An Unwilling Desire. Carole Mortimer

good.’

      ‘I—I'm sorry,’ she said in a pained voice, knowing how much this irrevocable breakdown must be hurting him. ‘If there's anything I can do—–’

      ‘Stay with me, Holly.’ His expression was intent, one of his hands coming out to grasp hers firmly. ‘Stay with me,’ he repeated softly. ‘I need you.’

      She didn't know how to answer him, wasn't able to, as she saw a slight movement out of the corner of her eye, suddenly seeing Zack Benedict as he strolled casually through the garden. The french doors from this room opened out into the garden, and they were open now. How much of the conversation had Zack Benedict heard? If he had heard any of it at all he must find it very amusing, each brother now having warned her about the other. Although it looked as if his warning about James wasn't altogether unwarranted. The question was, what was she going to do about it!

      ‘I'll be your secretary for as long as you want me to,’ she was deliberately naïve. ‘You know I enjoy working here.’

      ‘That wasn't quite what I meant,’ James scowled his impatience. ‘I want—–’

      ‘Sorry to interrupt you, James,’ Zack spoke in a voice that said he wasn't sorry at all, as he walked in from the sunlit garden, ‘but I just thought I should let you know that I'm driving Maxine into town for an hour; she needs to buy some things she forgot in London. I didn't interrupt you—working, did I?’ He raised blond brows at Holly's hand still clasped in his brother's.

      Holly removed her hand with a guilty blush, knowing by the mockery in the dark green eyes that he had chosen to misunderstand the situation. He had no reason to condemn her on so little, not when he was so obviously more than a brother-in-law to the beautiful Maxine! She noticed the green eyes narrow slightly, almost as if he had been able to read her thoughts. Well, she didn't care if he had, she had been doing nothing wrong when he came into the room.

      ‘Maxine is up, then?’ James didn't bother to answer his brother's question, asking one of his own.

      ‘Well, I could hardly be taking her into town if she weren't,’ Zack baited.

      James's scowl deepened. ‘Why doesn't she drive herself? You aren't a taxi service.’

      ‘It just so happens that I offered to drive her,’ the other man told him sharply. ‘It is her first day here,’ he added abruptly. ‘I thought she could do with the company. Unless you …?’

      ‘No,’ James rasped. ‘Holly and I have some work to do.’

      Mocking green eyes raked over her assessingly, almost as if Zack Benedict were accusing her of something. It wasn't too difficult to imagine what, not after what he had seen and heard! How could she possibly claim her innocence after this?

      He nodded slightly. ‘I'll leave you to it, then. Don't work too hard.’ He left the same way he had entered, leaving an awkward silence behind him.

      Holly didn't know whether to be grateful or angry at his interruption, knowing by his attitude that he had chosen to misunderstand what he had heard.

      ‘Where were we?’ asked James with impatience.

      ‘We were going to do some work on the book,’ she said briskly, wanting to divert his attention away from what they had really been discussing. She stood up. ‘I have the research notes you wanted in my desk, I'll go and get them.’

      ‘Holly—–’

      ‘Yes?’ She turned at the door, willing him not to tell her again how much he needed her.

      He seemed to hesitate, then he nodded. ‘Go and get the notes,’ he said gruffly.

      She escaped the room with relief, leaning back against the door for several seconds, then moving quickly to her office as she realised James would become concerned with the passing of time.

      She had unlocked her desk and taken the papers out of the drawer when her office door opened without warning. Zack Benedict entered the room, closing the door to lean back against it, his arms folded in front of his chest.

      Holly straightened at the blatant mockery in his face. ‘What can I do for you, Mr Benedict?’ she enquired coolly.

      ‘You can tell me what you intend to do now that it appears my brother thinks he's in love with you too.’ His eyes were as hard as the emeralds they resembled.

CHAPTER THREE

      ‘YOU were listening?’

      He gave her an arrogant inclination of his head. ‘Perhaps instead of looking so outraged you should think yourself lucky that I was the one who decided to take a walk in the garden.’

      Holly paled a little. ‘Maxine …?’

      ‘She is his wife—–’

      ‘If you think I encouraged that scene you witnessed with James then you're mistaken,’ Holly snapped. ‘You have no right to accuse me of—–’

      ‘I haven't accused you of anything,’ Zack reasoned smoothly. ‘I just want to know what you're going to do about this situation.’

      She flushed. ‘I'm not sure there is a situation—–’

      ‘Don't be ridiculous, Holly,’ the usually lazily mocking man lost his temper with her. ‘Of course there's a situation!’ He glanced impatiently at his wrist-watch. ‘I just don't have the time to argue with you about it now, you have to get back to James and I have to drive Maxine into town. But we'll talk when I get back,’ he warned, opening the door. ‘I may not have accused you of anything yet, but I will if you can't think of a way to sort out this mess so that no one gets hurt.’

      ‘Mr Benedict—–’

      ‘Give it some thought, Holly,’ he advised softly, all laughter missing from a man she had thought found humour in everything. ‘Because this certainly can't go on.’

      The room was curiously silent and empty after he had gone, and Holly knew that although she had done nothing personally to merit his anger he had a perfect right to feel it. The whole situation was turning into a farce, and she was going to be the innocent victim if she wasn't careful. Once again! She had been blamed for something that wasn't her fault once before, she couldn't let it happen again.

      Fortunately James seemed to have forgotten all about the conversation she found so embarrassing by the time she returned with her notes, and with Maxine and Zack out of the house they were able to work steadily through the morning, James only calling a halt to it when he heard the other couple returning for lunch.

      ‘I suppose we'll have to join them.’ He didn't looked very pleased at the prospect.

      ‘I'll just go and freshen up,’ she nodded, no more eager to see Zack again than James seemed to be about his wife. And only yesterday morning she had thought how happy she was here; that idea was fast disintegrating.