To Become A Bride

Why did Rome need to see a doctor? Obviously because he was ill, she instantly chided herself.

But to have a doctor flown out here to see him…! Was her father’s illness that serious?

Danie suddenly felt unwell herself at the thought of that being the case. She couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to her handsome, fun-loving father.

But Jonas Noble’s visit certainly appeared ominous…

‘I trust you had a comfortable flight?’

Jonas looked across at his host. The older man had greeted him at the door of the manor house a few minutes earlier, and the two of them were now seated in an elegant sitting-room. He had known what Jerome Summer looked like, of course, as he had seen the other man’s picture in the newspapers several times. But those photographs had only shown Rome Summer’s still boyish handsomeness, despite the fact that he was in his early fifties, and couldn’t possibly hint at the sheer vitality of the man.

But what did Rome expect him to say in answer to his question? The flight had been fine—it was Rome’s daughter that he hadn’t found comfortable.

Danie Summer—how could he possibly have known she would be female?—was as prickly as a hedgehog, with all the charm of a herd of stampeding elephants!

But she was beautiful, another little voice inside his head reminded him.

Yes, she was—if you managed to get past those prickles and the acidic tongue! Personally, he would as soon not bother.

‘Fine, thank you,’ Jonas replied brusquely, waving away the offer of a cup of coffee poured from the pot on the table that stood between the two men. ‘You explained the situation to me on the telephone early yesterday evening,’ he continued in businesslike tones. ‘So perhaps I could carry out my examination, and then we can talk some more?’

Jerome Summer didn’t move, his expression agonised now, blue eyes clouded with worry. ‘Before you do that, could I just stress, once again, how delicate this situation is—?’

‘I’ve already gathered that,’ Jonas assured him dryly. ‘Danie doesn’t know, does she?’ he prompted gently.

Rome grimaced, shaking his head ruefully. ‘Has my daughter been asking you awkward questions?’

Jonas shrugged. ‘One or two,’ he confirmed. ‘Oh, don’t worry,’ he assured as the other man began to frown, ‘a patient’s confidentiality is guaranteed as far as I’m concerned.’

Rome shook his head. ‘That won’t stop Danie.’ His frown deepened. ‘Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to have her fly you here. It just seemed the best option at the time—’

‘I think it’s a little late in the day to worry about that,’ Jonas cut in. ‘Besides, Danie is your problem, not mine,’ he added firmly. ‘I came here to carry out an examination…?’ he prompted again pointedly.

The half an hour or so of sleep he had managed to get on the plane had temporarily refreshed him, but he was no longer a young ‘junior doctor’ when a couple of hours sleep grabbed here and there had been enough to keep him going. At the moment the previous night’s lack of rest made him feel every one of his thirty-eight years!

‘I don’t mean to sound terse,’ he excused as he realised he had been exactly that. ‘I had a difficult case to deal with last night,’ he explained. ‘And lack of sleep means I’m a little short on patience today!’

‘Of course.’ Rome Summer stood up quickly. ‘I’ll explain a little more to you as we go upstairs.’

Jonas picked up his case of instruments, listening politely to the other man as they ascended the stairs, realising Rome needed to talk, that he found all of this extremely difficult to deal with.

Jonas sympathised with him, could imagine how the older man must be feeling. For a man who had controlled his world, and that of his family, for the last thirty years, Jonas realised this must all have come as a bit of a shock to Rome Summer. It was something he had no control over whatsoever. But even if the other man’s suspicions proved to be correct, it wasn’t the end of the world. Other people, other families, had gone through this sort of thing before. And would no doubt continue to do so for a long time to come!

But Rome Summer looked less than capable of dealing with it, Jonas realised a short time later, Rome haggard now as the two men returned to the sitting-room, Jonas’s diagnosis conclusive.

‘I just can’t believe it.’ Rome groaned, his face buried in his hands. ‘I had my suspicions, of course—’

‘You wouldn’t have telephoned me otherwise,’ Jonas pointed out dryly, handing the other man a cup of the now cool coffee; in the circumstances, cold or not, the caffeine would do the other man good.

‘But somehow I didn’t really believe it.’ Rome shook his head dazedly, sipping the coffee without even seeming aware of what he was doing.

Jonas let the other man sit quietly for several minutes, giving him time to get over his initial shock; no doubt the coffee would help do that, too. Once the other man had accepted the diagnosis as fact, the two of them could get down to talking over the practicalities of what needed to be done over the next few months.

Rome finally raised his head, looking across at Jonas with slightly moist eyes. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said heavily. ‘I realise I’m not taking this too well.’ He gave a rueful grimace. ‘I was wishing the girls’ mother were here. She would have known what to do.’

‘How many daughters do you have?’ Jonas enquired politely, knowing the other man still needed to talk, and remembering having read somewhere that Rome Summer’s wife had died several years ago.

‘Just the three.’ Rome sighed. ‘But sometimes it seems like twenty-three!’

Jonas imagined that Danie Summer could quite easily account for twenty of those in her own right; she was certainly spirited enough to cause any man a headache, let alone her harassed father!

‘Do they all live at home with you?’ he asked lightly, curiosity prompting him to find out if Danie had some poor man as her husband somewhere in the background!

‘None of them.’ Rome shook his head. ‘Harrie was married last month,’ he said with obvious pleasure and pride. ‘Andie is usually based in London, although she’s been staying here with me the last few weeks.’

‘And Danie?’ Jonas persisted softly.

‘I’m based, not wherever I hang my hat, but wherever I fly my aircraft!’ the woman in question told him coldly as she walked unannounced into the room.

Jonas stiffened at the sound of that caustic voice, although he literally froze with shock once he had turned to look at her. The black baseball cap was gone, and he found that those dark lashes and brows had been deceptive. Hair of the most gloriously deep red now cascaded in loose waves down the length of Danie’s spine.

If Jonas had thought her beautiful before, that red hair was definitely her crowning glory, giving prominence to her high cheekbones, bringing out the deep green colour of her eyes. There was no doubt about it—Danie Summer was one of the loveliest women he had ever set eyes on!

He stood up slowly. ‘Your aircraft?’ he questioned silkily, feeling suddenly defensive in the face of this woman’s arresting beauty.

A look of irritation darkened her features. ‘Rome’s aircraft,’ she corrected, before turning to her father. ‘Everything okay?’ she prompted sharply, looking at him searchingly.

Rome seemed to have undergone a transformation in the last few seconds, Jonas noted wryly, that boyish grin back on his face, his worried expression of a few minutes ago completely dispelled. For his daughter’s benefit, Jonas didn’t doubt. Although there was no way Rome would be able to keep the truth from Danie indefinitely…

‘Everything is fine,’ Rome told Danie lightly. ‘Jonas and I were just discussing having lunch before he returns to town.’

Jonas hesitated at the totally erroneous statement. Considering he hadn’t even had breakfast yet…! But, he had to admit, food of any kind did sound rather tempting at the moment…

‘As long as I’m not inconveniencing anyone…?’ he accepted questioningly.

Glittering green eyes were turned in his direction. ‘Since when has inconveniencing someone bothered you?’ Danie snapped.

Jonas’s mouth firmed at the insult, Rome chuckling softly as he saw his reaction. Well, Rome might find his daughter’s rudeness amusing, but Jonas found it exactly what it was—bad-mannered!

‘You can have lunch with Harrie and Quinn any time, darling.’ Rome put his arm lightly about his daughter’s shoulders.

‘But I was having lunch with them today,’ Danie complained.

So she had had other plans for today, after all… Jonas fumed inwardly; it wasn’t his fault she hadn’t been able to carry them through—her father was responsible for that.

‘Wouldn’t you rather have lunch with two attractive men?’ Rome teased his daughter.

Danie turned to give Jonas a slowly dismissive glance from head to toe. ‘Not particularly,’ she finally replied, before turning back to her father.