“Will you think over my offer?” About the Author Title Page CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN Copyright

“Will you think over my offer?”

Sabrina hesitated. Everything inside her screamed yes, but rational thought threw in a note of caution and reality. “I... Oh, Marc.”

He stared down at her. “Just forget the other man in your life.” There was a grim note to his voice now.

“If only it were that simple,” she said sadly.

KATHRYN ROSS

was born in Zambia, Africa, where her parents happened to live at that time. Educated in Ireland and England, she now lives in a village near Blackpool, Lancashire. Kathryn is a professional beauty therapist, but writing is her first love. As a child she wrote adventure stories, and at thirteen was editor of her school magazine. Happily, ten writing years later, Designed With Love was accepted by Harlequin. A romantic Sagittarian, she loves traveling to exotic locations.

Whisper Of Scandal

Kathryn Ross

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CHAPTER ONE

‘WE SHOULDN’T really be doing this,’ Sabrina told Garth nervously.

‘Why ever not?’ He leaned across and poured her some more wine. ‘I think that bringing you out for dinner was a lovely idea.’

‘Yes, but, Garth, we have got to be sensible.’ Her eyes flickered over the intimate booths lit by candlelight, searching for any face that she might recognise. This was one of London’s most expensive restaurants and it was a well-known haunt of many famous people... including MPs like Garth Fraiser. It was not the type of place to have a secret meeting. ‘I’m sure you don’t usually bring your ex-secretaries to places like this.’

‘Well, you are not the usual kind of secretary,’ Garth answered with a smile.

Bright blue eyes swung back on to his attractive face. Despite his advancing years Garth Fraiser was still a good-looking man. His strawberry-blond hair was thick and vital, the deep lines on his face emphasising his strong, stubborn character.

‘Exactly.’ She said the word quietly but with meaning. ‘And we don’t want to start people talking.’

‘I’m sorry, Sabrina... I don’t want to place you in an awkward position.’ He sighed and leaned back in his chair. ‘You’ve been through so much recently... what with the death of your mother and... everything. It’s just that we need to talk; I have so much to explain to you.’

For a moment her blue eyes clouded with sadness. ‘I know,’ she said softly. ‘But it’s you I’m worried about. What would your wife say if she knew that you were out having dinner with me?’

He smiled. ‘She would think it was business. Anyway, Nadine is in Paris visiting Marc. She won’t be back until tomorrow.’

‘Are you going to tell her?’ Sabrina’s beautiful face was etched with strain as she waited for his answer.

‘I don’t think I could face it.’ Garth shrugged helplessly. ‘I do care about you, Sabrina. I know you must find that hard to believe. I’ve made a lot of mistakes. The main one being that I should have told Nadine years ago.’ He raked a hand through his hair in agitation. ‘Look, come back to work for me, Brina, and we’ll work things out. I miss you.’

‘Thank you, Garth.’ She swallowed down a sudden lump of emotion in her throat. ‘I miss you too.’ She did miss him; she also missed the cut and thrust of political life at the Palace of Westminster. ‘But having me as your secretary could cause you problems.’ She forced herself to be practical. ‘Politics is your life and, as you have said yourself, people expect you to be whiter than white. If word got out about me it could bring you down...it could certainly go against your moving to Brussels next year.’

He sighed. ‘I certainly don’t want to risk ruining my . political career. This job as Euro MP next year means a hell of a lot to me.’

She nodded. ‘You’ve worked very hard for the posting.’

‘I suppose I have...’ He paused thoughtfully. ‘So has Nadine. She has always been wonderfully supportive.’

Sabrina nodded her head. She had met Garth’s wife on a few occasions. Nadine was French, extremely beautiful and very intelligent. People liked and respected her and she was certainly an asset to Garth’s career. ‘But she is not stupid, Garth. It’s only a matter of time before she notices something is amiss. I don’t want to pressurise you, but I think you should either tell her or cut me out of your life altogether.’

Although she said the words firmly, there was a tremor inside her body. She hated the thought of losing Garth out of her life... especially now, in the light of what she had found out. She wanted to get to know him better, to talk things through... to deepen their relationship.

‘Surely you don’t mean that?’ He frowned and for a moment his face turned pale as he reached across the table to catch her hand.

Her eyes clouded and she shook her head. ‘No... no, of course I don’t. I was just trying to be sensible.’

‘I can’t tell Nadine, Brina. I——’

A dark shadow fell over the table, startling them out of their engrossing conversation.

‘And just what is it that you can’t tell Nadine?’ a deep voice enquired in crisp tones.

Sabrina had to tip her head back to look up at the man who was staring down at them. Her hand left Garth’s with guilty haste as her eyes locked with a burning dark gaze.

‘Marc, this is a surprise!’ Garth rose quickly to his feet, for once looking completely disconcerted. ‘Is Nadine with you?’

‘No. Mother is still in France.’

‘I see.’ Garth smiled and seemed to regain his composure on hearing that his wife was not about to appear beside them. ‘I’m dining with my secretary, Miss Sabrina Harrington.’ He waved a hand towards her and the man turned his gaze down on her again. ‘This is my stepson Marc Kingsley.’

Sabrina’s one overriding thought as she looked up at him was that Marc Kingsley was far, far too good-looking.

Dark hair and eyes and a tanned skin made him look more French than English, but his weren’t the conventional good looks. There was something hard and forceful about that face that stared down at her. For a moment she thought she saw a flicker of surprise in the intense black eyes as they lingered on her long strawberry-blonde hair and heart-shaped face. The way he looked at her was so openly arrogant that it made her flush uncomfortably.

‘Miss Harrington.’ He acknowledged her with a brief nod of his head before turning back to Garth. ‘I called at the house and your housekeeper told me that I might find you here.’

Garth nodded. ‘Yes, I left the number in case Nadine phoned.’ He indicated the spare seat next to them. ‘Won’t you join us, Marc?’

‘For a few minutes.’ With a brief glance at his gold wristwatch he sat down directly facing Sabrina. ‘I just wanted to tell you that Mother has changed her plans and won’t be coming back until after the weekend. She decided to fly down to Nice for a couple of days to see her sister.’

‘Oh...’ Garth frowned. ‘There is nothing wrong, is there?’

‘No, no. Just a spur-of-the-moment whim,’ Marc assured him swiftly.

‘Well, I’m glad you told me. I was going to ring her at your home in Paris tonight. I would have been concerned if there had been no answer.’

‘Well, as usual she is staying at the Sheldon in Nice. Why don’t you ring her now, Garth? I’m sure she will be having an early night tonight. She left Paris early this morning but, knowing my mother, she will have been into every boutique in Nice by now.’

‘Yes, and probably bought them out.’ Garth grinned and turned his attention to Sabrina. ‘Will you excuse me for a moment while I go and ring my wife?’ he asked with his usual gentle courtesy.

Before she had time to open her mouth, however, Marc Kingsley was answering for her. ‘Of course she will—I’m sure that Miss Harrington wouldn’t dream of standing in the way of true love.’ Although his voice was light, the eyes that met hers across the table were deep and somehow disturbing in their intensity.

Why did she feel that answering that statement could be decidedly dangerous? It was merely a light-hearted jesting comment...wasn’t it?

Garth obviously thought that it was, because he was smiling down at her as he got to his feet. ‘I won’t be long; don’t let my stepson charm you too much while I’m away.’

Sabrina for some reason felt a little embarrassed by that comment. She gave Marc a polite smile that was a trifle nervous.

He didn’t return the gesture, just continued to look across at her with unfathomable eyes.

‘So, Miss Harrington, is this a working dinner or a more pleasurable interlude?’ he asked in a low tone.

Was it her imagination or was there a cutting edge in his voice? She toyed with the glass in front of her with long nervous fingers. Although Garth had introduced her as his secretary, in point of fact she no longer worked for him. She contemplated telling Marc Kingsley that, then changed her mind. It would be far safer just to go along with what Garth had said. ‘Just a working dinner,’ she said lightly.

‘Really?’ There it was again, an almost sarcastic edge in the velvety deep voice. Candlelight flickered over the strong, handsome features without lending any softness to the harsh, remote countenance. ‘How long have you been working for my stepfather, Miss Harrington?’

She hesitated. ‘About a year.’ She felt as if she was being interrogated, and shifted restlessly in her chair.

‘I see.’ He met her eyes directly. ‘And where do you work now?’

The blunt question made Sabrina’s nerves flutter. ‘Now?’ She looked at him with wide blue eyes, her brain seizing up with panic.

‘Now that you no longer work for Garth,’ he said easily.

Their eyes met and held. He had known all along that she was no longer Garth’s secretary!

He smiled, showing even white teeth. ‘My mother let it slip that Garth was looking for a new secretary and that you were very hard to replace.’

‘Oh... I see.’ She struggled to gather her thoughts together. She felt for one moment like a frightened little mouse trapped in a corner by a large cat. ‘Well, I haven’t got another job yet.’ She kept her voice cool with a great effort of will. ‘So I still do a bit of work for Garth at home...just odd bits of typing really.’

‘I see,’ he drawled with a smile. ‘Lucky Garth. I wish I had someone like you. Someone I could call on for the odd bit of typing.’

There was something about the almost sardonic note of his voice that sent shivers of alarm racing through her. Was he casting some kind of nasty suspicion on her relationship with Garth?

She looked across at him with a frown, and he smiled. It was a pleasant enough smile. Maybe she was just paranoid, she told herself crisply. She felt uncomfortable dining here with Garth and because of that she was reading things into this man’s words—things that probably didn’t exist.

‘I am very highly qualified and there are some things that Garth likes me to take care of personally for him,’ she emphasised crisply. ‘Just until he gets a new permanent secretary.’

‘Oh, I’m sure that you have all the necessary qualifications.’ For a brief second his eyes moved away from her creamy complexion and down the slender column of her neck to where the top buttons of her jade silk blouse were undone.

‘And you are very easy on the eye...a definite bonus,’ he drawled lazily.

She could feel her sensitive skin prickling with the heat of embarrassment. She didn’t know what to say to that.

He smiled, his gaze moving over the peach glow on her high cheekbones to lock with her eyes. ‘Yes, very beautiful... sensuously so.’ The dark eyes moved to the softness of her mouth, a feature that she had always considered a little too full for her liking. ‘On the whole, Sabrina Harrington, I would say that you are one dangerous package.’

The air between them was charged with tension and some strange emotion that Sabrina could not define. She tried to steady her erratic breathing so that she could make some kind of a reply to his outrageous comments, but with those dark eyes boring into her she found it impossible.

Garth’s return caught her by surprise but seemingly not Marc, for he turned with an easy smile towards his stepfather as he took his seat beside him. ‘Well, did you manage to get through to Mother?’

‘Yes, I did.’ There was a heaviness in Garth’s voice that brought Sabrina’s attention winging sharply back towards him. His skin had a grey tinge to it, and the lines around his eyes were more deeply etched.

‘Is everything all right?’ she asked in sudden concern.

‘Yes, I’m just feeling a little tired. If you are finished, Brina, I think I would like to leave.’

‘Yes, of course.’ In her agitation she didn’t notice that he had slipped into using his pet name for her, something they had agreed not to do. In public they had agreed to keep things strictly formal. She bent to pick up her handbag, anxious to get away from the intimidating stranger opposite and find out the real reason why Garth was suddenly looking so ill.

‘Seeing that you are tired, Garth, why don’t I run your secretary home for you?’

The casually proffered suggestion had Sabrina straightening very quickly, a refusal forming on her lips. She would rather take a taxi than ride with Marc Kingsley. He made her feel so on edge it was untrue.

‘Would you mind, Marc? I would be very grateful,’ Garth got in ahead of her, however.

‘Not at all; it will be my pleasure.’ Dark eyes gleamed as he noticed that she was not exactly overjoyed by the situation. ‘Stay where you are and I will go and ask the doorman to bring the cars around for us. Have you got your keys?’

As soon as Marc had moved away from them Sabrina leaned across towards Garth. ‘What on earth is the matter?’ she asked nervously.

‘Nothing, sweetheart.’ His voice strove to reassure her but the worried light refused to die away from her eyes. He sighed. ‘Nadine and I just had a slight argument. It was nothing much but I hate to upset her like that.’

‘What was it all about?’

He hesitated for a moment. ‘She wants me to fly out to Nice tomorrow and spend the weekend there with her. I told her I couldn’t come.’

‘Why ever not?’ She frowned at him. ‘It’s Saturday tomorrow and you told me yourself that you have nothing very much on.’

‘Yes, I have, Brina. I wanted to see you tomorrow...we have so much to discuss.’

‘No, Garth.’ Sabrina’s voice was adamant. ‘You must put your wife first——’

‘I’m not prepared to argue about this,’ Garth cut across her. ‘I’m spending tomorrow with you and there is an end to it. I thought that we could drive into the country——’

‘No,’ she interrupted his plans firmly.

‘Good, that’s settled, then,’ Garth continued smoothly as if she hadn’t spoken. ‘I’ll pick you up at ten.’ He rose to his feet and smiled down at her.

‘You are incorrigible,’ she said on a note of dry humour.

‘But you love me anyway?’ He winked down at her.

‘You know I do,’ she answered huskily.

For a moment his eyes lingered on her. “Thank you, Brina. You don’t know how happy that makes me.’ He hesitated and seemed about to say more, then glanced over as his stepson started to walk back across the restaurant towards them. ‘Brina, do me a favour, will you?’ he asked quickly.

‘If it is within my power, you know I will.’

‘Don’t let anything slip to Marc about us. I’d hate Nadine to find out like that.’

‘You know I wouldn’t say anything,’ she reassured him quickly.

Garth nodded. ‘Marc is a very shrewd man. Also a very charming one. Just be careful, Brina.’

‘Well, I’m not easily charmed.’ Sabrina smiled. ‘Now, will you go to Nice tomorrow and see your wife?’

He shook his head. ‘I will be seeing you tomorrow. Ten o’clock sharp.’ He moved away then before she had time to argue the point further.

She watched him go with a mixture of impatience and affection. He had to be the most pigheaded, stubborn man that she had ever come across. He had probably accepted Marc’s offer to run her home just so that she didn’t get the chance to try and change his mind.

She watched him stop and talk with his stepson on the way out of the door. She had always thought that Garth was a powerfully built man, yet next to Marc Kingsley’s lean, broad-shouldered frame he looked almost small.

For a moment she racked her brain to remember any information that Garth had given her on his stepson.

He was a successful man, a wealthy industrialist who spent most of his time in Paris but also had a home in Surrey. She knew that his mother Nadine was French and that his father had been English. They were the only facts that she could call to mind. With a sigh she got to her feet and went over to join them. Somehow she had the feeling that she needed to know much more about Marc Kingsley in order to step very warily around him.

Did he have to watch her like that? she wondered angrily as she moved nearer to them. His eyes were raking over her slim figure in the pencil-straight skirt and jade blouse as if he were assessing how much she would fetch on the open market.

‘Ready?’ he asked abruptly as she reached his side.

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. It was very strange, but this man seemed capable of stirring up her temper without even saying anything. Just one look from those eyes seemed to increase her temperature rapidly.

The darkness outside was a relief. It was a few minutes’ respite from Marc Kingsley’s probing eyes, a few minutes to compose herself. A bright red Porsche drew up beside them and the car-park attendant got out and handed Marc the keys.

Her eyes ran disdainfully over the sleek lines of the red Porsche. Nothing subdued for Mr Kingsley, she thought wryly. His taste in women was probably the same as his taste in cars. He would like them flashy and elegant.

He surprised her by opening the passenger door for her before going around to the other side. At least the man had some manners.

She frowned. What on earth was the matter with her? It wasn’t like her to be so aggressive, especially towards a perfect stranger. The man was doing her a favour by taking her home and here she was tearing him to shreds. In fact ever since he had first looked down at her she had been on the defensive—it was most unlike her.

She watched him as he secured his seatbelt and then started the powerful engine. His face was lit for a moment by the street-light as he turned towards her. It looked all planes and angles in the half-light, emphasising just how ruggedly attractive he was. For a crazy second her heart seemed to dip downwards and thud like a sledgehammer against her chest.

‘Aren’t you going to put on your seatbelt?’ he enquired lazily.

‘Oh... yes.’ For some reason her fingers felt like thumbs as she struggled awkwardly with the belt.

‘Here, let me do it.’ He leaned across and took it from her hands with a brisk impatient movement. Inadvertently his fingers brushed against the silk of her blouse as he pulled it across her, the soft touch sending a million sensory nerve-endings throbbing into life.

‘There.’ The belt slotted firmly into place and he was swinging the car out into the stream of traffic, the large hands looking strong and capable on the wheel.

Sabrina swallowed hard and looked away from him out through the window. She felt confused and angry with herself. She was twenty-five years of age and had been out with plenty of men in the past, but none of them had made her body respond the way it had done just now from a mere casual contact. Marc Kingsley was having a very strange effect on her. She was undeniably attracted to him, just as every woman who ever came into contact with him would probably be. But there was something else. He inflamed her senses. Angered her, excited her, frightened her. She couldn’t understand how a total stranger could arouse such emotions.

She tried to switch her thoughts away from him as they drove down busy roads through the heart of London. It was a magical city at night, she thought idly, with all the beautiful buildings illuminated by a warm orange glow against the velvet darkness of the sky.

Marc was pulling up outside her apartment in Kensington before she realised that he had driven her straight to her door without having to ask where she lived.

She turned to him with a frown. ‘How did you know my address?’

‘Garth told me before he left.’

‘Oh, I see.’

Marc turned off the engine and the sudden silence seemed heavy and oppressive. The only sound that filled Sabrina’s ears was the wild thud of her heartbeats.

‘Well, thank you for the lift home,’ she said a trifle breathlessly, reaching for the door-handle.

‘Aren’t you going to invite me in for coffee?’ he asked silkily.

She hesitated, taken back by the request. ‘Well, I...yes—yes, of course.’ Hell, she was babbling like a teenager. What on earth was wrong with her?

He stood behind her as she opened her front door and she was annoyed to find that her hand shook as she tried to get the key in the lock.

‘Do you need some help?’

His drily amused voice flustered her even more.

‘No, thank you.’ Thankfully the door swung open and Sabrina led the way into the elegant hallway.

The apartment was very large and decorated in a stylishly modern way. Crystal lights illuminated warm peach walls and highlighted the thick beige carpet that ran through each room.

‘Nice apartment,’ Marc remarked as his eyes moved over the lounge with its large cream leather suite and the modern pictures that lent vibrant splashes of colour to the room. ‘Working for Garth must pay well.’

Sabrina’s eyebrow lifted at such a remark. Really, who did the man think he was? It was none of his business where her money came from.

She decided not to answer such a remark but instead waved him towards the settee. ‘Make yourself comfortable,’ she said stiffly. ‘I’ll just put the kettle on.’

Instead of going into the lounge, however, he followed her into the kitchen.

She flicked a disgruntled glance at him as he leaned nonchalantly against the marble worktops to watch her fill the kettle.

‘The view’s better in here,’ he drawled lazily as he caught her eye, and then his gaze moved slowly from her neat ankles up over her long legs and curving body.

She felt her body heat start to rise at that look, and she turned away impatiently to open the cupboards and get out some china cups and saucers. Why did he keep looking at her like that?

‘So why did you give up working for my stepfather, Sabrina?’ he asked casually.

Her fingers slipped on the bone-china cup she had been reaching for and she watched in horror as it fell with a crashing sound on to the tiled floor. ‘Damn!’ Her dismayed voice sounded loud in the silence.

He bent to help her pick up the pieces. ‘Shame,’ he murmured as he turned the end of the cup over. ‘Royal Doulton as well—a very expensive piece.’

She glared at him. ‘What are you anyway, a tax inspector?’ she asked stiffly. ‘You’ve done nothing but make references to how expensive things are.’

He looked at her with raised eyebrows. ‘Have I? I’m sorry... things of beauty just fascinate me.’ As he spoke his eyes moved over her face searchingly.

She bit down heavily on her lower lip and her blue eyes clouded with tears. ‘No...I’m sorry.’ She got up quickly and went to wrap the slivers of china in paper before putting them in the bin. ‘I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. It’s just... well, that tea service had sentimental memories. It was my mother’s.’ She didn’t turn to face him as she spoke—she was desperately trying to collect her emotions. It was so silly to be upset about something as small as a teacup, but it had brought thoughts of her mother vividly to her mind.

‘You’ll have to forgive me.’ She forced a smile to her lips and turned to face him. ‘My mother died a couple of months ago and I’m not fully myself yet.’

‘That’s understandable.’ His voice was surprisingly gentle, his eyes sympathetic now as they lingered on her bright, shimmering eyes. ‘Why don’t I make the coffee?’ he suggested with a smile. ‘You sit down for a moment.’

‘No... really.’ She tried to protest but he had already drawn out one of the kitchen chairs for her and was busy getting more cups out of the cupboard. It seemed futile to argue so she sat and watched him.

It seemed very strange to have such an attractive man in her kitchen making her coffee. He looked very out of place in the pretty kitchen. He was so suave and debonair in the immaculately cut suit, and yet so very masculine. Marc Kingsley just seemed to ooze sex appeal.

‘Do you take milk and sugar?’ he asked, interrupting her thoughts and making her jump.

‘No.’ She shook her head.

‘We have something in common.’ He smiled warmly at her as he placed the coffee in front of her.

They had more than he knew in common, she thought suddenly. ‘Would you prefer to sit in the lounge? It’s more comfortable,’ she said as he sat down opposite her.

‘No, I’m fine.’ He stretched out his long legs and reached for his cup. His hands looked very large against the delicate china, she noticed absently.

‘Well, I must say that I’m very glad that I decided to go in search of Garth tonight,’ he said suddenly.

She looked up at him with questioning eyes.

‘Otherwise we might never have met,’ he enlightened her softly.

She tried to will herself not to blush at that remark and laughed. ‘Garth told me to beware of your famous charm.’

‘Did he now?’ For just a second there was that undercurrent of steel in his tone again. Then he smiled. ‘Well, you have the advantage. He has never mentioned you to me.’

She sipped her coffee. ‘Well, when you are a private secretary you tend to learn a few things about your boss’s family now and then,’ she said lightly.

‘I suppose you do.’ He put his cup down. ‘You were about to tell me why you stopped working for Garth.’

‘Was I?’ She frowned for a moment. ‘You know, you really ask a lot of questions, Mr Kingsley.’ She held his gaze for a moment.

‘That’s because I’m very interested in you,’ he drawled huskily. ‘And the name’s Marc.’

Sabrina’s blood-pressure seemed to roar in her ears at that. ‘I’m flattered.’ Was Marc Kingsley really interested in her? Sabrina’s heart thudded wildly at the thought. ‘I’m flattered,’ she said again, trying very hard to keep a coolness in her voice. She was completely at a loss for what to say next.

‘Good.’ He smiled. ‘So how about having lunch with me tomorrow?’

The question was so smoothly asked that it took Sabrina’s mind a moment to assimilate it. Marc Kingsley was asking her for a date! For one wild moment she was tempted to say yes. Then she remembered Garth. For his sake it would be prudent to keep her distance from Marc Kingsley; the connection was too close. Anyway, Garth was taking her out tomorrow.

‘I’m sorry——’ she shook her head regretfully ‘—but I can’t.’

‘Am I stepping on someone else’s toes?’ he asked, his gaze never wavering from the bright blue of her eyes.

‘Well...’ She hesitated, unsure which was the best way to get out of this. If she said no, Marc might just suggest another date; if she said yes, he might ask her who her boyfriend was. ‘I have a date tomorrow,’ she said at last.

‘So how about the day after?’ he persisted.

She shook her head. ‘I... I can’t, Marc. I’m involved with someone else and it wouldn’t be fair.’

‘Lucky man,’ he drawled softly. ‘Well——’ he finished his coffee and stood up ‘—I suppose I should be going.’

She suppressed the immediate feeling of disappointment. Given different circumstances she would have loved to see this man again. There was something about him that was quite fascinating. ‘Thank you for the lift,’ she said politely as she stood up to walk with him to the door.

He smiled. Then quite suddenly he reached across and touched her face. ‘You know, I never take no for an answer ... it goes against the grain.’

‘Don’t you?’ Her voice sounded as breathless as she felt.

‘Certainly not.’ His finger trailed softly across the smooth skin of her cheekbone. ‘I’ll be seeing you soon, Sabrina Harrington,’ he promised decisively.

She watched him walk away from her with a pounding heart. Her skin seemed to burn where he had touched her. For one wild moment she was ecstatic that he would ask her out again. Then as he closed the front door behind him reality set in.

She couldn’t get involved with Marc Kingsley. It would be sheer folly. She turned to clear the table and then turned out the lights with a sigh. What would Marc think if he knew the truth? she wondered suddenly. Would he still be so keen to pursue her if he knew she was Garth Fraiser’s illegitimate daughter? The question taunted her as she made her way to her bedroom. Of course she would never have an answer; that was a secret she had to guard very close to her heart.

CHAPTER TWO

GARTH collected Sabrina promptly at ten the next morning and they drove out to the countryside in his Aston Martin.

It was a beautiful day. Sunshine played over the fresh green of the fields. The trees were knotted with buds ready to burst forward at any time and daffodils brightened the verges of the road.

Sabrina felt her spirits lift. Winter had been particularly grim for her and the promise of warmer, brighter days ahead was wonderful. It was like coming out of a long, dark tunnel into golden light.

She turned to Garth with a smile. ‘So where are we going? You’re being very mysterious.’

‘Well...’ He hesitated. ‘I thought it would be a good idea to bring you out to my house for lunch.’

‘Oh!’ She frowned. Somehow it didn’t seem right to go to his home, not when Nadine knew nothing about her; it seemed devious somehow. ‘What about your housekeeper? Won’t she think it’s funny that I’m having lunch with you?’

‘Don’t worry about Sadie; she’ll just think that you are coming to take notes. I’ve told her I’m having a working lunch.’ He smiled reassuringly at her. ‘I’ve decided we need to have a good heart-to-heart talk and the only place we won’t be interrupted is in my study.’

He was probably right. They did need to talk. It had been a hell of a shock to find out that Garth Fraiser was her father, especially when her mother had led her to believe that her father was dead. She still found it hard to comprehend.

She had spotted the advertisement for the job as Garth’s private secretary in a newspaper—or rather her mother had drawn her attention to it. It had been ideal, exactly what she had been looking for, and she had gone for an interview with high hopes. She’d known her qualifications were good and so were her references, but she’d also known that competition for the job would be stiff. She had been ecstatic when she’d got the job.

Working for Garth had been exhausting at times but she had enjoyed every moment of it. He had worked her hard but he had always been fair with her and she had respected him greatly.

Then just a few months ago when her mother had died in a tragic motorway accident, leaving Sabrina devastated, Garth had been wonderful. He had given her as much time off as she needed in order to sort things out. He had been kind and sympathetic and had even offered to help her with the arrangements for the funeral. At the time she had thought it was exceptionally kind of him, and she had been touched by his generosity, but she had never for one moment suspected the truth.

It had been two weeks after Lucy Harrington’s death that she’d discovered her diaries. It was then that she’d discovered that her mother had known Garth Fraiser years ago. That the two had in fact attended the same university and later they had both worked in the same law firm before Garth had got involved in politics. This had puzzled her intensely. Why hadn’t her mother mentioned that she knew her boss? Why the secrecy?

She had sat down to read the rest of the diaries with avid curiosity. What she had discovered had changed her whole life and she had been angry, bitterly angry that her mother had lied to her, that Garth had deceived her. Had he only given her the job as his secretary because of who she was? That question had haunted and humiliated her, and her first move had been to quit her job and to tell Garth Fraiser exactly what she thought of him.

Now her anger and her shock had cooled and she could feel sorrow at the situation, sympathy for her mother and for Garth. Lord, it was all such a mess. She pushed a hand through her hair in a distraught gesture. If only her mother had told her the truth... if only.

‘Damn!’ Garth pulled the car to a standstill at the gateway to a large Victorian house.

‘What is it?’ Sabrina’s gaze darted from her father to the house in front of them. Even as she asked the question she noticed the bright red Porsche parked on the gravel drive.

‘Marc’s here,’ Garth answered flatly.

Sabrina’s heart seemed to take up a rapid nervous tattoo immediately. ‘What should we do?’

With a sigh Garth started the car forward again. ‘Brazen it out,’ he muttered. ‘I’ll tell him you’ve come to do some important work for me. With a bit of luck he won’t stay.’ He grinned at her then. ‘Actually there is a stack of work you could do for me. I really miss you at the office, Brina; your replacement isn’t half as efficient.’

‘I’m sure you’re just being kind,’ Sabrina said lightly. ‘But thank you.’

‘No, I’m being honest,’ Garth replied earnestly as he pulled up outside his front door. ‘If you could see the state of my desk in there——’ he nodded towards the house ‘—you would know what I mean.’

As they got out of the car Garth glanced across at her. ‘Are you all right, Sabrina? You’ve gone awfully pale.’

‘I’m fine.’ It was a lie; she was far from fine. She had just remembered that she had told Marc she had a date this afternoon. What on earth was she going to say to him?

He was in the lounge idly flicking through a magazine, his long legs stretched out, his dark head resting against the pale gold brocade of the settee as if he had all the time in the world to kill. He stood up as they came in and his eyebrows lifted slightly as he took in Sabrina’s presence. ‘This is a pleasant surprise,’ he drawled softly. ‘I thought you had a date this afternoon, Sabrina?’

She could feel her cheeks going hotter under his intense scrutiny. ‘Would you believe he had to cancel me at the last moment?’ Somehow she managed to inject a humorous note into her voice. ‘Some important business cropped up.’ She hated lying like that; she could feel herself tensing up inside, waiting for lightning to strike her down for such a falsehood.

‘I do find it rather difficult to believe, actually.’ The hard words took her very much by surprise for a moment, then he softened them with a smile. ‘The man obviously has no sense.’

‘Well, his loss is my gain.’ Garth smiled. ‘Sabrina has very kindly offered to come and help me out with a bit of paperwork this afternoon.’

‘Very considerate.’ Marc’s dark eyes never left Sabrina’s face as he spoke.

‘Can I get you a drink, Marc?’ Garth moved towards the drinks cabinet and poured himself a whisky.

‘Actually, I wouldn’t mind a coffee,’ Marc replied easily.

‘Oh, right, I’ll just go and ask Sadie.’ Garth put down his drink and looked at Sabrina. ‘What about you, Brina? Would you like coffee or something stronger?’

‘Coffee would be nice.’ Sabrina sat down on one of the comfortable two-seater settees which were at each side of the fireplace. She wished Garth wouldn’t call her Brina in front of Marc... it sounded far too intimate.

They were left alone and Sabrina felt her nerves flutter apprehensively as she looked up at Garth’s stepson.

He leaned a hand against the mantelpiece and stared down at her for a moment as if in deep thought. Sabrina felt that familiar tug at the bottom of her stomach. He looked magnificent, she thought abruptly. He had a wonderful physique, broad shoulders tapering to narrow hips in the well-cut grey suit. She collided with his dark eyes and looked hurriedly away from him.

‘So how about dinner tonight?’ he asked suddenly into the silence.

She took a deep breath. ‘I can’t, Marc.’ It had never been so difficult to turn down a date; she desperately wanted to say yes.

‘Such loyalty,’ he murmured. ‘You must be very serious about this man, to let him stand you up and still remain so devoted.’

She shrugged and her mind searched for some answer. The awful thing about telling lies was that it seemed to snowball; you told one small one and then others had invariably to follow. It was like painting a picture—you were never quite sure when you had finished; you could keep adding things and adding things and end up in a real muddle.

‘He didn’t stand me up,’ she said in a dignified tone. ‘He rang me and told me he couldn’t make it.’

‘Oh, I see.’ Marc’s lips curved in a cynical smile. ‘Who is this paragon of virtue, anyway?’

There it was, the question she had been dreading. ‘Oh, you wouldn’t know him,’ she said airily. ‘He... he’s in computers.’

‘Really?’ There was that tinge of sardonic humour in his voice again. Sabrina frowned, but before she had time to analyse Marc’s attitude Garth came back into the room.

‘Coffee will be along in a moment,’ he said brightly, looking from Sabrina towards his stepson. ‘So, Marc, what brings you out to see me today?’

‘Actually I was rather hoping I could pick your brains about a legal matter,’ Marc said easily. ‘I’m in the process of buying a factory in Germany and there were a couple of things I wouldn’t have minded asking your opinion on.’

‘Oh?’ Garth looked extremely surprised at this. ‘Well, you know I’m always willing to give my considered opinion.’

‘Yes, but I can see you are rather...tied up, so I won’t impose on you this afternoon,’ Marc said, his eyes slipping over Sabrina.

‘Well, how about tomorrow?’ Garth said hopefully. ‘I have——’

‘It will be too late tomorrow. I have a meeting on it this afternoon.’ Marc shrugged. ‘But don’t worry about it, Garth. I’ll sort it out.’

There was a moment’s silence and Garth looked helplessly at Sabrina. Sabrina knew he was torn in two. Obviously he wanted to help Marc out.

‘If you like, I’ll make a start at clearing up that desk for you, Garth,’ she said softly. ‘I’m sure I’ll manage on my own while you discuss this business with Marc. If I have any problems I’ll come in and ask you.’

‘You don’t mind?’ Garth asked in a dubious tone.

She shook her head.

‘That’s really very good of you,’ Marc said smoothly.

As she glanced across at him she thought she detected a gleam of satisfaction in his dark eyes. It was almost as if he had just engineered that situation. That idea was so ludicrous that she dismissed it immediately.

‘I’m really sorry about this,’ Garth said in a worried tone as he showed her into his study a few minutes later.

‘It’s all right, Garth, really it is,’ she reassured him.

‘But it’s not all right,’ he grated impatiently. ‘I wanted so much to have a few quiet moments where we could just sort ourselves out.’

‘Never mind.’ Sabrina glanced at his desk with a smile. ‘At least I can put this into some sort of order for you.’

He grimaced as he took in the chaos that was spread over the large rosewood desk. ‘I meant for you to have a relaxing afternoon,’ he sighed. ‘You know, I’m really surprised that Marc’s asking my advice. I know I have a degree in law but he has a battery of high-powered solicitors to advise him.’

‘Must be something you’ve had prior experience of,’ Sabrina answered lightly, her mind already occupied with sorting through the correspondence on Garth’s desk.

‘I’ll be as quick as I can,’ Garth said with determination.

In the event he was nearly three hours. Garth’s housekeeper brought her coffee and then a little later some light lunch. By that time Sabrina had reorganised Garth’s desk for him and put his filing cabinet back in order. She was just closing it when some photographs at the far end of the room caught her attention.

She walked across to have a closer look at them. There was one of Garth with his wife Nadine and their daughter Madeline. She picked it up to have a closer look. Sabrina had never met Madeline, who had been living in the States for the last two years. Garth had often spoken about her, though, in very glowing terms. Madeline was just twenty years of age and an extremely talented artist.

Sabrina was filled with curiosity as she looked at that picture of her half-sister. After all these years of thinking she was an only child it was so strange to suddenly find out she had a sister. Not that it made any difference, she thought sadly. She would probably never get to meet Madeline.

The door opened behind her and Marc came in. ‘Finished your work?’ he asked drily, his eyes taking in her relaxed stance by the mantelpiece.

She frowned. It almost sounded as if he didn’t believe that she had been working. ‘Yes, I have actually.’

He came to stand beside her and glanced at the framed photograph in her hands. ‘My half-sister Madeline,’ he informed her.

He reached for another photograph. ‘And this is my mother and Garth on their wedding-day’

Sabrina glanced at the smiling, happy picture of Garth and Nadine and nodded. ‘Yes, I’ve seen that photograph before. Garth has it on his desk at Westminster.’

‘Garth’s very devoted to my mother,’ Marc said matter-of-factly as he put the picture down again. ‘I think they are still as much in love today as they were back then.’

‘Yes, they seem very happy,’ she said lightly.

For a moment his gaze locked on her heart-shaped face. ‘You seem very fond of Garth,’ he said quietly.

She looked away from him. Sometimes there was a look in Marc’s dark gaze that was deeply disturbing. ‘Yes, I am. He’s been very good to me.’

‘Garth has a kind heart.’ He paused before continuing. ‘It would be very easy to play on his sympathy.’

Sabrina looked up at him with a frown. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

He smiled, then reached out a hand to tip her chin upwards so that she was forced to hold his dark gaze. ‘Perhaps I’m just a little jealous? After all, you seem to spend a lot of time with Garth and I can’t get so much as a lunch date out of you.’

She laughed breathlessly at that, unsure whether to take that comment seriously or not. ‘That’s ridiculous ... I’m doing work for Garth.’

‘You could always come and do some work for me.’ He was standing very close to her, she noticed suddenly, her heart skipping a beat nervously. ‘What do you say?’ he asked huskily. ‘Shall we go out for lunch tomorrow and discuss it?’

‘Marc, I——’ Her polite refusal was cut short abruptly as his head lowered towards hers. ‘Marc,’ she whispered in a helpless tone as his lips brushed against hers. The kiss was gentle at first but it sent shock-waves racing straight through Sabrina. She felt herself leaning weakly against the soft material of his jacket. Then she was kissing him back, her whole body trembling as she arched towards him, hungry for the sensuous heat spiralling through her.

He was the one to pull back from her, his hands resting on her shoulders as he looked down at her. ‘Shall I pick you up at about ten o’clock?’ he murmured. He sounded so cool and calm while Sabrina felt as if a time bomb had just started to tick inside her.

Confused at the way she had just responded to that kiss, Sabrina could only stare at him for a moment. ‘I...I don’t know.’ She shook her head, trying to clear it of her muddled thoughts. ‘Isn’t ten o’clock a little early for lunch?’

For a brief moment there was a glimmer of triumph in his dark eyes. ‘Not for what I have in mind,’ he drawled softly. Then his hands left her shoulders.

She felt strangely bereft as he moved away from her. ‘So ten o’clock it is,’ he said decisively and Sabrina had the strange sensation of being carried along with something that was already out of control.

Garth joined them at that moment. ‘There you are, Marc,’ he said, looking slightly harassed. ‘I’m sorry about that. Nadine has just been on the phone—she says she will be flying home tonight after all.’

‘Well, that’s marvellous news.’ Marc smiled at Sabrina. ‘Can I give you a lift back to town now that you’ve finished here?’ he asked silkily.

‘It’s all right, Marc, I’ll drop Sabrina back,’ Garth cut in quickly. ‘There are one or two things I want to discuss with her before she goes.’

Marc shrugged. ‘As you wish.’ For a brief moment his eyes rested on Sabrina. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow,’ he said calmly.

Sabrina sat down for a moment as Marc left the room. Her legs felt as shaky as if she had just run a marathon.

‘What was that all about?’ Garth asked with a frown as his eyes moved over her pale features.

She shrugged. ‘He’s...he’s taking me for lunch tomorrow.’

Silence met that remark and she looked up at him with anxious eyes. ‘You don’t mind, do you?’

‘No... no.’ Garth raked an unsteady hand through his hair. ‘Are you serious about him, Brina?’

Sabrina gave a nervous laugh. ‘I hardly know him, Garth.’

For a moment there was silence as Garth regarded her silently. ‘My stepson is a good man...a bit of a womaniser. He has a tendency to break hearts——’

‘Really, Garth, you don’t need to worry. I can take care of myself,’ she cut across him hastily, but he looked unconvinced.

‘Damn it all, Sabrina... I’ve made such a mess of everything, I should have told my wife about you years ago: I feel I’ve let her down, and you and Marc——’

‘Don’t say that, Garth,’ Sabrina interrupted him sadly. ‘You haven’t let anyone down. It wasn’t as if you had the affair with my mother while you were married to Nadine.’

‘No... but I was married when I met your mother.’ He saw the look of shock on her face. ‘You didn’t know?’

She shook her head. ‘There was nothing about that in my mother’s diary.’

For a moment Garth’s face was lit with a ghost of a smile. ‘Dear Lucy. She hated the deceit. She felt terribly guilty.’

Sabrina could hardly take in what he was saying. She couldn’t believe that her mother would have had an affair with a married man; it seemed so out of character.

The shrill ring of the phone interrupted the silence. Garth turned impatiently towards it and flicked on the answering machine. ‘Let’s walk out in the garden,’ he suggested gently. ‘At least out there we will have no interruptions.’

She nodded. She wanted to hear Garth’s story... she wanted to try and place the pieces together in her mind. Maybe then she could understand why her mother had kept so many secrets from her.

Despite the sunshine it was cold outside. Garth linked his arm through hers. ‘Are you warm enough, sweetheart?’

For a moment the concern in her father’s voice made Sabrina’s eyes mist with tears. She nodded, and he patted her hand. ‘Come on; I’ll give you a tour of my lovely gardens,’ he said gently.

The landscape was very beautiful, and for a little while they walked in silence, just drinking in the colourful spring flowers as they both collected their thoughts.

Then Garth began his story and Sabrina forgot her surroundings as her mind closely followed his every word.

‘You know, you are a lot like your mother,’ he said with a sad smile. ‘I thought the world of Lucy; her death was a terrible shock.’

‘Yes, I miss her terribly, Garth,’ she said huskily. ‘We were so close... at least I thought we were close.’ Her voice broke for a moment. ‘I just can’t understand why she didn’t tell me about you. I feel as if I’ve been living a lie all my life.’

‘Lucy did what she thought was best,’ Garth said gently. ‘I know she loved you very much; she never meant to hurt you.’

‘Then why didn’t she tell me?’ Sabrina demanded, a note of anger in her tone now. ‘She lied to me, Garth. She told me that my father was dead.’

‘You have every right to be angry. But you have to remember that your mother was only young when she was expecting you. Attitudes to unmarried mothers have changed radically since then. In your mother’s day it was very hard...’ He trailed off and for a moment he seemed lost in thought. ‘Lucy was such a beautiful woman... very spirited, very stubborn.’ He sighed. ‘She was about your age when I met her. She was an idealist—she had dreams of being a famous lawyer, a force to be reckoned with in the London courtrooms.’

‘She didn’t do so badly.’ Sabrina smiled. Despite everything she was proud of her mother. She had been a very strong woman, a successful lawyer who had been highly respected.

‘We had an affair.’ Garth ran a hand through his thick hair. ‘I was already married to a woman called Jessica when I met your mother.’

‘Your wife didn’t understand you.’ Sabrina’s voice for a moment was angry.

He sighed. ‘I know it sounds bad, but Jessica and I were not in love. We were more or less going our different ways when I met your mother. Jessica was seeing another man, a very wealthy man whom she had set her sights on once she had discovered that I was not as lucrative a proposition as she had thought.’

‘So if you loved my mother so much, why didn’t you divorce your wife and marry her?’ Sabrina’s voice was dry.

‘Oh, believe me, I would have.’ He shook his head emphatically. ‘But when I asked Jessica for a divorce she became hysterical. Suddenly I was the most important thing in the world. Obviously the man she had been seeing was not interested in making an honest woman of her.’ His mouth twisted bitterly. ‘So she figured that she would hang on to me.’

Sabrina could hear the pain in his voice and she reached out a hand to cover his. ‘You don’t have to tell me this,’ she said suddenly. ‘It doesn’t matter; it’s in the past now.’

‘Oh, it does matter. You see, the past has a way of shaping the future.’ For a moment he was silent. ‘Jessica and I had a dreadful row, and I said things I shouldn’t have...cruel things. She ran out of the apartment and straight in front of a car.’

‘Oh, Garth!’ Sabrina stopped and turned to look at him, shocked by what he had told her.

‘She recovered for a short while but she was in a wheelchair.’ Garth stared at her. ‘She needed me, Sabrina, and I felt so goddamned guilty.’

‘So you finished with my mother?’

He nodded. ‘It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.’ There was a far-away look in his eyes for a moment. ‘She must have known that she was pregnant when I finished with her, but she never told me.’

‘I suppose she didn’t want you to feel trapped.’

‘Yes, I suppose so.’ He smiled sadly. ‘The awful thing was that Jessica died six months later. But by that time your mother had moved and I had no idea where she was.’

Sabrina lowered her eyes from his and there was silence for a moment as both were lost in their own private worlds.

Then she looked up at him sadly. ‘I sometimes think that fate chooses the paths for our lives. Maybe you and my mother were just never meant to be.’

‘Maybe. About four years later I met Nadine. She was a widow with a young son and I was a widower.’ He smiled at Sabrina. ‘We comforted each other and I fell very much in love with her. I never did tell her about my affair with your mother. She was so sympathetic about my losing my wife—how could I tell her that I had been unfaithful to her?’ Garth shook his head. ‘Even now I feel guilty when I think about Jessica.’

Sabrina understood Garth’s reluctance to tell Nadine. Maybe if he had told her right at the beginning that his marriage to Jessica had been a mistake she would have understood. But to have to tell her now would be hard.

‘Anyway I thought that I would never see your mother again and then one day I bumped into her in the middle of Oxford Street. I could hardly believe my eyes. It was six years since I had last seen her. We went and had a drink together.’ Garth pushed a shaking hand through his hair. ‘I told her I was married with a baby daughter and a stepson. She told me about you. You can imagine my shock.’

Sabrina could indeed.

‘I don’t know, Sabrina, maybe I let you down and maybe I took the coward’s way out, but when she told me that things were better left as they were I agreed with her.’

Sabrina blinked back sudden tears.

‘She had already told you that your father was dead. And I had to consider Nadine. I do love her——’

‘It’s all right, Garth. I understand,’ she broke across him hastily, understanding him and loving him for being so upset, for caring about what she thought.

He smiled at her. ‘When I needed a secretary and I knew you were looking for a job I couldn’t resist asking your mother to point you in my direction. I wanted so much to know you. I wasn’t disappointed by the young woman I met.’

His eyes moved gently over her face, noting the emotion in the deep blue eyes, and he placed a comforting arm around her shoulder. ‘I’m sorry I’ve made a mess of things,’ he whispered softly. ‘That I’ve upset you so much.’

‘It’s a relief to know everything, to be honest.’ She smiled tremulously at him.

He smiled back. ‘It’s your birthday on Saturday, isn’t it?’ he asked suddenly.

She nodded, surprised that he knew. She had almost forgotten about it herself, there had been so much on her mind recently.

‘Let me take you out somewhere to celebrate. Lunch or dinner; you choose.’

Sabrina hesitated for a moment and bit down sharply on her lip; she felt totally out of her depth with all of this. ‘I don’t know, Garth...’

‘You don’t want me in your life, is that it?’ His voice sounded unbearably strained.

‘I... no.’ She shook her head. ‘No, it’s not that at all.’ If the truth were known, Sabrina desperately wanted Garth in her life. She wanted to know her father. She stumbled, then looked up at him with wide glimmering eyes. ‘But let’s face it, Garth, the situation is a mess. Your family don’t know about your affair with my mother or about me. You are a man who is very much in the public eye. Can you really afford to have me in your life?’

He was silent for a moment. ‘I admit that I’m scared about telling Nadine and, yes, my career is important and it is in a difficult period of transition at the moment.’

She nodded. ‘I understand more than you think, Garth. Even a whisper of scandal could be very damaging to you at the moment.’

He knew that what she was saying was right—she could see it in the over-bright gleam of his eyes. ‘You could still come to Brussels with me as my secretary. Then when things have settled down...’

She shook her head.

‘Think about it, Brina.’ He reached across and took hold of her hand. ‘Please.’

Her eyes shone with tears. ‘Oh, Garth, I just don’t know anything any more.’

‘Come on,’ he said gently. ‘Let’s walk some more.’ He tucked his arm around her shoulder as she shivered suddenly.

Both of them were so caught up in their conversation that they didn’t see the man who was leaning against a tree at the bottom of the garden, a zoom-lens camera trained directly on them.

CHAPTER THREE

SABRINA had never been as nervous about a date as she was about lunch with Marc Kingsley. She paid special attention to her hair and make-up that day and took ages deciding what to wear.

She decided finally on a cream linen suit that had a short skirt and a long-line jacket. She teamed it with a peach silk blouse. The effect was both stylish and yet sensual. As she surveyed her appearance in the mirror she was comforted by the fact that she looked serene and calm. She would hate Marc to know just what chaos he had wrought to her system by that one kiss.

The effects of that kiss still remained with her now. She could feel heat rising inside her when she remembered how she had pressed close against him, how soft and skilled his mouth had felt against hers. She swallowed hard as she tried to dismiss the memory.

When the front doorbell rang she felt her stomach tying itself into knots. With a last glance in the mirror she went to let him in.

‘Good morning.’ Marc’s manner was brisk, but the eyes that swept over her appearance were very complimentary.

‘Would you like a coffee or anything before we leave?’ Sabrina invited softly.

He shook his head. ‘No time.’

‘Oh?’

He ignored the question in her eyes and smiled. ‘Are you ready?’

She nodded and turned to pick up her handbag.

‘And don’t forget your passport,’ he said casually.

‘My passport...’ She looked around at him in complete surprise. ‘Why do I need that?’

‘If you run along and get it, I’ll tell you on the way,’ he said with infuriating calm.

Sabrina’s hand wasn’t quite steady as she opened the drawer of her bureau and took out her passport. Where on earth was he taking her? she wondered. Her heart thudded with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. Even a lunch date with Marc Kingsley felt like an adventure.

He looked exceptionally stylish this morning. He was wearing a dark suit that seemed to emphasise his dark good looks, his hair gleaming almost blue-black in the spring sunshine.

She was surprised to find that he wasn’t in his red Porsche this morning. Instead a long black limousine waited at the kerb, and a uniformed chauffeur held the door for them as they climbed into the luxurious seats.

‘This is very decadent.’ Sabrina smiled at Marc a little shyly.

‘Practical,’ he told her crisply. ‘I find it easier to have a chauffeur when I make business trips. I can carry on with my work as we travel and I don’t waste any time.’

‘I see.’ Her eyebrows rose slightly. ‘Am I to take it we are on a business trip?’

He pursed his lips thoughtfully. ‘No, I just don’t want to waste time.’ Then he grinned at her. It was a deliciously wicked grin that did incredible things to her heart-rate.

‘Champagne?’ He leaned forward and pulled down a cabinet in front of them. Packed very neatly inside there were rows of bottles and crystal glasses, including a silver bucket with a chilled bottle of champagne.

‘It’s a little early for me,’ Sabrina murmured. She wasn’t used to drinking in the middle of the day at the best of times and, accompanied by such a suave, handsome man, she was frightened of lowering any of her barriers... especially to Marc Kingsley.

‘Nonsense.’ The champagne cork flew off with an almighty pop and the champagne flowed with frothy enthusiasm into two crystal glasses. ‘It’s never too early to start celebrating.’ He handed her the glass and she accepted it with only a moment’s pause.

‘What are we celebrating?’ she asked, wrinkling her nose as bubbles tickled it.

For a moment he considered her question. ‘Why, spring of course and the rising sap.’

She caught his eye and had to laugh. ‘You are incorrigible, Marc Kingsley,’ she said with a shake of her head.

‘I hope so.’ He reached across to top up her glass as she took a drink from its golden contents.

‘I hope you’re not trying to get me drunk,’ she said in a mock-teasing voice, ‘because it won’t work.’

One dark eyebrow rose at that. ‘My dear girl, I have never had to stoop so low.’ This time there was no laughter in his tone.

Sabrina could well believe it, and immediately she felt a little embarrassed at making such a comment.

‘Anyway, what do you mean, it won’t work?’ he went on to ask, the laughter back in his eyes.

Sabrina smiled and let the question pass without comment. ‘So where are we going for lunch?’

‘A lovely little restaurant I know on the Left Bank.’

For a moment Sabrina was puzzled. ‘The left bank of what?’

‘The Seine,’ he said matter-of-factly.

‘The Seine... in Paris?’ Her voice rose a little with the thrill of it.

‘No, in Clacton,’ he said with a teasing light in his eyes. ‘Yes, of course, Paris,’ he finished with a grin. ‘Where else would we go on such a magnificent spring day?’

She smiled and matched his nonchalant tone. ‘Of course... where else?’

Sabrina had never experienced such a day before. Marc was so amusing and so laid-back about everything. He whisked her into the first-class lounge at the airport and then almost immediately they were on board the aircraft. From then it was just half an hour before they were putting down in Paris.

She was on her third glass of champagne by the time they were being chauffeur-driven along the banks of the River Seine.

‘I can’t believe this,’ Sabrina murmured as she looked out at the sparkling water and the majestic buildings lit with the brilliance of spring sunshine.

‘Can’t you?’ He looked across at her, and then to her surprise he reached for her hand and pressed it close to his lips. ‘I could offer you the world, Sabrina,’ he said huskily. ‘Whatever you want, I could give you.’

Her heart seemed to flutter in some strange way as she looked into his eyes. She didn’t want anything, she realised with one strange jolt. It was enough to have him look at her like that.

She pulled her hand away from his, confused by her emotions. She couldn’t afford to get involved with Marc Kingsley, she told herself fiercely. This was a one-off. For the sake of her father, she had to remember that.

‘Have I said something wrong?’ he asked softly.

‘No...’ She shook her head, then forced herself to smile at him.

He didn’t return her smile. ‘I take it you are thinking about the other man in your life?’ His deep voice was suddenly spiced with an emotion Sabrina found hard to define.

‘No...’ She shook her head, but she could tell he wasn’t convinced. His lean features had a hard look to them suddenly, and his eyes glittered with cold, harsh light.

‘You’re a fool, Sabrina... he won’t leave his wife for you,’ he said grimly.

For a moment she was so stunned that she couldn’t answer him. ‘What...what on earth makes you think I would go out with a married man?’ she spluttered at last.

He shrugged nonchalantly. ‘It was just a passing notion.’

‘Well, I would let it pass if I were you,’ she said in a very angry tone.

He looked at her closely. It was so hard to tell what went on behind those cool, watchful eyes, she thought with a shiver.

‘If that’s what you want,’ he said at last.

‘Yes, it is.’ Sabrina frowned indignantly. Why had he assumed she was seeing a married man?

‘Come on.’ Marc leaned forward and tapped the glass partition. ‘You can leave us here,’ he said to the driver. ‘Pick us up at the restaurant at about four.’

The car pulled smoothly to a halt. ‘We may as well walk from here,’ Marc said, holding out a hand to her as she moved towards the door.

She ignored his outstretched hand and alighted to the pavement without help.

‘You’re not going to spend the rest of the afternoon in a sulk, are you, Sabrina?’ he asked as he closed the door and the limousine pulled away from them into the busy flow of traffic.

She caught his eye and then smiled. ‘I don’t sulk. I was just irritated that you could make such a rash assumption.’

‘I’ve made my fortune by them,’ he said in a dry voice. ‘You will have to forgive me.’

‘I’ll think about it.’ But she was already forgetting about it. It was such a glorious day. The sun sparkled over the wide boulevards with their grand buildings, the horse chestnuts were starting to unfurl their green banners; the feeling of spring was everywhere.

‘I love this time of year,’ she said, breathing in deeply.

His lips tugged into a lazy smile and he reached for her hand. ‘It’s a time for lovers to stroll hand in hand,’ he said in a low tone that sent Sabrina’s heart into overdrive.

She didn’t try to pull away from him; instead she allowed herself to savour the feeling of his warm skin next to hers. They walked along the banks of the Seine in silence for a while and for a moment Sabrina felt more relaxed than she had for a long time.

‘How old are you, Marc?’ she asked suddenly.

He looked at her with an amused glint in his eyes. ‘Thirty-six... why?’

She shrugged. ‘I was just wondering about you, that’s all.’

‘What were you wondering?’

‘Well... why you’re not married... don’t you want to settle down, have children?’ It must have been the champagne. She would never have asked him such a question ordinarily.

To her surprise he considered her question. ‘I would like children one day,’ he said seriously. ‘I’ve just never met anyone I want to settle down with.’

‘Garth says you are a heartbreaker.’ The words just slipped out and she regretted them immediately.

‘Does he now?’ Marc’s voice was arid.

‘Oh, don’t get me wrong. Garth thinks the world of you,’ she continued hurriedly. ‘He was just...concerned.’

“That you might fall for me?’ He looked at her with a strange expression in his eyes.

‘No...’ Sabrina trailed off, wishing she had never started this conversation.

‘Did you tell Garth you were coming out with me today?’ he asked abruptly.

‘Yes, of course.’ Sabrina looked over at Marc. For a moment his expression looked harsh and remote, then he caught her watching him and smiled, making her wonder if she had imagined that look.

‘Are you hungry?’ he asked now.

She nodded. It was amazing but she was; for the first time in ages she had a real appetite.

They ate lunch in a beautiful restaurant that looked out over the river. It had a stylish ambience and Sabrina was very glad that she had taken so much trouble over her appearance that day.

The food was excellent. Sabrina chose seafood while Marc went for steak washed down with some excellent wine.

Later, as she listened to him speaking French to the waiters, Sabrina was reminded forcibly that he was half French and that he lived most of the time out here. He wasn’t in London very often. That thought upset her more than she had thought possible. How ridiculous, she chided herself. She couldn’t get involved with Marc anyway. It wasn’t fair to Garth and it wasn’t fair to Marc. You couldn’t possibly have any kind of relationship with a man that you had to keep such a large secret from.