The Billionaire's Bride of Convenience(48)
‘But you’re not a billionaire, Hugh. Your father’s the billionaire.’
Hugh almost corrected her, but decided not to. She might panic if she knew just how personally rich he was.
‘And I thought we agreed, no more of those Kat darlings,’ she went on rather snippily.
Hugh rolled his eyes. ‘Thank goodness you’re going to divorce me as quickly as possible,’ he shot back. ‘Because you’re one hell of a nag.’
‘So I’ve been told.’
‘The only time you’re nice is when you’re making love.’
‘Is that so?’ she said, crossing her arms.
‘Yeah, that’s so.’
‘And you’re only nice when you want to make love,’ she pointed out archly.
‘Rubbish! I’m nice all the time. Now hush up, Kat, darling,’ he said, and swept her into his arms, where he gave her an impassioned and quite mind-numbing kiss.
‘Much better,’ he said as he let her go. ‘I can see that the only way with you is to keep that sarcastic mouth of yours occupied at all times. There are several bottles of very good wine in my fridge,’ he called back over his shoulder as he headed for the door. ‘Feel free to open one. See you.’
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
‘HUGH ’
Hugh glanced up from the menu he was studying. ‘Yes, Mum?’
‘What’s going on between you and Kathryn?’
Hugh adopted a superbly puzzled expression. ‘What do you mean?’
‘You know exactly what I mean,’ she replied shortly. ‘Don’t try that innocent face on me. Your father used to do exactly that, and when he did I always knew he was lying. You’re sleeping with that girl. Don’t bother to deny it. I am a very intuitive woman. And very observant. Did you think I wouldn’t notice your PA wasn’t wearing her engagement ring? On top of that, she wasn’t herself with me just now. Same thing when I rang yesterday. She was agitated. And, usually, Kathryn is never agitated.’
Hugh decided that an edited version of the truth would suffice. ‘She’s broken up with her fiancé,’ he said. ‘The lowlife hit her.’
His mother looked shocked. ‘Oh, the poor thing. I hope you gave him what for.’
Hugh smiled. ‘I did indeed. And then, of course, Kathryn naturally needed some comforting.’
‘Hugh, you didn’t!’
Hugh began to feel slightly impatient with her. ‘Mum, for pity’s sake, you know what the men in our family are like where women are concerned. As you so rightly pointed out last week, I’ve been fancying Kathryn for quite some time.’
‘But to seduce her on the rebound!’
‘What better time to seduce a woman? If I’d waited, I might not have been successful. After all, Kathryn doesn’t really like me all that much. She thinks I’m spoiled, arrogant and totally selfish.’
‘Which you obviously are!’
‘Yes, well, we can’t all be perfect. Don’t worry. Our affair won’t last for long.’
‘That’s why it’s so deplorable. That poor girl is sure to fall in love with you.’
‘I doubt it.’
‘Oh truly! You simply don’t understand women any better than your father does. I was talking to him earlier today and—’
‘You were talking to Dad?’ Hugh broke in, startled by this revelation.
‘He rings me up every time he splits with his current wife.’
Hugh’s stomach contracted. ‘Don’t tell me he’s bored with Krystal already,’ he bit out. ‘They’ve only been married a year.’
‘You haven’t heard from him, I gather.’
‘No.’ Hugh could feel rage welling up inside him.
‘You will. He’s planning to fly home tomorrow.’
‘I see,’ Hugh said with cold anger in his voice. ‘And what was the reason he gave for the break-up this time?’ His father usually said he’d just fallen out of love, and life was too short to stay married to someone you didn’t love.
‘I gather it was Krystal who left him, not the other way around.’
‘Wanted to cash in early, did she?’
‘No, she found out Dickie had had a vasectomy.’
Hugh shook his head from side to side. ‘And when did he do that?’
‘After you were born. He didn’t tell me at the time, of course. He let me think we could have more children. I didn’t find out till years later, when he probably thought it wouldn’t hurt me.’