Playing at Love

‘Me? You really imagine that I would agree to go along with this deception?’ She laughed harshly, watching the way his face tightened and his pale. eyes turned to silver ice. ‘No way, Mr Lord. I don’t care what you do, but there is no way on God’s green earth that I can be persuaded to act as your fiancée.’

‘You think not?’ He stepped closer, his eyes meeting hers and holding. ‘Not even to save yourself from the embarrassment of being thrown out of this hotel?’

‘Thrown out?’ She shot to her feet, pushing past him to stand against the wall as though she needed its solid support.

‘Mmm, could be a bit of a problem, I imagine, especially if I contact a few other hotels and warn them of the circumstances surrounding your abrupt departure from here.’

‘I...I... That’s ridiculous! I don’t care who you are, but you can’t do that! I won’t let you blackmail me into going along with your stupid plan!’ Was that really her voice sounding so shrill? Louise bit her lip as she tried to hang on to the last of her composure. Back at the hospital her control was legendary; she’d never been known even to raise her voice, let alone have hysterics, as seemed likely now. But back at the hospital there hadn’t been Wyatt Lord as provocation!

‘Oh, but I can. I can do everything I threaten, Louise. Have no doubt of that. Apart from the fact that I own several chains of hotels in this town and throughout Florida, I also have interests in quite a few others. If I made it known that you are unwelcome, then you wouldn’t find another room. Then of course there is always the possibility that the manager here might consider it his duty to inform the police about your activities.’ He smiled faintly as he watched her. ‘There has been a campaign recently to clean up this town by the vice squad, so I don’t imagine they would look kindly upon what you’ve been doing.’

He spoke quietly, the words dropping almost gently into the stunned silence, yet the ripples they caused seemed like tidal waves.

‘I haven’t been doing anything! And I can get the man you referred to up here this minute to vouch for that!’

‘I’m sure you can. He would be only too happy to corroborate any story you came up with rather than admit the truth in front of his wife, isn’t that right? But you and I both know what the truth is, and unless you agree then the manager is going to hear it too.’ He picked up the phone, watching her closely. ‘I wonder what people will make of this back home in England?’ He paused deliberately. ‘You must have friends and possibly family there, Louise. A story like this is bound to hit the papers on both sides of the Atlantic, especially if you are deported, which most probably will happen.’

Deported? She closed her eyes, a mental picture of her parents springing to life. Her father had just applied for the headship of the local high school, while her mother had recently taken over the chair of the local Women’s Circle. Then there was her brother, Paul, just starting out as a solicitor, not to mention her sister, Helen, just finishing her year’s residency at the same hospital where Louise worked. She was innocent as the day, but the mud would stick to all of them!

She was so angry that she could barely speak. ‘You would really do that? No, don’t bother. I can see you would. You are the most despicable man I’ve ever met, and I wish to heaven that I’d left you here to suffer by yourself last night!’

‘But you didn’t, did you? And why not? Because you thought there might be something in it for you? All right, then, Louise, I’d hate to disappoint you, so let me make you an offer. Lawrence Hutton has invited me to stay at his house in the Bahamas—on Paradise Island, to be precise. You will accompany me as my fiancée. That should effectively put paid to any ideas about my marrying into the family, yet guarantee that I get what I want.’

‘And what do I get out of all this?’ She smoothed the lace at the cuff of her robe, feeling anger churning inside her. It was hard to believe that anyone could be as coldly ruthless as Wyatt Lord was. She didn’t doubt that he would carry out his threat, but if he thought she’d go along with him then he was in for a shock!

He set the phone back down with a satisfied smile that made her itch to reach out and slap his arrogant face, but she stopped herself. ‘I’m glad you’re being sensible about this. I thought you would once I had time to convince you that you could turn this to your advantage. In return for your help I shall sign an undertaking to let this whole matter drop, plus I’m willing to pay you a generous fee as compensation for not being able to reap the benefits of all your recent hard work. Understand?’

Oh, she did. She understood it all quite clearly, from A to Z, with every letter filled in along the way! What she should do now was laugh in his face and tell him to do his worst, challenge him to carry out all his miserable threats. So how was it that she opened her mouth and heard with a sense of total disbelief herself saying softly, ‘How much?’ That was something she still couldn’t understand properly even hours later!

CHAPTER THREE

THE ground fell away as the plane took to the skies. Louise held her breath, only releasing it as the plane gained its correct altitude and started to level off. She’d never flown in anything smaller than a 747 before, so this was a whole new experience, one she wasn’t sure she liked.

She glanced sideways at Wyatt Lord, who was piloting the small Cessna, watching the way his hands moved confidently on the controls. It was obvious that he was as confident about flying as he appeared to be about everything else he did, and gradually she began to relax, although that did little to ease the knots in her stomach. She must have been mad to agree to this, stark, raving mad!

She looked away, shading her eyes against the glare from the vivid blue sky as she tried again to work out why she’d done such a crazy thing as to agree to this trip. Had it been merely those threats he’d uttered, threats that had made her feel more recklessly angry than she’d felt before in her life? She still wasn’t one hundred per cent certain, but suddenly all Carol’s dire warnings came rushing back to haunt her, and she had to bite her lip to stern the tiny moan.

‘If you’re going to be sick, then use one of the bags in the door pocket.’

If she’d thought for a moment that he’d said that out of concern, then she might have appreciated it, but she wasn’t fool enough to think that! The anger rose again, hot and swift, and strangely comforting, as she turned to stare coldly at him. ‘Don’t worry. I wasn’t about to throw up all over your precious plane.’

He adjusted the controls, his face set as he shot her a quick glance. ‘Then what is bothering you? Having second thoughts already?’ He smiled, his mouth curling contemptuously beneath the heavy black moustache, his eyes hidden behind the mirrored glasses. ‘I wouldn’t waste my time if I were you. We made a deal, Louise, and I have every intention of seeing that you stick to it.’

‘Second thoughts about earning myself ten thousand dollars?’ She pretended to make a few rapid calculations on her fingers, her expression as avaricious as she could make it. ‘What’s that, about five and a half thousand pounds in sterling?’ She laughed huskily, stretching her slender body like a cat who had been shown a saucer of cream, before settling back in the seat with a contented sigh. ‘An offer like that doesn’t come a girl’s way very often.’

‘But how long will the money last?’ He removed his glasses, studying the elegant lines of her beige silk shirt and trousers, the smooth leather of her neat flat shoes. ‘Clothes like those cost money, a lot of money. You’ll be through that cash in next to no time, and then what will you do? Start looking for some other poor man to keep you?’

Louise ran a hand over the soft silk, smiling faintly to herself. The clothes she owned were expensive, but she hadn’t bought them; the salary she earned was adequate to live on, but would never have stretched to designer labels. She was fortunate enough to have a cousin who was a buyer for a large store in Manchester, who was a clothesaholic. Jessica bought more outfits than she could hope to wear, then passed them on to Louise for a fraction of their cost when she tired of them. It was an arrangement that suited them both, but one she had no intention of telling Wyatt Lord about!

He slid the glasses back on, his jaw rigid as he banked the plane slowly then checked the panel before he spoke again. ‘I think that the thing that’s bothering you most is that someone has sussed your little game. It must be galling to have come so close then to lose out at the last moment.’

‘Lose out on what?’ She brushed a shiny dark curl from her eyes, then felt in her soft leather bag for her own sunglasses. Up here the sky was almost painfully bright, the sun blinding as it shone through the cockpit windscreen. She could feel the beginnings of a headache pressing at her temples, a sure sign that tiredness and anger had taken their toll.

‘Hooking yourself that guy back at the hotel.’ He laughed unpleasantly. ‘He seemed fairly well set up, although I imagine you could have found someone a lot richer if you’d gone further afield. Miami is full of men like that who would be flattered by the attentions of a beautiful woman like you, Louise. Perhaps I’ve done you a favour by persuading you to come on this trip. It means you can always go back once we’re through and try again for a bigger fish, one whose bank balance will last a while longer until you drain it dry.’

She was glad of the glasses. They shielded her eyes, so that he could not see how much that hurt. How could she go through with this and spend the next week in the company of someone who despised her as much as he did?

Unexpected tears stung her eyes, but she blinked them away, refusing to admit even to herself how much it hurt to hear him say such horrible things. However, he was relentless, seemingly taking pleasure out of being as unpleasant as possible to her. ‘Nothing to say? No girlish protestations about your innocence now? You disappoint me, Louise, you really do. I thought you’d be determined to keep on with the little charade you’ve been playing.’

She didn’t bother turning to look at him, her voice slightly muffled as she held back a sob. ‘What would be the point? You’ve made up your mind about me, and that’s that. Why waste my breath?’

He caught her chin, forcing her head round to study her before he let her go abruptly. Louise drew in a shaky breath, clenching her hands to stop herself from rubbing her fingers along her jaw to wipe away the burning, disturbing imprint he’d left on her skin. She felt shaken by the brief contact, but why? It didn’t make any sense.

‘What made you start this in the first place, Louise?’ His hands moved on the controls, firm and confident as. they steadied the small plane as it lifted on a current of warm air. Below them Louise could see the sea, turquoise-blue, glistening in the hot sunlight. It was like a picture-postcard view, and at another time she would have taken pleasure from it, but right now all she could concentrate on was coping with Wyatt Lord’s deliberate cruelty.

She shrugged dismissively, feigning a sophistication that was purely on the surface. Inside it felt as though tiny daggers were being stabbed one by one into her heart. ‘Why does anyone decide on a course of action? You weigh up the pros and cons, then make the decisions. It’s as simple as that.’

‘Simple?’ He laughed deeply, shaking his head as he glanced sideways at her. ‘You see this kind of life you’re leading as simple? Come on! You’re not a fool. You understand the risks, surely?’

‘What risks? From where I’m sitting it all looks fine to me. I find myself a rich...benefactor, then live the life I’ve always longed for. Isn’t that what I’m doing?’

‘And what about your family? Have they any idea what you’re up to?’

Definitely not! If her parents ever found out about this they’d be horrified, not because they’d believe that she was in America looking for a rich sugar-daddy, but because she’d gone off with a virtual stranger! The thought of their love strengthened the determination that had kept her going throughout the time she’d been packing at the hotel while fielding Carol’s protests. This man had insulted her in a way that no one had ever done before, and she was determined to make him pay for every unpleasant word! She would go through with this plan, even accept the money he paid her...then take great satisfaction from throwing it back in his arrogant face as she told him in terms he couldn’t doubt how very wrong he’d been. The thought of watching Wyatt Lord squirm as he was forced to apologise would see her through!

‘No,’ she said softly, just the faintest tremor of distress in her voice, which she felt quite proud of. ‘They...they’ve no idea what I’m doing right now.’

‘Then why do it? You’re a beautiful and intelligent woman. You have other options, so why do something your family would feel ashamed of if they found out?’

‘Money. Isn’t that the key to understanding why, Mr Lord? You said it yourself only this morning, worked out very cleverly what I was doing in the hotel and why.’ She smiled airily, watching him through the tinted lenses, enjoying the way his big body stiffened at her open mockery.

‘Yes, I worked it out It wasn’t difficult. I’ve seen it happen before, watched men who make fools of themselves over women like you, women who don’t give a damn about anything as long as they get what they want. You should carry a health warning, Louise, because you destroy lives!’

His anger was almost tangible, filling the confines of the small plane, adding a new dimension to the conversation that startled her.

‘That sounds as though you’re speaking from personal experience. Did some woman take you for a ride?’

He laughed harshly, such contempt in the sound that it destroyed the last vestiges of amusement she felt ‘No. I’m not fool enough to let any woman do that to me. Oh, women have their uses, I’ll admit, but those are purely physical, and that’s all I’m interested in.’

She felt suddenly cold, despite the heat from the sun, her skin tingling with an icy chill that stemmed from deep inside. How could anyone sound as totally devoid of feelings as he had? In some indefinable way, it shocked her almost as much as when he’d made those ridiculous accusations against her.

Suddenly she didn’t want to continue with this disturbing conversation a moment longer, and cast round for something to say to fill the uncomfortable silence. ‘How long will it be before we land now?’

‘About twenty minutes or so, depending on how many other planes are due at the island.’ He checked his watch, a faint mocking curl to his mouth, as though he understood her reasons for wanting to move the conversation along different channels. ‘The airstrip at Paradise Island is purely that, a strip for the benefit of people who have houses there.’

‘I see.’ She turned to stare out of the side-window, forcing herself to push the unsettling. exchange to the back of her mind. She wasn’t interested in digging deeper, in trying to discover what had made Wyatt so cold and unfeeling. It wasn’t any of her business, and she had to remember that and not allow natural curiosity to draw her into something she might come to regret. ‘What are all those islands down there? There must be hundreds of them, some so tiny they’re little more than a few rocks, I imagine.’

‘They are. There are about seven hundred islands plus over two thousand cays down there that form the Bahamas, most of them so flat they are barely a hundred feet above sea-level at their highest points.’

‘Good heavens! I never realised there were so many!’ Astonished by the information, Louise turned back to the view, following the scattering of land in the deep turquoise sea, like jewels glistening against satin. ‘Are they all inhabited?’

‘No. Some of the smaller cays are privately owned, but most of them are uninhabited. There are no rivers or streams on any of the islands, so fresh water can be a problem. What little there is is usually found close to the surface, resting on salt water, so if wells are dug too deeply it can taste brackish and be quite unpalatable.

‘If you look down there to your right you’ll see New Providence Island, where the capital of the Bahamas, Nassau, is situated.’

Louise followed his directions, leaning over so that she could see better, but it was hard to distinguish the island through the haze of sun bouncing off the water. ‘Do you mean there?’ she queried, pointing to a spot to their right, then nearly jumped out of her skin when he caught her hand in his and moved it a fraction further, holding it steady as he guided her pointing finger. Heat ran along her veins so swiftly, so fiercely, that she caught her breath at the sheer unexpectedness of the sensation. Just for a moment her eyes lifted to meet his, and she wished that she could see the expression in them, but with the mirrored glasses firmly in place that was impossible.

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