Husband on Trust(30)

It was only when they entered the private elevator which would take them to the penthouse that Lisa felt the tension returning. She glanced at Alex as he pressed the requisite button and the metal doors slid shut, closing them into the luxuriously carpeted box. ‘How do you feel about your father’s up-coming marriage?’ she asked, more to break the silence than out of any real curiosity, as the elevator whisked them ever nearer the apartment, and the bedroom…

Alex flicked her a glance. ‘Don’t be concerned; I am not,’ he drawled in a dry, mocking tone. ‘I gave up worrying about my father years ago.’

‘You don’t mind he’s marrying a woman younger than you.’

‘Why should I? We will hardly ever see them,’ Alex responded dismissively.

The elevator doors swung open and she flinched as Alex reached for her arm and guided her across the hallway to the apartment. ‘But he is your father…’ she insisted.

‘Drop it,’ he snapped as he opened the door and ushered her into the apartment.

‘Aren’t you worried about him? You must care for him.’

Closing the door behind him, Alex said bluntly, ‘It is really not your concern, Lisa. Now, do you want a nightcap, or shall we go straight to bed?’

His response simply confirmed her judgement of the man. Alex did not even care for his father, so what hope had she of him genuinely caring for her? None! She didn’t want a drink, but neither did she want to go to bed—at least not with Alex. Or so she told herself. ‘I’ll have a very small cognac.’

Dropping her purse on the hall table, she kicked off her shoes before following him into the living room. She watched as he crossed to the drinks cabinet and poured a small amount of cognac into a crystal glass, and then twice as much of the liquor into another glass. Turning around, he closed the distance between them, a glass in each hand. He held out the smaller measure to her. As she took it, her fingers brushed against his.

She resented the way a simple touch set her pulse racing, and, glancing up at him, she resented even more the way he knew exactly how she felt. She wanted to rage at him, demand to know about his deal with Nigel. She needed to know the truth. But she could not bring herself to ask.

‘You look angry,’ he observed with narrowed eyes. ‘And there is no need. My father is perfectly able to look after himself.’ Lifting his glass to his mouth, he drained it, then placed it on the table. ‘But perhaps it is not my father’s wedding that has angered you. Perhaps something else,’ he mused. ‘You’re not still thinking of last night’s farce? I thought we had settled that,’ he declared, eyeing her speculatively.

‘No,’ she swiftly denied, and in truth Nigel, not Margot, was behind her simmering anger. ‘I’m simply amazed you can dismiss your father’s marriage so lightly.’ Tossing back her head, she swallowed the cognac in one go.’ Leaning forward, she deposited her glass on the table. Straightening up, she realised he had moved closer. But he made no attempt to touch her.

‘Somehow, I don’t think my father is the real reason for all the latent anger that shimmers in your expressive eyes, nor do I think it is because of Margot’s untimely intrusion into our life. So, I have to ask myself, what exactly is it that you are hiding?’ he queried silkily.

He was too close, in more ways than one. The ease with which he had seen through her attempts to hide the real reason for her anger was worrying. ‘I’m not hiding anything.’ Lisa paused, then added with a flash of inspiration, ‘Unless you consider a conversation with your future stepmother in the rest room a secret.’

He tipped his arrogant head back, a dangerous gleam lighting his dark eyes. ‘Fiona? Explain,’ he commanded hardly.

‘Well, according to Fiona, she and I are very alike, and if she hadn’t had to go on a modelling assignment after your father’s sixtieth birthday party she would now be your girlfriend. Fiona congratulated me on how quickly I nipped in and…’ She hesitated delicately, the beginnings of a smile twitching her lips. She could see Alex detested the idea of women discussing him in the ladies’ room, and she began to enjoy herself.

‘Now, let me think. I believe “hooked” was the term she used. Apparently Fiona sensed you were growing tired of Margot and looking for a replacement.’

His snort of disgust was music to Lisa’s ears. ‘And you’ll be glad to know Fiona wants us to be chums. In fact, she said I was almost as good as she at snagging a man, and she bears me no ill will. Mainly because she has hooked your father, and the money is all in the family.’