Carole Mortimer - Men of Power

It hadn’t been all that difficult to keep it from them either. She had been away in America for almost a month after she and Dominick had parted, and redirecting her mail, using her mobile whenever she called them, had been an easy way of concealing her change of address. None of her family had questioned why Dominick wasn’t with her when she’d visited, her family knowing how busy he was and how much he travelled on business. Her explanation that he was in Australia when her father had become ill had been easily accepted by all of them.

But she had waited in vain for Dominick to realize he cared for her after all, even the serving of the divorce papers eliciting no response from him, at which point she had had no choice but to accept that he really had never loved her, and that their marriage really was over.

Which was when she had known she had no choice but to tell her family the truth.

But before she had been able to do so her father had had his heart attack, and for the last month she had forgotten everything but willing him to get better.

Which he had. And the doctors were hopeful that, with time, and no undue stress, he would make a full recovery.

In the meantime, her sister’s wedding was on Saturday, and her family still had no idea that she and Dominick were no longer together.

No undue stress, the doctors had said her father needed.

It was definitely not the time for him to learn that the marriage of his eldest daughter was going to end in divorce!

Which was why she had no choice but to ask Dominick if, for one day only, he would agree to pose as her husband.

The real question was, would he agree to do it…?

‘WHY didn’t you tell them, Kenzie?’ Dominick demanded. He hadn’t exactly gone around shouting about the failure of their marriage either, but he would have thought Kenzie would have at least told her own family…

She glared at him, tears still in her eyes, precariously balanced on those long, dark lashes. ‘And admit what an idiot I had been ever to have thought—Tell them that our marriage had lasted only nine months?’ she amended with a self-derisive shake of her head. ‘I was going to tell them—I had every intention of telling them—but everyone was so wrapped up in the plans for Kathy’s wedding! And then Carly announced that she’s expecting a baby, closely followed by Suzie announcing she was too. And I couldn’t—I just couldn’t—’

‘Kenzie—’

‘Don’t!’ She glared across the table at him, her face very pale. ‘You made your feelings about “bringing children into this world” perfectly clear five months ago!’

The question of children had never arisen when they had been just seeing each other, and when they had been newly married—a constant source of amazement to the jaded Dominick!—he had given little thought to the subject, either. So it had come as a complete surprise to him after they had been married for eight months that Kenzie had brought up the idea of them having a baby together.

Kenzie had seemed to draw away from him after his refusal to even contemplate the thought, and soon she had been no longer the fiery lover and the laughing companion of their first months of marriage. Then she had come to him a month later and told him she had decided to take up Jerome Carlton’s offer to work exclusively for Carlton Cosmetics, and that she was leaving for America the following week.

At which point Dominick had probably made the biggest mistake of his life, by issuing the ultimatum that if Kenzie left she needn’t bother coming back…!

Not only had she left, but Jerome Carlton had been standing smugly at her side when she had!

Carlton Cosmetics, Dominick now knew, was a family run company, Jack Carlton having retired several years ago to leave the running of the business to his eldest son Jerome. There was also a younger brother and sister, Adrian and Caroline, who were significant shareholders.

Dominick knew this because over the course of the last four months he had made it his business to know!

‘I—you do see my problem, Dominick?’ Kenzie looked at him anxiously.

‘Oh, I see your problem, all right, Kenzie,’ he admitted coldly. ‘In the circumstances, it wouldn’t do at all to turn up at Kathy’s wedding with your lover in tow, now would it?’

Kenzie could feel herself trembling now. ‘That was never an option,’ she told him flatly. ‘I do intend telling my family the truth, Dominick, I—just not now. So…’ she breathed deeply, her gaze challenging ‘…will you come to the wedding with me on Saturday or not? For my father’s sake, if nothing else,’ she added persuasively.

‘That’s emotional blackmail, Kenzie, and you damn well know it!’ he replied harshly.

Was it? Probably. But it wasn’t for her own personal gain; it was only to help her father.

Although it was obvious Dominick didn’t see it that way!

‘I know it’s a lot to ask, and I really wouldn’t have bothered if I didn’t think it was important. I would be very grateful if you would do this for me, Dominick,’ she added quietly.

If anything his expression became even colder, his eyes so dark now the black of the iris wasn’t distinguishable from the brown. ‘Tell me if I’m mistaken, Kenzie,’ he murmured, scowling darkly, ‘but it sounds very much to me as if you’re offering yourself up to me as some sort of human sacrifice in order to coerce me into agreeing to be your husband again for a day?’

‘Of course I’m not!’ She gasped, staring at him incredulously. ‘I didn’t mean—That wasn’t what I meant at all—Oh, this is hopeless!’ She threw up her hands in frustrated anger. ‘Forget I asked! Forget I even told you any of this! I’ll find some other way of solving the problem!’ she added determinedly.

Dominick looked at her long, slender hands, the hands that used to touch and caress him…

Hands that he knew had been touching and caressing another man for the last five months!

It was obvious now why Kenzie hadn’t seen Jerome Carlton for several weeks—she could hardly drag her lover along to visit her father in hospital when her family weren’t even aware she had a lover!

‘What are you going to do, Kenzie, tell them that I’m too tied up on business to attend Kathy’s wedding?’ he scorned.

She had already tried that. Last weekend when she had gone home to visit, in fact. To which her father had assured her that of course Dominick would be back from his business trip to Australia in time for Kathy’s wedding, that he was probably going to surprise her by arriving back unexpectedly.

Something she knew there was no chance of Dominick doing. Ever.

She shook her head impatiently. ‘I’ve already told them you’re away in Sydney on business, but my father is absolutely certain that you will make the effort to be back in time to attend your own sister-in-law’s wedding.’

‘It’s nice to know that one member of the family has a little faith in me!’ Dominick’s expression was bleak and unapproachable.

Kenzie opened her mouth to protest. And then shut it again. What could she possibly say that wouldn’t make this situation worse?

‘This isn’t the place for this conversation,’ Dominick told her grimly, picking up his wineglass and throwing the contents to the back of his throat before standing up. ‘Let’s get out of here,’ he muttered, taking her arm as she stood up to join him.

Kenzie forced herself not to tremble as he touched her, determined not to let him see how he still affected her.

Dominick kept his hand lightly under her elbow as they made their way through the crowded tables, nodding his thanks to the maître d’ as he passed. He had an account with the restaurant, and he would make sure he tipped the man very generously when he settled the bill at the end of the month.