Strategy For Marriage

That thoroughly panicked her. “I tell you, it was a wrong number.”

The phone rang again but Ashe saved her the trouble of answering it. “McKinnon,” he thundered. Straight from the Oval Office.

The very last thing Josh would have been counting on, Christy thought, secretly thrilled. Ashe McKinnon in her apartment. If McKinnon hadn’t looked like he wanted to lynch someone she might have been able to laugh.

He hung up, obviously having frightened the caller off. “If Deakin were here right now he’d have to be hospitalised. It was him, wasn’t it?” He drilled her with his brilliant stare.

“Don’t jump to conclusions,” Christy found herself imploring. Usually the people she dealt with were easy to handle. Not the cattle baron. No way. “It was the wrong number. I get lots of them.”

He stared at her without a flicker of belief. “As an attempt at protecting your ex-boyfriend that was pitiful.”

So it was, but the whole situation was highly explosive. And she was the cause of it. She should never have gatecrashed the wedding, no matter how badly Josh had treated her. “All right, then, I’m protecting Callista.” She refused point-blank to be intimidated. “From you as much as him. Do you want to get back into town and punch him out? For all your talk of cool, common sense, you’re a passionate man.” She put out a hand and tentatively touched him. Much as a brave or alternatively stupid person would attempt to soothe a big cat. “Please relax. Settle down.” But settling down didn’t appear to be on the agenda.

“They’re supposed to be on their goddamn honeymoon and he’s ringing you?” he retorted in amazement. “It’s enough to make anyone reel.”

“It’s been done before.” She borrowed some of his own cynicism. “Men ringing their mistresses and old girlfriends from the honeymoon suite. A crime of the heart. But it happens. The thing is you haven’t got the right impression of me.”

“So educate me,” he challenged, looking down that fine, straight nose at her.

“I can scarcely expect you to listen, you’re so judgmental, but I don’t, repeat, don’t, fool around with married men. As far as I’m concerned, they’re off-limits.”

“Fine words,” he bit off edgily, his expression so infuriating, before she knew it, Christy’s hand was in midair, carrying all the weight of her unhappiness behind it. He caught it, arresting her fiery reaction. “Now there’s a first,” he said in very dangerous tones, as she stood there swaying. “No one has ever taken a swing at me before, much less a woman. I want to believe you, Christy Parker, but I have to say I’m absolutely rattled.”

“Can’t you appreciate it’s the way I feel myself.” She concentrated hard on rubbing her wrist. He hadn’t hurt her applying just enough force to stop the blow but he had rendered her trembling. God knows what was at the heart of it. “This has been a dreadful day. A knock-out sort of day. I really should go to bed. Right now. This minute.”

His brilliant eyes suddenly sparkled with black humour. “Maybe I should stick around in case you decide to call Deakin back?”

Pure melancholy was taking hold of her. “I can’t believe how cruel you are,” she murmured. “Not that I care. After tonight I’ll never see you again.”

He was aware how violently he wanted to change that. “You don’t believe that any more than I do.”

It was said in such a disturbing voice, with the irony she was becoming used to and something less identifiable. Whatever it was it sent shock waves through her. Feelings very hard to deal with on this day of days.

“I’ll speak to you tomorrow.” He sounded perfectly calm, even calculating.

“About what?” she asked bewilderedly, trying to find some clue in the unreadable depths of his eyes.

“Oh we’ll go someplace,” he tossed off carelessly. “I don’t have to be back home until the end of the week.” Not true but what the hell! He marvelled at how completely his focus had changed. “You need something to shake you out of your misery. You didn’t love Deakin. No one could love anyone without a soul.”

Soulless most of all. “I thought I loved him,” Christy said, horrified when she felt tears well into her eyes. She couldn’t cry in front of this man. She saw him as… Oh, God, what did she see him as? “You talk about a soul.” She blinked back the tears furiously. “I can’t even trust my own heart.”