Lucy Gordon - Rescued by the Brooding Tycoon

‘It’s time we had a good long talk,’ Darius murmured. ‘We both love her so much, we had to get together sooner or later.’

He talked on, only faintly aware of the passage of time. He wondered where Harriet was now. Had she reached the station yet? He knew she was suffering, thinking of Phantom dying without her. But he had made her a promise, and he would keep it at all costs.

The hours passed. Daylight faded. He knew he was repeating himself, but that didn’t matter. What counted was the love in his voice, reaching out to the dog as Harriet herself would have reached out to him.

At first he listened for her step on the stairs, but gradually he ceased to be aware of anything but the living animal dying softly in his arms. It might be madness but he had no doubt that Phantom could understand every word, just as he would have done from Harriet.

And then the truth came to him as a revelation. This was the sign he’d longed for, the proof that he and Harriet were one. Phantom’s eyes on him were full of trust.

Harriet, slipping into the house downstairs, listened to the silence, knowing what it meant. Phantom had died when she wasn’t there to care for him. And however much she tried to believe that Darius had helped him, he would know that she herself had abandoned him when he needed her most. Tears streamed down her face as she climbed the stairs.

And then, halfway up, she stopped, holding herself tense against the incredible sound that reached her. Surely that was Darius’s voice? He was talking to someone, that meant-?

Hardly daring to believe it, she sped up the rest of the way, pausing outside the door, then moving quietly into the room. There she stood just outside of Darius’s vision, listening, entranced, to his words.

‘I’m not sure she really understands even now how much I love her,’ he was saying. ‘I’ve tried to show it but I’m clumsy. I never knew anyone like her existed and I’m afraid that she’ll leave me. That’s why I’m hurrying her into our marriage before she has a chance to think. But she’s turning me into someone else. This other guy, he doesn’t do any of the things I’m used to, so I’m having to get to know him from scratch.

‘I wish I could be more like you. You were never lost for what to do next, were you? Toss them to the ground and jump up and down on them, that’s your way.

‘I used to be jealous of you. How about that? I thought she loved you because she still loved Brad, but it’s got nothing to do with him. I know that now. You’re lovable and precious, and you’ve got to be here for us a while yet.

‘Hey, you’re restless. That’s good. Hold on there, boy. Don’t give up now. She’ll be home soon-just a little longer. Harriet! ’

She dropped down beside him, her hands caressing Phantom, but her eyes turned up to him in a passion of love and gratitude.

‘You did it,’ she whispered. ‘You kept him alive for me. Thank you, thank you-oh, if only you knew-’

‘I think perhaps I do,’ he murmured, his eyes meeting hers in a moment of total understanding that was normal with them now.

‘I reckon he’s got a little longer yet,’ Darius said.

As if to prove it, Phantom shifted in his arms and leaned forward to lick Harriet’s face.

‘You’ve got to live a bit longer, you hear that?’ she said. ‘I want you there at our wedding. Promise me.’

Woof!

They were married three weeks later, on the beach. Of Darius’s family, only Amos and his wife were missing; but his brothers and Freya all said they wouldn’t miss it for the world. Mary and Ken said the same thing, watching with satisfaction as Darius laid claim to the most valuable property of his life.

Frankie walked behind the bride, pretty in frills and flowers. And beside her walked Mark, his hand on Phantom’s collar, guiding him to a place at the front where he could curl up and watch the ceremony.

The vet had expressed astonishment at his survival, but Harriet wasn’t surprised. Darius had done what he longed to do-given her something so precious that it was like a jewel. If she had doubted his love before, she could doubt it no longer. She knew now that the jewel would shine for ever.

Lucy Gordoncut her writing teeth on magazine journalism, interviewing many of the world’s most interesting men, including Warren Beatty, Charlton Heston and Roger Moore. She also camped out with lions in Africa, and had many other unusual experiences that have often provided the background for her books. Several years ago, while staying in Venice, she met a Venetian who proposed in two days. They have been married ever since. Naturally this has affected her writing, in which romantic Italian men tend to feature strongly.

Two of her books have won the Romance Writers of America RITA ®Award.

You can visit her website at www.lucy-gordon.com.