Chase a Dream
Jennifer Taylor
Stand-in mommy!Stephie had had enough. Everywhere she turned, Logan Ford loomed. First he accused her of flirting with him and then he had the audacity to suggest she was meddling, when all she wanted was to help little Jess. She pitied the little girl, having such an overbearing father. And then she had to eat her words–because she had to spend the next five weeks with him. How would she do it?
“Concentrate your attention ” on my daughter,” Logan said sharply (#u14abe2ad-ccd9-523b-a349-a54ecf14be1c)About the Author (#uafbcc892-2643-5649-8f42-a1028eb54f28)Title Page (#ua60d4251-61ac-5e12-977a-546272bf157a)CHAPTER ONE (#u4b01f47a-fffd-5c01-8ec0-6d3ebdc77223)CHAPTER TWO (#u36353158-f83a-5bdc-91dc-6294d9719426)CHAPTER THREE (#ud01dfbe2-085d-5a80-aa6c-5e451acb8296)CHAPTER FOUR (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
“Concentrate your attention ” on my daughter,” Logan said sharply
“That’s what I intend to do.”
“Good.I don’t want you to start getting overly domesticated, worrying about cooking superb meals to impress me. Our contract is for a few short weeks purely and simply as a convenience for me and to get you out of a difficult situation Don’t make the mistake of imagining it could become something more permanent, honey. I wouldn’t like to see you disappointed.”
Jennifer Taylor
was born in Liverpool, England, and still lives in the northwest, several miles outside the city. Books have always been a passion of hers, so it seemed natural to choose a career in librananship—a wise decision, as the library was where she met her husband, Bill. Twenty years and two children later, they are still happily married, with the added bonus that she has discovered how challenging and enjoyable writing romance fiction can be!
Chase a Dream
Jennifer Taylor
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
CHAPTER ONE
IT was the man’s hair that caught her attention first. Thick and vibrant, it gleamed like burnished copper under the hot Florida sun. Add to that a leanly muscled six-foot-plus frame, and an aura of power and confidence, and the result was, frankly, devastating!
Stephanie let her eyes linger appreciatively on the man a moment longer, then realised she was in danger of missing the very thing she’d come to see. Mickey, Donald, Goofy...all her childhood favourites were about to pass a few feet away, and the man was blocking her view of the parade.
She edged sideways, aiming for a small gap to the man’s left, then gasped when someone jogged her elbow, sending the large-size cup of frosted cola she’d just bought flying from her hand. It hit the man’s broad back and splattered in every direction, spilling dark brown liquid all over the back of his white T-shirt and the seat of his jeans. For a stunned second Stephanie just stared at the damage, then hurriedly pulled a handful of tissues from her bag and tried to wipe up the mess.
‘I’m really sorry,’ she muttered apologetically, mopping at the stain spreading across the man’s muscular back. ‘It was just an accident, but...’
He caught her hand as he turned to glare at her, his face like stone, his eyes mirroring displeasure, and she felt the words dry up. His eyes were very dark, bitter-chocolate-brown, under brows the same colour, his face deeply tanned. With hair that colour his skin should have been pale, his eyes...
‘Blue, definitely blue,’ she heard herself murmur, and flushed to the roots of her dark brown hair with embarrassment.
‘I beg your pardon?’ His voice was very deep, gravelly, and so unfriendly that Stephanie gulped. She dragged her hand away from his grasp and bent back to the stain, wiping the wad of tissues down the back of his muscular thigh before suddenly realising exactly what she was doing. She straightened abruptly, her face beet-red, her soft blue eyes filled with apology.
‘I really am sorry. It was just an accident, you see. Someone behind me jogged my arm and—’
He cut her off, his expression never softening at the sincerity with which she offered her apologies. ‘Forget it. It really doesn’t matter.’
How could anyone with eyes that colour make them look so cold? The thought skipped through her mind almost too fast for her to be aware of it before she realised that the man was moving away from her. She couldn’t let him go like that, not until she’d at least of fered to pay for any damage she’d caused to his obviously expensive clothing. She followed him through the crowd, murmuring apologies to left and right for the disturbance she was causing.
‘But Dad, we’ll miss it now! Can’t we just stay until the parade goes past and then go back so you can change?’
She hadn’t realised he had anyone with him before, and now she slowed, studying the pleading face of the little girl whom he was holding firmly by the hand. It was obvious even without having heard what the child had called him that she was his daughter, because she had the same glorious colour hair surrounding a face that was just a shade too pale and wan for a child her age. As Stephanie hovered uncertainly, the man glanced down at the child, his expression softening just for a moment.
‘We can come back, Jess. There’s another parade later on, and we can watch that. I can’t stay here in these clothes. I’m soaked to the skin, thanks to that fool woman back there.’
Fool woman! Just who did he think he was calling a ‘fool woman’? It had been an accident, pure and simple, and anyone with a spark of decency would have accepted her apology in the spirit it had been intended! She pivoted on her heel, all thoughts of making further apologies or offers to pay to have his clothes cleaned fading abruptly at his boorishness, but she’d gone no more than a step or two when the child spoke again, a hint of tears in her voice that brought Stephanie to a halt.
‘Oh, but that’s not fair! If we go back now then you’ll find something more important to do rather than come back here, and you promised, Daddy. You promised!’
‘I know I did. And I have every intention of sticking to that promise. Now come along.’
‘No! I won’t. I want to stay here!’
‘What you want,_ young lady, is——’
She’d heard enough, more than enough. It was her fault that the child’s day was being ruined, although she could have expected the man to show a bit more understanding towards his daughter. From the sound of it, the little girl had set her heart on seeing the parade.
‘Excuse me, I couldn’t help overhearing what was going on, and I wonder...’ She faltered as the man turned slowly towards her. There was something frankly intimidating about his height, the sheer breadth of his muscular shoulders straining under the thin cotton, the iciness of those disturbingly dark eyes. For a moment Stephanie almost forgot what she’d been trying to say, before hurriedly marshalling her thoughts again. ‘I was wondering if I could help in some way.’
He raised a mocking brow, his thin lips curving into a faint smile that seemed closer to a sneer. ‘Help? I think you’ve already done more than enough today, thank you.’
Stephanie flushed, but she stood her ground, refusing to back down in the face of such open hostility. She shot a quick look at the child’s unhappy face and drew her strength from that. No child that age should-look so unhappy in Disney’s Magic Kingdom. It was a contradiction in terms that she couldn’t accept!
‘I have apologised already for what happened, but perhaps you didn’t hear me before,’ she said sweetly, staring steadily back at him. ‘So let me repeat myself. I am extremely sorry. It was an accident, but that can’t be much consolation for you. The one thing I don’t want to happen, though, is that your daughter should suffer because of it.’ She smiled warmly at the child and received a small, hesitant smile in return. ‘If you would like to go back to your hotel to change, then I shall be only too pleased to mind your daughter for you until you get back. That way she won’t have to miss any of the day.’
‘Dad, d’you think——?’ The faintly hopeful note in the child’s voice was drowned out by deeper tones, tones that sent a shudder of ice inching slowly down Stephanie’s backbone despite the heat of the July sun.
‘My daughter won’t miss anything. Thank you for your offer of help, but I’m afraid I shall have to turn it down.’
He didn’t sound sorry—in fact he didn’t sound even the tiniest bit concerned that she must have heard the scorn in his refusal—and for some reason it didn’t really surprise her. Whoever he was, this man wouldn’t care one way or the other about people’s opinions of him. He was a man who lived by his own rules, not by those written by others.
Stephanie was sorely tempted to turn tail and walk away from the open hostility, but a quick glance at the child’s disappointed face stopped her. She took a deep, heartening breath and tried again to get through to him. ‘I realise that you must be wary of letting a stranger take charge of your daughter, but I assure you she will be perfectly safe. I have identification if you would like to see it.’ She opened her bag, then jumped when his hand closed over hers, his fingers hard and dry against hers.
‘Don’t bother. I don’t want to see any ID because I don’t intend to take you up on your offer.’ His eyes skimmed her slender body with an insulting thoroughness, lingering on the thrust of her breasts under the sleeveless lime-green T-shirt before travelling down her rounded hips to her long legs, bare under the hem of her lime and navy shorts. ‘I might have been flattered if it hadn’t been so obvious, honey. Unlike a lot of men nowadays, I prefer to do the chasing myself. I guess I must be a bit old-fashioned like that.’
‘I... Pardon?’ It came out as a whisper of horror as what he meant hit home with the force of a sledgehammer. For a moment Stephanie could only stand and stare at him, wishing there was something she could think of to say to wipe the arrogant smile off his equally arrogant face.
‘Don’t take it to heart too much, will you?’ He shrugged indolently, letting his hand drop away from hers before he glanced down at the child by his side. ‘I’m sure that some guys would appreciate your interest, but if you’ll take my advice then I suggest you modify it somewhat next time. It can be off-putting to have that amount of Coke thrown over you.’
‘Now you just look here. I never...!’ Her voice tailed off as she suddenly realised she was speaking to thin air. She took a deep breath, glaring at the man’s broad back as he made his way through the crowd. She had never met anyone so arrogant and self-opinionated and full of himself in the whole of her twenty-five years! It was a wonder he could manage to walk with an ego that big weighing him down! That he should imagine for even a moment that she’d spilled her drink over him deliberately... Well!
Fuming, she turned back to the crowd lining the roadside, but her heart really wasn’t in watching the parade now. She glanced at her watch, wondering if she should call it a day and return to her hotel, but if she did that then she would miss her one and only chance to see this very special piece of Disney World magic. She was on a very tight schedule, with every one of the next three days filled: Epcot, Sea World, Universal Studios, all to be seen and reported on when she got back to England and met up with Laura and Rachel again. The trip had been her idea; she’d cajoled the other two into coming along, confidently dismissing any worries they’d had about giving up their jobs to take six months off to see Europe, culminating in a few days in Florida to enjoy all the man-made attractions.
They had been friends in university and kept in contact afterwards, Stephanie and Laura both opting for careers in teaching, while Rachel had gone into social work. It was a shame the trip hadn’t worked out quite as planned, what with Laura staying on in Spain and Rachel receiving the news that her father had suffered a stroke just hours before she and Stephanie were due to board the flight to America. It was at Rachel’s insistence that she had agreed to carry on with the plan, so was she really going to let that man spoil it for all of them?
Her chin lifted and she pushed back into the crowd to watch the glitzy parade passing, and if thoughts of that arrogant redhead did occasionally slip into her mind then she quickly dismissed them. That was one bit of Florida she didn’t want any reminders of to take home!
The night was soft and balmy. Stephanie side-stepped a family group of mother, father and three excited children, almost tempted to follow them, but she’d done every single attraction and she didn’t think her aching feet could take much more. It was already after eight o’clock, way past the time that she’d planned to return to her hotel. Tempting though the thought of staying for another hour or so was, she had to get back or she would be too tired to enjoy Epcot in the morning.
With a last reluctant glance over her shoulder she started back towards the exits and the bus that would take her back to her hotel. After all these months travelling, funds were running low, so she hadn’t been able to afford the cost of hiring a car for her stay. However, she’d been lucky enough to find a hotel at Lake Buena Vista which ran a courtesy bus service to all the Disney attractions, so that hadn’t proved to be a problem.
She rounded a corner, then slowed when she noticed the child standing forlornly at one side of the path. There was something vaguely familiar about her, but it wasn’t until she shifted into the light spilling from a nearby hot-dog cart that Stephanie recognised her. Even as Stephanie hesitated, the little girl took a look around then started to cry, fat tears sliding down her pale cheeks.
Stephanie hurried forwards and crouched down beside her. ‘What’s the matter, love?’ She searched her memory and came up with the echo of a deep, gravelly voice, quickly stemming the accompanying shiver that ran down her spine. ‘It’s Jess, isn’t it? I spoke to your daddy before ... remember?’
The child sniffed, wiping a hand across her face as she stared back at Stephanie. ‘It’s Jessica Alice, and I do remember. Daddy called you “that fool woman” and was awfully cross all the way back to the hotel.’
Stephanie hid a grimace. ‘Jessica Alice is a nice name. Mine is Stephanie Jacobs. So tell me what’s wrong, Jessica. Have you hurt yourself?’ She put her bag down beside-her on the path and pulled out a tissue to wipe the child’s face, then smiled at her reassuringly.
Jessica shook her head, her blue eyes tear-sodden as they stared back at Stephanie.
‘Then what is the matter?’ Stephanie glanced round. ‘Are you by yourself? Where’s your daddy?’
‘He’s gone!’ the child wailed. ‘He said he wouldn’t be long, but he’s not come back. He’s left me!’
The child’s distress was evident, her choice of words somehow disturbing. Stephanie frowned, tossing the statement around her head to see what it was that bothered her about it before shrugging the idea aside. Naturally a child this age would be upset at being separated from her parent. She caught hold of the little girl’s hand and held it firmly, making her voice as deliberately reassuring as she could. ‘That’s the trouble with daddies; they will go wandering off on their own and getting lost. I expect he’s feeling just as scared and miserable right now.’
‘Is he?’ Jessica glanced up at her, her face very solemn.
‘Of course. I mean, being on your own among all these people... Why, even the biggest daddy would be scared.’
Jessica smiled shyly. ‘I don’t think my daddy is scared of anything.’
Amen to that, Stephanie silently endorsed. That man would be the one to do the scaring, not vice versa! I However, she kept the thought to herself and smiled back at the child. ‘Even the biggest, toughest people get scared sometimes, chick.’
Jessica giggled. ‘I’m not a chick. Hens have chicks.’
Stephanie ruffled the silky red curls on top of her head and grinned. ‘Where I come from that just means ... well, honey or dear. OK?’
‘OK.’ The child glanced round, and her mouth started to droop again. ‘Daddy still isn’t here. He’s left me.’
‘Now why on earth should you imagine he’s done that?’
Jessica shook her head, staring down at the toes of her trainers as two tears slid down her cheeks. Stephanie stared at her helplessly. She’d never seen a child cry this way, silently, and it bothered her. She looked round at the crowds milling around them and came to a sudden decision, realising that she had to do something. ‘Look, Jessica, shall we walk down this path and see if we can find your daddy for you? If we can’t then we can go and find one of the people who work here, and maybe they will announce it over the speakers that you’ve been found and where your dad can come to collect you.’
‘But what if he doesn’t come?’ She clung to Stephanie’s hand, her small fingers gripping painfully hard. ‘You won’t leave me here, will you?’
There was something most definitely wrong here, but now wasn’t the time to speculate on it. She bent down and gave the girl a quick hug, then straightened and looked her in the eyes. ‘I won’t leave you on your own, love. I promise. Now come along. The sooner we find your father, the better.’ And the sooner I can give him a piece of my mind, she thought, but was wise enough not to say it aloud. The man had to be careless to a fault to let his daughter get lost like this.
They walked along the path, Stephanie doing her best to stave off the child’s tears by telling her amusing little stories about her trip, and even about the year she’d spent teaching after she’d left college, but finally she was forced to admit that they were achieving nothing. With these crowds they could have passed Jessica’s father a dozen times and not seen him. Taking a firmer grip on the girl’s hand, she turned along a side-path, following the sign for the information office.
‘And where do you think you are going with my daughter?’
There was such anger in those gravelly tones that they would have stopped her in her tracks even if she hadn’t recognised them instantly. Stephanie swung round, her heart turning over at the sight of the tall red-haired man who was standing just behind them, his face set into grim lines that boded ill for her.
‘Daddy! You came back for me. You didn’t leave me!’ The child’s shout seemed to get through to him, bypassing the naked fury on his handsome face. He bent and scooped her up, hugging her quickly before setting her back on her feet. ‘Go and sit down on that bench over there, Jess. And don’t move ... understand? That’s how you got lost last time, by not doing as you were told.’
The child kicked at a stray petal that had dropped on to the path but did as she was told, sitting down on the bench just out of earshot. Stephanie watched her, then looked back at the man, taking a quick step back as he moved almost menacingly towards her.
‘Just what kind of a game are you playing, lady? What were you doing with my daughter?’
His voice was rough with anger, his eyes dark with it, and Stephanie flinched. ‘I... I wasn’t doing anything! Well, I guess that isn’t quite true.’
He smiled dangerously, lessening the distance between them to less than a foot, far too close for her peace of mind. Suddenly she could almost feel the heat of his big, powerful body, smell the scent of his skin—a tangy, heady mixture of soap and man—and her heart gave a sudden shocking little leap, then started to beat a fraction faster.
‘I’m sure it isn’t ... true,’ he added when she looked at him with a total lack of comprehension. ‘So what were you up to?’
‘I...’ She licked her dry lips, then felt colour sear her cheeks when she saw the way his eyes traced the action before lifting to hers with a faint gleam in their dark depths. Anger surfaced inside her, hot and furious; he thought she’d done that deliberately, as some kind of blatant come-on! Why of all the egotistical, self——
‘Cat got your tongue, lady? Or don’t you feel like making any explanations to me right now?’ He shrugged lightly. ‘That’s fine by me. You can always talk to the police. I’m sure they will be only too interested in why you were attempting to abduct my child.’
Enough was enough! She stood up straighter, trying to stare him in the eyes, an impossible task in view of her five feet seven inches compared to his six feet plus. ‘You can stop right there before you go any further. I found your daughter crying because you’d lost her. I was trying to find the lost children collection point when you came across us.’
He barely glanced at the sign she was pointing to, his eyes boring coldly into hers. Brown eyes were meant to be warm and friendly, so how had he managed to perfect this trick of making them look colder than snow on a winter’s day? She shook herself out of the musing reverie, aware that she hadn’t heard a single word he’d said.
‘I beg your pardon?’
‘I asked where you found her. If it isn’t too difficult a question for you to answer.’
She flushed at the open sarcasm. ‘On the path back there, near a hot-dog stand.’ Her chin lifted, unconsciously regal, as she stared back at him. ‘I can’t imagine how any caring parent could lose a child that age.’
He bent slightly, staring into her face. ‘I didn’t lose her. I told her to stay right there until I got back.’
‘Oh! I see. But why leave her in the first place, especially here when it’s so busy? It seems like a totally irresponsible thing to do.’
‘Almost as irresponsible as your taking her away? For your information, Miss Do-gooder, I couldn’t take her where I was going.’ He smiled tightly. ‘In case you haven’t noticed, she’s a girl and I’m a man. There are one or two places where I just can’t take her...like the restroom, for instance.’
Oh, she’d noticed that he was a man all right; how could she have missed noticing that? Her traitorous eyes did a quick survey of the very masculine lines of his body before coming back to his face with an awareness in them which she couldn’t quite hide and which she knew immediately he understood.
He smiled slowly, confidently, obviously aware of the effect he had on women. ‘I see that you understand. Good. Maybe you won’t repeat your mistake now.’
He turned to walk away, but Stephanie caught his arm, her fingers tightening around the iron-hard flesh. ‘Look, I’m sorry if you feel this has been my fault, but you have to try to understand the situation I was put in. Jessica was extremely upset when I came across her. She seemed to think that you’d left her and that you weren’t coming back.’
Something crossed his face, some emotion so raw that it was almost painful to watch. But then his expression smoothed out again into the sardonic lines she was growing to recognise. ‘But I did come back, didn’t I? So this is no longer your problem. Goodnight.’
‘And that’s it, is it? You’re just going to walk off without a word of thanks? I didn’t have to waste my time by staying with her.’
He glanced down at where her hand held his arm, then looked back straight into her face with a smile that chilled her to the bone. ‘Then why did you, honey? Were you hoping for some sort of... reward?’ His tone was little short of insulting, and Stephanie dropped her hand from him at once as though he had struck her.
‘Not You have a nerve, Mr...’ She stopped abruptly, but he said nothing, merely watched her, and she rushed on, ‘I don’t want any reward, and definitely nothing along the lines you mean! Frankly, I pity that poor child having you for a father!’
For a moment she thought he was going to strike her. His anger was so great, almost tangible as it scorched the air between them. Then with a staggering show of self-discipline he brought himself under control. He walked over to the bench and took Jessica’s hand, then turned to glance over his shoulder at where Stephanie was still standing. ‘One word of free advice, and that is to keep your opinions to yourself when you have no idea what you’re talking about. It could save you a whole lot of trouble, believe me.’
‘I know enough about children to recognise when something is wrong!’
‘Frankly, lady, I don’t give a damn what you know or don’t know! Goodnight.’
He started to walk away, but the child hung back, then suddenly broke free and came rushing back to hug Stephanie, her small arms locking tightly around the woman’s slim hips.
‘Thank you for taking care of me, Stephie. I wish you could do it all the time!’
Startled, Stephanie dropped to one knee and hugged her back, holding the little body close against her own for a moment before slowly putting the child from her. ‘It was my pleasure, Jessica, but now I think it’s time you went. Your daddy is waiting for you.’
She glanced over the child’s head at the tall man who was standing a few feet away and felt something inside her start to ache at the expression on his face. Just for a moment their eyes met in a look that seemed to cut straight to her heart, then he called the child to him and turned to walk away without another word.
Stephanie stood up slowly, and took a long breath, feeling more upset than she could explain. He was just an arrogant, overbearing male, so why did she feel like sitting down and weeping when she remembered that expression of regret and pain in those devil-dark eyes? She had no idea, just the certainty that he wouldn’t thank her for feeling that way!
CHAPTER TWO
‘I’M AFRAID that’s all we can do for now, ma’am. The police have been informed, and naturally we shall contact you immediately if it turns up. We operate a very strict security code here which keeps crime to a minimum, but .. ’ The young man shrugged expressively, not needing to voice the rest of what he’d been thinking. Stephanie knew exactly what it was and couldn’t blame him. How could she have been so careless as to leave her bag lying on the path like that? Even allowing for the fact that she’d been concerned about helping Jessica, it had been an incredibly stupid thing to do.
She smiled her thanks at the man behind the desk, then left the office, trying to stave off the almost overwhelming panic she felt, but it was hard to control it. That bag had contained everything—passport, credit cards and nearly every cent. Now what was she going to do?
Wearily she made her way to the bus-stops, wondering how she was going to get herself out of such a predicament. That the bag might be found with her possessions intact was such a slim chance that it didn’t warrant dwelling on. She had to reconcile herself to the fact that apart from the few dollars stuffed into the pockets of her shorts she was broke, and the consequences of that were terrifying. The hotel management was going to take a very dim view of her inability to pay the bill!
A groan slid past her lips, but steadfastly she refused to let any others follow it. There had to be a way out of this mess... there just had to! And once she’d had a good night’s sleep then she would find it.
The sound of a car slowing to a halt alongside her caught her attention, and she glanced round, feeling herself go hot all over when she recognised the driver.
‘Would you like a lift?’ His voice was just as gravelly as she remembered it, the deep tones holding no trace of warmth.
Stephanie smiled at the child who was peering rather anxiously over his shoulder, then shook her head, her blue eyes chilly as they met his. ‘No, thank you.’
She turned her head away, ignoring the throbbing of the engine, and breathed a sigh of relief as the car pulled away. However, it was short-lived as it came to a halt a few yards away and the engine was cut. The man got out, his long legs eating up the distance as he strode back to her, his face set into lines of obvious displeasure. Stephanie glanced warily at him, then looked round, but apart from a couple who were standing with arms entwined, lost in each other, a few yards away there was no one else waiting for the bus.
‘I asked if you would like a lift,’ the man ground out as he came to a halt in front of her and folded his arms across his broad chest.
‘And I told you quite clearly that I didn’t want one. Perhaps there is something wrong with your hearing, Mr...?’ She paused, one slender brow raising in mocking enquiry.
‘Ford. Logan Ford. And for your information, Stephanie, my hearing is perfect.’
Hearing him say her name that way startled her so much that she stared back at him in shock. ‘How do you know my name?’
He smiled tightly, shooting a glance over his shoulder at the small figure who was staring rather anxiously out of the window. ‘You seem to have got yourself a fan there, honey. My daughter hasn’t stopped chattering about you for the past hour. I would have needed to be deaf if I hadn’t caught on to your name. Now come along.’ He slid a hand under her elbow and started to lead her towards the car, but Stephanie drew back, glaring at him.
‘Just hold it right there! I told you that I don’t want a lift and I meant it. Frankly, I can’t understand why you even bothered to stop to offer me one in the first place. I didn’t think we parted on terms which would make either of us anxious to meet again!’
‘You’re right. I don’t give a damn how you get back to your hotel, or whether you achieve it safely or not. From what I’ve seen of you, you can well take care of yourself. However, my daughter doesn’t share my enlightened views. She saw you walking towards the busstop and made me turn back. Seems that she’s worried that something might happen to you, being all by yourself at this time of night.’
‘Well, that was a kind thought. She is obviously a very considerate little girl.’ Unlike her father, she silently added, then flushed when she caught his eyes and realised that he knew exactly what she’d been thinking.
Nervously she edged around the man, not liking the way his eyes had narrowed on her flushed face, or the way his strong jaw had tightened. ‘Tell Jessica thank you, will you? But I don’t need a lift. I’ll be fine.’
His hand shot out, stopping her from moving away, his fingers almost bruising as he held her just in front of him and stared coldly down into her face. ‘I’m sure you will, but Jessica won’t be convinced by such a reassurance. And I don’t intend to spend the night sitting up with her while she has more nightmares, worrying about you! Now we can either do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way, but the outcome will be the same: like it or not, Stephanie, we are giving you a lift!’
He put an insulting emphasis on her given name that stung, but suddenly Stephanie didn’t feel up to arguing any more. The night had taken its toll; the loss of her bag coming on top of their previous confrontation was just too much. Tears slithered down her cheeks and she turned away, hating him to see her this way.
‘What the...?’ The exclamation was bitten off, his surprise evident in the way his fingers bit into her flesh. Stephanie yelped, then cried all the harder, broken sobs which echoed through the night.
‘Look, if this is some sort of trick, lady, then cut it out. It won’t cut any ice with me!’
There wasn’t an ounce of compassion in the harsh tones, not an inch of give now that he had recovered from his surprise, and Stephanie glared up at him with tear-soaked eyes.
‘It isn’t a trick, but I don’t expect you to believe me! For your information, Mr Ford, I’ve had it up to here tonight, what with you being so horrible before and then losing my bag and everything! And if I feel like crying then I shall do so, and I won’t have any arrogant jerk like you telling me not to!’
‘I should watch my tongue if I were you. I won’t have any woman speaking to me like that!’
His anger was rising, but Stephanie was too upset to care. ‘Won’t you indeed? Then what are you going to do about it, Mr High and-Mighty Ford—wash my mouth out with soap and water? That seems to me just about——Ohhh!’
The breath whooshed out of her as he jerked her to him so fast that she hit his chest. Instinctively her hands clutched at his shoulders to steady herself, her fingers fastening on to the iron-hard muscles that rippled under her touch. Startled, she stared up into his face, watching the faint sardonic smile that curved his chiselled lips with a feeling of alarm and something else, some other sensation that made her knees feel like rubber and her heart skip.
‘There’s always more than one way to bring a person in line, honey. It doesn’t always need to be...unpleasant to be effective.’
His eyes dropped deliberately to her mouth, lingering for a heartbeat in a look that she could feel, then abruptly he set her from him and took a slow step back. ‘Now if you’ve got that out of your system, shall we go? It’s late, way past time that Jessica should have been in bed.’
He stepped aside for Stephanie to precede him, opening the rear door of the car with a mocking courtesy. She slid inside, then ran a hand over her face to wipe away the tears, forcing a smile as Jessica twisted round in her seat to stare at her in concern.
‘You aren’t crying, are you, Stephie?’ She glanced at her father, who had slid behind the wheel, her mouth drooping. ‘Daddy didn’t shout at you, did he?’
Stephanie’s eyes caught Logan’s in the mirror for a long second before she looked away with a tiny sigh. How she ached to pay him back for what he’d just done, but it would be unfair to use his daughter this way. ‘No... no, of course not. It wasn’t his fault. I was a bit upset anyway because I’d lost my bag.’
‘Your bag?’ The girl’s eyes rounded, then she gasped. ‘I remember, you put it down on the floor when you stopped to help me. You gave me a tissue to wipe my face. Is that how you lost it?’
There was no doubting the child’s concern or the faint shadow of guilt that showed on her young face. It bothered Stephanie in ways she couldn’t explain. Jessica was far too young to feel guilty about something that hadn’t really been her fault. ‘Probably, but it was my fault. I shouldn’t have been so careless. Don’t you go worrying about it, love.’
‘Which hotel are you staying at?’ The deep voice cut into the conversation, and Stephanie forced herself to glance at the man behind the wheel, feeling the betraying colour stealing into her cheeks. That was the trouble with having such pale, fine skin: whenever she was embarrassed it showed, and she felt embarrassed now as she remembered that strange rush of weakness she’d felt when he’d held her. She must have been even more upset by everything that had gone on than she’d realised.
Hurriedly she told him the name of her hotel, then sat quietly as he drove the powerful car the short distance to pull up in the driveway. She ran a hand over her hair, smoothing the long, silky strands back into the knot on top of her head, then smiled at a point just above his right shoulder. ‘Well, thank you, Mr Ford. It was ... was kind of you to stop like that.’
She stumbled over the words and saw him smile with faint derision as he turned to look back at her, but there was no trace of anything in his voice apart from polite dismissal as he said levelly, ‘Don’t mention it.’
Obviously he was just as anxious as her to get this over and done with now that he had laid his daughter’s fears to rest. Stephanie fumbled with the lock on the car door in her haste to get out, not realising that Logan Ford had got out first until the door swung smoothly open and a large, tanned hand fitted itself beneath her elbow with a murmured, ‘Allow me.’
It should have been nothing more than a small courtesy to help her out, but as Stephanie slid out of the seat she made the mistake of glancing up into his face, and went cold at what she saw there. Did he view all women this way—as commodities rather than as human beings? Or was she being specially selected to bear the brunt of that assessing look that seemed to take stock of every slender line of her body with a disturbing thoroughness?
She straightened abruptly, smoothing the thin cotton shorts down her long, slim legs, wondering why she should care one way or the other what Logan Ford’s views on women were. She searched his face, but it was impossible to read much from his expression as he half turned away from the dim light spilling from the hotel foyer. It was too dark to see what lay in his eyes, too dark even to bring the vibrancy of that deep red hair to life. It just showed her the outline of the man, not the substance, and with a sudden flash of insight she realised that was how he preferred it. Logan Ford was a man who would guard his thoughts and feelings, a man who would stand alone in a crowd.
‘If there’s nothing else I can do, then it’s time we said goodnight again.’
The deep voice stopped her musings and she started self-consciously, hoping that he hadn’t realised where her thoughts had been wandering. Quickly she turned and bent down to the car window, running a gentle finger down Jessica’s soft little cheek as she smiled into the child’s tired eyes. ‘It was nice of you to stop for me. Thank you. I hope you’ll have a lovely time for the rest of your stay here.’
‘But what about you, Stephie? What are you going to do without your bag and things?’
Stephanie forced another smile, although that very thought was gnawing at the back of her mind. ‘Don’t you worry about me. I’ll be fine. Now goodnight.’
She stood up and held her hand out to the tall man, forcing a cool little smile to her mouth that didn’t quite match the wariness in her blue eyes. ‘Thank you, Mr Ford. It was kind of you to bring me back.’
‘But you would have much preferred it if I hadn’t bothered?’ He took her hand and held it, his fingers hard against hers.
‘I never said that.’
‘You didn’t have to.’ He studied her face for a long moment, then let her hand go. ‘Don’t ever be tempted to play poker, will you, Stephanie? Your face is far too expressive.’
He strode round the car and slid behind the wheel, starting the engine and driving off almost before she’d had chance to wonder what he’d meant by that cryptic comment. She sighed roughly and turned towards the beckoning lights of the hotel. What did it matter anyway? That was the last she would see of Logan Ford, and she couldn’t say that she was sorry. There was something about the man that spelled out trouble, and she had quite enough of that to contend with right now. And that was what she had to concentrate on.
It made good sense, yet strangely, when she finally got to bed and fell into a restless sleep, it wasn’t the precariousness of her situation that haunted her dreams, but the memory of a tall man with red hair and eyes the colour of the richest chocolate. Logan Ford, a true enigma; a man with a child who seemed more alone than anyone she’d ever met before.
Six dollars, twenty cents.
Stephanie stared at the neat pile of money, then picked up the bills to re-count them, praying that she’d made a mistake and mixed a twenty in with the rest. American money was extremely confusing, the different denominations of notes looking remarkably similar. However, not even a second nor a third count made a scrap of difference to the total, and her heart sank.
This was all that stood between her and destitution, this meagre sum of money which would barely pay for breakfast, let alone the cost of her stay in the hotel and a ticket home to England. What on earth was she going to do?
A knock on the door roused her from her brooding and she stood up with a sigh, smoothing a hand down over the fuchsia and white patterned shorts which she was wearing with a sleeveless white vest top. She hurried across the room to answer it, then stood frozen in shock as she recognised the man waiting outside the door. He smiled slowly, his eyes running deliberately over her figure in the revealing outfit before returning to her face with a hint of challenge in their depths.
‘Aren’t you going to invite me in, Stephanie?’
The husky roughness of his voice made a sudden unwanted shiver race down her spine, and she drew herself upright. ‘What do you want?’
He smiled again, one brow arching with mockery. ‘My, my, what a welcome, honey. Anyone would think you aren’t pleased to see me.’
‘I’m not,’ she replied baldly, tightening her grip on the edge of the door. ‘Now would you mind telling me what you want by coming here?’ She glanced past him along the empty hallway. ‘Where’s Jessica? Haven’t you brought her with you?’
‘No.’ With an ease which was galling, he removed her hand from the door and walked inside the room.
‘Now just a minute! What do you think you’re doing?’ There was a trace of fear in her voice, and he turned to stare calmly back at her.
‘Not what you evidently imagine I’m planning on.’ He closed the door, then leant back against it while he studied her. He was dressed in a navy T-shirt this morning with white trousers which emphasised the slimness of his hips and the length of his powerful legs, and in the light pouring in through the window his hair gleamed with an unrestrained fire. He was a startlingly attractive man with that unusual colouring, the sort who would draw any woman’s eyes, and Stephanie wasn’t immune to his appeal.
Nervously she turned away to pick up some of the coins from the pile on the table, tossing them from hand to hand as she tried to think of something to say to dispel the mounting tension; but typically it was Logan Ford who spoke first.
‘Let me make this clear from the outset: I am not here for any personal reasons. You don’t need to worry that I have designs on your...virtue. This is strictly business.’
She flushed at the note in his voice which implied that she’d probably lost her claims to virtue years before. She’d had her share of admirers, her attractive looks and vivacious personality being enough to guarantee that, but she’d never felt any desire to allow the friendships to develop into intimacy. One day she would meet the man she would want to share such a relationship with, but until that happened she wouldn’t settle for second best. She remembered the heartache her friend Laura had gone through when such a relationship had gone sour, and used it as a warning. She was probably far more ‘virtuous’ than Logan could begin to imagine, but there was no way she was going to inform him of that fact!
She returned his ironic look as levelly as she could, yet couldn’t quite keep the bite from her voice. ‘Then I suggest that you tell me exactly why you have come. I cannot imagine what sort of business we have with one another, Mr Ford.’
He laughed as he went and sat down on the chair, crossing one long leg over the other as he looked up at where she stood stiffly by the table. ‘Did that hit a bit too close to home, Stephanie? Sorry. I merely meant to reassure you as to my intentions.’
She ignored the taunt, setting the coins down with a clatter. ‘Then why are you here? If this is some sort of a game, then let me tell you that I am in no mood to play it.’
‘I’m sure you’re not.’ He flicked a lean hand at the small pile of money. ‘That’s why I’m here.’
Stephanie frowned as she glanced down at the table. ‘I don’t understand.’
He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair to push it back from his forehead. ‘It’s quite simple. You told me last night that you had lost your bag, and I assume that you lost most of your money with it. Am I right?’
‘Yes, but I don’t see how it’s any concern of yours. Look, if you feel responsible because I lost it when I was looking after Jessica, then don’t.’
‘Don’t worry. I have no doubt it was the result of your own carelessness—that plus poking your pretty little nose in where it wasn’t wanted.’ He ignored her gasp of outrage as he stood up and walked over to the window, staring out for a few seconds before he turned back to her. ‘However, unfortunately Jessica once again doesn’t share my view. She feels that what happened was her fault, and the last thing I want right now is for her to start worrying about it.’
‘I can understand that, but I explained last night that it was just an accident. I don’t want her worrying about it any more than I want you to. I am quite capable of looking after myself!’
‘Even in view of the fact that that is all the money you have left in your possession?’ He picked up the notes and fanned them between his fingers. He had beautiful hands, long-fingered and strong, the skin deeply tanned and sprinkled with the same dark gold hair that covered his forearms. Stephanie found herself studying them, then quickly took the money from him and laid it back on the table in a gesture of defiance.
‘I don’t see that it is any business of yours how much money I have. Now if you have reassured yourself that I don’t hold either you or Jessica to blame, may I suggest you leave? I have a lot to do, as I am sure you can appreciate.’
She turned towards the door, but he continued as though she hadn’t spoken. ‘As I was just saying, I don’t want Jessica worrying. She’s been through a lot recently without having this on her mind as well.’
The harsh note in his voice brought her head round, and she saw a flicker of regret kindle briefly in his dark eyes. It made her hesitate, when what she had been intending was to order him to leave. ‘I don’t understand. Has she been ill?’
He shook his head, his expression guarded once more. ‘No. Her mother died recently, and naturally she’s been very upset.’
‘Oh, how awful for her! Poor little thing.’ She flushed and added hurriedly, ‘And awful for you too, of course. I am sorry, Mr Ford.’
He smiled with a faint derision. ‘You can save your commiserations. Jessica’s mother and I parted several years ago. Anything we may have felt for each other was gone well before she died.’
He sounded so devoid of emotion that Stephanie was shocked. ‘Why, that’s heartless! She was the mother of your child, after all. That should count for something, surely!’
‘My relationship with Amanda isn’t under discussion here. It’s Jessica’s well-being which concerns me.’ He sounded so aloof that a shiver raced down Stephanie’s body, sliding coldly along every vein. He must have cared for the woman at one time if they’d conceived a child together. Yet there had been no reflection of it in his voice, no trace of regret that the woman was dead. Was Logan Ford really as unfeeling as he appeared to be, or was it just a cover to hide emotions that ran so deep that he was afraid to admit to them?
It might have been a desire to find out which or a feeling of compassion for Jessica which made her carry on with the unsettling conversation; Stephanie didn’t really know. ‘Why are you telling me all this? Why have you come?’
He seemed to hesitate, studying her in silence. ‘Because I believe that we can help one another. What exactly did you lose last night?’
Stephanie sighed, not understanding what he wanted with her, yet prepared to go along with him a while longer. ‘Money, obviously, plus my passport, credit cards, bank cards... all those things. They were all in my bag.’
‘So what do you intend to do now?’
‘I was just trying to work that out when you arrived.’ She sank down on the chair, worry shadowing her face. ‘I can probably get an emergency passport issued via the Consul, but that’s the least of my worries when I don’t have the money now to pay for a ticket home.’
‘Your credit card company can cover that. They should issue you with another card within a couple of days.’
‘I’m sure they will, but, seeing as I have reached my credit limit, it won’t help. And I doubt if they will be keen to extend it, in view of the fact that I don’t have a job at present.’
‘How about friends, family? Can they wire you some money? The Consul can arrange that too.’
Stephanie rubbed her aching temples as she went back over ground she’d covered time and again since she’d got up. ‘I don’t have family. My mother died when I was a child, and my father a few years ago. There’s a cousin in London and another in Manchester, but...’ She trailed off with a defeated sigh. ‘The two close friends I went away with are in no better position financially than I am, even allowing for the fact that Rachel has quite enough to worry about at present and that Laura is still in Spain.’ She glanced at Logan in near despair. ‘There’s no one I feel I can turn to for help!’
‘Apart from me.’ He smiled coolly when he saw the shock on her face, leaning against the edge of the table as he watched her.
‘You? But why should you give me money?’
‘Not give, Stephanie. Pay. I am willing to let you earn what you need to pay your bill here and to buy a ticket home.’
‘Earn? But how? By doing what?’ The words were barely out of her mouth when a sudden thought struck her and she shot to her feet. ‘Now look here, if you mean what I think you ’
He straightened to stare down at her, big and arrogant-looking as his eyes met hers with such coldness that she felt a sudden chill. ‘I doubt it. If I were you I would keep that very active imagination under control. My offer is quite straightforward; in return for agreeing to look after Jessica for the next five weeks until she goes back to school, I shall meet your expenses and provide you with board and lodging.’
‘I... I don’t know what to say. Why me? You don’t know anything about me!’
‘You’d be surprised at what I do know, Stephanie.’ He stared calmly back at her. ‘Stephanie Anne Jacobs, aged twenty-five, born in Manchester, occupation, when not travelling, schoolteacher.’
‘How did you find that out?’ There was no hiding her surprise, and she saw him smile with a faint cynicism.
‘It isn’t difficult with the right connections-and enough money, of course. However, none of that would make a scrap of difference to me if it weren’t for the fact that Jessica seems to have taken an immediate liking to you. It was “Stephanie this” and “Stephanie that” all last night, and again this morning. She’s been through a lot in the past few months, more than any child her age should have to cope with. She’s also very worried that you will suffer because of her, with losing your bag. This will solve everyone’s problems. All I need now is your answer—yes or no?’
‘But you can’t expect me to give it to you here and now.’
He smiled meaningfully, then felt in the pocket of his trousers, pulled out a thin sheet of paper, and laid it down on the table beside the money. ‘I appreciate that you must want to know more about me, in view of the fact that you’ll be staying in my house. I’ve written out a list of people who will provide references for me. Feel free to call any or all of them to check.’ He glanced at the heavy watch strapped to his broad wrist, then walked smoothly to the door.
‘Wait a moment! Is that it?’ She hurried after him, stopping just a few feet away.
‘I don’t think there’s anything left to say. I’ve told you what I’m prepared to offer you, and explained what you would be expected to do. Now it’s up to you. I shall expect to hear your decision by five o’clock this afternoon. The details of my hotel are on that paper.’
He opened the door, but she stopped him with a slim hand on his arm. ‘Why are you doing this for me?’
He shook his head, his face devoid of all expression. ‘I am not doing it for you. Jessica needs someone to take care of her through the holidays while I’m busy at work. I had someone lined up for the job, but unfortunately it fell through, leaving me with the problem of finding a replacement at short notice. She likes you and you seem well qualified for the position. There is nothing personal about my offer, so don’t make the mistake of thinking that there is.’ He smiled slowly, with a contempt that made her ache for some strange reason. ‘I would be the first to admit that women have their uses, but rest assured that your role will be purely that of caring for my daughter.’
Her hand slid from his arm and she stepped back, trying to control the shudder that ran through her at such a cynical assertion. What a strangely disturbing man he was, fire on the outside and ice straight through to the core!
She closed the door as he left and leant back against it as she caught her breath, but it was hard to shake off the disturbing sensations he’d left behind. She closed her eyes, hearing again the harshness in his voice as he’d spoken about Jessica’s mother, and she felt a sudden surge of compassion for the dead woman.
To give one’s heart to a man like Logan Ford would be an incredible act of folly that no woman should ever commit.
CHAPTER THREE
THE day crawled past until the hands on Stephanie’s watch touched four, and then the minutes flew.
For the hundredth time she picked up the phone to call Logan Ford and tell him that she couldn’t accept his offer than found herself putting it down again without making the call. The whole idea was crazy, totally unacceptable, so why did she find it so difficult to tell him that?
She got up and walked over to the window, watching the other guests splashing in the pool, hearing the faint sounds of their laughter carrying on the hot afternoon air. They were all enjoying themselves while here she was trying to find a solution to a problem that wouldn’t be solved. She had to find enough money to pay her bill here and buy her ticket back home to England, but how? Apart from Logan there was just no one she could turn to!
The loud knock at the door brought her spinning round and she hurried across the room, half expecting to find the tall red-haired man outside the door, but it wasn’t him.
‘Miss Jacobs?’ At her nod of agreement the man continued, a trace of discomfort on his face as he held an envelope out to her. ‘The manager has asked me to give you this, ma’am.’
‘What is it?’ She took it from him, studying the unmarked white envelope in confusion.
‘Your bill. It’s made up until today and we shall be grateful if you could arrange to pay it as soon as possible.’
‘My bill? But I’m not due to leave until the day after tomorrow. What is this all about?’
The man ran a finger round the collar of his spotless white shirt, his discomfort even more in evidence now. ‘I’m afraid there seems to have been a mix-up in the bookings. We shall have to ask you to vacate this room tomorrow by ten a.m. at the latest. I’m very sorry.’
‘So am I!’ She glared at the man, but he had already turned to hurry along the corridor. Stephanie closed the door then ripped the envelope open, staring down at the neatly totalled account with panic in her eyes. Now what was she going to do? She could only speculate on what had happened to alert the hotel management to her possible inability to pay, and in a way she could sympathise with their dilemma, but it didn’t help her situation one little bit! Between now and ten a.m. tomorrow she had to come up with just over two hundred dollars or suffer the consequences!
When the telephone suddenly rang she snatched it up, a trace of panic echoing in her voice. ‘Yes? Hello?’
‘Is there something wrong?’
She recognised the voice immediately, felt the roughness of its deep timbre rolling along every taut nerve. Deliberately she took a long, slow breath, trying to stave off her first impulse to throw herself on his mercy and beg for help—unconditional help, that was. Logan Ford wasn’t the sort of man who would be affected by any pleas for help.
‘You could say that. The manager of the hotel has just presented me with a bill for my stay, and informed me that unfortunately there has been a mix-up and that my room will have to be vacated by ten tomorrow morning.’
‘I see. That could pose rather a problem, couldn’t it? What do you intend to do?’ His voice was completely bland, so why did she have the sudden horrible suspicion that he knew rather more about what had happened than he was admitting to? Anger rose inside her and she pressed the receiver tightly to her ear, wishing that he were in the room so that she could see his face.
‘I don’t suppose you have any idea why they should have become worried that I might not be able to pay?’
‘Should I?’
‘That isn’t an answer! Look, Mr Ford, if you were behind this, then let me tell you that I—’
He cut her off, his voice hard and determined. ‘Let’s not make a song and dance out of this, Miss Jacobs. Does it really matter when they presented you with the bill? The situation would still be the same; you can’t pay it, can you?’
All the fight went out of her as quickly as it had arisen, and she sank down on the edge of the chair. ‘No. You know I can’t.’
‘Then what do you propose to do about it? Have you made your decision about whether you intend to take up my offer?’
‘I ...’ She swallowed hard to ease the knot of tension in her throat, wondering what to say. It seemed like the only way out of this mess, yet something made her hesitate about accepting his proposal. She searched her mind, trying to work out what it was that bothered her most, but could come up with nothing but a vague feeling that she might be courting even worse trouble than what she was already in. Logan Ford was a disturbing man; he disturbed her in ways that she didn’t want to think about. But there again, he’d assured her that it was his daughter she would be dealing with, not him. Was she simply being stupid to refuse this lifeline?
‘Well? I haven’t got all day to waste, Stephanie.’ There was rough impatience in his voice, and she started nervously, snapping back at him. ‘It isn’t that easy! Can’t you understand that?’
‘Frankly, no. I have made you a very generous offer. I can’t see what is so difficult about making up your mind what you intend to do.’
‘Why can’t you just lend me the money? I would pay you back; you have my word on that!’
He laughed softly, a low sound that made a frisson work down her spine, like a finger smoothing her skin. ‘I’m sure you would; however, I’m not in the business of making loans. You know what I’m offering, but if it isn’t acceptable to you then we had better call the whole deal off. Good luck, Stephanie; I think you’re going to need it.’
The line went dead. Stephanie stared at the receiver in shock, then slowly replaced it, gnawing on her lower lip. He hadn’t even given her a chance to explain her concerns! He was so damned ruthless that he couldn’t spare the time to listen. But now what was she going to do?
She sat worrying over it until the pangs of hunger growing in her stomach drove her from her room. She took the lift down and fed two of her precious dollar bills into the machine in the back hallway, grimacing as it disgorged a frosted can of drink and a packaged Danish pastry. It was a meagre meal, but the best she could do. ‘Beggars can’t be choosers’ was an old adage that was being proved very true.
She carried the food out to the terrace that overlooked the pool and sat down at one of the tables, leaning back against the hard metal chair with a weary sigh that echoed into the night. Peeling the wrapper off the pastry, she took a bite then had to force herself to chew the sticky confection. It seemed to lodge itself in her throat, held there by the huge knot of panic and tension. Popping the tab on the can, she took a long swallow of the icy liquid, then set the can down with a clatter. Who was she kidding? She knew exactly what she needed to do to get herself out of this mess, and she was just being stupid by not admitting it. It would probably stick in her throat even more than the pastry, but she was going to have to go to Logan Ford and hope that he would cut her a very large slice of humble pie.
The worse thing was the wretched man would probably enjoy watching her eat it!
The hotel lobby was bustling when she walked through the door. Stephanie waited her turn at the reception desk, then asked the girl behind the counter to ring through to Mr Ford’s room and tell him that she would like to speak to him.
‘I’m afraid that Mr Ford has just left for the evening, ma’am. Would you like to leave a message? I can see that he gets it as soon as he... Wait a minute; isn’t that him over there? He must have come back to get something.’
Stephanie’s heart had sunk at the news that he was out, and now it leapt back to life, beating painfully fast as she looked across to where the receptionist was pointing. Her eyes met his in one long look, and she felt her temper rise. He’d known she would come! Somehow, some way, he’d been expecting her, and the thought was galling!
She sucked in a deep breath, trying desperately to hang on to her temper, but when a voice spoke in her ear she swung round and glared at the tall man standing by her side.
‘Changed your mind, Stephanie?’
‘You know damned well that I have! I didn’t have any option, did I?’
Her voice had risen, and several people in the queue glanced curiously at them. Logan took her arm, his grasp harsh and uncompromising as he led her away from the desk into a secluded corner where they wouldn’t be overheard. ‘I don’t like scenes, understand? Whatever business we have has nothing to do with anyone but us. So keep your voice down if you hope to have me repeat the offer you so recently turned down.’
She would have given anything in the whole wide world to be able to tell him what he could do with his offer, but both of them knew she wasn’t in any position to do that. ‘If there were any other way that I could get the money I need, Mr Ford...’
‘You wouldn’t be here. And if I didn’t need someone to look after Jessica so desperately, then I would never have asked you. So I imagine that makes us even. Now all I need to know is when we can collect you tomorrow.’
‘Tomorrow? Oh, but I didn’t expect that you would need me immediately! I imagined that you would want to finish your holiday first.’ There was no disguising her shock, and he smiled slowly, his dark eyes boring into her.
‘Jessica and I shall be returning home tomorrow morning. We’ve already spent the best part of a week here in Orlando and, frankly, I can’t spare any more time. What did you expect to happen, Stephanie? That I would pay your hotel bill and meet your expenses for the next few days without your having to do anything in return?’
She flushed. ‘No! I never expected that at all. I am willing to earn every penny, Mr Ford. I don’t want charity, especially not from you!’
His mouth thinned with displeasure as he took a step towards her. ‘Don’t you think your attitude is rather foolish, seeing as you are dependent on me for so much? I appreciate that you must find this situation you’re in galling in the extreme, but you must admit that you have been extremely fortunate. If I hadn’t made you this offer, then just imagine what might have happened.’
She could! She’d spent best part of the day going over the possibilities in her head, hour after hour. Finding herself broke and stranded in a foreign country was like a nightmare! She swallowed her pride, forcing the anger from her voice as she replied quietly, ‘I apologise. I suppose I must sound ungrateful. I do——’
‘Stephie!’ The delight in the child’s voice was apparent as she hurried across the foyer towards them. Stephanie turned towards the girl with a sigh of relief, only too glad of the interruption. What was it about Logan Ford that aroused her anger so easily? She wished she knew, because it was going to be an uncomfortable few weeks if she jumped every time he spoke. Somehow she was going to have to learn to ignore the effect he had on her, but it wouldn’t be easy. Logan Ford wasn’t the kind of man one could ignore!
‘Hello, Jessica. How are you?’
‘Fine, but what are you doing here? Daddy didn’t tell me that you were coming.’ There was curiosity on the child’s pale face, a sparkle of interest in her eyes, and Stephanie smiled warmly at her.
‘Maybe that’s because he didn’t know I was coming.’ She glanced up at Logan, watching the way his eyes narrowed at the barely veiled sarcasm in her voice. She sighed softly, realising that she was doing it again, declaring warfare when she was in no position to fight the battle.
‘Did you, Daddy?’ Jessica caught Logan’s hand, drawing his attention back to her. He smiled at once, his face softening as he looked down at his daughter. Stephanie felt her heart beat a shade or two faster at the unexpected tenderness she could see on his face. When he looked like that, his chiselled lips curled into a genuine smile, his eyes warm, he was devastatingly attractive, and everything female in her responded in a way that shocked her.
‘Did I what?’ he asked with mock-solemnity as he teased the child.
‘Know that Stephie was coming, of course!’ Jessica sighed noisily, letting go of his hand to stare up at him. ‘You know what I mean!’
‘Mmm. Let me just say that I had a good idea she might come, even if I wasn’t one hundred per cent certain.’ There was open derision on his face as he glanced over his daughter’s head, and Stephanie felt herself go cold as she realised that he had quite deliberately evened the score between them. Abruptly she turned away to stare across the empty foyer, wondering why she felt so hurt. This man meant nothing to her; he was a stranger who had offered her help more for his own reasons than hers. It shouldn’t have mattered what he thought about her, but she was honest enough to admit that it did.
Suddenly she couldn’t take any more of this verbal fencing. She turned to smile at Jessica, studiously avoiding Logan’s eyes. ‘You were about to go out when I arrived, and I don’t want to spoil your evening. Your father can explain everything to you, Jessica.’
‘Oh, but you can’t go yet! Can she, Daddy?’ Jessica’s voice held a note of pleading as she appealed to her father.
‘Of course not. Quite apart from anything else, Stephanie, there are a few things we need to discuss. If you haven’t had dinner yet, then perhaps you will join us?’
Dinner? On six dollars? He must know that she hadn’t, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of hearing her admit it. ‘I’ve already eaten, thank you.’ It was a lie, but such a small one, and she salved her noisy conscience with thoughts of the pastry.
‘Then I’m sure you won’t mind sitting with us while we eat.’ He took Stephanie’s arm, leading her out of the hotel and putting her into the car before she had time to frame any further objections. Jessica scrambled into the back seat, chattering excitedly, blissfully unaware of the tension. Stephanie waited until Logan started the car and Jessica was engaged in playing with a doll she’d plucked from the door pocket before letting him know exactly what she thought of his high-handedness.
‘I said that I didn’t want to come with you. Just who do you think you are, commandeering me like this?’
He barely spared her a glance, his eyes focused on the traffic as they joined the expressway. ‘I am the man who is employing you now. I am paying good money for your company, and I intend to see that I get full value. If I want you to come with us, then you will come; otherwise we may as well terminate our agreement right now.’
‘You may be employing me to look after your daughter, but that doesn’t mean that you own me!’ Anger lent a fire to her blue eyes, added a tinge of colour to her cheeks, and she saw him smile as he glanced round at her.
‘What exactly is bothering you most, Stephanie? The fact that you can’t see another way out of this mess you’re in, or that I’m the one calling all the shots?’
‘I don’t know what you mean!’ She drew back against the door, suddenly wary of what he meant and the way he was watching her.
He shrugged lightly, his shoulder brushing hers, sending an instant surge of sensation flowing through her body. She caught her breath, fighting the strange feeling of weakness the light touch evoked, but there was no way she could control the shudder that ran through her when he answered in that deep, harsh voice, ‘Don’t you? I think you do, and that is why you are so angry. Would you prefer our relationship to have been based on different terms, rather than that of employer and employee?’
‘I... Why, that’s ridiculous!’ Colour swam up her cheeks as she stared at him in horror.
‘Why is it ridiculous? You spilled that drink over me yesterday, obviously for a reason. Why should it be so ridiculous to assume that you would prefer to be on more intimate terms with me than an employee would enjoy?’
‘It was an accident! Someone jogged my arm. I didn’t do it deliberately to... to...’ Her throat closed on the allegation, but he didn’t seem to suffer from her nervousness.
‘Pick me up? Is that what you’re finding so hard to say? Don’t be shy, Stephanie. This is an enlightened era. If a woman sees a man she wants, then there is no reason for her not to be the one to make the first approach.’ He turned the car into the car park of a brightly lit steak bar, cutting the engine. Jessica scrambled from the back and ran across to look at the fish swimming in the huge ornamental pool in the forecourt, leaving Stephanie and Logan suddenly alone. He leant towards her, his eyes holding hers in the dim light from the dashboard, his tone dropping to a note of intimacy that made her nerves tingle.
‘I noticed you watching me yesterday, Stephanie. Before you spilled that drink all over me. I’m not a vain man, but it isn’t the first time that a woman has made her interest known. Don’t be shy about admitting to it now. It’s better that we clear the air, once and for all.’
She couldn’t help the guilty blush that ran up her throat. She had been watching him yesterday, mesmerised by his whole appearance and that aura of power that surrounded him. He laughed deeply, catching her chin when she tried to turn her head away to avoid his knowing gaze. Tilting her face up to his, he stared her straight in the eyes. ‘I said yesterday that your face was almost too expressive, so don’t bother lying, honey. It isn’t worth the effort. All I want is to get things straight before we go any further. You are an attractive woman, Stephanie, extremely attractive, but I doubt if you need me to tell you that. I learned a long time ago that most women are very aware of the power they can wield over a man.’
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