To Become A Bride

What this young lady needed was a smack on the backside, Jonas decided grimly. If her father didn’t feel capable of administering it, Jonas was sure there must be plenty of other men who would!

Including him…?

Jonas frowned. He had never lifted so much as a finger against a woman in his life, and no matter how much Danie Summer might deserve a good spanking, he knew he wouldn’t be the one to give it.

He had grown up in a totally female household; his mother had been widowed while still in her early thirties, and left with the sole care of Jonas and his two older sisters. Beautiful and warm-natured though she was, she had remained a widow in the succeeding years, managing, with only the help of a housekeeper, to bring the three children up alone. Meaning that Jonas, as the only male in the household, had been cosseted and spoilt by not just his mother and sisters, but the housekeeper, too.

It had been a charmed and loving childhood, instilling him with a deep respect for his mother and sisters, and a liking of women in general.

Except Danie Summer! he realised irritably.

But that, he considered, was mainly her own fault. Danie was obviously, despite her own privileged background, an accomplished and capable woman, who took her work very seriously. It was just the sharpness of her tongue that needed a little attention. A little…? Make that a lot, Jonas corrected himself firmly.

‘Pity,’ he drawled finally, easily able to meet the challenge in Danie’s dark green eyes.

Danie’s mouth twisted. ‘A little sincerity wouldn’t have come amiss in that statement!’ she countered.

‘Danie!’ Rome chided. ‘Must I remind you that Jonas is here as my guest?’

Jonas watched as Danie underwent a transformation, the tension leaving that beautiful face, to be replaced by a smile of gentle concern as she turned to look at her father.

Jonas felt something lurch in his chest at the difference that gentleness made to Danie; it was akin to the sun coming out in the midst of a stormy sky. And well worth waiting for, he acknowledged a little dazedly. Stripped of the cynicism that seemed to temper most of her conversation, Danie Summer was incredibly lovely.

‘Perhaps lunch would be nice,’ she finally conceded grudgingly. ‘Would you like to freshen up before we eat, Mr Noble?’ she offered with a politeness that had so far been lacking from their acquaintance.

He looked across at her with narrowed eyes, not fooled for a moment by her change in attitude, only to be met with a look of such innocence that he knew his suspicion was correct; Danie Summer had her own reason for her sudden politeness. And he had a feeling it could have something to do with the reason for his presence here today!

Well, she was wasting her time if she thought a little polite civility—something that should have been there from the beginning!—would charm out of him the reason for having come here to see her father. As he had assured Rome earlier, his relationship with his patient was always completely confidential.

As Danie Summer was going to quickly find out if she tried to pump him for information!

CHAPTER TWO

WHAT a complete waste of her time this had been, Danie muttered to herself as she pushed her food uninterestedly around her plate. She had intended originally to go upstairs and have lunch with her sister Andie. She’d only conceded to eating down here with her father and Jonas Noble in the hope of being able to find out a little more of the reason for the younger man’s visit. But her father was close-mouthed on the subject, and Jonas Noble was also like a clam!

Which only succeeded in making Danie’s imaginings even darker than they already were—and they were bad enough already!

Her father didn’t look ill. A little strained perhaps, his ready smile not always reaching the warmth of his blue eyes, but other than that he seemed his normal self.

The trouble was, Danie felt so alone in her wonderings. She couldn’t talk to Andie about it; her younger sister had been far from well herself since a bout of flu the previous month. Her other sister, Harrie, had only been recently married, and it would be a pity to spoil that happiness, especially if it should turn out to be unnecessary.

Audrey!

Of course, her father’s assistant of the last twelve years was sure to know exactly what was going on. She might not tell Danie, perhaps, but she couldn’t possibly be as clam-like as these two men had turned out to be!

‘I think I’ll give coffee a miss, if you don’t mind.’ Danie put her dessert fork neatly down on her plate before standing up. ‘I have a few things to do before flying back this afternoon,’ she told her father as he looked across at her enquiringly.

They were seated very cosily around the dining table; Danie grimaced at the scene: her father at the head, Jonas and herself sitting either side of him, facing each other across the table. Jonas’s appetite, Danie had noted disgustedly, had been more than healthy in comparison with her own picking at the food. Obviously the seriousness of his work didn’t affect him!

‘Of course, darling,’ her father accepted lightly. ‘I’ll give you a ring when Jonas needs to go. Oh, and I shouldn’t bother to go and see Andie,’ he added, looking concerned. ‘She was sleeping when I called in on her room earlier.’

‘Perhaps you should get Dr Noble to look at Andie before he leaves?’ Danie suggested tauntingly.

‘What on earth for?’ her father exclaimed.

She shrugged. ‘This flu seems to have been dragging on a long time. Or perhaps general medicine isn’t his field?’ she questioned challengingly.

Brown eyes levelly met the mockery in her gaze. ‘It’s been a few years,’ Jonas conceded dryly. ‘But I’m sure I could manage.’

‘I—’

‘And it’s Mr Noble, Danie,’ Jonas continued hardly. ‘Or Jonas, if you would prefer that?’

She would prefer to know exactly what sort of doctor he was! But she knew, especially since lunch, that she would get nowhere on that subject with either of these men. A talk with Audrey definitely beckoned!

‘I’ll see you later—Jonas,’ she dismissed him pointedly—after all, he’d called her Danie without ever having been invited to do so!

It wasn’t too difficult to locate Audrey; the other woman was as much of a workaholic as Rome, busy dealing with some correspondence in his study when Danie entered there a few minutes later.

The older woman looked up with a warm smile, having become like another member of the family in the twelve years she had worked for Rome. At forty-two, she was tall, blonde, and beautiful.

‘Uh-oh.’ Audrey grimaced, putting aside the letter she had been working on. ‘Who’s been upsetting you?’

Danie scowled, sitting on the side of her father’s desk. ‘Is it that obvious?’

‘Yes!’ Audrey laughed unabashedly.

Danie chose her next words carefully. Very carefully. Because, although she knew Audrey was fond of all of them, the older woman was also completely loyal to Rome. And the last thing Audrey would ever do was break a confidence of his, business or private.

‘Have you met Jonas Noble?’ Danie asked lightly.

Audrey frowned. ‘The man who was with Rome earlier?’

Danie looked at Audrey searchingly. Was she just delaying answering, or did she really not know anything? Danie would be surprised if it were the latter; Rome trusted his assistant implicitly. But if that should turn out to be the case… It made the whole situation seem even more ominous!

‘That’s the one.’ She nodded casually.

‘As a matter of fact, no,’ Audrey replied. ‘Who is he exactly?’

Danie frowned. ‘I was hoping you might be able to tell me that!’

‘Sorry,’ Audrey said. ‘But I don’t have a clue.’

Damn, damn, damn! This was much worse than Danie had thought. Never having married herself, Audrey had become one of the family, and Danie knew that Rome had absolutely no secrets from the other woman. But it now appeared Rome hadn’t told Audrey anything about Jonas Noble, either…

‘All I’ve managed to find out is that he’s some sort of doctor,’ she told Audrey.

‘Oh,’ Audrey murmured slowly.