Bride By Blackmail

Georgie looked up at him uncertainly in the dimmed lighting of the hallway. ‘I love you too, Andrew,’ she told him uncertainly.

‘That’s all that matters, then, isn’t it?’ he murmured, before kissing her.

For a brief moment Georgie froze, still thrown by Andrew’s sycophantic attitude towards Jed a few minutes ago. Not only that, Andrew had actually criticised her for her behaviour towards the man!

But as Andrew continued to kiss her the anger she felt towards him began to evaporate, and she kissed him back with a fierceness that bordered on desperation, knowing that the last thing she needed at this moment was to feel less than sure of the feelings she and Andrew had for each other.

‘Wow!’ he murmured a few minutes later as they broke their embrace, his forehead resting lightly on hers as he looked at her. ‘Perhaps we shouldn’t wait until next Easter to get married, after all?’ he urged huskily.

No! Yes! Georgie was no longer sure about anything at this moment… Part of her wanted to marry Andrew tomorrow. But another part of her knew that, no matter how she might try to shut it out, Andrew’s attitude towards Jed, even if it was purely a business manouevre, still bothered her. For a start, it didn’t seem characteristic of the Andrew she’d thought she knew…

She was also aware that it was seeing Jed Lord again that was making her have doubts about waiting until Easter to marry Andrew…

‘If it takes you this long to think about it…’

Georgie’s frown deepened. Andrew sounded almost sulky…

‘I was only joking, Georgie,’ Andrew assured her as he saw the consternation on her face. ‘An Easter wedding is fine with me. Which reminds me. We really should start doing something towards making plans in that direction. My mother tells me that it takes months to arrange a wedding.’

Maybe it did, to arrange a church wedding, with hundreds of guests invited and a huge reception afterwards at a fashionable venue. But, as a divorced woman, Georgie knew that wasn’t the sort of wedding she and Andrew were likely to have. Something else she really needed to discuss with him…

But not now. She needed to get this weekend over with first, then she and Andrew could sit down and talk about their future together. Including what sort of wedding they were going to have and who the wedding guests were likely to be. The fact that she didn’t want to invite one single member of her family was definitely going to be cause for discussion!

Oh, Andrew knew that both her parents were dead, and that she had been brought up by her grandfather. But he wasn’t a subject she had discussed in any great detail either. Andrew had seemed to accept her reticence, but Georgie wasn’t as sure Annabelle Lawson was going to be so agreeable about it. Especially when the other woman learned exactly who Georgie’s grandfather was!

‘If you’re really sure about waiting, we still have plenty of time for all that,’ she soothed.

Andrew looked at her searchingly. ‘All this discussion about divorce hasn’t put you off, has it?’ he asked.

In all honesty, it wasn’t talk of divorce that had suddenly made her feel less than certain about her wedding to Andrew; it was this other side of her fiancé that she had never seen before.

Nevertheless, her mouth firmed as she recalled exactly whose divorce had been discussed this evening. ‘Not in the least,’ she answered. ‘You are absolutely nothing like Jed Lord,’ she added with certainty. That was one thing she was sure of; she wouldn’t be attracted to Andrew if he were anything like Jed Lord! ‘I can all too easily imagine why his wife wanted to get away from him!’

Andrew looked concerned. ‘You really didn’t like him, did you?’

‘No,’ she confirmed with an inward shudder. Jed wasn’t a man who was easy to like; you either loved him or hated him. And Georgie knew which emotion she felt towards him!

‘Oh, well, with any luck you may not have to meet him again,’ Andrew said. ‘I don’t think my father will keep him waiting too much longer for an answer on that land.’

Georgie looked at him searchingly. ‘Is everything all right? With your father, I mean?’ If it wasn’t, maybe that would explain the difference she had sensed in Andrew’s manner earlier?

Of course,’ Andrew dismissed. ‘Now, it’s time we both went to bed, young lady; I for one am absolutely bushed.’ His words were followed by an involuntary yawn. ‘See.’

Georgie shook off her earlier mood of uncertainty as she smiled at him; it was probably seeing Jed again that had given her these misgivings! ‘I’ll see you in the morning, then.’

Andrew nodded. ‘But let’s not make it too early, hmm?’ he ventured, sounding tired.

‘As late as you like,’ Georgie assured him.

With any luck Jed would already have left the next morning by the time she put in an appearance.

She could always hope!

CHAPTER THREE

‘LAWSON has absolutely no idea you were once married to me, does he?’

Georgie froze in the doorway of the bathroom that adjoined her bedroom, staring across to where Jed reclined on the bed—her bed!—still dressed in the dark suit and white shirt he had worn for dinner, his head resting back on the raised pillows as he calmly returned her startled gaze.

Georgie could feel the anger building within her, was absolutely furious at finding him here, incredulous that he could have dared—have dared—

But why should she be surprised by anything Jed chose to do—hadn’t he always done exactly as he pleased?

Of course he had. And he would see no problem now in invading the privacy of the bedroom allotted to her by Annabelle Lawson if that was what he chose to do. Georgie should have known she had escaped too easily earlier!

Georgie stepped further into the room, relieved she had put on her nightgown and robe after taking her shower. Although she doubted that if she had been stark naked it would have bothered Jed unduly. After all, he had seen it all before, hadn’t he.

‘Get out,’ she told him in a coldly even tone.

Being Jed, he didn’t move. ‘Exactly when are you going to tell Lawson about me?’ he demanded scornfully. ‘Before the wedding, one hopes,’ he added mockingly.

‘I don’t happen to think that is any of your business,’ Georgie responded icily. ‘No?’

‘No!’ she confirmed shortly. ‘I believe I told you to get out,’ she then reminded him forcefully, all too aware of how alone they were in the privacy of her bedroom.

‘I believe you did,’ Jed confirmed, still making no effort to move. ‘Expecting Lawson, are you?’ he continued scathingly, eyeing the pale peach-coloured silk robe and nightgown she wore.

Georgie drew in a sharp breath, her body feeling suddenly warm under the onslaught of that assessing gaze. ‘Again, I don’t happen to think that is any of your business,’ she snapped.

Jed shrugged, sitting up to swing his legs over the side of the bed, his sheer size suddenly dominating the room. ‘Maybe you don’t,’ he conceded hardly. ‘But I do.’

Her eyes widened. ‘You—’

‘You’re looking good, Georgie.’ Jed cut in huskily on her angry rebuke, grey eyes moving slowly over her, from the top of her fiery head to her size four feet. ‘Very good,’ he amended appreciatively.

Georgie’s cheeks were as fiery red as her hair by the time that caressing grey gaze returned to her face.

How did he manage to do that? To make her completely aware, not only of the forceful attraction of his body but also her own body’s response to it? Her skin seemed to burn beneath the silk material, her nipples were taut and pouting, and there was a warm glow at her thighs.

‘You look awful,’ she returned bluntly.

If not exactly truthfully. Jed did look older, there were lines beside his nose and mouth that hadn’t been there a year ago, and now there were flecks of grey threaded into his almost black hair, too. But none of those things detracted from the fact that he was extremely attractive—he’d always been!

And probably always would be, she conceded wearily. Jed was not only a very handsome man, his hard features seeming as if they were carved from granite, his body lithe and fit, but he also exuded a strength, an arrogance, that would always be attractive to women, no matter what his age.

Some women, Georgie amended forcefully. She—thank goodness!—had been irrevocably cured of her own attraction towards him!

His mouth twisted ruefully at her deliberate insult. ‘I see you’re still as truthfully honest as ever,’ he drawled. ‘At least as far as I’m concerned,’ he continued pointedly.