The Deserving Mistress. Carole Mortimer
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perfect—’
‘I really don’t want to talk about this just now,’ May cut in firmly, obviously completely conscious of the listening Jude, even if the other man seemed unconcerned by his presence.
Curiouser and curiouser, Jude acknowledged consideringly. Was this David a spurned lover who simply refused to go away? Or something else? Although quite what that ‘something else’ could be Jude had no idea. Which brought him back to the spurned lover theory…Although, in the other man’s shoes, Jude would have been more than a little concerned at another man’s presence here alone with May. Unless the other man considered him to be insignificant in what was going on between him and May? A thought that Jude, who had never thought of himself as in the least ‘insignificant’ in any situation, found intensely irritating.
He stood up, moving to stand at May’s side, deliberately resting his hand on the door behind her. ‘Is there a problem, May?’ he prompted haughtily.
She shot him a frowning glance. ‘Nothing that I can’t handle. Thank you,’ she added belatedly.
Jude turned his attention on the other man, deliberately looking down the long length of his nose, topping the other man by at least three inches. ‘I’m afraid you’ve caught us right in the middle of eating our dinner…’ he said pointedly.
The other man looked displeased at this interruption. ‘I just wanted to have a few words with May—’
‘And, as I’ve just told you, we’re eating our evening meal,’ Jude bit out with hard dismissal, his gaze challenging on the other man now.
May looked up at him frowningly, seeming to sense that the situation was fast moving out of her control, turning back to David smilingly. ‘I appreciate your—continued interest,’ she told him warmly. ‘But, as I told you before, I’m really not interested.’
David shook his head. ‘I’m not giving up.’
May looked completely baffled as to what to do or say next to this man, shaking her head dazedly.
‘I don’t understand what went wrong,’ David continued forcefully. ‘One minute you were fine with everything that we had talked about, the plans we had made, and the next—’
‘How many times does she have to tell you she’s not interested?’ Jude cut in coldly, stepping forward slightly to drape a proprietorial arm about May’s narrow shoulders. Too narrow, he realised frowningly. She really was too thin, too delicate, to live the hard-working life that she so obviously did.
David’s gaze became guarded as he looked at that possessive arm about her shoulders. ‘And you would be…?’ he prompted slowly.
‘I would be a friend of May’s,’ Jude answered harshly.
‘I see,’ the other man murmured, obviously not seeing at all as he turned to look questioningly at May.
‘I would really much rather not talk about this any more, David,’ she told him regretfully. ‘I-it was a nice dream while it lasted,’ she added wistfully. ‘But it really isn’t for me. I’m sorry.’ She grimaced.
Her visitor drew in a ragged breath, hunching his shoulders as he thrust his hands into the pockets of his sheepskin jacket. ‘I’m not giving up,’ he assured her decisively. ‘I’ll be back.’ He nodded firmly. ‘Perhaps we can talk then.’
‘I wouldn’t count on it,’ Jude put in raspingly, his patience wearing very thin where this man was concerned. Couldn’t he see, and just accept, that May wasn’t interested? That she wanted him to leave and not come back to bother her?
Was this how Max and Will had felt, too? he wondered a little dazedly; protective, but at the same time finding their Calendar woman incredibly attractive?
Except that May Calendar was not his woman. Would never be his woman. Not if he had anything to say about it. And he most certainly did.
‘Are you staying with your sister again?’ May was talking to the other man again now. ‘I’ll ring you there some time tomorrow,’ she added quickly as she received confirmation of that fact with David’s nod.
‘I’ll be waiting for your call,’ he assured her huskily before turning his hard blue gaze on Jude. ‘Goodnight,’ he added coldly.
‘Goodbye,’ Jude returned with a challenging lift of his dark brows.
The other man gave a humourless smile of acknowledgement at the obviously male challenge before turning to walk across to his car, a sporty Jaguar, Jude noted with displeasure; obviously this David, whoever he was, was wealthy enough to help May if he wanted to. And, from their conversation, he obviously did.
And yet she seemed uninterested in whatever the other man had to offer, so perhaps—
‘And just what the hell did you think you were doing just now?’ May’s angry challenge was accompanied by the slamming of the door as she turned to face him, her cheeks fiery red with anger, her eyes glittering deeply green.
He raised mocking brows at the unexpected attack. ‘Trying to be helpful?’ he prompted pointedly. ‘The man was obviously bothering you, and so I—’
‘Helpful? Helpful?’ she repeated incredulously, hands clenched at her sides. ‘Can you drive a tractor?’
He blinked frowningly. ‘Unfortunately not.’
‘Milk a cow?’
He grimaced. ‘Definitely not!’
‘Nurse a weak lamb?’
He shrugged. ‘Probably not.’
‘Feed the hens and collect the eggs?’
He drew in an impatient breath, knowing exactly where this conversation was going. ‘Look, May—’
‘No, of course you can’t do any of those things!’ she answered her own questions impatiently. ‘But I can, and I do. And those are the only ways that you could possibly be of any help to me, Mr Marshall,’ she told him scathingly. ‘I really don’t know where you got the impression that I’m some helpless female that needs rescuing—’
‘Don’t you?’ he rasped pointedly.
She had the grace to blush, her exhausted condition earlier having been unmistakable. ‘That was an exceptional circumstance,’ she dismissed firmly. ‘Now, if you wouldn’t mind leaving…?’ She stood pointedly away from the door, her expression challenging.
Jude gazed at her frustratedly. She really was the most—
Were those tears he could see in those incredible green eyes? And if so, were they tears of sheer frustration with all the work she had to do, or were they for some other reason?
‘We haven’t finished our meal,’ he pointed out softly.
She gave a shake of her head. ‘I’m afraid I’ve completely lost my appetite.’
‘May—’
‘Will you just go?’ she cried emotionally, the tears welling against the darkness of her lashes now.
‘No—I won’t just go,’ he answered impatiently. ‘May, I don’t think for one minute that you’re a helpless female.’ How could he, when she had obviously been the female mainstay of this household since she was nothing but a child herself? ‘But you are wrecked, anyone can see that from just looking at you—’
‘Thanks!’ she snapped scathingly.
He sighed heavily. ‘There’s just no reasoning with you, is there?’
‘None at all,’ she bit out coldly.
Jude shook his head. He had never met a woman like May Calendar before. Had never felt like shaking and kissing a woman at the same time before, either—
Kissing…?
Damn