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‘No one answering to that description has spoken to her. She did some shopping on Monday night but, apart from that, all she’s done is work. But then I’ve told you all that. She leaves the house each day at seven and returns each evening at seven. She has made no stops, she’s had no visitors.’
‘Right.’ Nicholas drummed his fingers against the desk.
‘Oh, except tonight—she asked your chauffeur to drop her off at a chemist shop.’
‘That’s hardly earth-shattering, is it?’ Nicholas murmured dryly. ‘OK, thanks, Keith.’ Putting down the phone, he reached into a drawer and took out the ring box.
It was now just over a month until Cat’s birthday. The business trip to Switzerland couldn’t have come at a worse time. He hadn’t wanted to leave her; in fact, he’d thought about taking her with him but he’d known what her answer would be. She kept insisting that her work was her priority in life! And getting her to come away with him and sit around while he dealt with his business wouldn’t have been a smart move right now. The closer he tried to reel her in, the more she pulled away. That was when he had decided that maybe reverse psychology was needed. If he left her alone for a week, maybe it would give her time to reflect on their relationship. The passion between them was red-hot. She was bound to miss him!
It had been a risky strategy so close to her birthday so he’d given his PI rigid instructions to monitor her every move and contact him if anything unusual happened.
Even so, two days into his business trip he’d woken in a cold sweat in the middle of the night. He’d dreamed of Cat walking down the aisle of a church. She’d been wearing a long white dress and she had looked so breathtakingly beautiful that he had been filled with desire. She’d looked up and smiled—it was that special smile that she gave him sometimes when he reached to take her hand—but the smile hadn’t been for him; it had been for the man in the photograph, the man her brother had set her up with! He’d woken in a complete state of shock!
That was when he’d decided that now was a bad time to be so far away from her. Important trip or not, he must have been an idiot going to Switzerland when he had so much more to lose in London. Cancelling the rest of his schedule, he’d flown back immediately. He’d felt a bit better, knowing that he was just a short drive away from her. So he’d held his nerve and kept his distance for a few days longer, phoning the PI for constant updates. But today he’d had enough. Five days was enough breathing space. He needed to wrap this up. He would propose tonight.
The ring was a spectacular solitaire; he was sure she would take one look at it and say yes. After all, marriage to him would solve all her financial problems. Not only would she claim her inheritance, but also she would bag a wealthy husband. In true McKenzie style, she wouldn’t be able to resist. He wouldn’t mention the fact that he wanted her to sign a prenuptial contract until just before the big day—by which time she wouldn’t want to back down because she wouldn’t want to lose her inheritance. It would all work out fine.
He heard the lift doors opening in the lounge area and put the ring in his jacket pocket before walking out to greet her.
But, to his surprise, his chauffeur was alone in the room.
‘Where is she?’ Nicholas glanced into the lift as if Cat might be hiding somewhere.
‘Sorry, Mr Zentenas, but Ms McKenzie wanted me to drop her home. She said to tell you thank you for the lift and that she would phone you tomorrow.’
For a moment Nicholas was completely nonplussed. Even though Cat had told him on the phone that she didn’t want to see him tonight, he hadn’t really taken her seriously. ‘What’s she playing at?’ He spoke more to himself than the driver.
‘I don’t think she is playing at anything, sir. She was wet through from the rain and—’
‘I need to go over there and sort this out,’ Nicholas murmured, a look of determination on his face.
Cat had just had a shower and put on a T-shirt and a pair of shorts that she wore for bed when her front doorbell rang. She frowned and looked at the clock. It was almost ten.
Putting the door on the catch, she swung it open a few inches and peered around the edge. She was surprised to see Nicholas standing outside. He looked very attractive in a dark suit and a pale blue shirt open at the neck.
‘Hi!’ she murmured distractedly. How did he manage to look both businesslike and overwhelmingly sexy? she wondered as her heart did a strange leap of pleasure.
‘Hello.’ He smiled. ‘Are you going to let me in?’
‘Oh! Yes.’ She closed the door and then looked down at her clothing; if she had thought for one moment he might come over, she would have put something more glamorous on. But it was too late to do anything about it now, so she unfastened the chain before swinging the door open again. ‘What are you doing here, Nicholas?’
‘I wanted to see you. I thought I made that clear when I sent my driver over.’
‘But I thought I made it clear that I wasn’t up to seeing you tonight.’ Her pleasure at seeing him turned to annoyance. He had no right to come over here laying down ultimatums. He didn’t own her!
He closed the door. ‘Catherine, it’s been five days and I think that is quite long enough for you to be rested and ready for me.’
‘I beg your
pardon?’ She put one hand on her hip and her eyes flashed fire at him. ‘I think maybe you’d better just go.’
He smiled. ‘I’d almost forgotten how much that temper of yours excites me.’
‘And I had almost—but not quite—forgotten how arrogant you are.’
He smiled and his eyes took in the heat of annoyance on her high cheekbones and the soft curve of her lips, before moving lower to see the way her T-shirt clung to her curves and the white shorts revealed long, shapely golden brown legs. She was achingly gorgeous.
He reached out and took hold of her hand to pull her a little closer to him.
