Shattered Illusions. Anne Mather
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now, half-bitterly. His infatuation for his stepmother had been too strong, and Catriona, damn her, had known that from the start. Apart from anything else, she’d banked on the fact that he’d do nothing to hurt his father—even if he had drawn the line at being involved in the production of his stepmother’s books.
His father’s sudden death of a heart attack at the age of sixty-four had changed a lot of things. Not least the fact that Catriona was now free to do whatever she liked. Less than three months after his father’s funeral, she had let Dominic know that she knew how he had always felt about her, and that there was no reason now for her to deny the fact that she reciprocated his feelings. She’d said she’d always known that her marriage to Lawrence Redding had been a mistake, but that luckily she still had plenty of time to make amends.
But that had been too much, even for Dominic. Coming close on the heels of the unwelcome news that his father had expected him to take over as nominal head of Goldman and Redding, he had felt stifled. He had never wanted to work for his father’s firm, and although his feelings for Catriona hadn’t lessened they had altered. He still wanted her, of course he did. But he had no intention of abusing his father’s memory by bedding his widow almost before he was cold in his grave.
But the fact remained that, although Catriona had inherited the house on Bermuda, where she’d written all her best-sellers, and the bulk of his father’s personal fortune, Lawrence Redding had left the publishing company to his son. And although Dominic had trained as a lawyer, not an editor, and had been working for a successful firm of attorneys in Boston at the time of his father’s death, he’d felt obliged to resign his position and move to New York.
Which was probably the biggest mistake he’d ever made, he conceded now, pushing his hands back into his pockets and staring broodingly over the pool. With Catriona as his client—as well as his would-be lover—he was struggling. He knew as well as anyone that if he offended Catriona, and she found an alternative publisher, Goldman and Redding would suffer.
But what else could he have done, given the terms of his father’s last will and testament? Lawrence Redding had wanted him to take over the running of the company; he’d wanted him to produce Catriona’s books in his place. God, hadn’t he ever suspected how Dominic felt about her? Or was this his way of showing that the two of them had his blessing?
Dominic scowled. There really was no reason for him to continue resisting the inevitable. Catriona was right; it was over a year since his father’s death. There was nothing—and no one—to prevent him from making them both happy. So why didn’t he go upstairs now and finish what he’d started a few minutes ago?
But still he stayed there, and presently a pair of curiously knowing grey eyes drifted across his inner vision. He wondered how Catriona’s solemn-faced secretary would react if she knew what he was thinking. Would she get some vicarious thrill from picturing them together, or would she be disgusted by the overtones of incest inherent in the relationship?
The latter, he suspected brusquely, the urge to go and give Catriona what she wanted rapidly fading. The moment when he might have given in was past, and his mood had darkened. Deciding to forgo breakfast, he pushed the door open again and left the building. In this frame of mind, he was better on his own.
‘DO YOU drive?’
Jaime looked up with a start. Something, some sixth sense perhaps, had warned her she was no longer alone, and she slipped the earphones down around her neck. She had spent the afternoon transcribing the tape of letters Catriona Redding had recorded that morning, and she blamed the fact that she was tired for the disturbing ripple of awareness that spread along her veins at that moment.
Dominic Redding was propped in the doorway of the small office that adjoined Catriona’s study, his hip lodged against one side of the frame, his hand braced against the other. He looked as if he’d been working out: his cotton shorts were clinging to the powerful muscles of his thighs and his grey vest was soaked with sweat. She could smell the heat of his body, even though there were several feet between them. It was not an unpleasant scent, but the knowledge of what she was thinking brought an unwilling trace of colour to her cheeks.
‘Um—what did you—?’
She hadn’t seen him since the previous morning, when he’d come upon her so unexpectedly beside the pool, and she’d begun to think he must have left the island. He’d told her he lived in New York, after all, and surely he couldn’t have much in common with his stepmother.
‘I asked if you could drive,’ he repeated, at her stammering response, and Jaime knew her prevarication had been necessary. She wasn’t used to being disconcerted by a man, and this man put the kind of thoughts into her head that she hadn’t had since she was a teenager. For heaven’s sake, she chided herself, irritated by this evidence of what she regarded as her own immaturity. She’d been holding her own in the male-dominated world of the university since she was eighteen. What on earth was wrong with her now?
Dominic Redding was speaking again, and she forced herself to concentrate on what he was saying. ‘Catriona seldom uses a car herself, and I thought you might be interested in seeing a little more of the island. It’s Saturday tomorrow, so I guess it’s your day off.’
‘Yes.’
‘Yes, what?’ His dark eyes were unerringly intent. ‘Yes, you can drive, or yes, you’d like to see more of the island? There’s a twenty miles an hour speed limit in operation if you’re nervous.’
‘I’m not nervous.’ Jaime was used to driving her father about London, but she didn’t want to go into that. ‘And yes, I can drive. I’ve been driving for—well, for years.’
‘Great.’ A lock of damp dark hair flopped onto his forehead and he thrust it back with an impatient hand. ‘So—how does the idea grab you? I believe the shops in Hamilton are pretty good.’
Jaime let her hands rest on the keys of the word processor, taking care not to put any weight on them. It was kind of him to think of her, she thought, trying to get his suggestion in perspective. Two days of working for Catriona had persuaded her that she would be unlikely to think of such a thing. Catriona was, quite simply, the most self-motivated person she had ever met.
‘I—it sounds good,’ she answered at last. ‘But I’m not sure if Miss Redding will expect me to work.’
‘Well, okay.’ He shrugged. ‘Let me know if you decide to take me up on it. There’s an open-topped four-by-four that’s seldom used.’
‘Thank you.’
Jaime was grateful—and for the interruption, too. She had been typing almost solidly for the past couple of hours, and for someone who was more used to grading essays the consistent glare of the computer screen was tiring. Her eyes were probably red-rimmed with exhaustion, she thought gloomily, wondering what Dominic Redding must think of her. Not that it mattered, she assured herself with feeling. He was not the kind of man who attracted her.
‘You’re welcome.’
His drawling response was vaguely ironic, but she hardly had time to evaluate his humour before the door to Catriona Redding’s study was jerked open. ‘For heaven’s sake, Miss Harris,’ she was exhorting as she stormed into her secretary’s room, ‘must I remind you that I’m trying to work in—? Oh!’ This as she saw who Jaime had been talking to. Her tone changed to one of guarded approval. ‘Dominic!’ She moistened her lips. ‘Were you looking for me?’
‘Oh, I think I’d know where to find you,’ he replied, with a strangely mocking expression on his face. ‘No. As a matter of fact, I came to see your secretary. I’ve offered her the use of the Toyota.’
Catriona’s mouth tightened. ‘Have you really?’ she remarked, linking her long fingers together at her waist. ‘I don’t recall you asking my permission.’
Dominic’s eyes narrowed. ‘I didn’t think it was necessary.’