She was less angry the following morning, when Bryan returned to her apartment to begin the drive to Gloucestershire. Less angry, but more determined.She had made a mistake yesterday morning by making love with Bryan. A mistake that would not be repeated. Not that Bryan looked as if he would care for a repeat of that lapse either. His manner was curt in the extreme as he opened the car door for her to get into the passenger seat, his expression decidedly grim as he settled himself behind the wheel.She shot him a sideways glance as he manoeuvred the car out into the busy London traffic. Apart from a terse greeting when Helena had answered the door earlier to his knock, Bryan hadn’t even spoken to her this morning.Had these hours apart given him time to reflect too? To realise that his suggestion that the two of them marry had only been a knee-jerk reaction to knowing that she was pregnant with his child? After careful consideration, had he decided he didn’t really want to marry her?
‘No,’ she stated flatly.Bryan gave her a brief glance. The look of almost stubborn anger on Helena's face told him more than any words ever could have done that she had absolutely no interest in how her grandfather reacted to the news of her pregnancy.‘Do you fear that he will once again be disappointed in you?’ Bryan queried gently.‘Disappointed?’ Helena echoed. ‘I imagine disappointment is the last emotion my grandfather will feel when he hears he is to be a great-grandfather at last! Or rather that there is to be a Boschheir at last,’ she added, with a bitterness that was unmistakable.That statement, as far as Bryan was concerned, required clarification! ‘Our child will be the Smith heir,’ Bryan reminded her pointedly.‘Not if my grandfather has anything to do with it!’ Helena retorted.‘Which he does not,’ Bryan snapped.She shrugged, not wanting to carry on this thread of conversation any longer. ‘Then I suggest you take that up with him.’‘Helena—’‘Look, Bryan,’ she interrup
‘Why didn’t you let us know you were coming?’ Her father gave her a brief, quizzical look as he received his own hug before turning his attention to their guest. ‘Mr Smith—it’s good to see you again.’ He shook the younger man warmly by the hand.‘Helena wanted to surprise you both,’ Bryan answered smoothly when it became obvious Helena was at a loss as to how to begin telling her parents of the reason for their visit.‘Well, she succeeded.’ Joey Botch, a tall, thin, slightly weathered-looking man, after hours of working outdoors with his horses, with blond hair liberally streaked with grey and eyes of twinkling green, gave his daughter an indulgent smile before indicating they should all sit down in the comfortably worn chairs in the family’s informal sitting room.Bryan waited until Helena had seated herself on the edge of the faded gold-coloured sofa before deliberately sitting down next t
Helena turned back to her father, and the gentle questioning in his eyes was almost her undoing. It would have been her undoing if at that moment she hadn’t heard the door to her grandfather’s study being opened and then closed again with studied force, followed by the sound of someone walking down the carpeted hallway.Who—?A grimly satisfied Bryan entered the room. ‘Major Boschhas decided not to join us, after all,’ he announced.There was complete silence in the room, and then Joey burst into appreciative laughter. ‘I have no idea what you said to my father, Bryan, but anyone who can best him in an argument—I take it you did best him?’ He waited for Bryan’s nod before continuing. ‘Then you deserve a medal!’ he exclaimed, and he crossed the room to slap the younger man on the back.Joey Botch’s lack of rancour on his father’s behalf came as no surprise to Bryan now that he understood the overbearing way in which Helenael Boschhad ruled this household for the last twenty-five years.
He smiled. ‘It means that I know you are not in love with me yet, but that I hope, given time, to persuade you into loving me as much as I love you. And I do love you—a great deal, Helena,’ he added throatily. ‘I love you as I never thought I would love anyone,’ he told her intently. ‘I love you more than life itself!’Helena stared at him, completely dumbstruck, completely overwhelmed! ‘I—But—You can’t love me!’ she finally managed to gasp.Bryan’s smile deepened. ‘The fact that you are the only person I know who would dare to tell me who I can or cannot love is one of the reasons that I do love you.’‘But—but you never even approved of me as a friend for Emma.’‘I was guilty of that arrogance, yes.’‘And even less so after my marriage and divorce,’ she continued, frowning now.He drew in a sharp breath. ‘You are in no way responsible for the brevity of your marriage to Peter Mollan!’ he told her harshly.Helena looked up at him cautiously, seeing the fierce anger in his gaze. And yet
The shrill sound of the telephone jolted Pamela from her sleep, but she didn’t need to check the caller ID to know who was on the other end. Who else would dare call her at this ungodly hour but the man who believed he had the right to do as he pleased, whenever he pleased? And more often than not, he did just that.Theodore, the notorious "Playboy Prince." Or, to use his full and rather grandiose title, Prince Theodore Kaid, the infamous, seductive, and impossibly handsome Prince of Khoshorbhan. The boss, and though he wasn't quite from hell, he certainly seemed to originate from a place just as dark and complicated.She glanced at the clock, noting with a groan that it was four in the morning. “Jesus…it's too early…” she groaned. Even for Prince Theodore, this was an early call. Stifling a yawn, she picked up the phone, curiosity and irritation mingling as she wondered what kind of chaos he had embroiled himself in this time.Had some fresh scandal about him broken out, likely fuele
What if...? Pamela swallowed the bitter taste of fear. What if her charismatic boss was in serious danger? What would she do if he was in a life-threatening condition? If he... he...She had never thought of Theodore as mortal before, and now she couldn't think of anything else. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard the blaring horn of a passing car, and she tightened her grip on the steering wheel. There was no point in thinking negatively. Whatever had happened, he would pull through—just like he always did. Theodore was as strong as a lion, and she couldn’t imagine anything dimming his magnificent strength.A dull rain was spattering against the windscreen as she pulled into the hospital car park. It was still so early that the morning staff hadn’t arrived yet. The whole building seemed eerily quiet as she entered, which only increased her growing sense of foreboding. Silently, she hurried down the bright corridors towards the A&E department until she reached the main desk.A nur
His eyes opened, surprising a look of such darkened fear in her gaze that he was momentarily taken aback. He studied the soft quiver of her lips and felt the tiptoeing of something unfamiliar on his skin. Was that really Pamela?‘Don’t worry. I’m not about to die,’ he drawled. And then, despite the terrible aching at his temples, he allowed just the right pause for maximum effect before directing a mocking question at the woman in uniform who was standing beside his bed, her fingertips counting the hammering of his pulse. ‘Am I, Nurse?’Pamela inexplicably found herself seething with anger towards Theodore for displaying his trademark arrogance. He could have risked his life, yet there he was, casually flirting with the nurse! Why had she wasted any time feeling sentimental towards him when she should have known he was as unbreakable as stone? He showed about as much emotion as a rock, after all! She wanted to caution him against his flippant behaviour—but realising it might only agita