His Secretary Mistress(45)

The doorbell rang, and as Chris loped off to answer it Maisie climbed up on a stool and surveyed her mother solemnly.

‘Is Alex a nice man?’ she queried innocently.

‘No, he’s an arrogant, impatient, irritating beast.’

‘Thanks for the character assassination. I’m sure you can think up a few more adjectives if you try.’ He appeared in the doorway, and the small kitchen immediately seemed to shrink to dolls’ house size as he towered over her.

‘Sneaky, stealthy,’ she added to her list, but mentally admitted to gorgeous and sexy and heartbreakingly real. His presence in the kitchen was so unexpected that she had no time to muster her defences, and scrubbed her tear-stained face with the back of her hand. ‘What are you doing here? I thought you had a pathological aversion to children.’

‘Where ever did you get a ridiculous idea like that from?’

He seemed annoyingly calm and relaxed as he leaned against the door and folded his arms across his chest in a gesture that told her he wasn’t going anywhere in a hurry.

‘Margaret told me at my interview that you didn’t want to appoint someone with children because of possible childcare problems. I was desperate for the job so I…’

‘So you lied,’ he finished for her, and she flushed.

‘I didn’t lie. You asked me if I was intending to produce a brood of little Deanes; you didn’t ask about any existing children.’

‘Jenna, have you ever heard the term splitting hairs?’ He surveyed her grimly, as if she was under cross-questioning in the dock, and she discovered a sudden fascination with the floor. ‘I don’t dislike children. Admittedly, I haven’t had much to do with them, but Maisie is—’ He broke off with a shrug. ‘Undoubtedly she’s been beamed down from the Planet Cute. Has she inherited your temper along with your red hair?’

The warmth in his voice brought her head up, and she swallowed at the expression in his eyes, wanting nothing more than to throw herself against his chest and have him hold her.

‘Maisie’s much more even-tempered than me,’ she admitted. ‘I suppose I am quite fiery—but only when aggravated,’ she added pointedly, and Alex grinned.

‘I should have been warned that first day that my life would never be the same again. You fell into my arms, feisty as a she-cat, and you’ve proceeded to give me hell ever since.’

From the living room Jenna could hear Chris, valiantly trying to read Maisie a story. It was lunchtime, and there were things she needed to do, but she found that she was held by an invisible force, the atmosphere in the kitchen thrumming with emotions she could neither dismiss nor deny.

‘You’re going to marry Selina,’ she stated quietly, and again Alex shook his head.

‘I broke off our engagement as soon as I returned from Yorkshire.’

‘Oh, no! Alex, you can’t—she must have been so hurt.’

‘What did you expect me to do? How could I possibly marry Selina when I was unfaithful before we even made it to the altar? She is hurt and angry, and rightly so—I’ve behaved appallingly—but it’s my problem, Jenna, my responsibility, and nothing you can do or say will change things now.’

The note of self-loathing was back in his voice. He was a proud man, she recognised, a man with a strong sense of honour, and the fact that he had broken his own moral code filled him with shame. Perhaps he still loved Selina? If so then he must bitterly regret the one-night stand that had forced him to end his engagement, and must surely resent the fierce sexual attraction that bound him to his secretary.

‘So, what happens now?’ she queried huskily, her throat thick with tears that threatened to overspill. ‘What happened between us was a mistake. I’m not available for casual sex whenever we happen to be working away from home.’

‘Good,’ he answered coolly, the warmth in his eyes belying the blandness of his tone, and she watched as he unfolded his arms and walked towards her. ‘Because making love with you could never be described as casual, and I certainly can’t wait until we’re stranded in the back of beyond before I share your bed again.’

His arms around her were gentle but firm, drawing her inexorably closer, until his warmth, the sheer pleasure of his touch overwhelmed her and she laid her head on his chest.

‘Alex, I’ve got Maisie, a mortgage, responsibilities,’ she told him wearily, fighting the urge to wrap her arms around his waist. ‘I can’t just leap into an affair.’

‘Can you deny that there’s something between us?’ he demanded fiercely, tilting her chin and brushing away an errant tear with his thumb-pad. ‘Tell me you feel nothing for me, that the night we spent together was just sex, and I promise I’ll leave you in peace.’