Read the book: «The Night Of The Wedding»

“I still think it’s a dangerous game.”

“But you’d play it…if I asked you to?”

He didn’t answer her for a moment.

“Nick?” She frowned.

“Yes…I said I’d do it. But don’t say I haven’t warned you.” Nick reached out a hand and tipped her chin up so that he could look into her eyes. “Toying with people’s emotions is always dangerous. You need to forget Stephen Harrington ever existed.”

“I don’t need you to tell me what to do, Nick.” Kate glared at him. “And I am forgetting about Stephen.”

“If you were forgetting about him you wouldn’t be wasting your time trying to think of ways to make him jealous.”

“If you’re referring to my going to the wedding with you, you can forget about it. It was a passing thought and not a very good one. No one would believe we were lovers anyway.”

“Wouldn’t they?” Nick’s voice was dangerously low. “Are you trying to issue some kind of a challenge?”

Anything can happen behind closed doors!

Do you dare find out…?

Welcome again to DO NOT DISTURB!

Pretending to be Kate’s escort at a wedding proves to be surprisingly easy for Nick—too easy, in fact—and as night falls their luxuriously sensual hotel suite is irresistibly inviting. But what will happen when the cold light of day follows the fiery heat of the moment?

Find out if Nick and Kate have finally found what they’ve both been looking for, in this sizzling tale of passion and seduction from much-loved Presents^® author Kathryn Ross!

The Night of the Wedding
Kathryn Ross

MILLS & BOON

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER ONE

WAS Stephen going to propose to her tonight? Kate wondered as she cycled home from work. The idea came into her head from nowhere and with it came a feeling of nervous anticipation, but surprisingly not the burst of joy she would have expected.

Why didn’t the thought make her happy? They had been living together for two years now and they had agreed that if everything worked out they’d get engaged on their second anniversary. Things were working out, weren’t they? Suddenly she wasn’t sure.

Then she felt impatient with herself. Of course things were working out. Stephen was happy in his job now, and her job at the small publishing house of Temple and Tanner was challenging and exciting. And they both loved living in this city.

Amsterdam was bathed in beauty. The tall, majestic buildings glowed in the evening summer sun, their reflections shimmering in the waters of the canal. Pavement cafés were coming to life, buzzing with the low hum of conversation as friends met up after work, just as she was on her way to meet up with her best friend Nick Fielding again. The thought caused a frisson of pleasure to surge through her body as she hurried towards the last bridge and the café where they usually met for a drink after work.

It was five weeks since she had last seen Nick because he had been back in London on business. She had missed him, missed his sound advice, his infectious laugh. He always made her feel good.

Nick saw her immediately as she rode over the bridge, her long dark hair streaming back from her face. She wore a grey pair of trousers with a pretty pink strappy top that showed the perfection of her supple figure. As usual she was cycling one-handed and far too fast, with a large heavy rucksack on her back.

He watched as she hopped off the bicycle and chained it to the railings. Then she turned and saw him and waved, a smile lighting the beauty of her heart-shaped face.

She was thirty-two, only a year younger than him, but she looked about seventeen. Really she had changed very little since their days together at college, he thought as he watched her make her way through the crowded tables towards him.

‘Hi, Katy.’ Nick stood up as she approached the table and reached to kiss her on the cheek. Her skin was soft and smooth. She smelt sweetly of summer. Honeysuckle…or was it roses?

‘You’ve changed your perfume,’ he remarked as he pulled back from her, thinking with a pang about the bottle of her usual scent that he had purchased at the airport for her next birthday.

‘Yes, Stephen bought it for me ages ago and I thought I’d better use it up before it went off.’ Kate took off her rucksack and sat down opposite him. ‘So how are you?’ she asked with a smile.

She looked fabulous; her skin glowed with health, her wide green eyes sparkled with devilment. ‘I’m fine—’ he sat back down and put up a hand to catch the waitress’s attention ‘—but I’m glad to be back. The London office was in chaos. I spent the first week just getting the files in order.’

She laughed. ‘I bet they heaved a sigh of relief when you left. You’re such a perfectionist, Nick.’

‘When you run your own business you’ve got to be.’

The waitress came over and he ordered two coffees.

Kate suddenly noticed the woman at the next table was staring at him, open admiration in her eyes. Nick was extremely handsome, she agreed as she looked back at him. He had a fabulous physique, and he looked every inch the successful businessman that he was. The cut of his clothes was stylish, the light-coloured jacket and open-necked shirt emphasized his dark, almost Latin good looks. She felt a sudden dart of pride that he was her friend. Women had come and gone in his life, but their relationship remained constant, never changing. No matter how long it was since they had seen each other, there was always this easiness between them.

‘I hope you didn’t spend all of your time in London working on your computers,’ she said as the waitress left them. ‘You were supposed to be taking time out to show Serena the sights, weren’t you?’

He shrugged ruefully. ‘Things didn’t quite work out.’

Something in his tone of voice made her frown. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean that our relationship has reached an end,’ he said bluntly.

‘Oh, Nick!’ Kate leaned back in her chair. Although she was surprised at the suddenness of the break-up, she couldn’t honestly say she was shocked. She had always known deep down that Serena wouldn’t get Nick. ‘I’m so sorry.’

He shrugged. ‘Just one of those things,’ he said easily.

She met the darkness of his eyes. ‘Did you finish with her?’ she asked softly.

‘It was a mutual thing,’ he murmured evasively, but Kate didn’t believe a word of it. Serena was a beautiful leggy blonde but, despite her gorgeous looks and pleasant personality, Kate had always suspected that Serena was more serious about Nick than he was about her.

‘So, what happened? Serena seemed so happy before you left. She was really looking forward to you showing her around London.’

‘We had a nice time and we’ve parted on good terms.’ Nick said nonchalantly, ‘but we both wanted different things out of the relationship.’

The waitress brought their coffee as Kate digested this information. She presumed he meant Serena had wanted the relationship to deepen and he hadn’t. Kate had seen it all before. Any time one of Nick’s girlfriends started to move too close to him, or even hint around the possibility that the relationship might get serious, that was his cue to start to back away.

‘It’s a shame,’ she murmured. ‘I really liked Serena.’

‘So did I,’ Nick agreed easily.

‘But not enough.’

Nick didn’t answer that. ‘We had been going out together for quite a while. I think we both agreed it was time to move on—’

‘You had been going out together for five months,’ Kate cut across him dryly. ‘But, come to think about it, maybe you’re right, maybe that is a long time for you, Nick.’

He met her eyes across the table, and then smiled. ‘I didn’t know I had been dating her for five months. Have you been keeping count?’

‘No.’ She frowned. ‘I just remember, that’s all…women do remember those kind of details.’

‘Do they?’ He drank his coffee. ‘I don’t think Serena was counting.’

‘Anyway,’ she cut across him, warming to her theme, ‘apart from Jayne, all your relationships in these last few years haven’t lasted long. In fact, I think Serena might hold the record after Jayne.’

‘You think I’m on the rebound from Jayne?’ he asked calmly.

‘No.’ She frowned. That thought hadn’t really crossed her mind. His relationship with Jayne had ended over two years ago, and, although he’d been sad that they’d parted, Kate had always assumed that he had been the one to initiate the break-up. ‘No…I suppose what I’m saying is that I’m starting to think you’ve got a problem with commitment.’

Nick grinned. ‘Is that a bad thing?’

Kate looked at him askance. ‘You’ve got to settle down at some point in time.’

‘Why?’

‘Well… Don’t you want to have a family?’

‘Not particularly. In fact I’m starting to think that variety is the spice of life.’ His grin stretched even wider at the look on her face.

‘You don’t mean that, do you?’

‘Not really.’ He finished his coffee. ‘But I’d rather be on my own than with the wrong person.’

‘I agree with you there.’ For a moment Kate was silent, her green eyes serious. Is Stephen the right person for me? she wondered. Then was appalled that she had asked herself that question. OK, Stephen had been a bit edgy recently, and there’d been an atmosphere between them that had never been there before. But he was probably tense because he was thinking about proposing to her, worrying about making the final commitment. The more she thought about it, the more likely that seemed. When he’d asked this morning what time she would be home from work, maybe he’d been planning ahead booking a table at an intimate little restaurant. That was why there had been that serious tone in his voice. She smiled at the thought. Everything would be fine. ‘I’d like to have children, one day,’ she said thoughtfully.

‘You’ve got plenty of time for all that.’ Nick’s voice was dismissive.

‘Have I?’ She frowned. ‘I’ve been so wrapped up in my career that everything else has been pushed on a back burner. But I would like a family one day, and that’s something I can’t keep putting off.’

‘When it’s the right time you’ll know and it will happen.’

Maybe that was how it would be if Stephen proposed. When he actually said the words, maybe these sudden doubts would disappear, and she’d know he was the right person and this was the right time. She was accusing Nick of being scared of commitment, but maybe she was too.

‘You’ve always been a bit of a fatalist, haven’t you, Nick?’ Kate smiled. ‘I suppose I am as well. For instance, I do believe that there is someone for everyone…our ideal partner is out there waiting.’

Nick shook his head and laughed. ‘That’s not being a fatalist, Katy, it’s being romantic.’

‘There are such things as soul mates,’ Kate maintained firmly. ‘I mean, look at your mum and dad. They are still really happy and still very much in love even after all these years.’

‘Yes, they are,’ Nick agreed.

‘Did you make time to go and see them when you were in London?’

He nodded. ‘They both send you their love.’

Kate smiled. She really liked Nick’s family. He had an older brother and a younger sister; all were lovely, friendly, caring people. She wished she had grown up in such a warm and secure environment. Kate had been an only child and her parents had divorced when she was ten. Her father had never had any time for her, and although her mother had tried to make up for this, she had had to work long hours just to keep the home together. In consequence, Kate had spent a lot of time round at Nick’s house. His sister Rachael had been in her class and they had all been good friends. Rachael was in Australia now, happily married with two children.

‘How are things with you and Stephen?’ Nick asked.

‘OK.’ She smiled even more brightly at him.

Something about the way she said the word, the way she met his eyes, made alarm bells ring inside Nick. He frowned. ‘You’ve got something to tell me, haven’t you?’

She paused for a second, and then pursed her lips in a soft pout. ‘It’s our anniversary today, two years since we moved in together.’

‘Congratulations.’

‘Thanks.’ She sighed. ‘I can’t believe it is two years, it seems to have flown.’

‘And…?’ He watched her quizzically.

‘Crikey! I can’t keep anything from you, can I?’ She shook her head. ‘There really isn’t anything to tell.’

‘Yes, there is. I can tell by the look in your eyes.’

‘I shouldn’t say anything because I’m not really sure,’ she said hesitantly. ‘But I have a feeling Stephen might propose to me tonight.’

There was a moment’s silence. A moment when Kate suddenly realized how important his response to that news was to her.

‘You think Stephen is going to propose marriage to you?’ Nick looked totally shocked.

‘No, I think he’s probably going to propose that I become his business manager,’ Kate drawled sardonically. ‘Of course marriage—why are you looking at me like that? Is it really so hard to believe that Stephen would want to commit to me?’

‘No…of course not.’ Nick shook his head. ‘It’s just… I didn’t think you two were getting on so well lately.’

‘What made you think that?’

‘I don’t know. Maybe it was my imagination.’

‘Well, everything is fine between us.’ Kate swallowed hard and tried to ignore the ominous feelings inside her. Was everything all right between them? Would she be making a terrible mistake if she said yes to Stephen?

‘If he does ask, will you be pleased for me?’ Suddenly she was seeking reassurance. Her eyes held with the intense darkness of his, she felt as if she was holding her breath.

‘If it’s what you want,’ Nick said steadily, coolly. ‘Of course I would be pleased for you. I want you to be happy, Katy, you deserve to be happy.’

‘Thanks.’ She smiled at him, but at best it was a tremulous smile. Something was wrong, something was terribly wrong, but she couldn’t figure out what it was. Cycling here, she had felt a moment’s disquiet…but that was nothing to the weight of foreboding pressing on her now, and she couldn’t place where it was coming from.

She tried to picture Stephen in her mind as he proposed to her, a faintly nervous, anxious look in his blue eyes, his hair flopping down on his forehead in that Hugh Grant way. ‘Stephen is right for me.’ She smiled at Nick. ‘Oh…I know you think he’s a bit irresponsible and I suppose he is sometimes…but he loves me and he’s kind and he’s funny and—’

‘Why are you working so hard to convince me, Katy?’ Nick cut across her quietly.

‘I’m not!’ Kate frowned. ‘I’m just saying that I think this is the right thing for me. I’m ready to make the commitment.’

‘Well, I’m pleased for you.’

There was an edge to Nick’s voice, an expression in his eyes that she couldn’t fathom. She frowned again. ‘I shouldn’t have told you today.’

‘Why?’

‘Because you’ve just finished with Serena and you’re obviously not in the best of moods.’

Nick shook his head. ‘I’m fine, Katy,’ he said gently. ‘And I’m really happy for you.’

‘Really?’

He nodded and reached to take her hand across the table. ‘He’s a lucky guy.’

Kate looked down at his hand against hers. The touch of his skin made her heart thump peculiarly. She felt odd, as if she had been running somewhere and had suddenly lost her sense of direction.

Nick took his hand away and looked at his watch. ‘Well, I guess we’d better get going. You’ve got a big night ahead of you, and I’ve got work to do.’

‘You work too hard,’ she murmured. ‘You need to cut down on the time you spend in front of those computers, find a nice girl and settle down.’

‘I don’t think that’s very likely. I’m just bachelor material.’ Nick grinned and shook his head. ‘And you sound like my mother—’

‘A very wise woman,’ Kate inserted promptly. She felt a bit better again, as if whatever had been wrong had passed like an eclipse of the sun and things were back to normal.

Nick caught the waitress’s eye to indicate he wanted to pay her. ‘I’ll get this,’ he said as Kate reached to open her bag.

‘Thanks. I’ll get it next time.’ They both stood up and walked together around the tables to the edge of the pavement.

‘Have a good evening.’ He bent to kiss her on the cheek. Although she was tall, almost five seven, Nick always made her feel petite; she wondered how tall he actually was—six feet four, she’d say at a guess.

‘I’ll ring you tomorrow and tell you all.’

He grinned at her. ‘Maybe you’d better spare my blushes.’

She smiled.

‘See you later, Kate.’

‘Yes, see you later.’ She turned away as he walked towards his open-topped Mercedes sports car. She unlocked her bicycle and put her bag over her shoulder. Before turning to go home, she noticed the woman who had been sitting at the next table to them was walking towards Nick. She smiled at him and said something and he stopped.

Would Nick ever get married? Kate wondered as she rode away. She supposed one day, despite all his protestations, a woman would sweep him off his feet, and he would have eyes for nobody but her. The thought settled around her like a dull cloud. He’d still have time for his friends, of course, she told herself swiftly. And anyway, it would probably be years before he decided to tie the knot; she could be old and grey with four children before Nick decided to walk down the aisle. Men could afford to take their time; they didn’t have a biological clock ticking inside them.

She looked at her watch as she rode slowly down by the side of the canal. She was nearly an hour early. She’d told Stephen that she’d be home by seven-thirty. Usually she had a couple of coffees with Nick, and as she hadn’t seen him for so long she had thought today that they would spend at least an hour chatting and catching up on news from London. But maybe it was just as well that she was going home early—as Nick had said, she had a big evening ahead. This way she’d have plenty of time to do her hair and get changed before Stephen got in from work.

What should she wear? She didn’t want to appear too dressed-up—she’d look a fool if he hadn’t really booked a restaurant and suggested getting a take-away. And maybe he wouldn’t propose to her at all.

There was almost a feeling of relief inside her at that thought. Perhaps she needed a bit more time to get used to the idea. Moving in together had been a big enough step for her…marriage seemed an enormous leap into the abyss.

Certainly Nick hadn’t seemed overly pleased for her. But then, for some reason Nick had never really warmed to Stephen. Not that he had ever said anything detrimental, and the two men were always perfectly civil to each other, but Kate had always known that Nick had reservations about him.

You couldn’t be friends for as many years as they had, through school and college, and not learn to read the signs. She could tell by the sardonic gleam that lit the darkness of Nick’s eyes sometimes, and the smile that wasn’t quite so easy or relaxed when Stephen was around. Her partner was not someone Nick would have chosen for her, but it was only because he worried about her, and Stephen was so totally opposite to him in every way.

Nick took his career and his business running a computer firm very seriously. For Stephen, work was just a means to an end…he had changed jobs three times in the last year. He was wild about heavy rock music and in his spare time played in a band. Life was a bit of a rollercoaster ride with Stephen, but Kate had to admit it was exciting.

She slowed down even more as their apartment came into sight. It was on the ground floor of a very impressive patrician eighteenth-century mansion that overlooked the canal. The rent was astronomical and perhaps a bit more than they could really afford, but Kate had fallen in love with the place on sight and had decided she’d rather cut down on a few luxuries and live there than anywhere else.

She noticed the light in the front salon was on. Stephen was home early as well. She locked her bike against the front railings and ran up the steps to the door and let herself in.

The door closed with a bang behind her; her footsteps echoed on the polished wooden floor. ‘Stephen,’ she called out as she walked into the salon.

Even though it wasn’t dark outside all the side lamps were on and the main chandelier blazed over the antique furniture. She flicked a couple of the lamps off as she passed towards the kitchen. There was a bottle of champagne cooling in a bucket on the table and two champagne glasses sat out waiting. But there was no sign of Stephen.

‘Stephen honey, where are you?’ Kate walked back through to the hallway. Then heard music coming from the bedroom. It wasn’t the usual heavy rock that Stephen liked to listen to; this was softer, more romantic.

She paused with her hand on the bedroom door. There was a strange noise coming from the room, like someone gasping for air.

Kate pushed open the door.

Stephen sat up in bed and stared at her in horror.

‘Stephen…?’ In a kind of blank disbelief she stared back at him and then at the woman who lay beside him. Shock unlike anything she had ever experienced before lashed through her.

‘Oh, hell!’ Stephen raked a hand through his blond hair, an apologetic, nervous look on his handsome features.

‘Sorry, Kate.’

CHAPTER TWO

KATE sat alone in the apartment in total shock for hours watching the light fade.

The earlier scene played and replayed in her head with mind-blowing clarity. The woman—‘Natasha,’ Stephen had called her—had got up, dived into a T-shirt and a pair of jeans and disappeared into the bathroom.

‘She’s a colleague from work,’ Stephen murmured as he reached for his clothes.

His calmness had brought fury rushing through her veins. A thousand questions fought for position, but all she’d said was, ‘You’d better get out.’ her voice trembling with rage.

‘Out?’ He had looked stunned. Like a little boy who had been told that Christmas had been cancelled. ‘Out where?’

‘Out of the apartment…out of my life.’

‘Oh, come on, Kate…we need to talk things over—’

‘I think the time for talking is over.’

She had watched from the front windows as they’d left. Stephen had put a small case and his guitar in the back of a red sports car. The woman’s wheat-blonde hair had swung jauntily as she’d got behind the wheel. Then they’d roared off.

She was glad she hadn’t cried—at least she had kept her dignity. She was glad she had restrained her temper as well. Neither of those emotions would have served her well, and at least that woman hadn’t got the satisfaction of seeing her break.

But now, alone and desolate, Kate felt the tears welling up inside her. She swallowed them down, fiercely. Then on impulse she stood up, picked up her bag and left the apartment.

As she cycled along the road, the fairy lights on the bridges twinkled softly in the dusky purple of the evening. Lovers strolled hand in hand towards a brightly lit restaurant. It was a place Stephen had often taken her to. She had imagined he might take her there tonight. How could she have been so stupid? she wondered. She felt numb inside, as if all of this were unreal, some kind of sick dream.

She cut down a side street, the breeze whipping through her hair, cooling the fierce heat of her skin.

She didn’t know where she was going until she turned down Nick’s road. It was as if she were operating by remote control.

Nick lived in a converted warehouse. His offices were one side, his apartment the other. Kate pressed the front doorbell a couple of times but there was no answer. Where was he? she wondered. Maybe that woman from the café had detained him; perhaps they were out having a drink together.

Relief flooded through her as she heard footsteps and the door swung open, bathing her in warm, mellow light.

Nick had changed out of his suit and was wearing a pair of blue chinos and a blue shirt. He looked relaxed, and handsome. Kate felt her heart twist painfully. She had never felt so glad to see him.

‘I was starting to think you were out,’ she said with a wobbly smile.

‘And I thought you’d be on champagne in some fabulous restaurant by now, an enormous diamond ring on your finger.’ He stepped back so that she could come inside. ‘What’s happened?’ He closed the front door, his eyes flicking over her, taking in the fact that she was wearing the same clothes as earlier, then locking on the extreme pallor of her skin.

‘Katy, what’s wrong?’

‘Stephen has been having an affair.’ She kept her voice steady with extreme difficulty. ‘I caught him with her…in our bed.’

She didn’t know what happened, but one moment she was standing there, telling him in what she thought was an incredibly brave voice, and the next she was in his arms and he was cradling her close, hushing her as she broke down into sobs.

‘It’ll be OK,’ he murmured gently, stroking her hair back from her face. ‘You’ll get through this.’

‘No, I won’t,’ she sobbed. ‘How could he do this to me, Nick? I thought when we moved in together that we were making a commitment; it was such a big step for me. He talked me into it, for heaven’s sake! Told me that he looked on it as a prelude to us getting married. I thought we were a couple, that we would be faithful and…God, I’ve been such an idiot.’

‘No, you haven’t.’

‘I didn’t have a clue, not one clue that he was seeing someone else.’ Kate closed her eyes and shuddered. ‘Talk about naïve…you must think I’m really stupid. All that talk about him proposing to me and all the time…’

‘I don’t think you’re stupid. I think you are a very intelligent and lovely woman,’ Nick said softly.

‘You’re just being kind,’ she murmured.

‘No, I’m not.’ He pulled back from her and regretfully she broke away from his embrace. She had wanted to stay in his arms for a bit longer. She liked the feel of his body, warm and masculine against hers; it made her feel protected, cherished.

He tipped her face up towards his and studied her for a moment, his hand resting against her chin. Her heart seemed to give a very strange tilt as he wiped away the remains of the tears from her cheek with a gentle brush of his fingertips. ‘He’s not worth your tears, Katy,’ he said softly.

‘Probably not.’ Her voice trembled, but strangely she wasn’t thinking about Stephen now, she was thinking about the touch of Nick’s hand against her skin. There was something sensual about the caress, something disturbingly sexy in the husky male undertone of his voice.

Kate frowned. What the hell was the matter with her? she wondered. She must be so upset by Stephen that she was imagining things.

He turned away from her and led the way through to the lounge. ‘I’ll fix you a drink,’ he said.

‘Thanks.’ Her eyes flicked over the familiar room. It was comfortable, ultra-modern in design with a masculine stylishness, no ornaments, just plain blue settees against the wooden floor, and a few coloured rugs, no curtains on the window, just plain wooden blinds that he never drew down.

He had a workstation at the far end of the enormous room; a lamp was trained on it, spotlighting the computer that was turned on.

‘I’m sorry, I’ve interrupted your work,’ she murmured.

‘You haven’t interrupted anything.’ Nick stood with his back to her as he poured their drinks. She noticed how wide his shoulders were, how narrow his hips. He has the body of an athlete, she thought idly.

‘I’m glad you’ve come over. That’s what friends are for, isn’t it?’ He turned and walked over to hand her a glass of brandy. ‘What is it they say—a trouble shared is a trouble halved?’

She smiled wanly. ‘I’m sure you could do without my problems.’ She looked at the glass. Kate didn’t usually drink spirits; a glass of wine on odd occasions was about as much as she imbibed.

‘Brandy is good for shock,’ Nick said. ‘Just take a few sips.’

She nodded and sat down on the settee.

‘I just can’t believe he’s done this to me, Nick.’ She stared at the amber liquid in the balloon glass. ‘He told me he loved me.’

There was silence between them for a moment. Nick sat down on the settee opposite her. ‘Where is he now?’

‘I told him to go and he did.’

‘With the woman?’

Kate nodded.

‘Who is she?’

‘I’d never seen her before.’ She shrugged. ‘He said she was a colleague from work. Her name is Natasha; she’s blonde and cute. Probably about nineteen.’

‘Maybe you should just be grateful that you’ve found out now…he could have strung you along for ages—’

‘Maybe he has been stringing me along for ages,’ Kate muttered, swirling the drink around the glass. ‘Maybe he never really loved me at all.’ She looked up at Nick sharply. ‘Did you know?’

‘Know what?’

‘That Stephen was cheating on me. Is that why you looked so shocked when I told you I thought he was going to propose?’

Nick shook his head. ‘I had no idea. If I had, I’d have told you.’

‘Would you?’

‘Of course I would. I care about you too much not to have said something.’

Kate took a sip of her drink, feeling it warm her deep inside. ‘Have you eaten?’ Nick asked her.

She shook her head. ‘I’m not hungry.’

‘I’ll make you something. I’ve got steak in the fridge.’

‘Thanks, Nick, but honestly I couldn’t eat anything. I should be going anyway.’ She glanced at her watch and was surprised to see it was nearing midnight. ‘I didn’t realize it was so late, you’ve got work tomorrow and so have I,’ she murmured, swallowing the rest of her drink. ‘I’d better go.’

‘You don’t have to,’ he said quietly.

She looked over at him.

‘The spare room is made up,’ he said.

Kate hesitated; the thought of her empty apartment was not welcoming. Plus she would have to completely strip the bed. She raked a hand through her hair, feeling suddenly sick.

‘I haven’t brought any night things.’ She shook her head. ‘I should go home.’

‘I’ll lend you a T-shirt and I’ve got a new toothbrush in the cupboard.’ Nick grinned at her, a teasing light in his dark eyes. ‘Now, how can you possibly turn down an offer like that? You’re very honoured, you know. I don’t hand out T-shirts and toothbrushes to just anybody.’

She smiled.

‘That’s better.’ He suddenly became serious. ‘Don’t go home to that apartment tonight, Katy.’

‘I must admit, I don’t want to go back there,’ she admitted huskily.

‘Well, that’s settled, then.’ He stood up. ‘Come on, I’ll show you up to your room.’

It felt strange following Nick upstairs to the bedrooms. Although she had been to his home on many occasions, she had never stayed overnight and had only seen upstairs once when he had first moved in.

For some reason there was a feeling of awkwardness inside her as he opened the door into the spare room. Why, she couldn’t have said, but the sight of the enormous double bed was somehow provocative enough to make her feel self-conscious. Maybe it was just the way she was feeling at the moment. She was edgy and tense, and no wonder after the shock of seeing Stephen with someone else.

She tried to turn her thoughts to the décor; the plain Shaker-style furniture and the pictures on the wall made it a very sophisticated and relaxing room.

‘There’s an en suite bathroom through here.’ Nick opened a door into a luxurious bathroom, flicking on all the lights.

‘This is really very kind of you, Nick,’ Kate murmured hesitantly as he turned back into the bedroom and she found herself standing very close to him.

‘You’d do the same for me…wouldn’t you?’ he asked with a grin.

‘Well, I would if I had a spare room,’ she said, trying to lighten the tension inside her and smile at him.

‘That’s OK, then.’ His eyes moved over her face, and lingered for a second on her lips.

She felt her throat tighten, her breathing restrict. She wondered suddenly what it would be like to be kissed by Nick, to be held properly in his arms, not just to be comforted, but caressed. He would probably be a fabulous lover. How could he be otherwise? He was so incredibly sexy and yet so tender. Her heart missed a couple of beats. Then she looked away from him, shocked by her thoughts.

‘I’ll go and get you that T-shirt.’

As he disappeared out of the room, Kate sat down on the side of the bed. Her heart was thumping as if she had been running in a race. She felt ashamed of herself for thinking such thoughts—if Nick knew what she had been thinking, he would probably be horrified. He thought of her as a sister.

Her reflection stared back at her from the dressing table opposite. She looked awful: her skin was ashen, her eyes swollen from her tears, her dark hair dishevelled. Nick would never be attracted to her; she just wasn’t his type. He went for leggy, very glamorous blondes…Natasha would be his type.

She closed her eyes. Why was she thinking like this? She was upset enough without torturing herself with wild imaginings. Maybe it was the brandy she had drunk.

‘Are you OK?’ Nick’s gentle voice made her eyes fly open again.

‘Yes…’

He put the T-shirt down on the bed.

‘Do you mind if I have a shower and turn in?’ She looked up at him, her eyes shadowed.

‘Of course not. Make yourself at home.’

A few minutes later as Kate stood under the forceful jet of the shower and poured shampoo on her hair, she dismissed the way she had thought about Nick. Her body was in shock—she wasn’t thinking rationally, never mind clearly. It was Stephen whom she had loved. And now it was over.

She stepped out of the shower and towel-dried her body. How long had he been having an affair? Did any of their other friends know? Tanya and David had come around for dinner last week and, come to think about it, Tanya had been quiet, very unlike her usual gregarious self. As Tanya worked with Stephen, presumably she knew Natasha.

Kate’s stomach churned. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she was that Tanya knew. Those looks she had been giving her over the dinner table had been looks of sympathy.

She groaned. How many other people knew? She felt like a total idiot.

‘Kate, I’ve brought you a drink.’ Nick’s voice coming from the bedroom made her jump. She wrapped a towel around herself and opened the door.

Nick was putting a coffee and a sandwich down on the bedside table.

‘You shouldn’t have done that, Nick.’ She tucked the edge of the white towel down firmly. ‘It’s very kind, but I honestly don’t think I can eat anything.’

‘You’re skin and bone as it is.’ His eyes flicked momentarily over her, taking in the long, shapely legs. ‘You can’t afford to skip meals.’

‘Yes, I can.’ She sighed. ‘But thanks for the compliment.’

‘It wasn’t a compliment.’ He grinned. ‘Come on, eat this and make me happy.’

‘Hold on a minute.’ She snatched up the T-shirt from the bed and retired into the bathroom again. Did Nick really think she was too thin? she wondered as she took off the towel and slipped into the white cotton shirt. Come to think about it, maybe he did prefer his women with a more curvy shape. Serena had been very well endowed.

Irritated that she was even thinking along these lines, Kate turned her attention to her appearance. The T-shirt was big on her and came down nearly to her knees. She gave her hair a quick blast with the hairdryer so that it sat in glossy waves around her face. Then she surveyed her reflection in the mirror; she looked a bit better, she supposed. There was a bit of colour in her cheeks now, and her eyes weren’t quite as puffy. Not that she really cared how she looked for Nick…it was just female vanity.

When she returned to the bedroom she found Nick sitting on the bed watching the small TV set which was on a stand at the far side of the room.

‘Nothing on, as usual,’ he said, flicking through the channels. He gave her a cursory glance before returning his attention back to the set.

She needn’t have bothered worrying about how she looked, she thought as she climbed onto the bed and sat behind him, reaching for the coffee.

‘Don’t forget your sandwiches.’ He grinned at her. ‘You’ll have nightmares if you don’t eat something.’

‘I’ll probably have those anyway,’ she muttered glumly. ‘I’ll probably see Natasha and Stephen walking down the aisle, hand in hand.’

‘That sounds like Stephen’s nightmare, not yours,’ he muttered dryly.

‘Just because you are frightened of commitment, doesn’t mean every man is,’ Kate retorted sharply.

‘So you think Stephen is suddenly going to turn into Mr Commitment, do you? Mr Fidelity?’

Kate shrugged and took a sip of her drink. ‘I don’t know what Stephen is going to do. I don’t think I know him any more.’

Nick switched off the TV and turned to look at her. ‘Get real, Kate. Stephen is having a fling. It probably won’t last two minutes.’

‘How do you figure that out?’

‘Well, for one thing he can hardly keep a job down for two minutes, never mind a relationship.’

‘We lived together for two years, Nick. Stephen isn’t that flaky.’

‘That’s a matter of opinion,’ Nick retorted dryly.

‘At least he tried to settle down.’

‘Unlike me, you mean?’

‘I didn’t say that.’

‘That’s what it sounded like.’

She frowned. Were they arguing? She and Nick never argued…well, not real arguing—maybe they differed occasionally on small things, but they never snapped at each other. ‘I didn’t mean it to sound like that,’ she said with a shake of her head. ‘But, you know, Stephen may not have been the most reliable of people, but he did try to commit…you haven’t had a serious relationship since Jayne.’

‘Yes, you made that point earlier,’ Nick muttered. ‘My relationships may not have lasted long, but at least I have always been honest with my girlfriends. I’ve never lied or cheated.’

‘I know—’

‘You need to stop romanticizing about Stephen,’ Nick cut across her before she could continue. ‘You’re burying your head in the sand. OK, he may have said he loved you once upon a time, but anyone can pay lip service to emotions. Actions are what matter in the end, and real life isn’t like it is in your picture-perfect, idealized dreams.’

Kate swallowed hard. ‘Well, I kind of realized that when I saw Stephen in bed with someone else tonight,’ she muttered, her eyes shimmering bright green in the glare of the bedside lamp.

Nick watched the tears threaten to spill over from her eyes and groaned. ‘I’m sorry, Katy. I shouldn’t have said that.’

She shook her head. ‘No, you’re right. I am too much of a romantic. I know I am.’

‘Well, there’s nothing wrong with that, I suppose.’ Nick’s lips twisted ruefully. ‘Just don’t make excuses for Stephen, OK? It irritates the hell out of me.’

‘You never liked him, did you?’ she asked tremulously.

Nick shook his head. ‘Not much.’

She bit down on her lip and looked away from him.

‘Oh, come on, Kate. You’ve got to admit, there were times when you had no idea where you stood with him. He was inconsistent. One day he was showering you with roses, the next he stood you up.’

Kate was about to argue and say he had never stood her up, and then she remembered how he hadn’t turned up for her office party last year. Stephen had apologized profusely the next day, though…said he had been held up in a rehearsal with the band.

‘He had a bit of an artistic temperament, I suppose,’ she muttered.

‘You mean he loved himself more than anyone else.’

‘I don’t know,’ she murmured. She finished her coffee and then leaned back against the headboard, stretching her long legs out in front of her on the white bedspread. ‘What am I going to do, Nick?’ she asked him with a sigh. ‘I’ve spent two years of my life working on my relationship with Stephen…what am I going to do now?’

‘Get selfish and think about yourself for a while. You’re free to do exactly what you want now. Being single can be fun,’ he said firmly.

‘Can it?’ She looked down at her hands. ‘To be honest, it feels a bit scary.’

‘That’s only because events have been forced on you, but you’ll be OK.’ He reached out and took one of her hands in both of his. ‘You’re a survivor, Kate, you always have been. You’ll cope without Stephen. You managed before he came along, didn’t you? You were independent and strong. Hell, you even moved out here from London on your own when you were offered a promotion and you didn’t know a soul out here then.’

‘That’s true. But that seems like a long time ago now, as if it happened to a different person.’

‘It’s only two and a half years ago. You’re still the same person. This is just a set-back, that’s all. You’ll bounce back.’

‘I hope you’re right,’ she said hesitantly. ‘At the moment I feel that things are never going to be the same again.’

‘And maybe that’s a good thing,’ Nick said firmly.

‘Maybe it is,’ she said, watching the way his hand was resting against hers. She had read somewhere that you could tell a person’s personality from their hands. Nick’s were large and capable. She felt as if she could bring any problem and put it into Nick’s hands and he would fix it for her. She’d always felt like that about Nick—he was strong, nothing fazed him. In contrast, Stephen had always made her feel protective towards him. As if he was the one who’d needed her to look after him. He’d brought his problems to her and she’d fixed them. She had thought he’d needed her, but obviously he hadn’t needed her that much…either that or Natasha was fulfilling that role now.

‘And when your thoughts do turn to Stephen, remember the bad times. Don’t dwell for a second on any of the good. It will make you feel a hell of a lot better.’

‘Is that what you did when you and Jayne split up?’ she asked curiously, looking up into his eyes.

‘Something like that.’

She noticed how he clammed up when she mentioned Jayne. It had always been the same. They could talk about anything and everything, but not Jayne. Kate still didn’t know the real reason why that relationship had broken apart and Nick obviously had no intention of telling her.

‘She really loved you, you know,’ Kate said suddenly, seriously. ‘I remember her telling me that a few weeks before your relationship broke up. I remember thinking that she sounded sad, as if she knew it wasn’t going to work out between you. It was almost as if she thought you were in love with someone else.’

‘And what did you say?’ Nick asked quietly.

‘I told her to the best of my knowledge there wasn’t anyone else. That you cared about her deeply.’ Kate hesitated, her eyes thoughtful. ‘You weren’t cheating on her, were you?’

Nick shook his head.

‘What happened?’ She looked up at him. ‘You went out with her for a long time, Nick, you must have been smitten—so why finish it?’

‘Kate, it’s in the past, there’s no point raking over it. Jayne’s probably married with children by now,’ he muttered.

She frowned. ‘Yes, but that’s not the point, is it—?’

‘The point is that we all make mistakes—’

‘At least you didn’t make the mistake of living with Jayne,’ she murmured. ‘Moving in with Stephen was a big, big mistake, I can see that now.’

‘Hey, I’ve had my share of disastrous relationships.’ Nick lightened his tone. ‘Remember Rebecca Palmer?’

Kate laughed.

‘There you go, I knew I could cheer you up.’ Nick’s hands left hers. ‘Was she off her trolley or what?’

‘She was a bit weird.’

‘A bit weird, she was seriously scary, and yet when I took her out first time, I thought she was gorgeous.’

‘That’s because you never look much further than a great body…it doesn’t matter about the personality.’

‘That’s not true.’ Nick looked at her with a twinkle in his dark eyes. ‘It does matter if they want a second date.’

‘You’re incorrigible,’ Kate muttered. ‘You do nothing but break women’s hearts. Just as well I never fell in love with you.’

‘Why was that, I wonder?’ Nick’s voice was suddenly contemplative. His eyes moved over her face. ‘How come I never added you to my list of conquests?’

Kate shrugged. Suddenly she was very conscious of the fact that she had very little on. The T-shirt was hardly modest—it reached her knees but it was very fine cotton and the shape of her breasts was visible to the discerning eye. And suddenly his eye did seem to be more than a little attentive.

‘You’re a Gemini and I’m a Sagittarius,’ she murmured. ‘We wouldn’t be compatible.’ She moistened her lips as his gaze rested on their softness.

Nick grinned. ‘You’re not still into that astrology stuff, are you?’

‘You may mock, but my stars said this morning that I was entering a phase of profound change.’

‘So you think every Sagittarian came home to find their partner had…strayed.’

‘Don’t be obtuse, Nick. Change takes many forms.’

‘Exactly, which is how these astrologers can claim success so often. You can read anything into those columns.’

Kate frowned. ‘You’re such a sceptic, Nick.’

‘And you’re such a sucker when it comes to superstition.’

‘I rest my case.’ She shrugged. ‘You’re a Gemini and I’m a Sagittarian. We’re totally opposite and that’s why a relationship would never have worked between us.’

Nick’s gaze moved again to her lips. ‘I could blow a hole in that theory very easily,’ he murmured. There was something dangerously seductive about his words and the way he was looking at her.

She felt her body temperature increase dramatically. ‘So…so why don’t you?’ Kate angled her chin and sent him an unconsciously provocative look from glittering emerald eyes.

‘Because now’s not the time.’ He moved back from her.

About to challenge him to what exactly he meant by that, she changed her mind as he glanced at her again. Maybe some things were better left as they were.

‘And anyway, friendship seems to last longer than everything else, doesn’t it?’ Nick glanced at his watch. ‘And given the fact that we are so…opposite in every way…we are lucky to have that in spades, aren’t we?’

There was a dry irony in the last part of those words but she decided to ignore it. ‘Yes, we are. What time is it?’ she asked.

‘Almost one, we’d better try and get some sleep.’

‘Yes. I suppose we should.’

‘Will you be OK now?’

‘I’ll be fine.’ She smiled at him. ‘You’re right, I am strong and I will bounce back.’

‘Not if you don’t eat, though.’ He pointed to the food beside them on the table. ‘Try and have something.’

She nodded.

‘See you in the morning, then.’ He leaned towards her. Her heart missed a beat as he kissed her on the cheek. She could smell his cologne, feel his warmth. His hand rested lightly on her shoulder, yet she imagined she could feel it burn slightly through the shirt.

‘Sleep well,’ he said as he got to his feet.

She watched as he left the room and closed the door behind him.

Somehow she just knew that she wouldn’t get any sleep at all.