The Yuletide Engagement & A Yuletide Seduction (3 page)

He was a one-evening-only companion—just a shield for what promised to be a very difficult evening for her. He wasn't supposed to make her pulse flutter, her knees feel weak, her insides as if they were turning to jelly!

“Ellie is feeling a little—tense this evening, Patrick,” Toby excused her lightly, picking up his jacket from the back of the chair before walking over to the door. “Have a good evening. Want me to wait up for you, Ellie?” he added mischievously, dark brows raised teasingly.

“No, thank you!” She shot him a reproving look as he ducked out of the doorway, grinning widely as he raised a hand in farewell before disappearing into the darkness.

“We aren't going to be late back this evening, are we, Ellie?” Patrick looked down at her mockingly. “Only I'm usually in bed by ten-thirty.”

Ellie would hazard a guess that the only reason this man would be in bed by ten-thirty at night would be because he wasn't there alone!

“You're late,” she told him sharply, more flustered that she had just had such a thought about Patrick's nocturnal habits than she actually was by his tardiness.

“Only a few minutes,” he dismissed unconcernedly. “I stopped along the way to buy you this.”

“This” was a corsage, a single red rose, newly in bud, made even more beautiful by the melted snowflakes clinging to the dewy petals.

Ellie blinked hard before looking up at Patrick, hastily looking down again as he returned her gaze with slightly challenging eyes. Bringing her a rose, red or otherwise, was not very businesslike. And they both knew it. But then Patrick had warned her three days ago that he intended doing this his way…

“Thank you,” she accepted huskily, taking the rose and the pin he held out to her.

“Would you like me to—?”

“No! No, thank you.” She tried to refuse his offer of help less abruptly, at the same time giving him a sceptical glance. “I can manage.” And to prove it she attached the rose to her dress at the first try.

“I thought you might,” he murmured ruefully. “I suppose we should be on our way, then.”

“I suppose we should,” she echoed dryly, inwardly chiding herself for the fact that she was a little disappointed he hadn't mentioned her new dress, or anything else about her appearance.

Not that she had mentioned how gorgeous he looked either; it simply wasn't in keeping, she accepted, with their arrangement.

“What a pity,” Patrick murmured as he watched her pull on her long black winter coat. “You look absolutely stunning in that dress; it's a shame to hide it beneath that coat,” he explained as Ellie looked up at him questioningly.

“Thank you.” She felt an inner glow now rather than the outer warmth of the coat.

“Hmm.” Patrick nodded as they went out to the car, opening the door for her to get in. “Gareth can just eat his heart out,” he added with satisfaction.

“That's what Toby said!” She laughed to cover her flushed pleasure at his compliment.

“And, as we both know, Toby wouldn't tell you a lie,” he reminded her teasingly.

No, Toby wouldn't tell her a lie—at least, not a major one—but she had a feeling this man was more than capable of practising the subtle art of subterfuge if he thought the occasion warranted it. There was a steely edge to Patrick McGrath, a ruthlessness that obviously made him such a success in business.

But Ellie dismissed both Patrick's compliments and thoughts of that steely edge as they neared the restaurant where all the other Delacorte, Delacorte and Delacorte staff would already be gathered. No doubt all believing, with the lateness of the hour, that she had decided not to attend after all.

“Everything is going to be just fine, Ellie.” Patrick reached out in the warm confines of the car and gave her restless hands a reassuring squeeze before returning his own hand to the steering wheel of his Mercedes sports car. “Trust me, hmm?” he encouraged as she glanced at him with troubled eyes.

She wasn't sure, after Gareth's duplicity, that she would ever completely trust another man again. But Patrick wasn't asking her to trust him in that way…

“I don't believe I've ever thanked you for agreeing to help me out like this,” she murmured ruefully. Mainly because she had been too embarrassed by her need for him to be here to actually get around to thanking him!

“I believe you did mention the word gratitude once,” he drawled. “But that was last week—when you were turning me down.”

Before she'd had to go back and tell him the situation had indeed changed!

“Ellie, why don't we wait until the end of the evening and see if you still want to thank me then, hmm?”

Ellie shot him a sharp look; that sounded a little ominous.

“Don't look so worried, Ellie.” He chuckled after a brief glance in her direction. “I promise to be the soul of discretion this evening.”

“You do?” She eyed him doubtfully.

After all, what did she really know about this man? Only what Toby had told her. Which, now that she thought about it, really wasn't much. Maybe Toby
could
be discreet if he needed to be! At least as far as Patrick McGrath was concerned…

Thirty-eight. Extremely successful. Single—which was probably all she really needed to know. Except… For all she knew the man might be a terrible flirt, or become terribly loud after a couple of drinks. In which case having him as her escort could prove more of a liability than a plus!

“Of course, Ellie,” he answered blandly. “I'll try very hard not to mention to anyone that you occasionally like to sunbathe topless in the back garden—weather permitting!” He grimaced as snow slowly began to fall on the windscreen.

“You—!” Ellie gasped, feeling the sudden heat in her cheeks as she turned to stare at him. “Patrick—”

“Ah, here we are,” he informed her lightly, turning the Mercedes into the car park of the restaurant, parking it beside the green Rolls Royce owned by Ellie's boss before getting out of the car and coming round to open Ellie's door for her. “Was it something I said?” he
prompted innocently as she made no move to get out of the car.

He knew very well that it was!

“Come on, Ellie. I'm getting wet out here,” he encouraged briskly.

Of course he was; the snow was coming down in earnest now. Ellie wrapped her coat around her and pulled up the collar about her neck as they hurried over to the entrance to the restaurant.

“We'll leave this here, I think,” Patrick said firmly as they entered the foyer, removing Ellie's coat and handing it to the receptionist before Ellie even had time to realise what he was doing.

She suddenly felt self-conscious again as she looked down at the eye-catching red dress. Maybe it was too much. After all, this was only a company Christmas dinner. Instead of looking eye-catching, as she had hoped, was she going to look ridiculously overdressed?

“Ellie, you look beautiful,” Patrick told her firmly—before his lips came down gently on hers and his arms moved about her waist to mould her body against the hardness of his.

The kiss was so unexpected that Ellie responded, her lips parting beneath his even as her arms moved up about his shoulders.

She totally forgot where they were, why they were there—who she was, even—as those warmly sensual lips continued to explore the softness of her own. The tip of Patrick's tongue was now moving erotically against her lower lip, turning her body to liquid fire, her legs to jelly.

His eyes were dark with query as he finally lifted his head to look into the flushed beauty of her face. “Better.” He nodded, his thumb running lightly across
her slightly swollen lips. “Now you actually look like a woman out for the evening with her lover!” he added with satisfaction.

Of course. That was the reason Patrick had kissed her. The only reason.

“Perhaps next time you could give me some warning of what you're about to do,” she bit out abruptly, covering her confusion—and her blushes!—by opening her evening bag and searching through its contents. “Lipstick,” she told him abruptly, and held out a tissue for him to wipe his mouth.

“You do it,” Patrick encouraged huskily. “I can't see what I'm doing,” he reasoned before she protested.

She swallowed hard, willing her heart to stop pounding, her hand not to shake as she reached up to wipe the smears of lipstick that he now had on his mouth.

So engrossed was she in not betraying how shaken she felt that she didn't even see the man walking past, a dark scowl on his handsome features as he stopped to stare at the two of them.

“Ellie…?” he questioned uncertainly—as if he couldn't quite believe the woman in the red dress, a woman who had obviously just been very thoroughly kissed, was actually her.

She stiffened before looking at him. “Gareth,” she greeted him distantly, feeling rather than seeing Patrick as he moved to stand beside her, his arm curving possessively about her waist. She glanced up at him, a shiver running down her spine as she saw the narrow-eyed look he was giving the younger man. “Patrick, this is a work colleague—Gareth Davies,” she dismissed with deliberate lightness, glad of that lightness as she saw Gareth's scowl deepen. “Gareth—Patrick McGrath,” she added
economically, still too shaken by that kiss to think how to describe him to the other man. “
The
Patrick McGrath?” Gareth questioned abruptly as he looked frowningly at the other man.

Patrick smiled—a smile that didn't reach the cold grey of his eyes. “I very much doubt there's only one Patrick McGrath in the world,” he answered the other man tauntingly.

“We really should be going in, Patrick,” Ellie put in determinedly as she saw the light of challenge that had now appeared in both men's eyes. “If you'll excuse us, Gareth?” she added dismissively, not giving him a second glance as she turned and walked in the direction of the main restaurant, Patrick at her side, his arm still firmly about her waist.

Not quite the way she had envisaged the evening beginning!

But then she hadn't expected Patrick to kiss her either…

Why on earth
had
he kissed her? Just for effect, as his words afterwards had seemed to imply? Well, he couldn't even begin to imagine the effect his unexpected behaviour had had on her!

She could still feel the sensuous touch of his lips against hers, still feel the hardness of his body as she moulded perfectly against him, the warmth that had coursed through her, that totally not-knowing-where-she-was-and-not-caring-either feeling.

As for Gareth! Amazingly, she had felt absolutely nothing as she'd looked at him just now. Except perhaps a vague disbelief that she had ever been taken in by his overt good looks and charm…

What did it all mean…?

But as they walked into the restaurant and Patrick was greeted effusively by her boss, George Delacorte, Senior Partner at Delacorte, Delacorte and Delacorte, Ellie knew she would have to get back to that particularly puzzling question later!

“I
HAD
no idea you were going to be here with Ellie this evening, Patrick.” The older man greeted him warmly and the two men shook hands. George Delacorte was a tall, distinguished-looking man with iron-grey hair and twinkling brown eyes that belied the shrewd trial lawyer he actually was. “You should have told me, Ellie,” he chided teasingly.

Told him what? Until a few seconds ago she hadn't even known that he and Patrick were acquainted! Patrick certainly hadn't mentioned that he knew the older man.

“How are Anne and Thomas?” George smiled.

“Very well, thank you, sir,” Patrick replied smoothly, his arm still lightly about Ellie's waist, almost as if he weren't aware that she was staring up at him in amazement.

Why hadn't he told her he knew George Delacorte? It was obvious from the easy way he was talking with the older man that Patrick had been perfectly well aware that he would be seeing the other man this evening! In fact, she knew that he had; she had told him herself that it was the Delacorte Christmas dinner!

“And Teresa?” the older man continued lightly. “Breaking hearts, as usual?”

Patrick shrugged. “I think she might finally have met ‘the one',” he answered indulgently.

“Good for her.” George chuckled.

Who on earth were Anne and Thomas—let alone Teresa? Ellie realised she really should have asked Patrick for a few more personal details. And maybe she would have done if she had known they would be relevant to this evening!

“I must just go and tell Mary you're here; she'll be so pleased to see you,” George said happily. “Sarah is here too—somewhere.” He frowned. “You're coming to the family party tomorrow?” he prompted abruptly.

“Of course,” Patrick assured him.

“Bring Ellie, too,” George went on with a smile in her direction. “If you would like to come, my dear?” he added gently.

She had no idea what party either of these two men were talking about!

“I'm not sure what Ellie's plans are for tomorrow.” Patrick was the one to answer smoothly. “We'll let you know.”

“Of course,” George accepted briskly. “I'll just go and find Mary.” He gave them another smile before going off in search of his wife.

“So that was the infamous Gareth,” Patrick murmured thoughtfully once the two of them were alone. “I have to say, Ellie, I wasn't very impressed.” He shrugged.

“Never mind Gareth for now—who are Anne, Thomas and Teresa?” Ellie hissed explosively. “And how is it that you know George Delacorte?”

“He's my uncle,” Patrick told her dismissively, at
the same time looking interestedly at the forty or so other Delacorte staff in the room. “As for Anne, Thomas and—”

“Your uncle?” Ellie spluttered incredulously, gaping up at him unbelievingly.

“By marriage.” Patrick nodded. “Mary Delacorte is my father's sister.”

“Why on earth didn't you tell me?” she demanded indignantly.

Patrick turned to look at her, dark brows raised over slightly mocking grey eyes. “I didn't think it was relevant.”

“You-didn't-think-it-was-relevant!” she repeated disgustedly.

“Ellie, why do you keep repeating everything I say?” he taunted derisively.

“Because I just can't believe this!” The colour was high in her cheeks, blue eyes sparkling. “Is Toby aware that my boss is your uncle?” she asked suspiciously as that idea suddenly occurred to her.

“I'm really not sure.” Patrick shrugged. “But I would have thought so. Do you think we ought to mingle?” he added consideringly. “Several of your work colleagues have looked curiously across at us in the last few minutes.”

She didn't care who had looked at them in the last few minutes; she intended getting to the bottom of this if it took all night. If Toby knew that Patrick was related to George Delacorte, then he must also be aware—

“Patrick!”

Ellie turned just in time to see Sarah Delacorte, George's daughter and only child, throw herself into Patrick's arms, kissing him enthusiastically.

Ellie felt her heart plummet as she looked at the beautiful young woman laughing up into Patrick's face, her pleasure at his presence obvious.

Sarah Delacorte was beautiful, there was no doubt about that, with her tall, slender figure—shown off to advantage now in a slinky black knee-length dress—her long silky blonde hair and delicate child-like features.

Unfortunately she was also the woman Gareth had been dating for the last six weeks and was about to announce his engagement to!

And she was, Ellie realised with dismay, Patrick's young cousin…

“What are you doing here?” Sarah demanded, still holding onto Patrick's hands as she gazed up at him in obvious delight.

Patrick looked no less pleased to see his cousin, grinning broadly. “Ellie brought me,” he explained lightly, releasing one of his hands to turn and firmly clasp one of Ellie's, to bring her forward to stand at his side.

“Goodness, Ellie, I haven't seen you for ages!” Sarah greeted her warmly. “You look wonderful!” she added with genuine warmth.

It was true the two women hadn't met for some time. Sarah had been in Paris for the last year, initially working with one of the fashion designers over there. But her career in modelling had taken a meteoric rise over the last six months, with her photograph appearing on the front page of all the popular women's magazines.

Sarah's absence abroad was also the reason she had no idea Ellie had still been dating Gareth until six weeks ago!

Ellie very much doubted that Gareth had told the other woman anything about her, or the fact that they had still
been dating after he and Sarah met. And Ellie certainly had no intention of telling the other woman any of that either. Although the fact that she now knew Patrick was the other woman's cousin certainly made things more than a little awkward in that direction!

“I understand congratulations are in order?” Patrick looked down teasingly at his young cousin.

Ellie noted that the warmth was no longer in his eyes, and his smile lacked some of its earlier spontaneity…

“Isn't it wonderful?” Sarah said dreamily, suddenly looking a very young twenty-one-year-old. “One moment I was young and fancy-free, and the next—I was just swept off my feet the moment I looked at him!” She laughed self-consciously.

Patrick's hand tightened about Ellie's fingers as he felt her stiffen beside him, although his narrowed gaze remained fixed on his cousin's glowingly lovely face. “Love at first sight, hmm?” he prompted dryly.

“Something like that.” Sarah gave another happy laugh. “Wait until you meet him,” she enthused. “You're going to love him!”

Considering what Patrick had said to Ellie about Gareth a few minutes earlier, she somehow doubted that very much!

Although how much of Patrick's opinion had been formed by what Ellie might have said or implied about the other man and what Patrick had actually decided for himself she had no idea!

Not that it mattered; this was just a very awkward situation all round.

What on earth had Toby been playing at when he originally organised this date for her with Patrick? Because Toby, of all of them, was well aware of the connection
of all the key players in what was turning out to be a fiasco!

Patrick gave a slight inclination of his head. “I'm sure you'll have a chance to introduce the two of us later. For the moment, I think Ellie wants to introduce me to some of her friends,” he added lightly.

“Of course,” Sarah instantly accepted. “It really is lovely to see you again, Ellie,” she added warmly. “We must go out and have coffee together some time, like we used to.”

When Sarah, no doubt, would want to wax lyrical about Gareth! No, thank you!

It was true the two women had occasionally had coffee together before Sarah's departure for Paris, but they had lost touch with each other during the last year. In the present circumstances Ellie thought it better if it remained that way!

“We must,” Ellie agreed non-committally.

“Catch up with you later, Sarah,” Patrick told his cousin, before strolling away, Ellie very firmly pinned to his side. “Save it for later, hmm?” he told her between barely moving lips.

“But—”

“Ellie, this is not the place to discuss it. Okay?” he prompted as she came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the crowded room.

No, it was not okay. She had no idea what was going on—how could she when the whole evening had been turned upside down by Patrick's family connection to the Delacortes?

He sighed at the mutinous expression on her face. “I know how this must look to you—”

“You can have no
idea
how this looks to me,” she assured him derisively.

“Probably not,” Patrick conceded with a grimace. “But we do have the rest of this evening to get through,” he reasoned. “And your ex-boyfriend's engagement is still going to be announced before the end of it.”

“Gareth's engagement to
your cousin
,” Ellie bit out pointedly.

“Yes,” he acknowledged heavily. “It probably escaped your notice earlier, but George isn't exactly thrilled at the prospect of having Gareth Davies as his son-in-law!”

Ellie blinked. “He isn't?”

Of course George had known that Ellie was dating Gareth until a couple of months ago—everyone at Delacorte, Delacorte and Delacorte had been aware of it. But when the older man had approached the subject of Sarah's involvement with the other man with Ellie she had dismissed her own relationship with him as a mere friendship. After all, she did have her pride…

She hadn't realised that George was talking to her about Gareth because he didn't exactly trust the younger man's motives regarding his daughter!

“No,” Patrick confirmed grimly.

She frowned. “Then why doesn't he do something about it?”

Patrick smile derisively. “Such as what? Tell Sarah he's nothing but a fortune-hunter? Because he is, isn't he?” he drawled scathingly. “A man with an eye to the main chance. A man who fancies the name Davies being added to the end of Delacorte, Delacorte and Delacorte!”

Yes, that was exactly what Gareth was. Handsome, charming—but totally mercenary. Ellie, as George's much-valued secretary, had seemed like a good prospect to him six months ago. But Gareth had dropped her like a hot coal when Sarah had returned from Paris and he'd realised George had a marriageable daughter.

“Yes,” Ellie confirmed miserably, feeling totally humiliated by her own past gullibility.

Patrick nodded abruptly. “And how do you think Sarah is likely to react if anyone should tell her that about the man she believes herself madly in love with?”

How would Ellie have reacted if someone had told her those things about Gareth three months ago? Even two months ago? Would she have believed them if she weren't now the one with the knowledge of just how mercenary Gareth could be?

She gave a derisive grimace. “She'll tell them to mind their own business!”

“In one.” Patrick nodded in mocking confirmation.

Ellie shook her head dismissively. “But if George really distrusts his motives—”

“He does,” Patrick bit out grimly.

“Then why doesn't he just sack him?”

“For the same reason, wouldn't you think?” Patrick derided. Yes, Ellie
did
think. It was obvious from Sarah's behaviour earlier, from the things she had said about Gareth, that the other woman was completely taken in by him.

As Ellie had once been…

But, as Ellie had learnt only too well—and obviously Patrick and his uncle knew too—Gareth's charm was all a front for his calculating brain, to create Delacorte, Delacorte, Delacorte, and Davies!

At only thirty-two Gareth had ambitions that he had no intention of working at if they could be achieved by a simpler route—such as marrying the senior partner's daughter!

It had taken Ellie almost two weeks to realise that
Gareth was dating someone else besides herself—he hadn't wanted to give up on one option before making absolutely sure of the second one! Once she had realised what he was doing she had told him precisely what she thought of him. And what he could do with the relationship he had tried to offer her as consolation prize.

If she had thought he was genuinely in love with Sarah then it would have been a different matter; she would have just accepted the inevitable. But by that time her eyes had been wide open where Gareth was concerned, her illusions shattered.

But she still had no idea what Patrick was up to…

Because he was up to something. She was sure of it!

“So, Ellie, what do you think?” Patrick looked at her consideringly now. “Do you want to help us prove to Sarah what an absolute bas—What a calculating mercenary her new fiancé actually is?” he amended harshly.

Ellie glanced across the room to where she could see Gareth, now talking to Sarah, a superior smile curving his lips as she looked up at him with absolute adoration, obviously enthralled by his every word.

A shudder ran down Ellie's spine. Had she once looked and felt as Sarah so obviously did? She had been attracted to Gareth, of that she had no doubt—just as she had no doubt that she had been meant to feel attracted to him! She had been flattered by his interest too—what woman wouldn't be when he was so handsome and charming? But she was relieved to realise that if she had ever believed herself in love with him it had been short lived, because she felt nothing but disgust as she looked at him now.

She turned back to Patrick, her shoulders straightening
with resolve. “I have absolutely no idea how you intend going about that, but, yes, I'm willing to help. If I can,” she added uncertainly.

If Patrick and George, two very capable men, had no idea how to go about revealing Gareth in his true colours to the besotted Sarah, what could she possibly do to achieve that?