Australian Affairs: Taken: Taken Over by the Billionaire / An Unlikely Bride for the Billionaire / Hired by the Brooding Billionaire

‘Please don’t think me ungrateful, Ben,’ she went on, her eyes softening on him. ‘It was a very generous offer. But it’s best I stay here in Australia.’

He sighed, then smiled at her. ‘So we’re still on for dinner tomorrow night?’

Jess smiled back at him. ‘Of course. Where are you going to take me?’

‘I have no idea. I’ll ask Mum when she gets back tomorrow. She knows all the best local restaurants. But you’ll have to pick me up. I’m not allowed to drive till I get that stupid medical clearance. Hopefully by Tuesday that’ll be done and I can drive Mum’s car.’

‘So your mother will be there when I pick you up?’ she said, sounding a bit panicky.

‘Yes, but you don’t have to worry. Mum’s really quite nice, despite everything.’

‘What do you mean by that?’

‘I’ll explain on the drive back,’ he said, thinking he shouldn’t have made such a leading comment. But it was too late now. Besides, it would give them something to talk about. Telling Jess all about his mother’s exploits over the years would take some time. ‘I’ll go shower and shave whilst you have breakfast. Then we should get going.’

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

BY THE TIME they stopped at Sandy Hollow for lunch, Jess had a much better understanding of why Ben wasn’t interested in marriage. To find out that your mother had married your father for his money must have come as a bitter blow. Still, it had been good of his father not to say anything till Ben had turned twenty-one. That way, Ben had been able to grow up loving his mother who, though materialistic, had obviously been a good mother to him.

Despite that, Jess could just imagine how Ben had felt when his mother had admitted she’d trapped his father into marriage with a pregnancy and had never loved him. His money was what she’d loved. Yes, there were reasons for her materialism, but the bottom line was still not very nice. Her actions certainly wouldn’t have engendered faith in her son’s own relationships with the opposite sex. Given he would one day be as rich as his father, Ben would always be on the lookout for signs that his girlfriends were gold-diggers. Which was an awful way to have to live.

But it did also explain why Ben concentrated on sex when he was with a girl he liked. Sex was safe, especially the kind of sex he indulged in. Such goings-on kept his girlfriends at a distance, both physically and emotionally. Jess realised that the only time he’d had sex face to face with her had been when she’d been on top. But even then he’d adopted the role of voyeur rather than that of a loving partner.

‘Neither of your parents have married again,’ she remarked once they sat down to another pub lunch. Different pub but similar food. A steak sandwich and salad. ‘Why is that, do you think?’

Ben shrugged. ‘Mum always said she would marry again if she ever fell in love. But that’s unlikely to happen, given the type of man she usually dates—all young, handsome studs without much between their ears. Mum does like intelligence when she’s out of bed.’

Jess tried not to look shocked at his talking about his mother’s sex life in that fashion.

‘But who knows? This fellow she’s gone on the cruise with seems a different kettle of fish. Not so young and he actually works. I’ll find out more when she gets home tomorrow. As far as Dad is concerned… This might sound silly but I think Mum was the only woman Dad ever truly loved. Though don’t get me wrong. He was unfaithful to her during their marriage. Had several mistresses going at once, apparently. He still has women running after him, despite being sixty-five and not the best-looking man in the world. Money is a powerful aphrodisiac,’ he added drily.

Jess sighed. ‘I can understand now why you don’t want to get married.’

‘What?’ Ben said, almost knocking his drink over. ‘I never said I didn’t want to get married.’

Jess frowned. ‘But you did. When I asked you why you broke up with Amber you said she wanted marriage and you didn’t.’

‘Not with her I don’t. I don’t love her. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t consider it with anyone else at some stage.’

‘Oh,’ Jess said, startled by this turn of events. Not that it changed anything. Ben might want marriage at some stage, but it wouldn’t be to an ordinary girl like her.

Ben stared across the table at Jess and wondered if that was why she’d refused to come to New York with him. Because she wanted marriage and she thought he didn’t. Not that he was about to propose. He did, however, feel more strongly about Jess than any girl he’d ever met.

He decided then and there that he would ask her to come to New York with him again later in the week. Meanwhile, he’d show her the time of her life every night. And, yes, behind the scenes he’d even do something about that damned Fab Fashions.

‘Are you absolutely sure you don’t want me to come to your family barbecue?’ he asked coolly before picking up his steak sandwich and taking a big bite.

She was tempted. He could see she was tempted.

‘I promise to be on my best behaviour,’ he added once his mouth was temporarily empty.

She laughed. ‘It’s not you I’m worried about. It’s my mother.’

Ben didn’t give a damn if her mother realised they were sleeping together. Mothers had never been a problem to him. They usually liked him a lot. ‘I can handle your mother,’ he said.

Lord, but he was an arrogant devil. But she did so like him. And she wanted him like mad. Already she was regretting not going to New York with him, even if it was only for a holiday. Still, she suspected Ben hadn’t totally given up on that idea. Jess wondered what she would say if he asked her again.

Hopefully, she would have the courage—and the common sense—still to say no. But, dear Lord, she did have a lot of trouble saying no to him.

‘I’m coming to that barbecue,’ he announced firmly, ‘And that’s final. Now, about that new name for Fab Fashions; I’ve given it some thought. What do you think of Real Women? It would lend itself to a good advertising campaign. Clothes for real women, et cetera, et cetera.’

The take-over man in action again, Jess thought. Telling her he was coming, then changing the subject.

She had to smile. He was clever all right.

‘I think it’s a great name,’ she said. ‘I love it.’

He beamed across the table at her. ‘Finally she agrees with something I’ve suggested!’

‘I can be agreeable,’ she said. ‘When it’s a sensible suggestion.’

‘Coming to New York with me is just as sensible.’

‘Ben,’ she said with a warning look. ‘Just leave it, will you?’

‘Okay. I will. For now. But I make no promise to do so indefinitely.’

They both fell to eating their meals, Jess doing her best to stop thinking about her potentially dangerous feelings for Ben. Once again she wished she could be like other girls. Most would jump at the chance of going to New York with him, even if it didn’t lead to anything permanent.

But maybe it would; she started hoping as she ate. How would she know unless she agreed? She’d gone to bed with Ben initially because she knew she’d regret it if she didn’t. Maybe she’d regret not going to New York with him and not giving their relationship a chance.

But it wasn’t a relationship, her more pragmatic side argued. It was just a fling, or an affair, for want of a better word. Ben had never said he loved her. Not that he would. It was way too early for a man of his natural wariness to make such a declaration. She certainly wasn’t about to tell him she was close to falling for him either. That would only give him power over her. He had enough of that already.

No, she wouldn’t be foolish enough to admit that. But she would think about going to New York with him and, when he asked her again, she probably would say yes.

‘That steak was quite good,’ Ben said, wiping his mouth with a paper serviette.

‘My dad cooks much better steak on the barbecue,’ Jess told him. ‘And Mum’s salads are way better.’

‘In that case, I’m in for a treat later today.’

‘Just don’t let my brothers give you too much beer.’

‘Why? You’re worried I might not be able to perform when you take me home?’

‘What? No, of course not! Ben De Silva, haven’t you had enough sex for one weekend?’

‘There’s no such thing as too much sex.’

‘There is if it involves getting your bottom spanked,’ she whispered so that the people at the next table couldn’t hear.

He frowned. ‘Sorry. I did get a little carried away last night. In that case, you can have today off.’

She tried to be annoyed with him but she simply couldn’t. Instead, she smiled. A slightly wry smile, but still a smile. ‘One day, some woman is going to tell you where to go, Ben De Silva.’

He nodded. ‘You could be right there. And I have a feeling she’s sitting across the table from me.’

I wish, Jess thought. But she just laughed, then finished off her coffee. Ten minutes later, they were back on the road and heading for home, turning off the motorway just after three-thirty.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

JESS’S HOME WAS bigger than Ben had expected, a two-storeyed, family-sized house in blond brick, with the biggest shed that Ben had ever seen sitting in a nearby paddock. A workshop, obviously, plus garaging for the hire cars. Two of the three massive roller doors were open and Ben could glimpse several cars within. The land around the house was bigger than he’d expected too, at least five acres. It was a lovely looking property with well-tended gardens, rolling lawns and enough trees to give privacy and shade.

Jess drove her SUV off the driveway onto a large square of gravel by the side of the house, the clock on her dash showing five to four as Ben climbed out. Jess had explained on the way that the barbecue wouldn’t start till five-ish, so they had some time before her brothers and their families descended upon them.

‘What a lovely place,’ he said straight away.

Jess smiled. ‘We like it. Mum will be in the kitchen, preparing the salads. You can meet her first. This way…’

‘I presume that’s the office,’ he said as he walked past a converted double garage which had sliding glass doors at the front with ‘Murphy’s Hire Car’ in big, black letters engraved on it.

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘That’s mostly Mum’s domain. I help out when Mum’s shopping or plays bowls or just needs a break. Mum, we’re here,’ Jess called out as she opened the front door.

A woman appeared at the end of the hallway, light behind her forming the silhouette of someone much shorter than Jess, and somewhat plumper.

‘Goodness, but you made good time. I didn’t expect you till four-thirty at least.’

When she came forward, Ben saw her more clearly. She looked nothing like Jess, being short, with ash-blonde hair and blue eyes. Attractive for her age, though.

‘Hello, there,’ she said, smiling as she looked him up and down. ‘You must be Ben.’

‘And you must be Mrs Murphy,’ he replied, stepping forward to give her a kiss on the cheek. ‘Lovely to meet you.’

Jess could not believe the look on her mother’s face. It was the kind of look you saw on the face of a female fan of a rock star. Truly!

‘Oh, don’t call me that.’ Her mother fairly simpered at him. ‘Call me Ruth.’

Jess gained some satisfaction in the thought that he wouldn’t charm her father so easily. Joe Murphy was a tough nut to crack. He wasn’t going to be impressed by a New Yorker who’d never had dirt under his fingernails in his life.

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