Devil Lover. Carole Mortimer

he added enticingly.

      Regan laughingly took a chocolate eclair, her favourite. ‘I bet you and Helena are great friends,’ she smiled. ‘You seem to have a way with females.’

      He shook his head. ‘I'm afraid Helena is off me at the moment.’

      ‘She's at an awkward age. I'm sure she'll soon get over whatever it is you've done to upset her.’

      ‘Not that little lady. Helena isn't one to forget anything, but then neither is her father.’

      Regan finished her cream cake, wiping her chocolate-covered fingers on the napkin. Ordinarily she would have licked them clean, but she couldn't do that in front of this man. It just wasn't fair how he managed to eat his without even seeming to get in the least sticky. And he didn't look in the least like a man who would bear a grudge. But then what did she really know about him? Nothing, except the polite friendly side of his character he had shown during this interview.

      ‘When could you start work?’ he asked now.

      She shrugged. ‘Whenever you want me to. I've been taking a holiday since college finished, but that's over now. I can start at any time.’

      ‘Let's see, today is Thursday. I have to drive down on Sunday to pick up a few things. Could you be ready to go by then?’

      It would take a bit of organising, but she would do it somehow. ‘That would be fine,’ she nodded.

      ‘Nine o'clock suit you?’

      Goodness, on a Sunday too! ‘Any time that suits you,’ she assured him. Her first interview and she had got the job! It was fantastic.

      ‘Then nine o'clock it is. It's quite a drive, pretty hazardous towards the end. The house is quite remote, very minor roads the last ten miles or so. I usually stay to lunch and leave straight after.’

      ‘That can't give you much time with Helena.’

      ‘Enough,’ he grimaced. ‘A little of Helena goes a long way. Sorry,’ he grinned, ‘I mustn't put you off before you start!’

      It wasn't putting her off at all. His aversion to spending time with his daughter reminded Regan of her own father's absences during her own childhood, and her sympathies all lay with Helena. Her father had been a busy man too, travelling the world for his work and pleasure, and in the ten years of her life before he was killed she had probably seen him for a year of that time. Aunt Edith and Uncle Fred had brought her up as their own daughter, and although her father had often mocked them for their staidness, they had had no hesitation in adopting her when her father had died.

      ‘I haven't put you off, have I?’ Clive Western must have noticed the shadows in her eyes.

      ‘Not at all,’ she answered coolly. ‘I'm looking forward to meeting Helena.’

      ‘That's fine, then.’ He stood up in conclusion of the interview. ‘I'm sorry to rush you, but I have another appointment at four o'clock.’ He gave her a warm smile.

      Regan stood up too, her handbag clutched primly in front of her. She still couldn't believe she had got this job! ‘Are you sure I'll be suitable?’ she asked anxiously. ‘My qualifications——’

      ‘Already discussed with the agency. I'll let them know you've accepted the job.’

      ‘I'm sure you're too busy——’

      ‘They'll want their fee, Miss Thomas,’ he interrupted dryly. ‘Which means I have to contact them anyway.’

      ‘Oh—oh yes,’ she blushed at her stupidity.

      ‘Sunday, then?’

      ‘Yes,’ she confirmed.

      She was still smiling when she walked past the man in the reception area, receiving a smile back. She called in and did some shopping before going back to the flat she shared with Lindy. She was in the kitchen when she heard her friend's key in the lock an hour later.

      Lindy burst into the room. ‘Did you get it?’ She pulled out the grill plate to reveal the steaks cooking there. ‘You got it,’ she laughed.

      ‘I did.’ Regan opened the fridge door to reveal a bottle of wine she had also purchased. ‘To celebrate.’

      ‘Mm!’ Lindy licked her lips. ‘Can we start on that now?’

      ‘Wait until the steaks are ready.’

      Lindy sat down on one of the two bar stools they possessed. ‘What was Mr Western like?’ she asked eagerly.

      ‘Very good-looking. Very charming too.’

      ‘Any chance of you and him——’

      ‘Certainly not,’ Regan instantly denied, although the warmth in Clive Western's eyes had occasionally been a little too warm for comfort. A little encouragement from her, and who knows? Thank heavens he travelled a lot. It wouldn't do to become romantically involved with her employer.

      Lindy shrugged. ‘Just curious. What's the little girl like?’

      ‘She's a young lady,’ Regan corrected firmly. ‘I'm sure you didn't like being called a little girl at sixteen. And I didn't get to meet her, she's at their house in Cornwall. Apparently she lives there most of the time.’

      ‘Does that mean——’

      ‘It means,’ Regan checked the steaks once more, turning them over for the last time, ‘I shall be going to Cornwall to live, and that Christopher will be able to move in here on Sunday afternoon.’

      Lindy blushed. ‘Don't be like that, Regan! Christopher will be using your bedroom, not sharing mine. We only want to see how we get on living together. It isn't going to be easy to work a marriage around my shift work at the hospital.’

      Lindy was training to be a nurse, and her hours were a little strange, including several months of night work each year. She and Christopher McGrath had been dating for over a year now, and while they were just going out together Lindy's work didn't interfere too much, but it could be a different matter when taken in conjunction with the commitment of marriage. And so the young couple had decided to try living together for a while, with separate sleeping arrangements, to see how things worked out between them.

      Regan kept an open mind about the idea, not sure she would want to do that herself. But then she had never been put to that sort of test, never caring enough for any of her boy-friends to want any more than a casual friendship with them. But she knew Lindy and Christopher genuinely cared for each other, and perhaps it was better to find any loopholes in the idea of marriage between them before they actually went ahead and did it.

      Lindy frowned. ‘Sunday, you said? Is that when you start the job?’

      Regan nodded. ‘Mr Western is driving down to see his daughter and offered to take me with him. It will save me having to get a train.’

      ‘Bit short notice, though, isn't it?’

      Regan served their meal, sitting beside her friend at the breakfast bar. The two of them had shared a flat ever since they had met in a youth hostel two years ago, and the arrangement had worked out very well, although after growing up with two male cousins Regan had found it strange to be suddenly living with a girl.

      She shrugged now. ‘I've had a couple of weeks break, and it isn't as if I can't start any time. Besides, now I know I have the job I just want to get down to it.’

      ‘You're taking a risk not actually meeting this girl. She could turn out to be a little horror.’

      ‘Mr Western more or less told me she is,’ Regan said calmly.

      ‘Charming!’

      ‘She just needs attention. She seems to have most things money can buy, but not too much tender loving care.’

      ‘Which you intend to rectify,’ Lindy teased.

      ‘I'm going to try.