The Billionaire's Bride of Convenience(43)

But she’d just said ‘fine’, as if she didn’t really care whether they slept together or not.





Which was not true at all, their passionate weekend together having evoked a lust in her which was cruel in its intensity. She could not look at him without being consumed with sexual craving.





Which was why she was not in the best of moods that Thursday morning. Three days and nights of intense frustration had left her feeling somewhat frazzled.





‘Could I leave a message with you for Hugh?’ his mother asked.





‘Of course,’ came her brusque reply.





‘Tell him that lunch tomorrow is back on. I’ll drop by the office at twelve-thirty. I’ve made a booking for one at a new place. It’s just a short walk from the Parkinson building.’





‘I’ll tell him, Mrs Parkinson. Is there anything else?’





‘No no nothing. Er—see you tomorrow, dear.’





Kathryn hung up, then sighed. She hoped she hadn’t sounded rude.





But it was difficult to be bright and happy when you weren’t either. Her eyes went to her wristwatch. It was half-past eleven. Hugh would be finishing his golf game soon.





She wondered what his friends would say when he asked them to be witnesses at their wedding. She hoped they gave him a hard time. He deserved it.





‘Now that we’re alone for a minute,’ James said. ‘what do you really think about Hugh marrying his PA because of some ridiculous will?’





Russell had been thinking of nothing else since Hugh had told them of his amazing marital plans as the three of them walked up the fairway to the eighteenth green.





‘I’m not sure,’ Russell said slowly, glancing over his shoulder to check that Hugh was still at the bar inside, buying the post-golf drinks. The fact that Hugh had once again played atrocious golf showed that their friend was not himself. Hadn’t been for quite some time.





‘It’s not unlike Hugh to be kind,’ Russell went on. ‘You know what a soft touch he is. He’s donated heaps of money to Nicole’s orphanage in Bangkok. But acts of monetary generosity are a far cry from entering into a secret marriage. I have to confess that I think there’s more to this than meets the eye.’





‘My feelings exactly,’ James said. ‘What do you know about this PA of his? I’ve never met her. Have you?’





‘Strangely enough, no. I only know what Hugh has told us about her. I always got the impression he found her a right pain in the neck. Now I’m beginning to wonder if she’s been engendering pain in a much lower area of his body.’





‘Hugh would never marry a woman just for sex,’ James said.





‘Why not? His father does it all the time.’





‘True. But Hugh said this was a marriage in name only. And it’s not like Hugh to lie.’





‘Everyone lies, especially when it comes to relationships. I lied to Nicole when I first met her. And you, my friend, have done nothing but lie to your Megan.’





James shrugged. ‘I haven’t hurt her. She’s very happy.’





Russell could not deny that Megan did seem happy. The two married couples often went out together, so he’d had plenty of opportunity to observe Megan. Of course, the poor girl believed her husband loved her. But he didn’t. James was still hung up on his ex-wife.





More fool him, Russell thought. Megan was worth ten of Jackie. But James couldn’t seem to see that.





His marrying Megan just to have the family Jackie couldn’t give him had been an extremely ruthless thing to do, especially the way he’d seduced and impregnated the poor girl before he proposed. Hugh had been even more appalled than Russell over their friend’s actions, and had been very vocal on the subject. Despite his having garnered a well-deserved reputation as a serial womaniser, Hugh was a closet romantic. He believed marriage should not be entered into for any other reason than true love, the kind which lasted forever. Since he believed himself incapable of such love, he’d made the decision many years ago never to marry.





Yet next Sunday afternoon he was going to do just that.





It didn’t really add up.





‘I think Hugh is lying to us,’ Russell said.





‘Maybe. Maybe not. We’ll have a better idea on Sunday, when we meet the woman in question. In the meantime, we’ll make sure that he’s taken every precaution to protect himself against a potential gold-digger.’





‘My God, you think she might be after his money?’