Authors: Nell Dixon

Cinderella Substitute (17 page)

Mike turned even redder. Beads of perspiration appeared unde
"Jenni is accompanying me and acting as my hostess for the e
Jenni watched impotently as her would-be suitor muttered an
"How dare you! That was a private conversation!" She wanted
"Jenni, I did warn you that we were too busy right now for y
"It would have been nice if you had told me beforehand that
He stared at her in amazement. "Jenni, I don't think that's
* * * *
Once inside the safety of his office, Nate wondered what had
Walker wouldn't get the wrong idea about Nate's relationship
Surely she wouldn't, she had always seemed much too sensible
"Appearances count, darling. I know you laugh but if you wan
He paused in his pacing. Cerys had dressed for success. Her
He bit down hard on that train of thought. Jenni was not Cer
He scowled at the view from his window and wished the young
* * * *
"It looks great, Jen. Really it does." Lorna assured her.
Jenni squinted at her hair in the mirror. Nate's colossal in
It had been Lorna's idea to go to the beauty college open da
Lorna pulled the plastic cape from Jenni's shoulders "Anyway
Jenni wished her bravado hadn't led her quite this far. Her
By the end of a very long day it came as a blissful relief t
She hung up her new clothes and kicked off her shoes. A long
She lazed among the suds until the water cooled. After towel
The doorbell rang as she buttered the bread. Quite often the
The doorbell sounded again. Jenni put the knife down and wal
Flustered, Jenni looked at her ratty old dressing gown. Ther
When Jenni opened the front door, Nate stepped inside so qui
"Nate. I wasn't expecting company." Her voice squeaked. Nate
"Come up to the flat." Jenni fought the panic rising in her
Nate remained still, staring at her, a bewildered expression
"You're wet." Jenni licked her lips nervously.
"And your hair. You've had your hair cut."
He touched one of the chopped-off strands of her hair with t
"It's not against the law, is it?"
Her sharp response snapped him out of his trance-like state.
"I was just surprised, that's all." He shrugged.
Not entirely satisfied with his answer, she led the way up t
* * * *
"You'd better give me your coat and I'll hang it over the ba
He unzipped his jacket, conscious he still stared at her.
She reached over to take his coat. He smelt the fresh, soapy
"This was a bad idea of mine to call without phoning you fir
Had she got anything on underneath that hideous dressing gow
Jenni reappeared. "Sit down, Nate. I'll get you a drink."
He sat down on the edge of Jenni's settee, taking care to av
"I came to ask you a favor." He wished she would come back i
"Coffee all right?" Jenni's disembodied voice asked from the
"Fine."
She re-emerged, carrying a tray with two mugs and a couple o
Either the heating in her flat was up too high, or the brief
He realized he hadn't answered her question. "I came to ask
She leaned forward to pick up her mug. He thought his heart
"That's okay. I know how important the bid is. I'll be there
He picked up his coffee and sipped it. Jenni had been right.
"You'll have to let me know all the details. How many to exp
Even her face looked different. More sophisticated. With pro
"That's no problem. I can drop a file over to you tomorrow."
She looked disapproving. "You should make time, Nate. This w
As Jenni grabbed a sandwich, her long furry gown slipped ope
"I have to go." He placed his empty plate on the table and s
She looked up at him. He could see her bewilderment at the s
"I'll fetch your coat." Jenni left to collect his jacket fro
"I'll drop that stuff off for you tomorrow then, if that's a
She tasted the way he thought she would, as sweet as honey.
The tinny little tune from his inner jacket pocket wasn't lo
He grabbed the phone from his pocket. His twin sister's phon
Jenni stood before him, her blue eyes wide with mute distres
CHAPTER FIVE
Jenni folded her arms tight across her chest and hugged hers
She washed the rest of the make-up from her face, forgetting
Her adoptive father's voice sounded immediately in her mind,
"I won't have you looking like a streetwalker whilst you're
She had come home from school to discover her father had dis
Well, she had lived down to her father's expectations tonigh
"Nicely brought up girls do not behave like that, Jennifer."
A lump came into her throat and she swallowed hard. She blin
She had run home from school that day, eager to tell her mot
She'd hurtled in through the back door on that hot and sunny
"I don't recall your father or me giving permission for you
Except her parents hadn't won. She had continued to paint. H
Somehow, she would have to convince Nate that kissing him ha
The problem was, she thought as she tidied up before switchi
* * * *
Nate was on the receiving end of a telephone lecture from hi
"There is more to life than work, Nate. Mum's really upset w
"It's my life, Nathalie. I've a big contract lined up, the b
His twin gave a snort of dismissal. "Your company is big eno
No one else except Nathalie ever dared to talk to him like t
"What was wrong when I called you tonight?" she demanded. "Y
Nate sighed. "It just wasn't great timing, that's all."
"Why?" she asked. "Where were you? You weren't at home, I tr
"I was at Jenni's," he snapped, and wished he could take the
"Jenni? Your P.A.? You didn't make that poor girl work on a
In contrast, Nate thought he would have liked nothing better
"Are you listening to me?" Nathalie must have continued talk
"It wasn't work. Well, not entirely ... I..." He groaned and
"Oh..." Her voice sounded heavy with meaning. "I see, maybe
* * * *
Jenni didn't sleep well. She stood in front of her bathroom
She scurried around the flat as she caught up on a week's wo
She shrugged on the new coat that Lorna had convinced her wa
When she rounded the corner an hour later, laden down with b
"Let me help you."
Before she could protest, he had taken most of the carriers
"I wasn't expecting you yet."
Nate stood aside to let her open the door. He followed as sh
"Where do you want the carriers put?" He was right behind he
"Just drop them down there and have a seat. I'll put the ket
He watched while she opened and closed cupboards and drawers
"After yesterday I didn't know whether to call first, or jus
"Have you brought the file with you?" Jenni fumbled in the c
He reached in the inside pocket of his jacket for a long fat
"We'll go in the lounge and you can brief me on everything."
* * * *
Jenni sat in the seat furthest away from his. Her blue eyes
The unexpected thought caused Nate to slop a little of the h
He opened the envelope he had brought with him to begin brie
Jenni made cryptic little squiggles on a notepad. After she
Nate's attention strayed to where the pencil eraser pressed
"Nate?" Jenni frowned at him. She must have asked him some q
"Sorry Jen, I didn't hear you. I was thinking." Good job she
"I see." She frowned again and placed her pad down on the co
"Jenni..."
She held her hand up to stop him from speaking. "I think we
"It won't?" He should feel reassured by her statement, relie
She flushed and her eyes met his. "It won't," she confirmed.
"You're right, Jenni. I shouldn't have taken advantage of th
"Then the sooner we both forget about it the better, we need
"In that case, I'm taking you out for Sunday lunch. I owe yo
She looked doubtful, as if she wasn't sure about his motives
"We are still friends, I hope, Jenni." He prayed she wouldn'
* * * *
Jenni felt a little deflated as she clambered into Nate's ca
More to the point, why had she agreed to go out to lunch wit
She had to get a grip. Nate still loved Cerys. He had made i
"Everywhere will be busy. Where are we going?" She wondered
"I thought we'd go to the Langstone. Test-drive the restaura
"Sounds good. But I thought you'd been there before?"
"I joined just after it opened. It was Nathalie's idea. She
They turned off the main road onto a long, tree-lined privat
The restaurant was huge. On one side of the room floor-to-ce
As the man pulled out her chair, Jenni noticed the huge arra
"I wasn't expecting it to be this," she struggled to find th
"This is the member's restaurant. The staff party will be in
She smiled back at him. "No, this is fine. It was just a sur
The waiter returned with a wine list.
"Jenni?"
"Mineral water will be fine. I'm not used to alcohol in the
The food menu appeared more problematic. Most of the dishes
"You must think I'm a real idiot," she remarked after they h
"Why would I think that?" He fiddled about with the stem of
"Well, I bet you're used to women who often come to this kin
"Jenni, some of the women I know who could read that menu co
She was glad when the waiter returned with their starters. "
"Penny for your thoughts?" Nate watched her, his face though
"I was thinking about my parents," she replied truthfully, "
"Whatever you were thinking, it made you look sad, Jen. You
"Tell me more about your family," she said. Although she had
Nate took a sip of his mineral water before he answered.
"My father is a surgeon. He's semi-retired now and does main
A pang of something like loss resonated through Jenni's hear
"What about you, Jenni? Do you have any aunts or uncles?"
She shook her head and prodded her trout with the fish knife
The gentle touch of his hand on her cheek made her lift her
"I'm sure you'll get your answers soon, Jenni."
She swallowed. His tender caress combined with the compassio
"Nate! Jenni! What a nice surprise to see you two here!"
At the sound of his sister's voice, Nate whipped his hand aw
CHAPTER SIX
"Nathalie, we were just talking about you." Nate stood up to
Like Nate, Nathalie was tall, with the same jet black hair.
"I do hope my brother isn't working you too hard, Jenni?" Na
Jenni smiled in response. "Oh no, Nate was very kindly treat
"Well, if Nate took any notice at all of something that I've
"You're welcome to join us if you haven't eaten." Nate felt
"I've eaten already and much as I'd love to, I can't stay. B
Nate groaned inwardly while Jenni looked a little embarrasse
Nate resumed his seat opposite Jenni. "My sister the diploma
"She seems to have got the wrong impression, seeing us here
"Well, that's Nathalie. She's an incurable romantic. She fal
Jenni continued to pick at her fish. "And you?"
Nate wasn't sure how to answer her. Jenni had never asked hi
"I was in love once." His voice sounded distant as if it bel
"You never talk about Cerys."
He couldn't read the expression in Jenni's eyes, but he thou
"No, I don't." He kept his answer short, daring her to try a
"Are you having dessert?" She changed the course of the conv
His knife clattered down onto his plate. "I think I've lost
"I'm not hungry either. Perhaps we should leave." She placed
He summoned the waiter over and dealt with the bill. Once Je
She surveyed him with a cool expression on her face. "I shou
"I'd better go home. I've a lot of planning to do if we're g
He unlocked the car, opened the door and waited while she cl
* * * *
Just one small comment about Cerys had opened up a whole can
For a split second she glimpsed the hurt and anger in his ey
She'd fallen in love with a man who would never love her bac

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