ‘To be honest, I don’t remember him that well. He was Ethan’s older brother, and the estate went to him after their father died. Then Robert died…I must have been about eleven at the time. If I remember correctly, it was a drowning accident.’

Emma nodded. ‘Yes, it was. The only reason I know was that Ethan wrote to my mother and told her. Apparently, every year on my birthday my mother had sent my photograph to my father. I think she hoped for a long time that he would come after her and change his mind. But of course he never did. Never so much as wrote to acknowledge receiving the photographs. When Ethan inherited the estate after his death, he found the photographs bundled together at the bottom of a drawer.’

‘But Ethan didn’t invite you up to Scotland?’ Frazer asked.

‘No. After my father’s death it was as if a curtain had been pulled down over the past. My mother married Tony and had two sons.’

‘The car enthusiasts?’

Emma nodded. ‘Sean is nineteen. He’s off seeing the world. Taylor is twenty, married with a young baby. He’s a rally driver, based in France at the moment.’

‘And you’ve ended up inheriting your father’s estate after all,’ Frazer remarked.

‘Ironic, isn’t it?’ Emma said lightly. ‘Apparently I was Ethan’s only living relative, so he made his will out to me. You can imagine my surprise when his solicitor tracked me down and his letter fell through my letterbox. I mean, I had never so much as received a Christmas card from my father or his brother. Then suddenly all their worldly possessions fell at my feet.’ She was silent for a moment. ‘I suppose it would have gone to Ethan’s daughter had she lived.’

‘I guess so,’ Frazer agreed quietly. ‘And maybe Ethan felt guilty about the way his brother had treated your mother.’

Emma shrugged. ‘I suppose I’ll never know what he thought. I would have liked to have known him though…and my cousin, Roberta.’ She smiled sadly for a moment. ‘I once asked my mother for their address. I was only about fifteen at the time, and I had this romantic notion that I could turn up on their doorstep and be welcomed. She refused to give it to me and my stepfather was furious that I had asked…’ She trailed off. What she didn’t tell Frazer was that she had been very unhappy at that time in her life. She had never felt as if she’d fitted in to her mother’s new life.

Frazer’s eyes moved absently over her red-gold hair. ‘You look like your cousin. Roberta had the same colouring, the same way of holding a man’s attention.’

Emma didn’t know how to take that remark. Was it a compliment? ‘How well did you know her?’

‘Fairly well. We were at school together for a while.’ He hesitated. ‘She was only twenty-five when she died.’

‘So I heard. It was really very sad. No wonder Ethan felt bitter.’

Frazer inclined his head. ‘I suppose you’re right.’ He glanced again at his watch. ‘I’ve really got to go.’

‘OK. Thank you for the coffee.’ She wondered if she had talked too much. She didn’t usually open up like that, especially to someone she hardly knew.

He looked over at her, held her eyes for a moment. ‘Would you like to have dinner with me one night?’ he asked suddenly.

The invitation made her blood rush like fire through her veins. She hesitated, then smiled and managed to say casually, ‘That would be nice.’

He stood up. ‘OK, I’ll give you a ring and we’ll arrange something.’

‘It might be better to wait until after this weekend. I’ll be fairly tied up with my ex-husband being here.’