His After-Hours Mistress(32)

Sighing, she reached out and replaced the receiver back on its rest. If  he rang she would speak to him. After all, she had already made a big  enough fool of herself. What else could she do?

Roarke didn't ring, but half an hour later the front doorbell startled  her. It was getting late, close to midnight, and Ginny took care to look  through the peephole before considering opening the door. The figure  she saw standing in the fisheye had her fumbling with the locks and  throwing the door wide.

'Lucy!' she exclaimed in delight. 'I'd almost given up on you!' she  added, picking up the case sitting by the door, and pulling her sister  inside.

'I had to wait until Dad dropped his guard,' Lucy explained as the  sisters hugged each other. 'I'm sorry I arrived so late, but it took  longer than I expected.'

'You didn't walk here at this time of night, did you?' Ginny gasped,  shuddering at the idea. No street was really safe these days.

Lucy shook her head. 'No. Peter borrowed a friend's car and dropped me  off. I thought you might have been in bed, but then we saw the light  on.'

Ginny wasn't about to go into why she was still up. It was bad enough  knowing the reason herself, let alone spreading it around. 'Have you  eaten? Can I make you something? A sandwich? How about a cup of tea or  coffee?'

'I'm fine, really,' Lucy refused with a laugh. 'We had something a little while ago. Are you sure it's OK for me to be here?'

'Of course it is. I already made up the spare bed. Come and see.' Ginny  led the way to the box-like room that passed as the second bedroom. It  was small but cosy, with a view over some gardens. 'You can stay here as  long as you like.'

Lucy retrieved her case from the hallway and laid it on the bed before  looking at her sister with serious eyes. 'You're sure this is OK with  Roarke? Where is he?'

Ginny felt faint colour wash into her cheeks at the question. 'Er, he's  in New York at the moment, but I know he'll be glad you're here.'

'I'd hate to be a gooseberry,' her sister teased, then tried to stifle a  big yawn. 'I'm sorry. I really wanted to sit and have a long chat with  you, but now I'm here I can barely keep my eyes open.'

'Don't worry. We'll talk in the morning. We've got plenty of time now.  The bathroom's across the hall, and my room is the next door along. Make  yourself at home,' Ginny told her as she walked to the door. 'Help  yourself to anything in the kitchen, and you know where I am if you need  me.' She turned to leave, but hesitated and glanced back over her  shoulder. 'It's wonderful to have you here at last, Lucy.'                       
       
           



       

'I'm glad to be here,' Lucy responded thickly and Ginny closed the door before her sister could see the tears in her eyes.

Life was strange. If something had gone badly wrong today, then  something else had gone wonderfully right to balance it out. Feeling  happier than she had been an hour ago, Ginny headed for her bed.



She was jolted awake the next morning by someone thundering on her front  door. Squinting at the clock, she saw it was after nine but, as she had  slept only fitfully, Ginny was not best pleased. Scrambling from her  bed, she grabbed up her robe and tied the belt around her waist as the  ruckus continued.

'All right, all right!' she muttered as she stomped to the door.

Lucy appeared in the doorway of the other bedroom, looking mussed from sleep. 'Who is it?'

'Haven't a clue,' Ginny returned grouchily. 'Whoever they are, they're going to get the rough edge of my tongue!'

The banging continued. 'Open up!' a familiar voice ordered and Ginny  stiffened, glancing at Lucy, who had frozen on the spot. They both knew  who was on the other side of the door. 'Go in the bathroom and lock the  door,' she ordered, and didn't move to unfasten the locks until her  sister had scuttled across the hall and she had heard the key turn.

The second Ginny turned the latch, the door was thrust backwards,  crashing against the wall and rebounding towards the man who strode into  the flat, allowing nothing and no one to stand in his way.

'Where is she?' Sir Martin demanded to know, rounding on Ginny, who had followed in his wake.

Ginny folded her arms and prepared to do battle. 'Do you make a habit of bursting into other people's homes like this?'

Her father ignored the question. 'I'm here to take your sister home with me. Where is she?'

'How did you know where to find me?' Ginny wanted to know first. Her  telephone number was ex-directory, so she wasn't in the book.

'I had someone do a background check on you. It was fascinating to  discover you work for Adams. What did you do, sleep your way to the  top?' Sir Martin looked down his nose at her, and Ginny gritted her  teeth.

'I think you had better leave before I call the police,' she said coldly.

'I'm not leaving without Lucy.'

'You're certainly not leaving with her. She's eighteen and she's not answerable to anyone but herself,' Ginny countered.

'Hah! So she is here! I knew you would be responsible for poisoning her mind against me.'

'On the contrary, Sir Martin, you managed to alienate your family all by  yourself,' Roarke's frosty voice declared from behind, and they both  turned.

Ginny felt her cheeks turn pink as she faced him. The last words she had  spoken to him had been stunners. 'Roarke!' She managed to croak out his  name.

Smiling faintly, he strolled to her side and draped an arm around her  shoulders. 'Hi,' he greeted her softly, and dropped a swift kiss on her  surprised lips. Then he turned his attention back to her father. 'Lucy  is staying here with us. You can leave as soon as you like. The door is  open.'

'How dare you order me about?' Sir Martin spluttered.

'I dare because I won't let you hurt any of the people I care about,' Roarke told him bluntly.

'Lucy is my daughter … ' Sir Martin started to bluster, but Roarke took a step towards him and he faltered to a stop.

'Ginny is your daughter, too, and look what you did to her. My God, you  disgust me. You had something precious and you threw it away. Well, I  found it and I intend to keep it, for I value Ginny far above anything  you could possibly name,' he told the older man in a voice that shook  with suppressed emotion.

'You're welcome to her. And if Lucy chooses to stay here, you're welcome  to her, too,' Sir Martin snarled. Turning to go, he came face to face  with his youngest daughter, who had come out of the bathroom at the  sound of Roarke's voice. 'Well, are you coming?' he demanded, and Lucy  stepped out of his way.

'I'm staying.'

'Then I wash my hands of the lot of you!' he declared scornfully.  'You're no children of mine!' He walked out without a backward glance  and seconds later they heard the front door slam shut.

Lucy hurried across the room and hugged first Ginny and then Roarke.  'Thank you. Thank you both so much. You were marvellous,' she said  huskily. Then, because she was young, her spirits lifted and she grinned  at them. 'I can't believe it's over and he's gone. I think I'll go and  ring Peter and tell him the good news.'                       
       
           



       

'You can use the phone in my room,' Ginny offered, smiling at her happy face.

'Thanks, I will,' her sister chirped, almost dancing across the room.  However, she halted in the doorway and looked back. 'Did you mean what  you said about Ginny?' she asked Roarke.

He smiled back at her. 'Every word.'

Lucy laughed. 'Then I'll stay out of the way for a while, shall I?'

'We'd be grateful,' he told her dryly, and she waved her fingers at them before disappearing.

The second she was gone Ginny, who had been stunned to hear him utter those words to her father, squared up to him.

'You shouldn't lie to Lucy. You couldn't possibly mean what you said,' she said sternly, and Roarke quirked an eyebrow at her.

'Why not?'

Ginny really wasn't in the mood for games. She just wanted him to get  the bad news over with. 'Because we both know you don't … care about me.'

He smiled faintly. 'We do? I don't?'

Already agitated, she didn't care for him pushing her buttons one by one. 'Don't mess with me. You know I'm just the woman you … '

'Have great sex with?' he offered helpfully, and his grey eyes glittered  with amusement and something else she couldn't put a name to.

Hot colour stained her cheeks at the blunt words, and she turned her  back on him because emotional tears were stinging her eyes, making them  sparkle like diamonds. 'OK, have your fun. I know I deserve it. I've  ruined everything with what I said last night. If you hadn't made me so  mad, it never would have popped out and surprised us both!'

'I'm glad it did. It was what I was aiming for, after all,' Roarke  informed her matter-of-factly, and she spun round, her mouth dropping  open.

'What?'

'I do love you, you know,' Roarke told her simply. 'I tried to tell you as much last night, but you hung up on me.'

Ginny searched his eyes, her heart lurching madly in her chest. She saw  an earnestness there that seemed to suggest he meant it, but …  'You can't  love me. You told me you don't intend to love anyone!' she exclaimed  breathlessly.