Elizabeth Duke - Takeover Engagement

‘She’s happy now, by all accounts.’ He traced the rim of his glass with an idle finger. ‘She’s remarried. Someone more to her taste. A diplomat based in Paris. Endless parties. The chance to dress up and socialise every night. She’s in her element.’

The cynical undertone was back in his voice. And now she knew what lay behind it. His wife—undoubtedly a raving beauty, with the charm and social graces to bewitch any man she chose, Case included—had turned out to be a shallow, spoilt, grasping, discontented bitch, by the sound of it. Presumably unfaithful as well. The experience, understandably, had scarred him, soured him. She felt swift compassion, and made an attempt to lighten the conversation.

‘Well, I’m glad to hear you’re going to be socialminded enough to go to this dinner dance at Surfers on Friday night.’ She injected a gently teasing note into her voice. ‘If I do fly up with you, and David wants me to go to the dinner with him, I’ll expect you to keep a dance for me,’ she heard herself declaring recklessly.

‘That’s a promise.’ A glint of humour lightened the inky black depths of his eyes. ‘I’ll try not to step on your toes. Mustn’t have our trusty podiatrist suffering from sore feet.’

‘I’ll bet you’re a superb dancer,’ she said with a shaky laugh, glad to see that his sense of humour hadn’t deserted him along with his wife. And then a sickening thought struck her. ‘You’re not flying up in a small plane, are you?’ If she had any phobia, it was small planes. If he was, it would make her decision easy.

‘No.’ The trace of humour vanished in an instant, an icy film coming down over his eyes. ‘I decided not to replace our company jet after it…crashed. All our company executives take commercial flights these days. A private jet is an unnecessary extravagance anyway, in my book.’

Her face flamed in mortification as she recalled the plane crash which had killed his parents. ‘Case, I’m sorry…I didn’t think.’

‘It was a perfectly reasonable question,’ he said dismissively, the harsh lines round his mouth easing a trifle. ‘So…you’ll try to arrange things so that you can fly up with me on Friday morning?’

He was covering his grief well, but it was there…She could sense it, feel it. She felt another quick surge of compassion for him. And it was that, more than anything else, that decided her. In that moment she didn’t want to disappoint him by throwing his offer back in his face.

‘I’ll…see if I can arrange it.’

‘Good.’ He leaned back, a satisfied smile on his lips. Seeing it, she felt a belated qualm. She had been so intent on feeling sorry for him that she had forgotten that this was a jaded, cynical, hardened man of the world. A diabolically clever man. And quite ruthless, she realised in the same moment. Ruthless in getting what he wanted…in manipulating people…imposing his will. Why was she letting him get away with it?

Because he was David’s big boss? Or because, deep down, she wanted to go? She did want to go, she realised with a trembling sigh. But she preferred not to delve too deeply into her reasons.

‘Look…why don’t you surprise David?’ Case suggested, raising his glass to his lips and taking a leisurely sip of the fine wine he’d chosen. ‘And surprise your mother as well? No need to let either of them know you’re coming, is there? Why not give them both a delightful surprise?’

She tilted her head at him. The idea of playing Cupid amused him, did it? And the thought of being there to witness her springing this surprise visit on David? She felt a prickle of defiance. This was just an amusing, diverting little game to him. Or was it a demonstration of his power—a power game—to show her what a man in his position was capable of?

Why should she humour him?

On the other hand, it probably was the sensible thing to do…to arrive unannounced. If she tried to ring David in advance he might hang up on her before she had a chance to explain.

‘Well…I’ll see,’ she said non-committally. David probably would be delighted if she surprised him. But not her mother. Charlotte hated surprises. She always liked to know what was happening in advance. And, since she lived with someone else, it would only be right to let them know she was coming. But she could wait until she was up in Queensland and ring from Surfers. The phone call to Brisbane would be cheaper from there, and she could chat for longer.

‘I really ought to be getting back to work,’ she said, checking her watch. The time had flown. It occurred to her that she still knew very little about him. She didn’t even know if he was currently involved with anyone.

She brushed the thought aside, annoyed with herself for even toying with the question. It was pretty irrelevant anyway. The man was trying to reunite her with David…not pursuing her for any clandestine purpose of his own!

SHE couldn’t believe she was actually on her way, sitting beside Case Travers in the first class section of a Boeing 737, heading for Coolangatta. Her mother wouldn’t believe it either. Charlotte’s quiet, sensible daughter wasn’t known for wild, spur-of-the-moment escapades. Even Gaby, good friend that she was, had been stunned but supportive, promising to cover for her in her absence.

‘You haven’t heard from David?’ Case asked over a delectable lunch that Lucy wouldn’t have believed possible on a commercial inter-state aircraft.

Her stomach swooped. ‘Not a word.’ David had obviously meant what he’d said. As far as he was concerned, it was over.

Was he feeling heartbroken about it? Or just a tiny bit relieved? It must have been frustrating for him, she reflected uncomfortably, the way she’d kept putting off making that final commitment. Maybe he was even happy to be free. Because now he could get on with his life and maybe in time meet someone else, someone who would love him the way he’d always wanted to be loved…unreservedly. Someone who wouldn’t blow hot and cold.

And here she was, about to burst back into his life. About to surprise him, expecting him to welcome her back with open arms. And he probably would! Only…

She stifled a groan. Had anything really changed? Was she any surer now that she knew she’d come so close to losing him?

‘I think I’m making a big mistake!’ she blurted out.

Case turned indolently in his plush seat. ‘You’re saying you don’t want to see David? Don’t want to make up with him?’ The black eyes, dark glinting slits under his lowered lids, were impossible to read. Was he angry that he’d wasted his time and money on her? Or gratified that he had proved to her, finally, that she didn’t really care for David…or not enough? Or was that contempt in his eyes, a cynical belief that yet another woman had disappointed him in some way? She simply couldn’t tell. He hid his feelings too well.

‘I—I think it’s a mistake to surprise him,’ she said lamely, not wanting to admit to her real doubts. Anyway, what was the point? It was too late to turn back now.

Case surprised her by reaching for her hand, closing his fingers over it so that she could feel their warm strength, their grainy texture—surprisingly work-hardened hands for a man who’d supposedly had everything handed to him on a platter. She found herself trembling, and desperately hoped that he couldn’t feel it.

‘I disagree,’ he murmured. ‘Trust me, Lucy. You’re doing the right thing by flying up and clearing the air face to face, rather than over the phone or through a third party. And surprising him will be the icing on the cake.’

‘I guess so,’ she said, trying to feel convinced. ‘Trust me,’ he’d said. Could she trust him? Why did she have the prickly feeling there was more to his apparent generosity than he was telling her?