In Separate Bedrooms (6 page)

She felt an absolute mess. Her hair wasn’t even brushed, she had no make-up on, she was wearing her oldest—and most comfortable!—dressing-gown, over striped pyjamas. But, then, she hadn’t been expecting visitors this time of the morning, had she?

‘Please,’ Jack added politely, just as Mattie was about to fire off a blistering reply.

‘Better,’ she snapped, picking up her unfinished mug of coffee to walk over to the doorway that led out to the
hallway. ‘Remember the ransom, Mum,’ she couldn’t resist adding.

Much to Jack’s confusion, she was pleased to note as she left the room after giving him a triumphant grin.

What on earth was he doing here at this time of the morning? They had parted yesterday evening with an agreement to meet again this evening to discuss in more detail the arrangements for the weekend; Jack certainly hadn’t mentioned anything then about coming here this morning. Mattie would have made at least a bit of an effort with her appearance if he had.

Not that it particularly mattered what she looked like; Jack didn’t give the impression he found her in the least attractive, whatever she was wearing. She was just a means to an end for him. And she was the one who had better keep remembering that!

She took her time getting ready for work, taking a shower before putting on her make-up, dressing in a black business suit and pale cream blouse, and brushing her hair.

Quite a transformation, even if she did say so herself, Mattie decided admiringly as she studied her reflection in the full-length mirror on her wardrobe door. She looked what she was now, the proprietor of a successful greenery contract business and florist shop.

Unfortunately Jack wasn’t there to appreciate her entrance as she swished back into the kitchen minutes later!

In fact, the kitchen was empty, not even her mother waiting there to tell her why Jack had wanted to speak to her. But, Mattie noted, the vase of daffodils had pride of place at the centre of the kitchen table …

Mattie finally tracked her mother down in the kennels’
office, sitting in the armchair with Sophie, the Yellow Labrador, resting her silky head on Diana’s knee. The dog appeared ecstatic at this individual attention.

‘Everything okay?’ Mattie asked as her mother looked up and smiled at her.

‘Fine,’ her mother replied unconcernedly.

Mattie looked at her expectantly. After all, they didn’t usually receive male visitors this early in the morning!

‘Jack had to get to his office, but he said he would see you later this evening,’ her mother told her.

And?

But again there was nothing else forthcoming, her mother continuing to stroke and pet Sophie for a while longer before standing up and moving to sit behind her desk.

By which time Mattie was chafing with impatience. What had Jack
wanted
?

Her mother glanced at her wrist-watch. ‘Shouldn’t you have left ten minutes ago?’ she enquired.

‘Mother!’ Mattie exclaimed frustratedly.

Her mother raised innocent brows. ‘Yes?’

Mattie glowered at her. ‘Have you always been this irritating or is it only since the advent of Jack Beauchamp into our lives?’

Her mother laughed. ‘You’re so transparent, Mattie!’ she chided affectionately. ‘I couldn’t resist teasing you a little.’ She sobered. ‘He just wanted to explain the situation to me and assure me that he doesn’t have designs on my baby’s virtue.’

‘He doesn’t?’ Mattie frowned her consternation. ‘I mean—of course he doesn’t.’ She spoke more forcefully. Although inwardly she felt more than a little annoyed that Jack had dared to discuss such a thing with her
mother, of all people! ‘But I had already told you that,’ she added irritably.

Diana was soothing. ‘Of course you had, but Jack just wanted to reassure me on that point.’

Jack … Her mother used his first name so casually, while Mattie, who was actually going away with him for the weekend, still felt very self-conscious about such familiarity.

Oh, well, no doubt by the time she returned from her weekend away with him she would be calling him several other names besides his first one. And none of them complimentary!

‘Don’t look so disappointed, Mattie,’ her mother said ruefully.

‘I’m sure that part of your agreement is negotiable!’

‘Mum!’ Her eyes widened protestingly.

‘That’s better.’ her mother patted her hand. ‘I always feel ancient when you call me “Mother” in that reproving tone,’ she confided.

Considering her mother was only ten years or so Jack Beauchamp’s senior, he would probably have been better off inviting her away with him for the weekend! Although Mattie found she didn’t like the idea of that at all …

Despite all that she knew about him, four girlfriends etc., she was still attracted to the man. Which was a pretty dangerous thing to be when she was going to spend four days in Paris with him …

‘What do you mean, you’ve told your family all about me?’ Mattie stared across the dinner table at Jack. ‘When did you tell them about me? What have you told them
about me?’ As far as she was aware, he didn’t know anything about her!

Dinner with Jack Beauchamp was certainly an experience, she was learning. Not only had the
maître d’
greeted him by name as they’d entered the French restaurant where he had booked a table, but the proprietor had also come over and spoken to him once they had been seated next to the window that looked out over the London skyline. Jack had introduced her to the other man as his ‘friend, Mattie Crawford’. With friends like Jack, she didn’t need any enemies!

Jack shrugged unconcernedly. ‘We all had lunch together today at my parents’ house. And I simply told them that I would be bringing a Miss Mattie Crawford with me this weekend. What’s Mattie short for, by the way?’ he asked interestedly. ‘Just in case anyone asks,’ he added dryly.

Mattie wished he wouldn’t turn his full attention on her in this way! Looking the way that he did, sophisticatedly handsome in a smart black suit, snowy white shirt and muted tie, it was rather unnerving to suddenly become the central focus of his attention.

At the same time, she also found his obvious closeness to his family extremely endearing. She couldn’t think of too many single men in their early thirties who would want to bother. Given her own bond with her mother, at least this was one thing the two of them had in common.

‘Matilda-May,’ she muttered. ‘How did someone with the name Jonathan end up being called Jack?’ she added as a hasty diversion; she really hated having to own up to her full name. It was so old-fashioned for one thing, made her sound like someone’s maiden aunt.

Well, the maiden part was right on the button, she
acknowledged sadly. After the disastrous mistake she had made with Richard, she had been extremely reluctant to accept so much as a date with another man during the last six months. Most men weren’t too keen on being asked a lot of personal questions before you would even agree to go out with them! In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time—apart from that drink with Jack yesterday evening—that she had been out at all.

She had brought out her trusty little-black-dress-to suit-any-occasion for this evening. But as she looked around the room at the beautifully dressed women seated at the other tables in this exclusive restaurant, she knew she would have to take a serious look at her wardrobe before they left for Paris on Friday. The last thing she wanted was to look dowdy when she met Jack’s family—

What did it matter what she looked like to Jack’s family? It was very unlikely she would ever see any of them again after this weekend, anyway!

It mattered to her, came the instant response. She had no doubts that Jack’s family were as wealthy as he was, that his sister and his mother would be wearing designer-label dresses to the engagement dinner on Saturday evening. Even if it took
all
of her savings to do it, Mattie was determined to buy herself a new dress for that.

‘I was given the name Jonathan to distinguish me from my maternal grandfather, who had been christened John but was always called Jack,’ Jack answered her question helpfully. ‘And was promptly called Jack, anyway.’

It figured, Mattie thought. Families had a way of doing things like that. And talking of families …

‘How many people will there be at this dinner party
on Saturday?’ she asked, smiling shyly at the waiter as he delivered their first course of scallops with bacon and garlic. Mattie had ordered exactly the same meal as Jack, deciding to be guided by his choice; after all, he obviously ate in restaurants like this one all the time. This starter certainly smelt delicious.

‘Including the two of us? Fifteen,’ Jack replied casually.

Fifteen …!

Mattie’s mouth dropped open in horror. She was expected to cope with fifteen—no, thirteen—complete strangers.

Ordinarily she had no problem meeting new people. After all, she did it on a day-to-day basis, and had done since she was extremely young. But these thirteen people were all Jack’s family. Which was something else entirely.

‘Don’t worry about it.’ Jack reached over and briefly squeezed her hand. ‘After all, I’ll be with you.’ He grinned knowingly.

Because he knew damn well that didn’t make her feel at all better about this coming weekend! How could it? He was enough of a torment on his own, without the rest of his family to cope with too.

‘What are they like?’ Mattie made an effort to look composed; she didn’t have to appear quite such a country bumpkin!

‘Try them and see,’ he invited lightly, expertly spooning up one of the scallops from her plate and holding it poised in front of her mouth.

There was something rather—intimate, about having someone feed you in a restaurant, Mattie decided as she
chewed briefly before swallowing down the mouth-watering food. Too intimate!

‘I was actually referring to your family,’ she bit out tautly, pointedly picking up her own cutlery to feed herself.

Jack’s eyes widened, and then he smiled. ‘Sorry. What are they like?’ he repeated thoughtfully. ‘Ordinary,’ he finally responded. ‘Like me.’

Mattie hated to tell him this, but there was nothing in the least ordinary about him!

‘Well, none of them have two heads or twelve toes,’ he amended humorously as he easily read the scepticism in Mattie’s face.

‘Ordinary, then,’ she conceded. ‘How many brothers and sisters do you—?’

‘Did you check out your passport?’ Jack interrupted with sudden urgency. ‘The last thing I want is to turn up at the airport and find they won’t let you on the plane because you don’t have a valid passport.’

It sounded like a pretty good idea to Mattie! But, unfortunately, her passport was fine. So that was one get-out she could forget about!

‘It’s fine,’ she assured him. ‘But they may just have a little trouble at the airport when they see that the name on the ticket doesn’t match the one in my passport,’ she pointed out hopefully.

‘Already taken care of,’ Jack assured her. ‘I telephoned the airline today and confirmed the ticket in your name.’

What he meant was, his secretary—the same secretary who ordered his bouquets of flowers by the quartet!—had called the airline and changed the name on the ticket.

She really must keep remembering that, Mattie chided herself. It was all too easy to become enslaved by the Beauchamp charm. So much so that she could almost believe they were going away to Paris just for a romantic weekend together. Almost …

‘How efficient of you,’ she rejoined with saccharine sweetness.

‘Wasn’t it?’ Jack shot back with the same sugary insincerity. ‘Have I told you how beautiful you look this evening, Mattie?’ he said suddenly.

Once again Mattie found herself the focus of that charm he seemed to be able to turn on and off like a switch. It was lethal! Mattie now felt very hot, her heart beating a wild tattoo in her chest.

She gave him a scathing glance. ‘Insincerity is the lowest form of flattery,’ she told him hardly.

‘But you do look wonderful,’ Jack assured her softly. ‘Your hair is the most amazing colour—what colour would you call that?’ He looked admiringly at the heavy swathe of her layered hair as it fell past her shoulders.

‘Blonde,’ Mattie said tersely.

Jack shook his head, still looking at her hair. ‘It’s honey, and molasses, and yet there’s also a hint of—’

‘Salt and pepper?’ she put in derisively. ‘I think you’re just hungry, Jack. I suggest you eat the rest of your scallops!’

He gave a laugh. ‘It did sound rather like a recipe, didn’t it?’ he acknowledged.

For disaster! It was not a good idea for Jack to pay her compliments. It was an even worse idea for her to listen to them!

If only—

If only what?

If only she and Jack were out on a real date. If only she and Jack really were going to Paris for a romantic weekend.

If only!

But they weren’t on a real date. They weren’t going away for a romantic weekend; she was just a shield against the unwanted attentions of his future brother-in-law’s sister. And it served her right if that was Jack’s only interest in her!

How could a man like him possibly have any other sort of interest in her? She had been calling at his office building during the early evenings, twice a week, for the last year, and, although Jack had felt that he knew her when they’d met at her mother’s boarding-kennels on Sunday, he certainly hadn’t remembered where it was he might have seen her. Because in the ordinary course of events he just wouldn’t notice someone like her. After all, it was what she was paid for, to be unobtrusive, to go about her work quietly and efficiently, to be virtually invisible.

Well, she had certainly made sure that was no longer the case where Jack was concerned, hadn’t she?

‘I realize that you’re probably—practising, for this weekend, Jack,’ she said stiltedly. ‘But I really wish you wouldn’t bother,’ she added quickly as he would have spoken. ‘I’m much more interested in knowing why you went to see my mother this morning?’ she changed the subject abruptly.

Was it her imagination, or had his expression suddenly become guarded? Maybe, she accepted slowly. Although she had no idea why …