“Not everyone falls in love at first sight.”

“No,” said Joss, her face suddenly shadowed. “Outside of fiction very few, probably.” She braced herself, nerving herself up for confrontation. Showtime. No point in dragging it out. “Is one of those glasses for me?” she asked, and moved forward into the light to take one.

Dan took an incredulous look at her and dropped one of the glasses on the stone flags.

There was a deafening silence.

“What’s known as a pregnant pause,” said Joss at last, deliberately flippant.

He’s a man of cool sophistication.

He’s got pride, power and wealth.

At the top of his corporate ladder, he’s a

ruthless businessman. An expert lover—

he’s one hundred percent

committed to staying single.

His life runs like a well-oiled machine….

Until now.

Because suddenly he’s responsible for a BABY!

His Baby.

An exciting new miniseries from

Harlequin Presents®

He’s sexy, successful…

and he’s facing up to fatherhood!

Rafael’s Love-Child

by Kate Walker

Harlequin Presents® #2160

The Baby Claim
Catherine George

MILLS & BOON

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER ONE

WHEN she was certain the balcony was empty Joscelyn Hunter hid behind one of its pillars and let her smiling mask slip. For what seemed like hours she’d laughed and chatted and circulated like the perfect guest. But enough was enough. It had been a test to come to the party alone tonight. But Anna was her oldest friend. Missing her engagement celebrations had never been an option.

The breeze was cool, and Joss shivered as it found her bare arms. Soon she could make some excuse and go—where? Home to the empty flat? She stared malevolently at the view, lost in angry reverie, until at last a slight cough alerted her to unwanted company. Joss turned with bad grace, to see a tall man with a glass in either hand.

‘I watched you steal away.’ The stranger held out one of the glasses. ‘Something told me you might be glad of this.’

Because there was no way she could snap at one of Anna’s guests and tell him to get lost, Joss muttered perfunctory thanks and accepted the drink.

‘Would you rather I left you to your solitude?’ said the man, after a long silence.

Joss looked up into his face. A long way up, which was a novelty. ‘You’ve as much right to look at Hyde Park as me,’ she said, shrugging.

‘I’ll take that as a no.’ He touched his glass to hers. ‘What shall we drink to?’

‘The happy pair?’

He echoed her toast, but barely tasted his wine.

‘You don’t care for champagne?’ she asked politely.

‘No. Do you?’

She shook her head. ‘Secretly I detest the stuff.’

‘Your secret’s safe with me,’ he assured her.

Joss relaxed against the pillar, surprised to find she rather welcomed the man’s company after all. It was certainly preferable to her own. ‘Are you one of Hugh’s friends?’

‘No.’ He shrugged rangy shoulders. ‘I’m a friend of a friend. Who dragged me along.’

She looked him up and down, amused. ‘You’re a bit on the large side to be dragged anywhere. Why were you unwilling?’

‘I’m no party animal. But the friend disapproves of my social life. Or lack of it.’ He leaned comfortably on the other side of the pillar. ‘All work and no play is bad for me, he tells me. With monotonous frequency. So once in a while I give in and let him have his way. Don’t drink that if you’d rather not,’ he added.

‘I’ve been on mineral water so far. Maybe a dose of champagne will improve my mood.’ She drank the wine down like medicine.

Her companion nodded slowly. ‘I see.’

She tilted her head to look at him. ‘You see what, exactly?’

‘I’ve been watching you for some time. Noting your body language.’

She stared up at him in mock alarm. ‘What did it say?’

‘That something’s not right with your world.’

‘So you came charging to my aid with medicinal champagne.’ She shook her head in pretend admiration. ‘Do you often play Good Samaritan?’

‘No. Never.’

‘Then why now?’

He leaned closer. ‘Various reasons. But mainly because I’m—curious.’

‘About what, in particular?’

‘The mood behind the smiles.’

‘I’d hoped I was concealing that,’ Joss said gruffly, and turned away to stare across the park.

‘No one else noticed,’ he assured her.

‘I hope you’re right. The last thing Anna needs is a spectre at the feast.’

‘Anna’s a friend of yours?’

‘Oldest and closest. But too euphoric tonight to notice anything amiss.’

Her large companion moved until his dark sleeve brushed her arm, and to her astonishment Joss felt a flicker of reaction, as though he’d actually touched her.

‘Do you live with Anna?’ he asked.

‘No, I don’t,’ she said flatly, and shivered.

‘You’re cold,’ he said quickly. ‘Perhaps you should go in.’

‘Not yet. But you go, if you want.’

‘Do you want me to?’

‘Not if you’d prefer to stay,’ she said indifferently, but hoped he would. In the dim light all she could make out was the man’s impressive height, topped by a strong-featured face under thick dark hair. But what she could see she liked very much.

‘Take this.’ He shrugged out of his jacket and draped it round her shoulders, enveloping her in a warm aura of healthy male spiked with spice and citrus. ‘Otherwise you might get pneumonia in that dress,’ he said, his voice a tone deeper.

Joss gave a laugh rendered slightly breathless by the intimacy of the gesture. ‘You don’t approve of my dress?’

‘No.’

‘Why not?’

‘If you were mine I wouldn’t let you out in it.’

Joss gave him a sub-zero stare. ‘Really!’

‘I’m not famous for tact,’ he said, lips twitching. ‘You asked a question and I answered it.’

‘True,’ she acknowledged, and thawed a little. ‘The dress was very expensive, in honour of the occasion. I like it.’

‘So do I!’

The dress was an ankle-length tube of black crêpe de Chine, edged with lace at the hem and across the breasts, held up by fragile straps and side-slit to the knee. Joss looked down at herself, then shot an amused look at her companion. ‘But you don’t approve?’

‘No.’

‘And I was so sure I looked good in it,’ she said with mock regret.

‘Every man present thinks you look sensational,’ he assured her.

‘Except you.’

‘Especially me. But it’s a very ambiguous dress.’

Joss found she was enjoying herself. ‘A strange word to describe a frock.’

His deep-throated chuckle vibrated right through the fine bespoke suiting, sending a trickle of reaction down her bare spine.

‘It may be a party dress to you,’ he went on, ‘but to me it smacks of the bedroom.’

Her chin lifted. ‘I assure you it’s not a nightgown. I don’t sleep in this kind of thing.’

‘Which makes me even more curious about what you do—or don’t—sleep in,’ he said softly, sending a second trickle down her spine to join the first.

‘We shouldn’t be having this conversation,’ she said brusquely.

‘Why?’

‘We’ve never met before.’

‘Then let’s introduce ourselves.’ He took her hand in a hard, warm clasp. ‘Tell me your name.’

Joss stared down at their hands, amazed to find herself flustered by his touch. ‘Let’s not get into names,’ she said, after a moment. ‘I don’t want to be me tonight. Just call me—Eve.’

‘Then I’ll be Adam.’ He shook her hand formally. ‘The party’s almost over. Take pity on a lonely stranger, Miss Eve, and have supper with me.’

Joss gave him a very straight look. ‘I thought you came with a friend.’

‘I did. He won’t mind.’ He bent his head to look in her eyes. ‘What was your original plan for the evening?’

Joss turned back to the view. ‘Originally I did have a date for tonight,’ she admitted shortly. ‘But it fell through. Which accounts for the lack of party spirit. Consequently—Adam—I don’t much fancy bright lights and a restaurant.’

‘Then I’ll get a meal sent up to my room here,’ he said promptly, and grinned at the incensed look she shot at him. ‘All I offer—and expect—is dinner, Eve.’

‘If I say yes to a meal in your room,’ she said bluntly, ‘you might expect a lot more than that.’

‘I was watching you long before you vanished out here,’ he reminded her. ‘I know you’re not the archetypal party girl out for a good time.’

‘Do you?’ Joss detached her hand and gave him his jacket. ‘But you have the advantage, Adam. If you watched me earlier you obviously know what I look like. I haven’t even seen your face properly yet.’

He shrugged into his jacket, then moved to the centre of the balcony. From the room inside a shaft of light fell on a strong face with an aquiline nose and a wide, firmly clenched mouth. His cheekbones were high, the eyes slanted, one heavy dark eyebrow raised towards his thick, springing hair as he bore her scrutiny.

‘Well?’ he said dryly. ‘Will I pass?’

With flying colours, she decided. ‘All right—Adam. I’d like to have supper with you,’ she said quickly, before she could change her mind. ‘But not in your room.’

He smiled wryly. ‘Then tell me which restaurant you prefer and I’ll arrange it.’

Just like that. Joss eyed him curiously, in no doubt that if this man asked for a table no restaurant, however sought after, would refuse him. She thought it over for a moment, then gave him a straight look. ‘As you’ve gathered, I’m not in party mood. But we could have supper at my place—if you like.’

His lips twitched. ‘Can you cook?’

‘I offered supper, not haute cuisine,’ she retorted.

He laughed, then moved into her shadowy corner to take her hand. ‘I’m delighted to accept your invitation, Miss Eve.’

The charge of electricity from his touch hinted at danger she chose to ignore in her present reckless mood. ‘Let’s go, then,’ Joss said briskly. ‘But not together. You first.’

He nodded. ‘Allow a discreet interval for me to thank your friends. I’ll have the car waiting at the main entrance in twenty minutes.’

When she was alone Joss leaned on the balcony for a while, almost convinced she’d imagined the encounter. But a furtive peep through the curtains showed her new acquaintance dominating the group clustered round Anna and Hugh. Very nice indeed, thought Joss, reassured, and much too tall to be a figment of anyone’s imagination. She waited until he’d gone, then emerged from her hiding place and joined Anna and Hugh.

‘We were about to send a search party for you, Joss,’ said Anna indignantly. ‘Where on earth have you been?’

‘Communing with nature on a discreet balcony,’ said Joss demurely.

‘Alone?’ asked Hugh, grinning.

‘Of course not.’ She batted her eyelashes at him. ‘Anyway, must dash—supper for two awaits. Thanks for a lovely party. See you soon.’ Joss hugged Anna, kissed Hugh’s cheek, then did the rounds, saying her goodbyes, made a detour to tidy herself up in a cloakroom, and at last took the lift down to the foyer, where a man in hotel livery ushered her outside to a waiting car.

‘You’re late,’ growled an impatient voice as she slid into the passenger seat.

‘Sorry. Couldn’t get away.’ Joss gave him her address with sudden reluctance, hoping this wasn’t a colossal mistake.

‘I’d begun to think you’d changed your mind,’ said Adam as he drove away.

He was very nearly right. ‘If so I would have sent a message,’ she said crisply.

‘Ah. A woman of principle!’

‘I try to be.’ Joss turned a long look on the forceful profile, and saw the wide mouth twist a little.

‘I hear you, Eve, loud and clear.’

‘Good. What happened to the friend, by the way?’

‘When told I was dining with a ravishing lady he sent me on my way with his blessing.’

Joss laughed. ‘You’re obviously very old friends.’

‘We’ve known each other all our lives.’

‘Like Anna and me.’ She sighed. ‘I just hope Hugh makes her happy.’

‘Is there any reason why he shouldn’t?’

‘None that I know of. I like him very much.’

‘Then it’s marriage itself you distrust?’

‘Not exactly. But Anna is so certain they’ll live happily ever after. And all too often people don’t.’

‘Leave your friend to her quite obviously besotted fiancé and concentrate on yourself, Eve.’

‘Thanks for the advice,’ she said tartly, and made polite small talk until they arrived at a modern apartment building sitting in surprising harmony with its Victorian Notting Hill neighbours.

Adam parked the car, then followed Joss into one of the lifts in the rather stark, functional foyer.

‘I live on the sixth floor,’ she said, feeling a definite qualm as the door closed to pen her in the small space with her large escort.

Adam frowned down at her. ‘You’re not comfortable with this, are you?’

‘Not entirely,’ she admitted.

He shrugged. ‘In which case I’ll just see you safely to your door and fade into the night.’

Joss felt sudden remorse. ‘Certainly not,’ she said firmly. ‘I invited you to supper so I’ll provide it.’ She looked at him questioningly. ‘Would you really have left me at my door?’

‘If you’d wanted that, yes. But with great reluctance.’ He pressed her hand in reassurance. ‘I keep my word, Eve.’

‘If I didn’t believe that I wouldn’t have invited you here,’ she assured him.

Inside the flat, Joss led her visitor past her closed bedroom door and switched on lights as she took him along a narrow hall into a sitting room with tall windows looking out over communal gardens. The room was large, with free-standing shelves crammed with books, and a pair of brass lamps perched precariously on the top shelf. Otherwise there was only a small sofa and a large floor cushion.

‘Please sit down,’ said Joss. Half empty or not, the room looked a lot smaller than usual with her visitor standing like a lighthouse in the middle of it. ‘Supper’s no problem because I did some shopping today. But I wasn’t expecting company so all I can offer you in the way of a drink is red wine—or possibly some whisky.’

‘Wine sounds good.’ Adam let himself down on the sofa, and stretched out his endless legs. ‘If it’s red it should breathe, so I’ll wait until the meal. Can I help?’

Joss shook her head, chuckling. ‘No room for giants in my kitchen. I’ll open the wine first, then throw a meal together. Shan’t be long.’

As she worked swiftly Joss decided she liked the look of her unexpected guest very much. Not handsome, exactly, but the navy blue eyes, dark hair and chiselled features appealed to her strongly. So did the air of confidence he wore as casually as his Savile Row suit. She tossed a green salad with oil and vinegar, carved a cold roast chicken, sliced and buttered an entire small loaf, and put a hunk of cheese on a plate. She shared the chicken salad between two dinner plates on a forty-sixty basis, put them on a tray with silver, napkins and glasses, added the bread, cheese and wine, and a bowl of fruit, then went back to the sitting room and put the tray on the floor.

Her guest swung round from his absorption in her bookshelves to smile at her. ‘A wide range of literature,’ he commented.

‘My main extravagance. Do sit down again.’ She smiled in apology as she poured the wine. ‘I’m afraid it’s a picnic. You may live to regret not having your hotel dinner.’

‘I doubt it.’ Adam received his plate with approval. ‘What could possibly be better than this?’ He looked up, the indigo eyes holding hers. ‘Thank you, Eve.’

‘My pleasure,’ she said lightly, then curled up on the floor cushion to eat her own meal, realising this was the truth. After resigning herself to a solitary evening, probably not even bothering to eat at all, the present circumstances were a vast improvement.

‘For me,’ said Adam, raising his glass to her in toast, ‘it’s a pleasure—and a privilege—I never anticipated when I first set eyes on you tonight.’

‘When was that?’

‘The moment I arrived. You stood out from the crowd.’

‘Because I’m tall,’ said Joss, resigned. ‘But how on earth did I come to miss someone of your dimensions?’

‘We were late. And it was the hair I noticed, not your height. You had your back to me, but you were facing a mirror. I could see that narrow face of yours framed in it, and wondered why the eyes were at such odds with the smiling mouth. The contradiction intrigued me.’

‘I’m glad I didn’t know,’ said Joss with feeling. ‘Rather like being caught on Candid Camera. I hope I was behaving myself?’

‘Of course you were. The perfect guest.’ Adam helped himself to more bread. ‘But I could tell you weren’t in party mood. I was surprised—and impressed—that you stuck it out so long.’

‘So you saw me disappear,’ said Joss thoughtfully.

He nodded. ‘At which point inspiration struck. At worst, I reasoned, you would send me packing.’

‘And at best?’

‘The privilege of talking to you.’ He gave her a direct look. ‘My imagination never got as far as this.’

‘Chicken salad and questionable claret?’ she said flippantly.

‘Exactly. Now, tell me why you asked me back here tonight.’

Joss shot him a warning look. ‘Certainly not to share my bed.’

‘I thought we’d sorted that out already,’ he said impatiently. ‘Listen to me, Eve. In basic terms, I swear I won’t leap on you the moment we’ve finished supper, or at any other time—is that blunt enough for you?’

Blunt and very reassuring, decided Joss. ‘Yes. Thank you.’

He eyed her searchingly. ‘You’ve obviously had bad experiences in the past in this kind of situation?’

She shook her head. ‘I never invite men here for supper.’ Which was true enough.

He frowned. ‘Never?’

‘Never.’

‘Then why me?’

‘Because you were in the right place at the right time,’ she said candidly. ‘I was in need of company tonight, and you offered yours.’

Adam leaned forward, one of the heavy brows raised. ‘You mean I happened to be nearest, that any man would have done?’

‘Certainly not,’ she snapped, and jumped up. ‘You were kind. I liked that. But, best of all, you’re very tall.’

He looked amused. ‘Is height a vital requirement?’

‘No. But for me it’s a definite plan. I’m five feet ten, with a passion for high heels.’

Adam laughed as he refilled their glasses, and took very little persuading to finish off the bread and cheese. She offered him the fruit bowl. ‘Have one of these to go with it.’

His lips twitched as he took a shiny red apple. ‘Very appropriate, Eve. Will my life change for ever after one taste?’

‘Try it and see.’ Joss smiled and sank down to her cushion again as his strong white teeth crunched into the apple. ‘Sorry there wasn’t any pudding.’

‘This is all a man could ask for. Company included,’ he added. ‘Do you feel better now?’

‘Yes. I haven’t been eating well lately.’

‘I didn’t mean the food.’

‘I know. And since you ask, yes, I do feel better.’

‘Good.’ Adam finished everything on his plate and put it on the tray. ‘Shall I take this out to your kitchen for you?’

She shook her head. ‘Leave it. I’ll see to it later.’

‘Much later.’ He looked at her steadily. ‘I’ve no intention of leaving yet.’

Joss was glad of it. The last thing she wanted right now was solitude.

‘I’ve respected the veto on names,’ he went on, ‘but is it against the rules to ask what you do with your life?’

Joss decided against telling him she was a journalist. That might give too much away. For tonight she would just be romantic, mysterious Eve. ‘I’m—in publishing.’

‘Fiction?’

‘No. Fact.’ Joss settled herself more comfortably. ‘How about you?’

‘Construction.’

Joss was struck by a mental picture of suntanned muscles and heavy loads of bricks. ‘It obviously pays,’ she commented, eyeing his clothes.

‘If you mean the suit,’ he said, straight-faced. ‘It’s the one I keep for parties and funerals. My Sunday best.’

‘Is it really?’

‘Absolutely.’ His eyes roved over her tawny blonde bob, the wide-spaced eyes, the faint suggestion of tilt to the nose. His gaze lingered for a moment on the full curves of her mouth, then continued down until it reached her black silk pumps. ‘I don’t think you bought any of that in a chainstore, either.’

‘True. I felt Anna’s engagement party deserved something special.’ Her eyes clouded. ‘And when I bought it I was in belligerent mood.’

‘Is this something to do with the dinner date that fell through?’

Joss smiled bleakly. ‘In a way.’

‘But there’s a lot more.’

‘Oh, yes.’ Her eyes glittered angrily. ‘A whole lot more.’

‘Would it help to tell me about it?’

Joss frowned, taken aback.

‘It’s easier to confide in strangers,’ he pointed out.

‘I see. I confide my pathetic little story, you offer me a shoulder to cry on, then off you go into the night and we never meet again?’ She smiled. ‘I think I saw the movie.’

‘I’d prefer to alter the script a little,’ he said, chuckling. ‘But whatever you tell me will be in strictest confidence.’

‘Like confessing to a priest?’

Adam shook his head. ‘Wrong casting.’

She nodded, looking at him objectively. ‘You’re right. You don’t suit the role.’

‘But I’m a superb listener,’ he assured her.

‘And you’re curious?’

‘Interested, certainly.’

Joss gazed at him for a moment, weakening by the second in her need to talk to someone. Anna would have been her normal choice, but that, like staying away from the engagement party, had been out of the question. At least until Anna’s celebrations were over and the new, yawning gap in Joscelyn Hunter’s life could no longer be hidden.

‘Are you sure about this?’ she asked.

Adam nodded decisively. ‘I want to know what was behind the Oscar-winning performance tonight.’

Joss gave him a wry little smile and took the plunge. ‘I used to share this flat with my fiancé. A few weeks ago he walked out on me.’

CHAPTER TWO

JOSS had made an all-out effort to get home early for once. She’d rushed through the door, laden down with groceries for a celebration dinner. And almost fallen over the luggage in the hall.

As she’d stared Peter Sadler had rushed from the bedroom, his face the picture of guilt. ‘You’re home early!’ he accused.

Joss nodded coolly. ‘And you’re obviously not pleased to see me. Is there a problem?’

‘Yes, you could say that.’ He took the grocery bag from her. ‘I’ll put this in the kitchen. Would you like some tea?’

Joss stood tense with foreboding, watching as Peter filled a kettle and put teabags in a pot. ‘So what is the problem? And why the suitcases? Are you going somewhere for the firm?’

‘No.’ He turned to look at her, a truculent look on his fair, good-looking face. ‘I’ve resigned.’

She stared incredulously. ‘Resigned? Why?’

‘I got in first, before they could fire me.’

Joss shook her head in disbelief. ‘This is terribly sudden, Peter! If you were that worried they’d fire you why didn’t you talk to me about it?’

‘When?’ he threw at her in sudden anger. ‘You’re never here.’

‘That’s an exaggeration,’ she snapped. ‘We share a bed, remember? You could have given me a hint on one of the rare occasions you stayed awake long enough to say goodnight.’

‘You know I need my sleep,’ he said sullenly. ‘And lately there’s been precious little to stay awake for. We haven’t made love for weeks. You lust for your job more than you ever did for me.’

Joss felt as though her entire world was disintegrating. ‘You’ve obviously been building up to this for a long time. I’ve been blind.’ She thrust an unsteady hand through her hair. ‘I know you’ve been very quiet lately, but I thought that was for a different reason.’

‘What other reason?’ he said blankly, adding salt to the wound. ‘All I could think of lately were my plans for the new riverside complex.’ His mouth twisted. ‘In case you’re interested, Athena turned them down.’

Joss stared at him in horrified sympathy. ‘Peter—I’m so sorry! I know how hard you worked.’ She frowned. ‘But it isn’t the end of the world, surely?’

‘Of mine, with this particular firm of architects, it most definitely is.’ Peter shrugged his shoulders moodily. ‘Not that it matters. I was never cut out for corporate cut and thrust, Joss. I only took the job in the first place because you pushed me into it. I’m going back to the family firm. Where I belong,’ he added as the crowning touch. He glanced at his watch, then caught her eye and flushed. ‘I’m in no rush, Joss,’ he said quickly. ‘I can catch a later train.’

‘Don’t alter your arrangements on my account!’ She stood with arms folded. ‘I assume this means it’s all over between us?’

Peter swallowed convulsively. ‘I suppose it does.’

‘You suppose?’

‘I left you a letter, Joss,’ he said hurriedly. ‘It explains everything.’

‘How thoughtful.’ She eyed him with scorn. ‘So if I’d come home at the usual time I would have found the bird flown?’

‘I thought it would be easier that way,’ he muttered, and handed her a cup of tea.

Joss slammed it down on a shelf. ‘Easier for you, certainly, Peter.’

He shrugged sulkily. ‘All right. Easier for me. Look, Joss, things haven’t been right between us for a long time.’ He squared his slim shoulders and looked her in the eye. ‘If you want the truth, I’m just not happy with you anymore. You’re older than me, more ambitious, you earn more money—hell, you’re even taller than me. You—you diminish me, Joss. I can’t take it any longer.’

‘I see.’ Joss’s eyes burned angrily in her pale face. ‘So that’s it? The past year means nothing at all to you?’

‘Is it only a year?’ he said with unconscious cruelty. ‘I thought it was longer than that. Anyway, I’m sorry it had to end like this. A pity you came home before I could—’

‘Sneak away?’ she said scathingly.

‘Don’t Joss! Let’s part friends—please,’ he pleaded, and put his hand on her arm.

She flung it away, suddenly unable to bear his touch. ‘Just take your things and go, Peter. A pity my timing was wrong. You could have got away scot-free.’

He stepped back in quick offence. ‘So why were you early?’

Joss clenched her teeth. ‘I just felt like it. Goodbye, Peter.’

He moved towards her, arms outstretched, but backed away in a hurry as he met the look in her eyes. ‘Goodbye, then, Joss. I—I wish things could have been different. If I’d won the Athena job—’

‘I would still be older than you—and taller.’ Her mouth twisted. ‘I never dreamed it mattered so much.’

‘In the beginning it didn’t,’ he muttered.

Joss locked militant eyes with his. ‘Peter, tell me the truth. You owe me that much.’

He frowned. ‘I have told the truth. Hell, I thought I’d even been a bit over the top with it. I never meant to come out with all that stuff about your age—and the height and so on.’

She shrugged impatiently. ‘Never mind all that. Just tell me if there’s someone else.’

‘Another woman? Lord, no,’ said Peter, with unmistakable candour. ‘You’ve always been more woman than I can really handle, Joss. Never had any time—or energy—for anyone else.’

Joss looked across at Adam, taking comfort from the fierce look of distaste in his eyes. ‘Oddly enough, that was the last straw. I lost it completely, made a terrible scene, threw my ring at him and sent him packing. Then I rang a removal firm and arranged to ship most of his belongings to his parents.’ Her mouth twisted. ‘Which is why I’m a bit lacking in home comforts. All the furniture was Peter’s, but I’ve kept the sofa and the bed until—until I buy replacements.’

Adam gave her a probing look. ‘You’ve kept all this secret?’

‘Yes. No one knows yet, other than you.’

‘Not even your parents?’

‘I don’t have any now. And I just couldn’t spoil things for Anna before the party. I told her Peter was away on a course and couldn’t come. She lives in Warwickshire, so it was easy to keep it from her for a while.’

‘No wonder you weren’t in party mood,’ he said dryly.

She pulled a face. ‘One way and another the party was a bit hard to take. Eventually the effort to sparkle was too much, so I spotted that deserted little balcony and vanished for a bit.’

Adam smiled a little. ‘In the circumstances I’m surprised you were so polite when I joined you.’

Joss smiled back guiltily. ‘My first reaction was to snarl and tell you to get lost. But after a while I was glad of your company. It kept me from wallowing in self-pity. It was gallant of you to come to my rescue.’

Adam shook his head. ‘I’m no knight in shining armour, Eve. If the damsel in distress had been less pleasing to the eye I might have felt the same sympathy, but I doubt I’d have done anything about it.’

‘An honest man!’

‘I try to be. I watched your every move from the moment I first saw you. When you did your vanishing trick I seized the moment, grabbed two glasses of champagne and followed you outside.’

Her eyes danced. ‘What would you have done if a vengeful husband had come after you?’

‘Beaten a hasty retreat.’ He grinned. ‘I steer clear of husbands, vengeful or otherwise. I prefer my women unattached.’

‘Your women?’ Joss repeated.

‘A figure of speech.’

Her eyes narrowed suddenly. ‘Are you unattached, by the way?’

‘Yes,’ he said with emphasis. ‘Otherwise this wouldn’t be happening.’

‘Would you like some coffee?’ she said unevenly, very much aware that something was happening.

‘Is that a polite way of asking me to go?’

Joss gave him a long, considering look. ‘No,’ she said quietly. ‘Not if you’d like to stay awhile.’

‘You know I would. And I don’t want any more coffee,’ he said deliberately. ‘Shall I tell you what I do want?’

‘No—please,’ said Joss swiftly. ‘Before Peter and I began to live together we’d been exclusive to each other for a fair time. I’m out of practice at this sort of thing.’

‘What “sort of thing” do you think this is?’ he asked, amused.

‘More to the point, what do you think it is?’

‘A simple desire to get to know you. How about you?’

Joss thought about it, fairly sure that ‘simple’ was the last word to describe her guest. ‘I asked you here for a meal because I was depressed and angry, and you were kind and—’

‘A lot taller than you,’ he finished for her, and Joss laughed, suddenly more at ease.

‘You’re taller than most people!’

‘I’ve never had more cause to be thankful for it than right now,’ he assured her. ‘So, mysterious Eve, come and sit beside me and hold my hand.’

‘Ah, but if I give you my hand will you want more than that?’

‘Yes,’ he said bluntly. ‘I’m male, and normal. But where women are concerned I don’t take, Eve, only accept.’

‘In that case…’ Joss moved from her cushion to sit beside him on the sofa, discovering that the space left by his large frame was only just enough to accommodate her. ‘A tight fit,’ she said breathlessly.

Adam shifted slightly to give her more room, and took her hand in his. ‘You were right,’ he said after a moment. ‘Just holding your hand isn’t enough. Go back to your cushion.’

‘Just how much else did you have in mind?’ Joss asked very bluntly.

For answer Adam slid his arm round her. ‘Only this.’

Joss laid her head against his shoulder, reassured, and the hard arm pulled her closer. It was new, and morale-boosting, to feel small and fragile in a man’s embrace. She leaned against him, feeling safe and protected, his warmth soothing the anger and hurt of Peter’s abrupt departure from her life.

‘Why the sigh?’ he asked.

‘I was thinking how strange it was to be here like this with a man I’d never met until a few hours ago.’

‘But you’re no longer afraid of me,’ he commented.

‘I wasn’t afraid of you,’ she said indignantly, turning her face up to his.

He smiled down into her eyes. ‘Nervous, then?’

‘Yes.’ She smiled back.

‘Are you nervous now?’

‘No.’

‘So how do you feel?’

‘Comfortable.’

His crack of laughter disarmed her completely. ‘Not very flattering.’

‘For me, tonight, it’s the most flattering compliment I could pay you,’ she said with feeling.

He raised the hand he was holding to his lips, and kissed it. ‘If it’s any consolation, I think the absconding fiancé’s a complete idiot. But I’m grateful to him.’

‘Why?’

‘If he hadn’t left I wouldn’t be here.’

‘True.’ Joss yawned suddenly. ‘Sorry,’ she said with contrition. ‘I haven’t slept much lately.’

Adam smoothed her head down against his shoulder again. ‘Relax,’ he whispered in her ear, and Joss closed her eyes, melting against him pliantly.

She woke from a doze to find herself in Adam’s arms en route to her bedroom. He bent slightly to open the door, then laid her on the bed and stood looking down at her.

‘Goodnight, Eve,’ he whispered, and bent to kiss her cheek.

Joss deliberately tilted her head so that the kiss landed squarely on her mouth, and suddenly the overwhelming need to feel whole and normal and desirable again obliterated caution. ‘Don’t go,’ she said unsteadily. ‘Don’t leave me. Just for tonight. Please?’

Joss stared up in entreaty into the taut face, saw him close his eyes and clench his fists for an instant. Then he let out an unsteady breath, sat down on the bed and lifted her onto his lap, his forehead against hers.

‘This wasn’t meant to happen, Eve.’

‘Don’t you want me?’ she said desolately.

‘You know damn well I do!’ he growled.

‘Then show me.’

He locked his arms round her, pressing light, tantalising kisses at the corners of her mouth, but the contact ignited heat which rose in them both so quickly he was soon kissing her with a hunger which showed beyond all doubt how much he wanted her. She kissed him back, exulting in the desire she could feel vibrating through his body as he pulled her hard against him. Their kisses grew wilder, open-mouthed, tongues caressing as his hands sought breasts which rose taut with invitation in response. His breath rasped in his broad chest as he pulled away slightly to shrug off his jacket and tear his tie loose. Joss burrowed her face against him, her seeking hands undoing shirt buttons to find smooth skin hot to the touch. Darts of fire shot through her as she felt him hard and ready beneath her thighs, then he stood her on her feet and Joss backed away from him, her eyes locked with his in the semi-darkness. Slowly she slid the dress down her body, deliberate in her intention to inflame. She stepped out of the pooled silk and lace, then bent slowly to detach black silk suspenders from sheer dark stockings, and in triumph heard the hiss of his breath before he seized her, his mouth hard on hers as he dispensed with their remaining garments. At last he lifted her high in his arms, his eyes blazing with such need she shivered in excitement, and hid her hot face against his throat as he laid her on the bed.

‘Are you sure?’ he said harshly, in the moment before the question was too late. Joss nodded vehemently and stretched up her arms, pulling him down to her, and he stretched his long body beside her and slid his hands down her back to smooth her against him, their hearts thudding in perfect unison at the contact. Joss made a small, choked sound of protest as he put her away a little, then gasped in delight as he began to kiss every curve and hollow of her tall, slender body. The relentless, controlled caresses kindled slow fire along every nerve until Joss was in such an unashamed state of arousal that he abandoned the control, his hands and mouth so demanding they took her to dizzying heights of response. She surged against him, her fingers digging into the taut muscles of his broad shoulders, and he raised himself on his hands, his arms throbbing with the desire surging through his body. He asked a brief, urgent question and she shook her head wildly, and at last his body took possession of hers with a thrust of pure sensation, and she gasped, overwhelmed by fiery, rhythmic pleasure which mounted in increasing levels of intensity until white-hot culmination engulfed them both.

‘What does one say in these circumstances?’ she panted afterwards, when his arms had slackened slightly.

‘What do you usually say?’ Adam said hoarsely.

‘Goodnight, I suppose.’

He raised his head to peer down into her face. ‘Is that what you want me to say?’

‘No.’ Her eyes fell. ‘Unless you want to go now.’

He kissed her hard. ‘No, I don’t want to go. I want to stay here, holding you in my arms all night, and maybe pinching myself from time to time to make sure this is real.’

‘I feel like that,’ she confessed. ‘Shocked, too.’

‘Shocked at what we did?’

‘No,’ she said dryly. ‘I know about the birds and the bees.’

He laughed and kissed her again more gently, running the tip of his tongue over her lips. ‘So what are you shocked about?’

‘That I could have actually begged you to make love to me.’ Joss bit her lip. ‘I’ve never done that before.’

‘I’m sure you haven’t,’ he said, his broad chest vibrating with laughter.

‘I’m glad you find it so amusing!’

‘Extraordinary, not amusing,’ he assured her huskily. ‘If you hadn’t asked me to make love to you it’s possible I might have found the strength to kiss you goodnight and leave, but I seriously doubt it. I wanted you from the moment I first saw your reflection in the mirror tonight.’

‘Are you saying that to make me feel better?’

Adam smiled down into her eyes. ‘No. It’s the simple truth.’

Joss sighed with satisfaction, her mouth curving in a smile he bent to kiss, taking his time over it. When she could speak she put a finger on his lips. ‘You’ve achieved something rather wonderful tonight.’

‘Don’t I know it!’

‘Not that,’ she said impatiently, then smiled. ‘Well, yes, that too, because it was wonderful. But the way you made love to me healed my poor, battered ego.’

‘What way?’ he asked, frowning.

‘As though you were starving and I was food.’ Joss blushed in the semi-darkness as he chuckled and ran his hands down the curve of her hips.

‘That’s it exactly,’ he assured her. ‘For me the entire evening was one long build-up of foreplay. Before I’d kissed this mouth, or caressed these exquisite breasts, all I could think of was this—and this—’

Adam matched caresses to his words with such skill desire swiftly engulfed them again, sending them in another breathtaking, headlong rush towards ecstasy.

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