Carole Mortimer Romance Collection. Carole Mortimer

mouth twisted. ‘That we hadn’t discussed Rebecca not being told of our past—association,’ he completed pointedly. ‘Of course she knows I was engaged to someone else seven years ago—’

      ‘Big of you to have told her even that,’ Cyn snapped, resentful of this whole conversation; as if she had any wish for Rebecca, or anyone else, to realise she had once been going to marry Wolf herself!

      Wolf’s eyes narrowed to icy-cold slits. ‘It would have been pointless to have kept that from her,’ he bit out tersely. ‘But I saw no reason to bore her with the details.’

      ‘Of course not,’ Cyn scorned, stung by his attitude. ‘Although you didn’t really have to tell her anything; there were so few people who even knew we were engaged at all!’

      ‘And whose fault was that?’ Wolf accused harshly.

      Hers, she freely admitted that. But although she had been sure of her love for Wolf, she had still been insecure about his wealthy background, even if he did choose to dismiss it most of the time. He was still a Thornton, had known a much more privileged childhood than her, had never known what it was like to want something so badly that when it actually came to her she had been terrified of losing it. Wolf’s love had been like that to her. And, in retrospect, she had been wise to step warily where any kind of permanent future for them was concerned. Because it just hadn’t happened.

      ‘This is all past history, Wolf,’ she sighed wearily.

      ‘I couldn’t agree more,’ he nodded abruptly. ‘And I want it to remain that way,’ he added warningly.

      ‘Consider it forgotten,’ Cyn told him resentfully, knowing she would never forget it. And from the thunderous expression on Wolf’s face, neither would he—but for different reasons, Cyn didn’t doubt! ‘Now I—’ She broke off abruptly as the door behind her suddenly opened; most of the staff had been leaving the building as she arrived at five-thirty, and Wolf had dismissed his efficient secretary once she had shown Cyn into his office, so who was this walking unannounced into Wolf’s office in this familiar—?

      Cyn only needed one glance across the office to know exactly who would dare to do such a thing.

      Barbara!

      It might have been almost seven years since she had last seen the other woman, but Cyn would know the beautiful Barbara Thornton anywhere. Besides, the other woman had changed little; her hair was still an ebony cloud, although styled shorter than it used to be, her beautifully perfect features still as glowingly youthful, despite the fact that she had to be thirty-three now. And she still wore her clothes, a tailored black dress this evening, with all the style and elegance she had learnt during her years as a top-class model. Yes, Cyn would know the beautiful Barbara Thornton. Anywhere.

      ‘Sorry, Wolf,’ the other woman drawled without any sign of real apology in her voice. ‘I didn’t realise you had someone with you.’ She gave Cyn a bright, meaningless smile—a smile that told Cyn, at least, that this woman wouldn’t have acted any differently if she had realised Wolf wasn’t alone, that she felt perfectly within her rights to walk in on him unannounced in his office. As Alex Thornton’s widow, Barbara had inherited Alex’s shares of Thornton Industries at the time of his death seven years ago, so she was probably right about that!

      But as Cyn knew only too well, Barbara had never needed those shares to feel this peremptory right in Wolf’s life!

      Barbara turned back to Wolf now. ‘I just wanted to remind you that dinner—is at eight—’ She broke off suddenly, turning sharply back to Cyn, her breath sharply indrawn as she looked at her more closely. ‘You!’ she accused, green eyes wide with recognition.

      There had never been any love lost between the two women. Barbara had treated Cyn, at best, with cool condescension after Wolf had introduced them seven years ago.

      Cyn hadn’t been too troubled by the other woman’s attitude at the time; she had known from the first that Wolf’s family wouldn’t exactly welcome her with open arms, that she was far from an ideal choice, in the haughty Thornton family’s eyes, as the wife of one of the Thornton heirs. After all, she worked as a receptionist in one of their hotels, and her family background was nonexistent, as was her social standing; it was only natural, Cyn had accepted, that they should treat her with a certain amount of wariness until she had shown them that it was Wolf she loved and not his money. Wolf hadn’t given a damn what his family thought; he had told them he was marrying her, and that was exactly what he intended doing, whether they approved of her or not!

      Only Barbara Thornton’s antagonism towards Cyn had had nothing to do with approving or disapproving of her; she had hated her on sight. And from the way she was looking at Cyn now, that feeling had never changed!

      But Cyn was seven years older now, she inwardly chided herself as she briefly experienced those familiar feelings of inadequacy where this woman was concerned; she was a successful businesswoman in her own right, even if it was on a much smaller scale than the Thornton company.

      She met the other woman’s gaze steadily, knowing that, if Barbara appeared not to have changed, then she at least had; never again would she allow herself to be cowed by any member of this powerful family. Besides, she had had the advantage of realising for a couple of days that a meeting like this, when Wolf married Rebecca, was inevitable. She hadn’t liked the idea, but she had known that it had to happen. Barbara, in the meantime, still looked completely stunned to see her again after all this time.

      ‘Barbara,’ she greeted her drily. ‘You’re looking well,’ she added lightly.

      ‘I’m—!’ Barbara broke off, incredulous at Cyn’s cool command, and turned those flashing green eyes on Wolf now. ‘You didn’t tell me you and Lucynda had met again.’ She had difficulty controlling the sharp, almost shrill edge to her voice as she tried not to sound accusing.

      Barbara, and Wolf’s mother Claudia, had both persisted in using her full first name once they had learnt that was what Cyn was short for, both of them claiming to dislike diminutives of names, especially ones as ridiculous as Cyn! Wolf hadn’t liked them calling her Lucynda at all, but at the time Cyn hadn’t thought it was worth causing an argument over, although she had winced every time they called her Lucynda; it reminded her too much of her years in the orphanage.

      How naïvely trusting she had been seven years ago; now she could see the other women’s behaviour for exactly what it was, yet another way of the two powerful Thornton women keeping her at a distance from them, and firmly in her place, of letting her know she would never be accepted as one of them.

      ‘My name is Cyn. Or Miss Smith,’ she told the other woman before turning back to Wolf—a Wolf who sat watching the two of them with narrowed eyes; probably waiting to see if they scratched each other’s eyes out, Cyn acknowledged angrily. She wouldn’t give Barbara, or Wolf, the satisfaction! ‘I think that’s our business concluded for today,’ she said coolly, knowing by the way his mouth tightened and his eyes narrowed ominously that he didn’t like the way she was talking to him at all. Tough!

      ‘Business?’ Barbara echoed sharply. ‘What on earth sort of business could the two of you—?’

      ‘I really do have to go,’ Cyn cut in, impatient with the way this family assumed she had nothing else to do this evening but stand here listening to them. ‘I have a date—with my bath,’ she added pointedly as she saw Wolf’s eyes narrow questioningly. ‘It was—interesting, meeting you again, Barbara,’ she told the other woman drily. Barbara was still looking slightly dazed from the encounter.

      ‘Interesting?’ the other woman echoed incredulously. ‘Wolf, I don’t—’

      ‘Bye!’ Cyn called lightly as she left the office without haste—only to find herself brought to a sudden halt as familiar fingers grasped tightly about her arm. ‘What do you want now, Wolf?’ she asked wearily as she turned to face him in the corridor, all the time aware of Barbara waiting inside his office for him.

      He looked intently down at her pale face. ‘Will you have dinner