The Yuletide Engagement & A Yuletide Seduction (8 page)

He had come to a halt some distance away from her. “Frigid,” he repeated scornfully.

Her eyes glazed coldly. “You'll never know,” she bit out forcefully.

He smiled. “But I already do know, Ellie,” he assured her derisively. “Oh, well.” He shrugged in the face of her stony expression. “I made the offer. See you around.” He raised a hand in farewell before letting himself out of the house.

 

S
HE
turned to Patrick now, having no intention of relating any of that conversation to him. It was bad enough that she still remembered every painfully humiliating word of it, without sharing it with anyone else. Least of all Patrick!

She gave him a dismissive smile. “It isn't important what happened, Patrick,” she told him lightly. “Gareth hurt me with words, that's all. And as my mother always said, ‘sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me',” she quoted ruefully.

Patrick looked unconvinced. “Bones heal; words can never be forgotten.”

How true that was. She hadn't forgotten a single word Gareth had said to her six weeks ago, whereas a broken
finger or wrist would have healed and been dismissed by now.

“Surely it's Gareth's problem if he considers that any woman who doesn't want to sleep with him must be frigid.” She shrugged.

Grey eyes widened. “He actually said that? To
you
?” Patrick sounded incredulous.

Ellie gave him a disgruntled frown. “Yes, he said that to me,” she repeated irritably.

Patrick chuckled softly. “You're right, Ellie.” He gave a rueful shake of his head. “He isn't important,” he explained at her questioning look. “He obviously didn't get to know you very well at all, did he?” he added derisively.

“Exactly what do you mean by that remark?” she demanded defensively.

He looked at her consideringly before answering. “Ellie, you are one of the warmest, most responsive women I have ever had the pleasure to meet.”

Her cheeks coloured hotly. It was no good denying what he said; her response to him whenever he touched her was undeniable.

“I'll tell you something else,” Patrick added huskily as he stood up to move round the table and pull her unresistingly to her feet. “I'm glad Davies never got close enough to you to discover that for himself,” he murmured throatily, before bending to lightly brush Ellie's lips with his own.

So was she.

She hadn't always felt that way, had wondered in the days and then weeks that had followed Gareth's abrupt departure from her life whether she could indeed be frigid. But she only had to be in the same room with
Patrick to be completely aware of him, and when she was actually in his arms like this…!

No, she wasn't frigid. She was just a woman who only responded to the right man. The right man for her. Because, although he was unsuitable in every other way—rich, powerful, successful, completely removed from her own lifestyle—she knew she had fallen in love with Patrick McGrath.

She had been fighting that knowledge for some time now, refusing to allow the thought to even enter her head. But alone here with him in the silence of her kitchen, held in his arms, their two bodies moulded perfectly together, she could no longer deny how she felt about him.

To herself, at least.

To Patrick it was another matter!

“Well, I'm relieved to hear it,” she told him lightly, at the same time moving determinedly out of his arms. “Maybe there's hope for me after all,” she added with deliberate self-derision.

Patrick's gaze followed her frowningly. “Ellie—”

“I just heard a car in the driveway, so I think Toby must be home,” she told him with a certain amount of relief.

Her mother used to say something else to her, about “jumping from the frying pan into the fire”. Well, she had certainly done that where Patrick was concerned; he was a more unsuitable man for her to have fallen in love with than Gareth had ever been!

“D
ID
you enjoy yourself on Saturday?”

Ellie gave a startled glance towards the open door of her office, her gaze narrowing as she focused on Gareth standing in the doorway, looking incredibly cheerful. As well as self-confident.

The latter instantly made Ellie more wary than she would normally have been in his unwanted presence, and she glanced towards the door that connected hers to George's, to make sure it was firmly shut, before replying. “The Delacortes gave you and Sarah a wonderful engagement party,” she answered non-committally.

Gareth grinned, coming fully into the room before closing the door behind him. “That didn't exactly answer my question, now, did it?” he reproved derisively, moving to sit on the edge of her desk as he looked down at her with mocking blue eyes.

Ellie sighed. “I didn't think it really needed an answer,” she dismissed, still eyeing him warily, sure his pleasantness wouldn't last for long; nowadays it usually didn't.

Besides, she remembered all too well his nastiness on Saturday evening. Still had the bruises to prove how angry he had been then.

He shrugged. “Thanks for the cut-glass crystal vase, by the way. Sarah will be writing to everyone formally,
of course, but I thought I would come and thank you personally.”

Cut-glass crystal vase? Ellie had been aware that Patrick had carried a gift-wrapped present into the house on Saturday evening, of course, but even if it had been a cut-glass crystal vase, what did it have to do with her…?

“‘Congratulations, love from Patrick and Ellie',” Gareth continued tauntingly. “You've been ‘Patrick and Ellie' for how long?” he added scathingly.

A matter of days. Except they weren't “Patrick and Ellie” at all.

She'd had no idea that Patrick had put her name beside his on the gift card that had accompanied the engagement present he'd given to his cousin on Saturday. She realised why he had done it, of course, but he might have warned her!

She gave Gareth a stony look. “Gareth, I have no idea why you should be in the least interested,” she scorned.

“I'm not. Not really.” He still looked incredibly pleased with himself. “It will be quite a coup for the Fairfax family if you and Toby manage to pull this off.” He gave her an admiring look. “I must say, Ellie, you're something of a surprise. Especially after your holier-than-thou attitude before.” He shook his head. “Those people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, you know.”

Ellie gave him a suspicious look. Could he possibly have been drinking? Admittedly it was only eleven-thirty in the morning, but she couldn't think of any other explanation for the fact that what he was saying made absolutely no sense to her.

She shook her head, not wanting to prolong this
unwanted conversation any further by asking him for an explanation. “I'll bear your advice in mind, Gareth,” she dismissed. “Now, if you wouldn't mind, I have some work to do…?” She gave a pointed look at where he sat on some of the papers on her desk.

Gareth grinned, making no effort to move. “Don't you see, Ellie? There's no longer any need to be all coy with me. The truth is, you and I are more alike than I would ever have guessed.”

She stiffened defensively. “I don't think so!” she snapped distastefully.

“But of course we are,” he contradicted happily. “It's a pity you came on so prim and proper six weeks ago; you and I would have made a great team. And Toby, of course.” He
had
been drinking; there was no other explanation for this completely puzzling conversation!

“What on earth does Toby have to do with any of this?” She looked at him impatiently.

The two men had met on several occasions, when Gareth had come to call for her at the house, but as far as she was aware Toby hadn't particularly taken to the other man then, and he certainly didn't like him now. As for Gareth, he hadn't seemed particularly interested in Toby either.

Gareth grinned. “You can stop the pretence now, Ellie,” he teased. “The game is up, so to speak. Maybe the three of us should form some sort of club? We could call it—”

“Gareth, I have no idea what you're talking about.” Ellie lost all patience with him. “Besides which, you're sitting on my desk when I want to get on with some work. Now, would you please go?” She glared at him.

He stood up slowly. But looked no less confident. “Okay, play it that way if you want to.” He shrugged. “But just remember that if you keep my little secret then I'll keep yours. And Toby's, of course,” he added enigmatically. “Fair's fair, after all.”

“Gareth—”

“Ellie, I'm just going across to—”

“Gareth…?” George came to a halt in the doorway that connected his office to Ellie's, his gaze narrowing suspiciously on the younger man as he saw him standing there.

Gareth looked completely unconcerned by the interruption. “I just popped in to tell Ellie how much Sarah and I loved the crystal vase she and Patrick gave us for an engagement present,” he told his future father-in-law lightly.

“Well, now you've told her might I suggest you leave her to get on with her work?” George nodded abruptly, continuing to look at the younger man with narrowed eyes.

“Of course,” Gareth accepted smoothly, moving unhurriedly to the door. “I believe I'm seeing you and Mary for dinner this evening,” he added with a smile.

“I believe you are,” George acknowledged non-committally.

“See you later, Ellie,” came Gareth's parting shot.

Not if she saw him first! She had found him obnoxious enough before. Now she not only disliked him intensely, she didn't understand a word he said!

George gave a shuddering sigh. “No matter how hard I try, I simply can't bring myself to like that young man.” He shook his head sadly.

Ellie gave a wan smile. “I wouldn't worry about it, George; you're in the majority rather than the minority!”

He grimaced. “I wouldn't worry about it at all if Sarah hadn't decided to marry the man! I had just about decided that he wasn't suitable for Delacorte, Delacorte and Delacorte when Sarah dropped the bombshell of her engagement to the man. Her mother and I simply don't know what to do for the best,” he added heavily.

Ellie gave him a sympathetic smile. “I think the two of you are doing very well. Very often seeming to do nothing is the right thing to do,” she added encouragingly.

George gave her a grateful smile. “A word of advice, Ellie. Never have daughters; it plays the very devil with your heart.”

She felt so sorry for him. Especially as there was nothing she could say or do to make him feel any better.

He straightened, seeming to shake off his despondency as he glanced down at the file he held in his hand. “I'm just going across to Gerald's office for a few minutes. My next appointment is at twelve-thirty?”

Ellie nodded after a brief glimpse at the appointment book on her desk, breathing a sigh of relief when she was finally left alone in her office.

Gareth's conversation was still a complete puzzle to her. But then, the man himself was a complete enigma to her; how could he possibly be contemplating marrying someone he so obviously didn't love? As beautiful as Sarah was.

And how could she be in love with a man when she stood absolutely no chance of him ever feeling the same way about her?

Ellie had pondered that question several times over
the weekend, and she still had no answer. Only knew that she was counting the hours until she saw Patrick again!

 

“O
H, GOOD,
you got the message and aren't dressed up,” Patrick said with relief as Ellie opened the door to him at eight o'clock on Tuesday evening.

She raised dark brows. “It would serve you right if I said that I was dressed up.” She opened the door wider to let him in, wearing a fitted blue jumper with faded denims.

He shook his head, grinning. “I knew Toby wouldn't let me down!”

Her brother had dutifully passed on Patrick's message earlier that they were going to eat at a pizzeria, and Ellie had dressed accordingly. Although Patrick looked as ruggedly handsome as ever in the black sweater and black denims that he wore.

“We always seem to be going somewhere formal,” Patrick dismissed. “I thought it would be nice if we could completely relax this evening.”

There was also no possibility of them running into anyone Patrick knew in some out-of-the way pizzeria!

Ellie had had plenty of time to think once Toby had passed on Patrick's message to dress casually because they were going to eat informally. Patrick had never said, and she hadn't liked to ask Toby, but there was always the possibility that Patrick actually had a woman in his life at the moment. Perhaps not someone he had wanted to introduce to his family, as in accompanying him to the party on Saturday evening, but that didn't mean he wasn't involved in a relationship. She had never thought to ask…

But she wanted to ask now—wanted to know everything there was to know about Patrick McGrath. Especially if there was already a woman in his life!

Not that Ellie didn't already know she was wasting her time feeling about him as she did; she just didn't like the idea of Patrick having to explain these dates with her to another woman. In fact, she just didn't like the thought of there being another woman at all!

“I hope you like Italian food?” Patrick prompted ruefully.

“I like it fine.” Ellie nodded, picking up her fleecy blue jacket from the kitchen chair—if only to show him that she didn't always wear the unattractive long black coat.

The beautiful pashmina Patrick had bought for her on Saturday was now carefully folded and placed back in its tissue paper inside the box, stashed away at the back of her wardrobe. Ellie knew she might never find the opportunity to wear such a glamorous item again.

“Shall we go?” she prompted lightly once she had shrugged into the jacket.

Patrick looked at her consideringly. “Is everything okay? Has Davies been bothering you again?” he added hardly.

Ellie frowned. “Apart from a very strange conversation with him yesterday morning, no.”

“Tell me about it while we eat,” Patrick suggested, opening the door for her. “Unless you think it will give us both indigestion?” He grimaced as he moved to unlock the car door.

It was warm and cosy as she settled inside the car, which smelt vaguely of the aftershave Patrick favoured.
“No more than any other subject would, I don't suppose,” she answered Patrick dismissively as he got in beside her.

He gave her a sideways glance. “What's that supposed to mean?”

Ellie sighed. “I still don't know what this evening is about—”

Patrick shrugged. “How about it's a thank-you for all the—inconvenience you're having to go through on my family's behalf?”

“What about the inconvenience you're now having to go to on my behalf?” she came back dismissively.

He frowned his puzzlement as he drove. “What inconvenience would that be?”

She gave a self-derisive smile. “Taking me out.”

He smiled ruefully. “I have no idea what you're talking about, Ellie.”

She grimaced. “It must be the week for it!”

“Forget Davies for the moment,” Patrick bit out impatiently. “I want to know what you meant by that remark just now.”

Seeing the determination on his face, Ellie wished she had never made the remark in the first place. She was just feeling sorry for herself because she had fallen in love with a man who was completely unobtainable. Which was absolutely no reason to try and make life difficult for him on the rare occasions she saw him!

“Forget it,” she advised self-derisively. “It's just pre-Christmas tension, I expect. It's very kind of you to take me out—”

“Ellie, I know you haven't known me very long,” he interrupted evenly, his expression grim, “but when you do know me better you'll realise that, although I'm not
a cruel man, neither am I someone who takes a woman out—namely you—because I am simply being kind!”

She had seen Patrick in many moods over the last couple of weeks—amused, attentive, charming, angry when it came to Gareth—but he had never been annoyed or angry with her before. At the moment he appeared to be both!

“I'm sorry if I've mistaken the situation—”

“And don't start apologising,” he cut in impatiently. “You have done nothing to apologise for. I appear to be the one who hasn't made myself clear. A fact I am about to change right now,” he assured her determinedly, and he turned the car into a deserted private car park on the edge of town.

“What are you doing?” Ellie looked about them dazedly as Patrick parked the car in the middle of the dimly lit area.

He released his seat belt before turning in his seat to face her. “I'm about to convince you that I asked you out this evening for one reason and one reason only. You can let me know afterwards if I've succeeded or not,” he added firmly, before reaching out to pull her into his arms, his mouth coming down forcefully on hers.

Ellie was so stunned by the suddenness of the kiss that for a moment she lay acquiescent in his arms, but then the magical thrill of his lips thoroughly exploring hers warmed her body in that familiar way, and her arms moved up about his shoulders as she returned the kiss with all the pent-up longing inside her.

Patrick's hands moved caressingly along the length of her spine, sending ripples of pleasure through her whole body. Her neck arched as his lips moved from her mouth to her cheek, and then down the creamy column
of her throat, his tongue doing amazing things to the tiny hollow he discovered there.

Ellie's eyes were closed, her head back against the car seat, her fingers entwined the thick darkness of Patrick's hair as she held him against her.

“Are you wearing anything underneath this jumper, Ellie Fairfax?” Patrick murmured throatily as his thumb moved across the tip of one hardened nipple.