suite.
~ * ~
Dear Diary,
I’m tired and miserable. Thought I’d be happy to be home but HMs have been odd and cool to me. Mummy hasn’t even come here to have one of her ‘deep and meaningfuls’ but, I suppose, it is only my first day home. They’ve been nice to Jack, thank goodness. I thought they were going to tear strips off him for having his wicked way with me.
The thing I’m most upset about is Jack accusing me of being turned on by the thought of having sex with a rough fisherman. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, he turns me on. I ache all over but only because it’s him. And there is nothing common about him. He is the most beautiful man I’ve ever met. His touch sends me up in flames and when he looks at me, I melt on the spot. Surely he must know? I’m only telling you the truth, dear diary. I love him. If only he could care of me a little.
I’ve decided not to wait for my period to see if I’m pregnant. The whole charade is ridiculous. I’ll arrange for our family physician to give me a pregnancy test as soon as feasible, which will be negative, and then Jack can go home—back to Jezebel and his fish.
I’m going to bed. They say things always look better in the morning.
Lara closed her diary. She was a little better after pouring out her most private thoughts. It always made her feel better. Locking the diary away in her personal safe, she reached up and pulled the clasps from her chignon, allowing her hair to fall around her shoulders. With her fingertips, she massaged her temples where a thumping headache was threatening to take hold. Stress. Stress and tiredness. It was eight o’clock here, but her body clock told a different story.
A tap on the apartment door made her jump. She had dismissed her maid hours ago after Greta insisted her mistress have a light dinner and set it in place on the dining table. Lara had eaten two of the sandwiches and some fruit and then left the rest of the simple meal, her appetite deserting her.
Opening the door, she came face-to-face with Jack. Her beautiful Jack dressed casually in a deep blue sweatshirt and jeans—the jeans with a tear in the knee, she thought absently.
“What do you want?” She couldn’t help the icy tone in her voice, after all, hadn’t he left her earlier with her heart breaking from his searing and cruel words.
“I won’t keep you long. I wanted to let you know about my meeting with your parents.” His voice was deep and gentle and once again, her insides turned over. She held the door open and he entered and stood by the sofa.
Swallowing hard to bring her emotions under control, she motioned for him to be seated and she sat in the armchair opposite. He rubbed his jaw with his hand and she recognized this gesture of uncertainty. But she wasn’t going to help him out, blast him.
“The king and I had a few games of billiards then the queen joined us.”
She made no comment but it didn’t surprise her. Her mother probably thought Jack should be chastised for seducing her daughter. What a laugh. She had been more than a willing participant. She watched Jack’s fingers nervously gripping his knees. What was going on?
“I’m sorry if my mother upset you. She’s very protective of me,” she said, automatically trying to ease his discomfort.
“Look, there is no easy way to say this, Lara. You believe I’m a poor fisherman with a junket for a boat and a lopsided cottage on an island.
“Well, I am a fisherman and Jezebel is an old boat but I actually own a very large fleet of ocean-going fishing boats. I have the largest aqua-culture industry in Australia, possibly the world, and I hold major government contracts for coastal surveillance in several pacific countries. All of this makes me a wealthy man.” He stopped for breath, wiping a hand across his forehead.
“Oh.” To say she was stunned would be the understatement of the year. She madly tried to absorb this information.
“How wealthy?” She winced at her crass question.
“A billionaire…several times over.”
“Oh my.”
“This was the main reason why kidnapping charges weren’t brought against me when the police and Challoner security found out who I was. I’m surprised you haven’t seen it in the press.”
“I don’t read the papers or watch television.”
He raised