Engaged To Jarrod Stone

He stood back to survey her. ‘Very nice,’ he said finally, placing that intriguing box on the table.

Brooke blushed prettily. ‘Thank you. Tonight, you—you won’t leave me on my own too much? I—I don’t know any of the people who are likely to be at this party.’

‘You’ll know Philip.’

She gave a throaty chuckle. ‘I don’t know Philip Baylis, I’ve only seen him a couple of times when he’s come to see you. I know about him, as I know about you, but I don’t actually know him.’

‘You soon will,’ he said dryly. ‘I have no doubt that Philip will waste little time introducing himself to you. But don’t ever forget that you’re supposed to be engaged to me,’ he added warningly.

‘I can hardly forget it with this huge rock weighing my finger down,’ she retorted hotly, resenting his implication that she was stupid enough to flirt with his friends. ‘You didn’t even bother to ask me if I wanted this ring. I may not have liked it,’ she said petulantly.

Jarrod shrugged. ‘It isn’t important.’

‘Only that it looks expensive enough to be worn by the fiancée of the great Jarrod Stone,’ she scorned. ‘You’re enjoying this, Mr Stone. Enjoying the fact that I stupidly got myself engaged to you.’

‘I’m not enjoying it at all, Brooke,’ he contradicted grimly. ‘But I have little choice about it. So I mean to make the best of it, and you would do well to do the same. After all, isn’t that partly the reason you did it? You denied infatuation, so it must have been partly blackmail.’

‘It was pure revenge,’ she denied hotly.

‘If you like to think so. Nevertheless, the jewellery you now have in your possession will bring you a sizeable sum when you decide to sell it. That should make it all the easier for you to bear being engaged to a man you say you hate. For some reason women seem to find jewellery a great comfort.’

‘This jewellery isn’t mine to sell,’ Brooke told him fiercely. ‘The earrings and necklace I’ll return at the end of the evening, the ring when you decide you’ve punished me enough for my impetuosity. Whether you believe me or not, blackmail didn’t enter into my thoughts at all. I once believed myself—–’

‘Yes?’ he prompted at her hesitation.

She shook her head. Why should she give him the satisfaction of knowing she had once thought herself in love with him? He would probably laugh in her face at such an admission. ‘It isn’t important. Shouldn’t we be leaving now? It’s getting late.’

‘I suppose so.’ Jarrod picked up the box he had carried in, handing it to her. I realise this should be mink or ermine, but I don’t happen to believe in killing animals to provide a woman with something beautiful to wear.’

She gave him a puzzled look, ripping off the lid to the box to stare at its contents. Lying amongst the tissue paper was a snowy white velvet cape. She picked it up, smoothing its softness lovingly. ‘It’s beautiful!’ she said breathlessly.

‘Good.’ He took it out of her hand and draped it casually about her shoulders. ‘We’d better be going now.’

His car was fast and sleek, moving with a speed that was completely effortless. It was a dark green Ferrari, and he drove it with a skill that was purely habitual. It seemed incredible to Brooke that she was actually sitting here at his side on her way out with him for the evening.

Philip Baylis’s house was about ten miles out of the centre of London, a house set back off the road and reached by the long gravel driveway leading right up to the oak front door. Cars adorned the driveway and the whole house was bathed in light. Soft music sounded from inside, and Brooke followed Jarrod Stone up to the front door with some trepidation.

They were admitted by a manservant, and Brooke left her cape in his capable hands. Jarrod turned to look at her. ‘I suppose you want to powder your nose or whatever it is that women do when they disappear for hours on end?’

‘Yes, please.’ Her hair could definitely do with a tidy up.

‘It’s through there,’ he pointed to a door on the left. ‘I’ll be inside having a drink.’

‘Oh, but—–’

‘Don’t be such a baby,’ he said impatiently. ‘I won’t be far away.’

She set her mouth determinedly and entered the powder-room. There were several other women in here and she moved through them awkwardly to the large mirror along one wall, brushing her hair self-consciously.

‘I notice Jarrod hasn’t arrived yet,’ remarked a tall blonde girl to another girl standing a few feet away.

‘He’ll be here. Philip said he invited him,’ the other girl replied.

‘I can hardly wait!’ The blonde applied her lipstick.

Brooke had remained rooted to the spot at the first mention of Jarrod’s name, curious to find out what was going to be said next. Both these girls were beautiful, perhaps they had been some of the girls Jarrod was reputed to have escorted in the last few years.

‘Have you seen his girl?’ the second girl asked.

‘Never. No one seems to have heard of her until today. He really kept quiet about this one.’

‘Selina won’t be very happy about it,’ the other girl laughed bitchily. ‘She really thought she had him where she wanted him.’

The blonde arched one thinly plucked eyebrow. ‘I’m sure she’s had him there, several times.’

‘You think it actually went that far?’

‘Charles is such a simpleton where Selina is concerned. He has no control over her at all. And she wanted Jarrod, we all know that.’

‘But I wouldn’t have thought Jarrod—–’

‘He’s a man, Sonia, and Selina is very beautiful.’ The blonde frowned. ‘This engagement of Jarrod’s is all a bit sudden, a bit too convenient if you ask me.’

The girl called Sonia looked puzzled. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Well, it could all be a ruse, couldn’t it? Jarrod could have persuaded some poor creature into believing herself in love with him and that he feels the same way about her. Charles would never suspect anything between Selina and Jarrod with him a newly engaged man.’

‘I suppose so. There was quite a lot of gossip going about. I’m sure Charles must have heard some of it.’

‘You see what I mean? I bet this girl of Jarrod’s is a real little mouse.’

The use of that name for her was enough to snap Brooke out of her stunned silence, but before she could actually say anything someone else came into the room and the other two girls wandered back outside to the party, still gossiping.

So that was Jarrod’s little game! Furious colour flooded her cheeks. Jarrod Stone was using her to cover up his own affair with a married woman. How dared he! Of all the despicable things to do! All the time he had been making out he was the wronged person in all this, when really it suited him to be an engaged man right now.

No wonder Selina Howard had rushed over to see him this morning! But she had soon been reassured when she had seen Brooke, knowing she had absolutely no competition in her. And Jarrod must have reassured her even more when she was up in his office with him.

How dared he! How dared he use her in this way! He was disgusting, covering up his own behaviour by taking advantage of this situation. He was having an affair with Selina Howard and using her to shield it from the woman’s husband.

But what could she do about it? There was no way she could get herself out of this engagement, not without causing embarrassment to both of them. Besides, Jarrod had made it perfectly clear he had no intention of releasing her. His obstinacy now became transparently clear.

But she wouldn’t let him think he had got away with fooling her. Oh no, she would make sure she let him know his sordid little affair was known to her. And she wouldn’t feel guilty any more. Why should she?

It didn’t take her long to find Jarrod among the crowd, his height and distinguished appearance making him conspicuous. She moved swiftly through the people to be at his side.

Jarrod turned to look down at her flushed face and gleaming eyes, raising one eyebrow questioningly. ‘I thought you’d got lost.’

She took the glass of bubbly liquid he held out to her, flicking back her head haughtily and ignoring the curious stares of the other people. ‘You don’t seem to be particularly bothered even if I had,’ she replied coolly, sipping the chilled champagne.

He frowned. ‘What’s the matter with you?’

Brooke looked up at him challengingly. ‘Why should there be anything wrong with me? I’ve merely been tidying my hair.’

‘For fifteen minutes?’

She shrugged. ‘I have a lot of hair.’

‘Now look, Brooke—–’

His angry words were cut off by the appearance of their host at his side. ‘She’s turned up, then, Jarrod,’ Philip Baylis grinned good naturedly, putting his hand out to Brooke politely. ‘I’m very pleased to meet you.’

She smiled shyly, meeting his gesture. ‘Thank you.’

He looked at the grim face of his friend. ‘She’s lovely, Jarrod. You’ll have to keep your eye on her amongst this pack of wolves.’ He smiled at Brooke again. ‘You should be safe with Jarrod by your side.’

‘That’s providing he remains there.’ She gave her ‘fiancée’ a sly look.

Jarrod’s fingers dug painfully into her soft flesh as he put his arm about her shoulders. ‘Where else would I go?’ he teased, but his eyes told a different story, warning her to behave.

‘I have no idea,’ she returned softly.

‘This isn’t a line,’ laughed Philip, seemingly unaware of the tension between them. ‘But haven’t I seen you somewhere before?’

‘Possibly. I work for Jarrod.’ That grip on her shoulders tightened even more and she winced with the pain of it.

Philip looked astounded. ‘You do?’

‘Mm,’ she nodded, taking no notice of the looks she was receiving from Jarrod. ‘I’m the receptionist.’

‘So you are!’ His amazement was obvious. ‘You sly devil, Jarrod!’ he slapped the other man on the shoulder. ‘Keeping her hidden away like that!’

‘Jarrod likes to keep secrets,’ Brooke put in softly.

He gave her a sharp look. ‘Not from you, darling,’ he drawled.

She gave him a cold angry look. ‘Even from me.’

Philip laughed. ‘I’m sure not. He’s a reformed person, engaged to be married and all that. It was the shock of my life this morning when I saw your engagement in the newspaper.’

‘No more of a shock than it was to Jarrod,’ she smiled tightly.

‘Mm, he seemed rather bowled over when I spoke to him this morning.’

‘No doubt he was,’ she agreed.

‘Only because it wasn’t supposed to be announced just yet,’ Jarrod put in calmly. ‘But you know how the press get hold of these things.’

Philip grimaced. ‘Oh, I know the press all right.’ His attention was caught and held by a woman on the other side of the room and he excused himself before going over to her.

Brooke sipped her champagne, pointedly ignoring the man at her side as she looked about her disinterestedly.

‘What the hell is the matter with you?’ Jarrod demanded tautly.

She gave him a chilling look. ‘I’m perfectly all right, thank you.’

‘I wasn’t asking you if you were all right, I asked you what was the matter with you! You’re—you’re different, more—–’

‘More self-confident, you mean. But then why shouldn’t I be? You’re not such a great person after all, are you? I think you’re disgusting!’ she spat the words at him, glaring her dislike. ‘And I actually felt guilty about playing this trick on you. You deserve all that you get—and more!’

Jarrod’s mouth tightened and he retained his temper with effort. ‘What the hell are you talking about?’

‘You know very well what I’m talking about, so don’t try to act the innocent with me. I never would have believed you could stoop so low. To—–’

‘Jarrod!’

Brooke didn’t need to turn to know who that voice belonged to. Selina Howard! And she was smiling in an intimate way at Jarrod, her arm through his. But of course, they didn’t need to worry about gossip now, not now that Jarrod was engaged to her! Oh, it was so humiliating to be used in this way.

She watched the two of them, watched the way Selina Howard made Jarrod bend his head so that she could whisper in his ear, the way he laughed throatily at whatever it was she had said to him.

It was several minutes before either of them seemed to become aware of her still standing there. Finally it was Selina Howard who turned to include her in the conversation.

‘We meet again, Brooke,’ she said softly, her green eyes assessing as they took in Brooke’s figure-hugging dress. ‘I’m sure you didn’t expect it to be so soon.’

‘I didn’t expect it at all, Mrs Howard,’ Brooke replied shortly.

The small beautiful woman gave a tinkling laugh, but the humour didn’t reach her hard pebble-green eyes. ‘Please call me Selina,’ she invited graciously. ‘Being Jarrod’s fiancée you’re sure to see a lot of me in future.’

Brooke raised one eyebrow. ‘Really?’

‘Oh yes. Jarrod and I are great friends,’ Selina Howard informed her triumphantly.

‘And your husband.’ She smiled sweetly at them. ‘We mustn’t forget your husband. Where is he, by the way?’

‘Charles is in Europe at the moment.’

‘How convenient for you!’

‘I beg your pardon?’ Those green eyes narrowed dangerously.

‘I said how miserable for you,’ Brooke replied.

‘Yes, isn’t it?’ Selina glowed up at Jarrod. ‘But friends always help to ease the loneliness. Jarrod has been so good to me during Charles’ absence.’

‘I’m sure he has. But he could be rather preoccupied in future, arranging the wedding, things like that.’ Brooke smiled glowingly at Jarrod, uncaring of the scowl on his face. ‘There’s always such a lot to organise. You must realise that, being married yourself.’

A faint flush coloured the other woman’s pale cheeks. ‘When is the wedding to be?’

‘We—–’

‘Oh, quite soon,’ Brooke interrupted Jarrod. ‘We have no reason to wait. Jarrod’s very anxious that the wedding should take place soon, aren’t you, darling?’

He looked thunderous, and she knew that once they were alone he would let her feel the full force of his anger. But she didn’t care about that now. He wasn’t going to get away with making a fool out of her!

Selina Howard looked less sure of herself now, looking uncertainly from Jarrod to Brooke. ‘I didn’t realise you’d already set a date. You’ve only just become engaged.’

Brooke looked deliberately shy. ‘The engagement is only a formality as far as Jarrod and I are concerned. The marriage will take place next month.’

Jarrod looked visibly startled, his expression becoming grimmer as she calmly met his furious gaze. ‘I thought we’d agreed not to disclose that,’ he said tautly.

She smiled at him. ‘As Mrs Howard is such a friend of yours it can’t possibly matter if we tell her. Besides, we’ll be sending out the invitations quite soon, and we wouldn’t want Mrs Howard to be too shocked when she receives hers, now would we?’

Selina Howard’s head flicked back haughtily. ‘I’ll call you tomorrow, Jarrod. Goodbye, Brooke.’

‘Oh, surely not goodbye,’ she returned sweetly. ‘As you said, we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.’

Another cool look was directed at her before Selina Howard swept away from them, leaving behind a cloud of perfume. That perfume seemed to belong exclusively to her, and Brooke wouldn’t be at all surprised if that wasn’t the case. Charles Howard was rich enough to buy a hundred perfumes exclusively for the use of his wife if he wanted to.

Brooke looked innocently up at Jarrod, sipping her champagne with cool deliberation. ‘She’s very beautiful.’

Jarrod grasped her arm, his fingers pressing painfully into her flesh. ‘Selina Howard’s looks don’t seem important right at this moment,’ he muttered between gritted teeth.

‘Really? They seemed very important to you this morning.’

He frowned darkly. ‘This morning?’

‘Your important appointment.’

‘Oh—oh, yes. Forget that for a moment,’ he dismissed. ‘Why did you tell her we were getting married next month? What game are you playing now.’

‘No game, Mr Stone. I just don’t like being used.’

He shook his head dazedly. ‘You’re being used? I thought that was my fate.’

‘So did I. I even felt sorry for you—but not any more. You disgust me.’

‘That’s the second time you’ve said that,’ he said curiously. ‘You were like this when you came back from the powder-room. What happened in there?’

‘How clever of you to guess,’ she smiled at him brightly. ‘Just a couple of your so-called friends having a cosy little chat about you. Quite enlightening really.’

‘Let’s leave,’ Jarrod said abruptly. ‘We can talk about this better alone. Wait here while I make our excuses.’

‘I would prefer to wait outside.’

‘I said wait here.’

‘I’ll be outside,’ she declared stubbornly, moving away before he could stop her. She could imagine what construction his friends would put on their early departure. Let them think what they liked! She didn’t care as long as she knew in her own mind that it wasn’t true.

At least she had got him back for using her, stirring things up a little between him and his mistress. Not that she thought he would have much difficulty explaining his way out of that, but no doubt Selina Howard would give him a difficult time for a while. Good, she thought spitefully.

‘Why are you always so damned stubborn?’ Jarrod demanded on the way home.

‘I’m not stubborn. I just don’t like to be bullied.’

‘What did these so-called friends of mine have to say? I take it that’s the reason for your attitude?’

‘Oh, they just told me of your sordid little affair with Mrs Howard. Well, I wouldn’t exactly say they told me. They were discussing it between them, I just happened to be there at the time.’ She made a determined effort not to look at him.

‘My affair with Selina?’ he repeated softly.

‘Yes.’

‘And that’s why you told her we were getting married next month?’

‘Yes. She looked quite worried when I told her that,’ she said with satisfaction.

‘So did I,’ he admitted grimly. ‘I’ve never met anyone as impetuous as you are. I’m only surprised you haven’t got yourself into more trouble than you have. Do you realise that by the end of this evening the fact that our wedding is to be next month will be all over London?’

Now she did look at him, her mouth dropping open. ‘Surely Mrs Howard wouldn’t—–’

‘No, she wouldn’t. But you said it loud enough for several other people to hear. Believe me, by tomorrow everyone will be expecting their invitation to our wedding!’

CHAPTER THREE

BROOKE’S hand flew up to her pale cheek. ‘Oh no!’

‘Oh yes,’ he nodded curtly.

‘Surely they wouldn’t—–’

‘I tell you they will.’

‘Oh God!’ Now what had she done! Things seemed to go from bad to worse as far as she and Jarrod Stone were concerned. And it was all her own doing!

Jarrod sighed. ‘I thought an engagement was bad enough, but this is something else completely, Marriages aren’t so easy to get out of.’

‘I’m not marrying you!’

‘You may damn well have to,’ he told her shortly.

Brooke wrenched the ring from her finger and threw it on to the dashboard of the car. I won’t do anything I don’t want to! You were using me to cover up your affair with Selina Howard, but I won’t be a party to that any more. No doubt she’ll soon get over her anger with you at my saying we were getting married and you can carry on as you have been doing.’

‘So you’ve already decided that what you heard was the truth?’

‘Oh yes. She was your important appointment, remember? I suppose you told her then about our phoney engagement. It really gave her a shock when I said we were getting married. So you can keep your ring and explain to your mistress that it was all a mistake, that I was just being bitchy.’

Jarrod sat forward and picked up the ring, watching as it glittered and shone. He thrust it at her. ‘Put it back on. The engagement still stands. Nothing has changed since this morning.’

‘It has as far as I’m concerned,’ she said shrilly. ‘I’ve found out about your mistress and I won’t help you to fool Charles Howard!’

‘You will do as you’re told. My threat about your future employment still stands. Put the ring on,’ he ordered.

‘I don’t want to. You still haven’t asked me if I like it,’ she added resentfully, pushing it back on her finger when he seemed adamant that she should.

‘Do you?’

‘Well, yes, but I—– That isn’t the point! You didn’t bother to ask me earlier.’

‘I’ve asked you now. Be satisfied with that.’

‘Mr Stone, I—–’

‘For God’s sake call me Jarrod!’

‘Do you have to be so angry all the time?’ Brooke quavered. ‘It isn’t easy to suddenly be thrust into this intimacy with you when for the last six months I’ve thought of you as nothing but my boss. It doesn’t seem right for me to be calling you Jarrod.’

‘Do you know, Brooke, until this morning I believed myself to be quite a patient man. Since meeting you all that’s changed. Everything about you angers me, your stubbornness, your impetuosity, just about everything. But until a few minutes ago I thought I was handling this situation with moderate calm.’ He ignored her snort of disbelief. ‘That was until your tongue ran away with you just once too often, as it did just now. I hope you have more forbearance over the weekend.’

Brooke’s eyes widened. ‘Over the weekend?’

‘Mm, something else I’m sure you hadn’t thought of.’ He gave a wry smile. ‘My mother and father have invited us down to their country place for the weekend.’

Her heart sank. ‘I didn’t know you had any family.’

‘Oh yes, besides my mother and father I have a brother of twenty-two and a sister of eighteen. I need hardly say that they’re all anxious to meet you.’

His taunting voice angered her. ‘Did you have to tell them? Surely we didn’t have to involve your family in all this?’

Jarrod stopped the car outside the building that contained her flat, turning to face her in the confines of the car. ‘I didn’t tell them—you did.’

‘I didn’t—–’

‘They found out the same way I did, Brooke. The only difference being that they were pleased about it.’

She suddenly felt breathless by his closeness. He might be arrogant and cynical, but he was still the handsomest man she had ever seen. Tonight at the party he had easily stood out as the most attractive man there, a certain aloofness about him making him a challenge to any woman.

Brooke felt her old stirrings of attraction towards him, the longings she had had to be in his arms and be loved by him. But he had never even noticed her until this morning when he could do little else, and she hadn’t been brought to his attention in a way that would endear her to him.

But then he was never likely to be attracted to her anyway, not with someone as beautiful as Selina Howard in his life. No, she knew her own limitations; she might be moderately attractive, but she could never be called beautiful. She would have to leave Jarrod Stone to women like the lovely Selina Howard, women who understood the sophisticated games he engaged in.

But that didn’t stop her feeling attracted to him now, didn’t stop her being completely aware of him. She should have remained adamant when she had handed him back his ring and not been browbeaten into putting it back on. But she wouldn’t marry him, no matter how she had committed herself in the hearing of all those people. She wouldn’t be strong enough to hold out against him, and she had no intention of being his wife while he had the other woman as his mistress.

She looked away from the warmth in his grey eyes. ‘Your family want you to get married?’

‘My brother and sister consider me quite ancient not to have settled down, as they put it, with a family of my own. I’m sure you think the same way, you’re about their age,’ he said almost thoughtfully.