Annie Claydon - Forbidden Night With The Duke

Emma smirked. ‘That’s called a cowl neckline.’

‘I thought you’d be the one to ask about that. Have you seen her?’

‘No.’

Jaye turned, hurrying from the room, a sudden anger biting at his heart. If Megan wanted to walk out, that was her decision. But he was damned if she was going to make it on the basis of what she’d heard about him and Sonia, because that was almost certainly a lie.

* * *

The retractable handle of her case wasn’t pushed down far enough, and Megan was struggling to get it into the boot of her car. She turned as she heard the scrunch of gravel under Jaye’s feet.

‘Leaving so soon?’ He decided to confine his opening salvo to the obvious facts.

‘Yes.’

‘This course isn’t an optional extra. We’re expecting all of our new employees to complete it.’

‘I understand that. I’ve made my decision.’ He thought he saw scorn in Megan’s eyes. Such beautiful eyes, blue and clear, and apparently unable to hide her feelings. He liked that.

‘And...clearly I’m a factor in that decision.’

‘Yes.’ Her lip curled, and Jaye suppressed the impulse to smile. In a world where people tended to tell him what they thought he wanted to hear, this was almost refreshing.

‘I don’t suppose you’d care to elaborate on that?’

She pulled the case out of the open boot and pushed the handle down. Jaye resisted the impulse to help her as she heaved the case back into the boot and slammed it shut. Then she turned to face him.

‘I’m looking for an employer who I can trust. That’s non-negotiable.’

‘It’s non-negotiable for us, too. I think we should talk about this, Megan.’

‘There’s nothing to talk about. Actions speak louder than words.’

Jaye was blocking her path to the driver’s door and she walked round him, getting into the car. He jumped as she wrenched the door shut, slamming it hard, as if to demonstrate her point.

A frisson of How dare she? melted into the irrational impulse to beg, if that was what it would take to make Megan stop. Jaye walked around to the front of the car, planting his hands on the bonnet. Megan glared at him, and he wondered for a moment whether he’d made a mistake and she was capable of driving straight over him.

‘Is it going to hurt you so much to listen? Because if it does, you’ve made a good decision.’

Here, outside the public part of the house, it was impossible that someone wasn’t watching, and now that he had to raise his voice to make himself heard, they were probably listening, too. But however much it dug at his pride to be seen blocking her path to prevent her from leaving, he couldn’t give up now.

‘We want medical professionals who can listen to other people—’ Megan cut him short by suddenly winding down the window and leaning out.

‘I think you should know that appealing to my professional pride isn’t going to work.’

It seemed to be working. Megan was no longer scrunching her face up in a scowl, which was a distinct improvement. The feeble winter sunshine tangled in the gold of her hair, making him feel as if he were looking at an angry angel.

‘Noted. Let’s make it personal, then. I’ll get on my knees if that’s what you want...’ That would provide a talking point for whoever was watching.

The ghost of a smile flitted across her face. ‘That would be embarrassing for both of us.’

If Megan was the woman he thought she was, there was no risk in what he was about to do. All the same, Jaye felt a slight tremor in his chest. He’d been wrong before, and he didn’t relish the idea of explaining how he’d let one of the best candidates the charity had seen in years slip through their fingers, without putting up more of a fight.

‘All right, then. If you can face the idea that you might be wrong, we’ll go inside and talk. If not, have a nice life.’

He turned, making for the path that led around the side of the house. Jaye felt his heart clench with inappropriate joy as he heard the car door open and then close again, and Megan’s footsteps behind him.

Walking down the stone steps that led to the semi-basement kitchen, Jaye opened the door for Megan and she walked inside. Now that lunch had been served the place was deserted, but there were still enough cups left in the dresser to throw a few if Megan got the urge. He motioned her towards the large kitchen table and she sat down.

‘Coffee?’ Something hot, to break the ice.

‘Yes. Thank you.’

He made the coffee, aware of her gaze on his back. The silence was killing him. It gave Jaye time to want things, to consider telling Megan everything. How he’d loved Sonia, but it had turned out that the thing she’d really loved had been the idea of being a duchess, and all that brought. How diminished he felt, every time someone looked straight through him and found only his title.

He put the mugs on the table and sat down opposite her. Despite the warmth in there, Megan was still wrapped in her coat, as if she was leaving herself prepared for a quick exit. But her gaze never moved from his face. Frank, blue eyes which would have made confiding in her easy, if only he had the nerve to do it.

She took a sip of her coffee. ‘I’m listening.’

Chapter Two

WOULD SHE EVEN be here if she hadn’t seen the burst of passion in his dark eyes? If thought and action hadn’t blended deliciously into one as he’d marched around to the front of her car, blocking her way. Megan didn’t want to think about it.

But he was right. It was a surprise to find that Jaye even cared what she thought, but since he’d made it plain that he did, the least she could do was to listen. If it turned out that his reasons for treating his child like an optional extra were anything like her own father’s, then she’d leave.

‘I’m not going to pretend that I don’t know what this is about. I’m well aware that what happened between Sonia and me was a talking point at the hospital where you both worked.’

‘That you left three days before the wedding. And that she was pregnant.’ Megan tried to keep the accusatory tone from her voice. The facts spoke for themselves.

‘Yes. That story is...basically true.’

Then what were they doing, sitting here talking about it? Megan swallowed down her exasperation.

‘What you do is entirely your business. But it’s my business who I choose to work for, and I want that to be someone who I feel I can trust.’

‘I admire that sentiment. Not everyone would stick to their principles and give up something they want in favour of something they think is right.’

‘I’m just being practical. If I’m going to be working abroad, I need to know that there’s a support network here that I can rely on. That’s non-negotiable for me.’

It should be non-negotiable for anyone, but Megan felt it more keenly. When she’d been little, ‘Uncle’ Harry had visited once every two weeks, bearing expensive toys and presents. It hadn’t been until she’d been a teenager that she’d found out that he was really her father, and she’d spent the intervening years trying to distance herself from his brash attempts to have a say in her future. She wasn’t going to allow all that to count for nothing by putting herself in a position where a man just like Harry could tell her what to do.

Jaye’s gaze caught hers. Dark, and almost tender. ‘The story was true, but it left out some important details. I wasn’t the father of Sonia’s child.’

‘But...’ Megan took a swig of her coffee and almost choked on it. ‘So you just walked away...?’

‘I’m sure you’re not naïve enough to imagine that there wasn’t any just about it. We had a few full and frank discussions.’ He hesitated, as if he might be about to elaborate, and then shook his head. ‘The only other thing you need to know is that I left because Sonia called off the wedding.’