Fiancee By Mistake. Kate Walker

isn’t it?’ His cynicism was brutal.

      ‘Oh, Sean!’

      Shock and sympathy drove every other thought from her mind. Reacting purely instinctively, she moved forward impetuously, only realising as he flinched back, away from her, that she had actually lifted a hand as if to touch his damaged face.

      ‘No way, lady!’ he warned roughly. ‘I don’t fall for that trick twice in a row.’

      ‘It was no trick!’

      Furious at the way he had misinterpreted her gesture of concern, Leah actually stamped her foot hard, regretting her impulsive act instantly as it sent a spray of freezing snow over her feet and legs.

      ‘What sort of person do you think I am?’

      ‘The sort of female…’ deliberately he emphasised his use of a different noun ‘…who throws herself at any available man without a thought for the one she’s left behind.’

      The arrogance of the man! He actually believed that just because he was a TV star any and every woman must be crazy about him, available solely for his pleasure! But then the exact words Sean had used hit home with a worrying clarity.

      ‘What do you know about any men in my life?’

      She just managed to get the words out before the truth exploded inside her head with a force that made her head reel.

      It didn’t matter how Sean Gallagher knew about Andy—if in fact he knew anything, and wasn’t just making a lucky guess. What mattered was that she hadn’t spared the other man a thought at all, not since Sean had appeared so unexpectedly.

      Leah bit down hard on her bottom lip as her conscience reproached her bitterly. For the shock of the accident to have temporarily driven all thought of the man who had asked her to marry him from her head was one thing. But to discover that the man she had parted from only that evening had been completely wiped from her mind was quite another. How could she be so foolish—so shallow?

      Sean’s smile in response to her question was cold, dangerous.

      ‘I get the impression that you’re the sort of woman who uses her undeniable charms to entrap poor, weak fools, only to chew them up and spit them out when you’re done with them.’

      ‘And on what evidence do you base this outrageous attack on my character? You don’t know—’

      ‘I don’t need to know.’ Sean’s icy response slashed through her indignant protest. ‘I have eyes to see.’

      A contemptuous wave of his hand and the downward flick of his eyes made Leah suddenly aware of just how she must look.

      Her long dark hair had fallen from its elegant coil and now tumbled in wild disarray around her face. Her skirt seemed to have stuck high up on her thighs, still revealing the lacy stocking tops, and her coat now hung wide open, exposing the smooth white curves of her breasts above the clinging, low-cut bodice. The wind had whipped up a hectic colour in her cheeks, making her eyes unnaturally bright above them.

      Unable to bear Sean’s cold-eyed scrutiny, Leah pulled her flapping coat closely round herself like a defensive shield, tugging the belt tight at her waist.

      ‘I was at a party, for God’s sake! It is Christmas—peace and goodwill and all that!’

      ‘Goodwill to all men!’ he flung back at her. ‘Or just a select few?’

      ‘Now look here—’ Leah began, purple eyes flashing fire.

      But the full effect of her anger was ruined by the way that her teeth chattered against each other, and the fact that she was shaken by a sudden, convulsive shiver. The snow was still falling steadily, now coming down thicker than ever, and in the thin-soled shoes her feet were like blocks of ice. With a grimace of distress, she shifted uncomfortably, trying to ease them.

      ‘Oh, for God’s sake!’ Sean exclaimed impatiently. ‘We can’t stay here like this. We’ll freeze if we do.’

      ‘I couldn’t agree more.’

      Leah was glad of any excuse to end this embarrassing confrontation. All she wanted was to get her car back on the road and be on her way. Sean Gallagher might have seemed to be a knight coming to the rescue of a damsel in distress, but appearances were definitely deceptive. He appeared to be the most devastatingly attractive man she had ever met, but his character had to be the most unpleasant of any she had encountered in all her twenty-five years.

      ‘If you could just help me move my car…’ she began, her voice failing as she saw his dark head move in obdurate denial of her request.

      ‘No chance,’ he stated flatly. ‘There’s no way we can do anything with it without a tow-truck and some chains, and even then I doubt if it will start. I mean, look at it.’

      Following the contemptuous wave of one hand, Leah had to admit he spoke nothing but the truth. Leaning at a perilous angle, its front wheels deeply embedded in the ditch and the snow piling up heavily all around it, the Renault looked totally immovable. It would take professional know-how and equipment to enable her to continue her journey.

      ‘Then perhaps you could drive me to the nearest garage or house.’

      She looked hopefully to where Sean’s car was parked at the side of the road. A heavy layer of snow had built up on its bonnet and roof while they were talking, but it looked in much better shape than her own vehicle.

      ‘Please.’ Tact made her add the last word, though she felt very far from wanting to be strictly polite.

      A harsh, humourless laugh left her in no doubt as to exactly what he thought of that idea.

      ‘The nearest garage, my dear Ms Elliot, is more than ten miles in that direction.’ He gestured back towards the way he had come. ‘I’ve just negotiated that road once on the way here, and believe me it was no fun at all in this weather. I’ve no intention of doing it again and risking my life for anyone. Have you tried the emergency services?’

      ‘I’m not a member of a breakdown service or anything like that. Oh, I know!’ she exclaimed as she saw the scathing look that told her exactly how he felt about that. ‘I probably should have joined—as I’m sure you did—ages ago! But I only took possession of this car last weekend. And besides, I’d need a mobile phone to call them from here—something I don’t run to on my salary.’

      She glanced at the sleek and obviously expensive lines of his own BMW. A new light brightened her eyes and she looked at him expectantly.

      ‘I suppose you’ve got the very latest model in your car. I could—’

      As a matter of fact, no, I haven’t,’ Sean put in coolly. ‘When I’m on the road I prefer to be unobtainable. And I know for a fact that there are no houses any closer than my own cottage. One of the reasons I bought it in the first place was because it is so isolated.’

      ‘But what can I do? How am I going to get home?’ A note of desperation threaded through the question.

      Broad shoulders under the navy woollen jacket lifted in a dismissive shrug.

      ‘Strikes me you’ve got two possible choices. You can stay here till morning…’

      The look of scorn Leah turned on him made it only too plain that she wasn’t going to take that suggestion seriously. She’d freeze before midnight. ‘Or?’

      ‘Or you can come with me. My house isn’t far from here. We should make it before the roads become impassable if we’re careful—and quick. You’ll have to leave your car, I’m afraid. But as no one’s likely to be able to move it, even if they were out in this blizzard, it should be safe enough. You can spend the night with me.’

      ‘Spend the night with you!’ Leah echoed in blank disbelief. ‘You have got to be joking!’

      At last her brain seemed to be functioning again. The idea of getting into this man’s