Married By Christmas. Carole Mortimer

Just Lilli...’ He slowly released her hand, although his gaze still easily held hers. ‘As we’re both bored with this party, what do you suggest we do with ourselves for the rest of the evening?’ He quirked mocking lips.

      She laughed softly, well versed in the art of seduction herself. ‘What do you suggest we do?’ she encouraged softly.

      He turned back to sit with his elbows resting on the table, sipping his wine. ‘Well...we could count how many patterned tiles there are on the wall over there.’ He nodded to the wall opposite.

      Lilli didn’t so much as glance at them. ‘I have no interest in counting tiles, patterned or otherwise,’ she returned dryly, drinking some of her own wine. He was right—this wine was much nicer than champagne. It was taking away the numbness she had felt earlier, too.

      ‘No? Oh, well.’ He shrugged at the playful shake of her head, refilling her glass. ‘We could swap life stories?’

      ‘Definitely not!’ There was an edge of bitterness to her laugh this time.

      He pursed his lips thoughtfully. ‘You’re probably right,’ he said. ‘We could bake a cake? We’re certainly in the right place for it!’ He looked about them.

      ‘Can you cook?’ Lilli prompted; he didn’t look as if he knew one end of a cooker—or Aga!—from the other!

      He grinned at her, showing very white and even teeth—and unlike most of the men here tonight, she would swear that he’d had none of them capped. ‘No one has yet complained about my toast,’ he drawled. ‘And I’ve been told I pour a mean glass of orange juice!’

      She nodded as he gave her the answer she had expected. ‘And a mean glass of wine.’ She raised her glass as if in a salute to him.

      He poured the last of the wine into her glass. ‘I’ll open another bottle.’ He stood up, moving confidently about the kitchen, walking to the cupboard at the back of the room, emerging triumphantly seconds later with a second bottle of the same wine.

      Which he then proceeded to open deftly, refilling his own glass before sitting down next to Lilli once again. ‘Your turn. To make some suggestions,’ he elaborated huskily at her questioning look.

      His words themselves were suggestive, but at this particular moment Lilli didn’t care. She was actually enjoying herself, and after the shock she had received earlier this evening that was something in itself.

      ‘Let me see...’ She made a show of giving it some thought, happily playing along with the game. ‘Do you play chess?’

      ‘Tolerably,’ he replied.

      ‘Hmm. Draughts?’

      ‘A champion,’ he assured her confidently. ‘That’s the one with the black and white discs—’

      ‘Not draughts, either,’ Lilli laughed, green eyes glowing, her cheeks warm, whether from the effect of the wine and champagne, or their verbal flirtation, she wasn’t really sure.

      And she didn’t care, either. This man was a special friend of Geraldine Simms’, she was sure of it, and at this moment she had one hundred per cent of his attention. Wonderful!

      ‘Snakes and ladders?’ she suggested lightly.

      ‘Yes...’ he answered slowly. ‘Although my sister always said I cheated when we played as children; I used to go up the snakes and down the ladders!’

      Lilli laughed again. Either the man really was funny, or else the wine was taking effect; either way, this was the most fun she had had in a long time. ‘I used to do that too,’ she confided, lightly touching his arm, instantly feeling the steely strength beneath his jacket. ‘And there’s no way we can play if we both cheat!’

      ‘True,’ he agreed, suddenly very close, his face mere inches away from hers now. ‘You know, Just Lilli, there’s one game I have an idea we’re both good at—and at which neither of us cheats!’ His voice was mesmerisingly low now, his aftershave faintly elusive, but at the same time completely masculine. ‘What do you say to the two of us—?’

      ‘Patrick!’ A feminine voice, slightly raised with impatience, interrupted him. ‘Why aren’t you at the party?’

      He held Lilli’s eyes for several seconds longer, a promise in his own, lightly squeezing her hand as it still rested on his arm, before turning to face the source of that feminine impatience. ‘Because I prefer to be here,’ he answered firmly. ‘And, luckily for me, so does Lilli.’

      ‘Lilli...?’ The woman sounded startled now.

      So much so that Lilli finally turned to look at her too. Geraldine Simms! She looked far from pleased to see the two of them sitting so close together, Patrick’s hand still resting slightly possessively on Lilli’s.

      Lilli looked coldly at the other woman. ‘Geraldine,’ she greeted her hardly.

      ‘I didn’t realise you were here,’ Geraldine said faintly.

      She could easily have guessed that! ‘Sally Walker telephoned me earlier and persuaded me to come with her.’ Lilli finished abruptly, ‘Wonderful party,’ her sarcasm barely veiled.

      ‘So wonderful Lilli and I were just about to leave.’ Patrick stood up, lightly pulling Lilli to her feet beside him, his arm moving about the slenderness of her waist now. ‘Weren’t we,’ he prompted.

      As far as Lilli was aware—no, but it did seem like an excellent idea.

      She turned her head slightly to give Geraldine a triumphant look. ‘Yes, we were just about to leave,’ she agreed brightly.

      ‘But—’ Geraldine looked flustered, not at all her usually confident self. ‘Patrick, you can’t leave!’ She looked at him beseechingly, not at all certain of herself—or him.

      His arm tightened about Lilli’s waist. ‘Watch me,’ he stated determinedly.

      ‘But—’ Geraldine wrung her hands together. ‘Patrick, I threw this party partly for you—’

      ‘I hate parties, you know that.’ There was a hard edge to his voice that hadn’t been there when he’d flirted with Lilli. ‘I’ll come back tomorrow when all of this is over. In the meantime, I intend booking into a hotel for the night. Unless Lilli has any other ideas?’ he added, looking at her with raised brows.

      ‘Just Lilli’ had realised, from the conversation between these two, that the original plan must have been for Patrick to spend the night here. And, considering Geraldine’s intimacy with the man she had been draped over in the other room, that was no mean feat in itself; what did this woman do, line them up in relays? Whatever, Patrick had obviously decided he would rather spend the night with her, though the house she shared in Mayfair with her father was not the place for her to take him; she felt hurt and betrayed, but not that hurt and betrayed!

      ‘A hotel sounds fine,’ she accepted with bravado, green eyes challenging as she looked across the room at Geraldine.

      The other woman’s stare relaxed slightly as she met that challenge. ‘Lilli, don’t do something you’ll regret,’ she cautioned gently.

      Geraldine knew she had seen the two of them together, knew why she was doing this! All the better; there was no satisfaction in revenge if the person targeted was unaware of it...!

      Lilli turned slightly into Patrick’s body, resting her head against the hardness of his chest. ‘I’m sure Patrick will make sure I don’t regret a thing,’ she said huskily.

      ‘Lilli—’

      ‘Gerry, just butt out, will you?’ Patrick told her impatiently. ‘Go and find your ageing lover and leave Lilli and me to get on with our lives. I’m not a monster intent on seducing an innocent, and you aren’t the girl’s mother, for goodness’ sake,’ he added disgustedly.

      Lilli looked at the