Her Tycoon Protector
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Amanda Browning
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HarlequinCHAPTER ONE
SHELBY GREER paced angrily across the carpet. She looked wildly dramatic in her electric-blue suit, with her shoulder-length auburn hair bouncing at every long-legged stride. She had been blessed with a classically oval face and fine features that would be considered beautiful by any standards, but right now her ice-green eyes, with their thick long lashes, were flashing sparks. She was fuming. A volatile volcano just waiting to explode. Abruptly she turned to face the man who stood before the elegant Adam fireplace.
‘No! Absolutely not! There’s no way I’m going to have my world turned upside down—not in a million years. I’m not giving up my independence on the basis of a threat that might not be real,’ she declared vehemently in response to his proposal.
‘Now, Shelby, be reasonable,’ her father pleaded with her. ‘If you won’t come and stay here where I can look after you, then you have to have a bodyguard.’
‘No, I most certainly do not!’ Shelby disagreed instantly. ‘I’m perfectly capable of looking after myself. If you think for one second that I would allow a complete stranger to enter my home and invade my privacy, you’re crazy.’ The mere thought of it made her shudder with distaste.
‘If it’s crazy to care what happens to you, then I’m guilty as charged,’ her father shot back. ‘Threats have been made against you, Shelby. I have to take them seriously. Why won’t you?’
‘Because it’s all so utterly ridiculous! The man’s a crank, out for what he can get. Why should I allow him to upset my life? No, I’m sorry, Dad, but to keep trying to change my mind is a complete and utter waste of time,’ she declared adamantly, though she secretly admitted to a few butterflies in her stomach when he had first told her. ‘Trust me on this. Nothing is going to happen.’
‘So you keep telling me,’ Oscar Greer responded calmly to his only daughter’s outburst. He had, after all, known what to expect. She was headstrong and independent and, on occasions such as these, over-confident that she knew best.
Shelby flung up her hands despairingly. ‘Then why aren’t you listening to me?’ She loved her father dearly, and knew he had only her best interests at heart, but this was going too far. ‘I don’t need a nursemaid, Dad!’
‘I’m glad to hear it,’ her father returned dryly. ‘At twenty-eight, you should be able to wash, dress and feed yourself.’
That piece of whimsy earned him another exasperated look. ‘You know what I mean. This is so unnecessary.’
‘Really? I had no idea you could look into the future?’
Shelby turned away in frustration. There was no getting through to him. He wasn’t going to budge an inch. There were times when she could twist him round her little finger, but this was not one of them. He loved her, but he would only twist when he wanted to. This time he intended to have his way. Well, she was as determined as he was. She was not about to give in this time.
Sighing heavily, she walked to the window and looked out at the rain-lashed gardens of her father’s Hampstead home. She had grown up here, an only child but never a lonely one. Her father was London’s most successful media magnate, but he had always had time for his daughter. The bond was a close one. He needed her compliance for his own peace of mind. Normally she would gladly have given it to him, but this was different. She couldn’t alter her life because of a threat she didn’t believe existed, however much she loved her father. All she could try to do was make him see things from her point of view.
‘Let’s go over it again. What exactly did the message say?’ she asked in a more reasonable tone as she turned to her parent.
Oscar Greer’s expression became grim. ‘The gist of it was that one of our papers had printed something this individual didn’t like, and he intended to take some form of revenge. He used the phrase, ‘The sins of the father shall pass down to the daughter.’ Which the police consider a direct threat to you. Which is why you are going to have a bodyguard, like it or not. You’re all I have and I’m not prepared to risk losing you.’
That, of course, tweaked her heartstrings, and with a faint groan she hurried over to give him a hug. ‘You aren’t going to lose me,’ she reassured him fiercely. ‘But I’m still not going to have a bodyguard!’ she added hastily, so he wouldn’t think she had given in.
Her father grimaced as he hugged her back. ‘My God, but you’re stubborn. The police wanted to lock you away somewhere safe for the duration, but I knew I’d never get you to agree to that either!’ he told her as he released her.
Shelby’s lips curved in an unseen smile of relief as she crossed to the tray of drinks on the antique sideboard, helping herself to a small brandy. She needed it, for she had never had to fight so strongly with her father before. It wasn’t comfortable. Now that she had won, she began to relax.
‘You were right about that. I have commitments. I can’t just up sticks and disappear.’
She was that most fashion conscious of modern individuals—an interior designer. Her mother had been an artist, and it was from her that Shelby had inherited her eye for colour and texture. After a false start, she had studied art and design at college and then had gone on to start her own business. There had been small jobs to begin with, but word of mouth had soon spread about the quality of her work. One thing had led to another, until now she was so busy she had taken on a small staff of helpers. She was fully aware that there were people who thought that, as her father’s heir, she led a cushioned existence and only played at her work. They were wrong. Her business was her own baby from start to finish and she took it very seriously indeed. Her books were full and she even had a waiting list.
With a wry shake of her head, she curled up in a corner of the couch. ‘Lord, I can’t believe you actually expected me to agree to have a minder!’ Funnily enough, she had been told once that she needed a minder, but she shied away from the memory. It had been totally embarrassing for her. He, of course, had found it vastly amusing. ‘You’ve had threats before. Why are you taking this one so seriously?’
‘I prefer not to take chances with your life, my girl,’ Oscar pronounced, glancing at his watch, then checking that against the mantel clock. Rocking back on his heels, he slipped his hand into his jacket pocket and studied his polished shoes.
‘Are you expecting someone?’ she asked, fascinated by these unexpected signs of unease in him.
He cleared his throat. ‘Since you ask, the chap I’ve arranged to watch your back is arriving tonight.’
Shelby’s eyes widened in shock. ‘You already arranged it? Before asking me?’ So much for winning! She should have guessed he would do something like this.
‘I knew you wouldn’t agree, so I made the decision for you,’ her father confirmed with a nod of his head. ‘I decided the best option was to present you with a fait accompli.’
She was on her feet in an instant. ‘You had no right to do that, Dad. I know you’re concerned, but this is my life we’re talking about. Well, I hope you and he have an enjoyable evening, because you’ll be spending it without me. I’m leaving!’ She moved to make good her threat, but had only taken one short step towards her handbag when her father spoke.
‘Stay right where you are, Shelby. You’re going nowhere,’ he commanded in a voice she hadn’t heard in years. It brought her up short, blinking in surprise.
‘You can’t force me to have a bodyguard!’ she protested in disbelief, which made Oscar Greer smile grimly.
‘I can, and I am.’
‘This is absurd!’ Shelby exclaimed, but she sat down again just as the front doorbell rang loudly. She twisted round so she could watch the lounge door from over the back of the couch. ‘Is this him? Well, I don’t care how nice he is; I’m not going to have anything to do with him,’ she added for good measure, listening to the housekeeper opening the front door, and the sound of voices joined in friendly conversation. Then footsteps headed towards the closed door and she held her breath.
The man who entered was in his mid-thirties, black-haired, blue-eyed and handsome as sin. Wearing a brown leather bomber jacket over blue shirt and jeans, he was indeed the sexiest thing on two legs she had seen in many a long day. Broad-shouldered to boot. He was tall and had the sort of long legs and lean hips that she found particularly attractive. He also had the kind of chest a girl could snuggle up on and drift into dreams that would make an angel blush. She didn’t have to ask if he was also charming and witty. She knew. He was, after all, Gray Compton, her father’s troubleshooter and the man she had been in love with for simply aeons.
For one intense moment Shelby’s world stood still. Lord, but her heart was pleased to see him. Life had been a desert since the last time they had met. Not that he would know it, she reminded herself as time ticked on again. She had her pride, after all.
They had been friends once, when she was younger. He had been the closest thing to a brother she would ever have. They had teased and taunted each other, much as all brothers and sisters did, and it might have stayed that way if fate had not intervened. Quite out of the blue, and when she had least expected it, she had fallen in love with him. Naturally, having done something so rash, and knowing he still only saw her as a sister, she had had to camouflage her feelings for her own protection.
She had often teased Gray about the women in his life, but had found herself in the unenviable position of wanting to be one. The only one. To her despair, he had never seen her that way. Jealousy had raised its ugly head. To combat it she had taken to dating like it was going out of fashion, though rarely dating the same man for long, to hide the fact there was only one man she really wanted. For his part, Gray had observed her behaviour with undisguised amusement.
Their relationship had stayed pretty much the same, although he had now started teasing her about the men in her life too. She had hidden her unhappiness well and, save for one minor blip when she had succumbed to a moment of recklessness, she had lived with the situation. So it might have gone on, but then something had happened which had made her hate him. She couldn’t forget it, nor forgive it, no matter how much she loved him—and, for her sins, she did still love him.
So now, whenever they met, they engaged in a constant war of words. It was the perfect shield, and Shelby doubted if anyone but herself knew how she really felt. Right now, though, she wished she had had some warning he was coming to dinner tonight, in order to get her defences in place.
Gray Compton allowed his gaze to meet that of a bemused Shelby. ‘Hi, there, Red. Long time no see.’
Shelby winced at the nickname she had been given as a child because of her hair. Of course, Gray would insist on using it still, just to irritate her. She smiled thinly. ‘Well, well, if it isn’t Dad’s blue-eyed boy. What are you doing here, Gray? Coming to see what trouble you can cause?’
For once he didn’t come back with a mocking rejoinder. ‘My job, sweetheart. Just my job,’ he told her briefly, making her frown.
Having grown used to their bickering over recent years, Oscar Greer ignored it and crossed the room, hand held out. ‘Gray, my boy. Thank you for coming.’
The younger man smiled warmly and shook his hand. ‘You knew I would, Oscar.’ He had been sorting out a problem in Japan when he had received Oscar’s call for help. ‘I jumped on the first plane out.’
‘How was the trip?’
‘Tiring, but I’m used to it.’
Light dawned for Shelby, and her heart sank. Her eyes hastily sought her father’s, hoping to have her fears allayed. ‘Dad, please tell me this isn’t the man you’ve roped in to look after me!’ she pleaded in horror, more appalled than she could ever reveal. If there was one person she didn’t want to spend any intimate time with, Gray was that man. Mostly because the only person she wanted was the selfsame man!
Gray walked further into the room, his expression one of grim amusement at her response. ‘I didn’t think you’d be thrilled, but think about it, Red. Who else would be doing a spot of troubleshooting for the boss?’
Their eyes locked. The challenge given and received. Both understood the message. Whether the work was clean or dirty, Gray was the man for the job. Especially where she was concerned.
‘When it comes to sorting out trouble, you are the best in the business, Gray,’ her father complimented, seemingly unaware of the undercurrents swirling around the room. ‘I would willingly pay you double your salary for what you’re doing for us.’
The younger man shook his head. ‘You know that’s not necessary, Oscar. I’m only too happy to help you and my old sparring partner, Red, here. In fact, I wouldn’t want it any other way.’
Oh, she knew how he threw himself into his work all right, Shelby acknowledged bitterly. She swung her feet to the floor and stood up for a second time. ‘OK, that’s it. I’m not having him. If I wanted anyone, which I don’t, I most certainly wouldn’t have him. He’ll make my life a misery.’ She refused point-blank, earning herself a mocking look from Gray for her pains.
‘Then you’ll just have to be miserable,’ her father declared sternly. ‘I chose Gray to be your bodyguard, so let that be an end to it. Now, can I get you something to drink, Gray? Whisky was always your favourite tipple.’
‘Better make it a small one, with plenty of water. I’m driving.’
‘But, Dad!’ Shelby tried to protest as he crossed to the other side of the room, only to find he wasn’t listening. ‘What did I do to deserve this?’ she muttered, then caught Gray’s eye and the mockery there. ‘Don’t say a word!’
‘And you looked so grown up too,’ he derided with a shake of his head. ‘Now I get closer I can see you’re still the same old Shelby, always thinking more about yourself than anyone else.’
She was outraged at the claim. ‘How can you say that?’
‘Easily. I grew up with you, remember. You always brought your trials and tribulations to your father. I lost count of the number of times I was there when you came to bemoan the fate of your latest romance,’ he responded sardonically, reminding her of hazy summer days when life was simpler, before she had fallen in love with him and discovered she would have to keep it a secret from everyone for the sake of her pride and her heart.
‘Where else was I supposed to go? I never had a mother to confide in,’ Shelby reminded him. Her mother had died when she was little more than a baby, leaving her father to take on both roles, which he had done magnificently so far as she was concerned.
‘Hmm, your mother might have altered your dating habits. Has anyone told you that you go through men like a hot knife through butter?’ he asked her, and she sent him a scathing look.
‘You’re a fine one to talk. Watching the turnover of women in your life makes me dizzy!’ she returned swiftly, knowing that the difference between them was that she dated to hide the fact her heart was already hooked. As smokescreens went, it was pretty damn good. He never saw through it, and that was the whole point of the exercise.
‘You can’t think so badly of me when you’re attracted to me yourself. Let’s not forget you even made a play for me once.’
Her heart twisted at the painful reminder, but she managed to hide behind a curl of her lip. ‘Yes, well, I was less discriminating when I was young.’ She had been twenty and heartsick and, bolstered by liquid courage, she had made her only attempt to seduce him. Her failure had bruised her pride, but her feelings hadn’t changed. Then, of course, there was that other time… ‘Your actions later had nothing so reasonable to commend them. Merely a slavish devotion to duty,’ she returned scornfully.
A nerve ticked in Gray’s jaw as he shook his head wryly. ‘You certainly know how to hold a grudge, don’t you, Red?’
Shelby smiled at him frostily. ‘Did you think I wouldn’t? You were a first-class rat, and that’s the way I shall always think of you,’ she hissed back. Oh, what a whopper of a lie that was.
‘All because I did nothing?’
‘It isn’t what you did or didn’t do, it was why you did it. My God, you made me think you wanted me, when all you were doing was following orders. It was crass and unworthy of you, Gray. How could you have stooped so low, even for my father? Don’t expect me to ever forgive you.’ Shelby declared bitingly, her green eyes icy with scorn.
Gray’s eyes glittered. ‘You know, Red, you have to be one of the few redheads I know who actually live up to their billing. Makes a man wonder.’
It was a leading remark, and she knew she shouldn’t go there, but she just couldn’t help herself. It was always like that with Gray.
‘Makes you wonder what?’ she asked, and his wicked grin was fair warning that she wouldn’t like what he was about to say.
‘If you’re as passionate in bed as out of it,’ Gray responded, with the kind of glint in his eye that made her heart turn over.
She looked at him haughtily. ‘Too late. You had your chance and you blew it. Trust me, Gray, that is the one thing you will never, ever find out now.’ As she would never find out what it would be like to be made love to by him. But that was a mental path better not travelled.
He tutted. ‘You’re just put out because I discovered you were attracted to me,’ he riposted, taking her breath away at his gall.
Sadly, she couldn’t deny it. She had given herself away in the unexpected joy of what she had believed the moment was. ‘All that does is make me human, even if my taste is doubtful. What does it say of you, when you merely pretended to want me?’ she countered thickly.
‘Who said it was all pretence? You’re an attractive woman, despite your faults,’ Gray argued, momentarily knocking Shelby off balance, but she rallied swiftly.
‘I do. I was there, remember? You turned the heat on and off as easily as flicking a switch! It was disgusting. You didn’t want me. You were just doing your job. I hope your conscience doesn’t let you sleep nights.’
Something flickered in and out of his eyes before she could catch it, and his jaw set. ‘If my conscience bothers me, it wouldn’t be because of you. Anyway, I’m curious. What irks you more, Red? That I might have pretended to want you, or that I stopped before things went too far?’
Oh, that took the biscuit. She felt like scratching his eyes out. ‘You have no idea how glad I am you stopped. I would never have felt clean again if you hadn’t. No wonder my father likes you so much. Your commitment to your work is unparalleled. But I don’t like you, and if you imagine for one second I’m going to sit still for this—’ she began, only to end on a gasp as his hand snaked out and fastened on her wrist.
Gray’s lips remained curved in a smile in case Oscar should turn and see them, but his eyes were coldly angry. ‘Listen to me, you’re going to do exactly what’s expected of you. I have a great deal of respect and affection for your father, and I won’t have you worrying him so much he ends up in hospital. For some reason that escapes me, he loves you, and if you have any feelings for him at all you’ll put his mind at rest. Do you hear me?’ he hissed through gritted teeth.
She stared at him, throat tight with emotion. ‘Despite what you think, I love my father very much!’ she exclaimed, cut to the quick that he could think her so selfish. Yet, even as she thought it, she knew she had been behaving selfishly. Her father was seriously worried, and all she could think about was not wanting to have her life disrupted! She was ashamed of herself.
‘Then do the right thing for once in your life,’ he growled in a powerful undertone.
Shelby quivered with emotion, eyes flashing stormily. Oh, how she hated that it was Gray who made her see sense. ‘I hate you!’
He smiled mockingly. ‘I know. Hell, isn’t it? Hating me and yet wanting me?’
Her stomach lurched at the arrogance in his tone. ‘I don’t want you,’ she denied through gritted teeth, but he merely laughed softly.
‘I could prove otherwise, but at the moment we have more pressing things to sort out. So, what’s it to be?’
As if there was a choice. Shelby loved her father, and would never do anything to hurt him. OK, she didn’t take the threat seriously, but all she really needed to know was that he did. That was what she had to think about. ‘All right, I’ll agree to the bodyguard. Now let me go!’
Having secured her agreement, he released her hand, trailing his fingers over her palm as he did so. The small action made her catch her breath and he smiled knowingly as he straightened up. ‘Wise choice. Like it or not, you’re stuck with me now,’ he added and, much to her chagrin, laughed softly. ‘So, tell me, what have you been doing with yourself lately? Still running amok through the local male population?’
Before she could come back with a pithy retort, her father returned with their drinks. ‘Here you are, Gray.’ He handed over a glass of golden liquid, which the younger man took but didn’t immediately touch. ‘What are you two talking about? Old times?’
Blue eyes glinted roguishly. ‘Actually, I was just asking Shelby about her love life,’ Gray remarked goadingly, and Shelby’s heart sank. Her father strongly disapproved of her dating habits.
Oscar Greer snorted. ‘Love life? I wouldn’t call it that! She’s like a butterfly, flitting from man to man, never stopping long enough to find out if there could be a relationship. Whatever she’s looking for, she’ll never find it going on the way she does.’
‘Dad!’ Shelby exclaimed in protest, although there was far too much truth in what her father had said. Of course she didn’t linger, but there was a reason for that. She wouldn’t give false hope to any man. She had already found what she was looking for, and it was a closed door. So she wasn’t so much searching as marking time. Catching Gray’s mocking glance, she rushed to change the subject. ‘Gray doesn’t want to hear about my love life.’
Gray quirked an eyebrow at her. ‘If you want to keep secrets, try being more circumspect. I learn all I need to from the gossip columns.’
Colour stormed into her cheeks, for those columns were a constant source of misery for her. Unfortunately it was the price of fame. ‘You shouldn’t believe all you read.’ They made her out to be some sort of maneater, which she most certainly wasn’t. Far from it, in fact.
‘You’re just as bad, Gray. You have no staying power either,’ Oscar told his right-hand man, and Shelby laughed.
‘You tell him, Dad. It’s shocking the way he goes on,’ she sniped whilst blue eyes threatened retribution.
Her father tsked, though there was a reluctant gleam of humour in the twitch of his lips. ‘Sometimes I want to knock both your heads together. When are you going to settle down? The way you’re going on, you’re both going to end up with nobody.’
Her throat closed over at her father’s obvious concern. ‘I’ll settle down one day, Dad. When I find the right man.’
‘He could be under your nose and you wouldn’t see him!’
Shelby bit her lip at the unwitting accuracy of his words. Except she had seen him. How could she tell her father the man she wanted hadn’t wanted her? ‘I’ll have my eyes tested, I promise,’ she said, attempting to tease him out of his mood. She succeeded, for Oscar Greer patted her hand and smiled at her.
‘I’m nagging, I know, but it’s a father’s prerogative to worry about his daughter.’
‘Speaking of which,’ Gray inserted swiftly, ‘Shelby has something she wants to tell you,’ he declared, shooting her a pointed look.
Having been put on the spot, Shelby cleared her throat and looked at her father. ‘I’ve, er, been talking to Gray, and we…that is, I realise I’ve been behaving stupidly. So…’ She took a deep breath and dived in. ‘I’ll agree to the bodyguard,’ she ended on a rush. Glancing at Gray, she set her jaw. ‘Happy now?’
Fortunately her father chose not to question the how of it, but sent her a broad smile of relief. ‘Thank you, darling. That’s a weight off my mind. I didn’t know how I was going to get through this if you kept on refusing to see sense.’
Which made her feel even more guilty than she had been. ‘Yes, well, Gray made me see things more clearly,’ she enlarged uncomfortably, and Oscar looked past her to the younger man.
‘Thank you, Gray.’
‘My pleasure.’
‘We should sit down and talk about tactics,’ her father said, urging them towards the comfortable chairs and couches ranged around the fireplace. Shelby took a seat at the other end of the couch from Gray and waited to hear her fate.
‘It goes without saying that we put ourselves entirely in your hands,’ Oscar told the younger man the moment they were all seated.
Shelby immediately saw a flaw. ‘Hang on a second. I know I’ve agreed in principle, but I’d like to know what qualifies Gray for the job before I hand myself over to him on a plate.’
One eyebrow quirked lazily. ‘Don’t you trust me, Red? I’m hurt. I thought you knew better.’
She knew what he was referring to, and it was just like him to throw that in her face. Of course, he had no idea of the real blow he had dealt her, for she had licked her wounds in private, and still did. Her palm itched to slap him, but all she did was send him a narrow look. ‘I was wondering what qualifications you could possibly have for this job,’ she shot back. It was, after all, a reasonable question.
‘I wear many hats, Red. Amongst other things, I am a security expert. If you want my credentials, all I can tell you is that I learnt my trade in the forces.’
‘You were in the army?’ That came as a total surprise. She immediately had visions of him doing the daring sort of things she had seen done in numerous Hollywood movies.
He shrugged lightly. ‘You know how it is with boys; we never get over playing with our toy soldiers.’
‘I never saw you playing with soldiers,’ Shelby pointed out. ‘And what you’re talking about is hi-tech stuff. That’s not just ordinary soldiering. It sounds more…covert.’ The notion intrigued her. ‘What sort of things did you do?’
Gray suddenly looked amused. ‘As they say in all the best movies, I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you,’ he said with a wry grin.
Her father laughed. ‘Suffice it to say he is eminently qualified for the job, Shelby.’
In her heart of hearts she knew it. Gray had always been the kind of man who did well at whatever he chose to take on. It was time to give in as gracefully as possible. ‘OK, OK, point taken. So what happens next?’
All laughter vanished as Gray’s expression grew serious. ‘We become joined at the hip, for however long it takes.’
That sounded awfully intimate—something that didn’t sit well with her at all. She frowned at him. ‘I understood you would be watching me from a distance.’
To her dismay he shook his head. ‘Then you understood wrongly. If I’m to be of any use, then I have to be on hand twenty-four-seven.’
Shelby had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. ‘By ‘on hand’ you mean…?’
Gray’s smile reappeared, laden with mockery. ‘Just what you think I mean, Red. I’ll be moving into your spare room for the duration.’
At that point Shelby closed her eyes. It was her worst nightmare. She could handle her feelings for Gray at a distance, but having him in her own home would mean that after this was all over he would be imprinted in her rooms. She would be able to imagine him there, and her sanctuary would no longer exist. Yet what could she do? Creating a scene was out of the question now that she had agreed to have the bodyguard. She was doomed.
Or was she? There was, of course, one other possibility. Perhaps she was just dreaming all this, and when she woke it would all fade away. When she really opened her eyes, Gray would be gone and her life would be back to normal again.
Her despairing thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of the telephone and she opened her eyes to see her father crossing the room to answer it. Gray, meanwhile, sat watching her from the opposite end of the couch. It wasn’t a dream. It was for real.
‘Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m still here,’ he told her, clearly knowing exactly what she had been thinking.
Deeply rattled, Shelby crossed one silk-clad leg over the other and crossed her arms to match. ‘You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?’ she challenged with a basilisk glare.
Gray didn’t laugh. ‘I see nothing amusing in protecting you from being seriously hurt…or worse.’
Shelby tapped out a tattoo on her arm with her fingers. ‘You can’t possibly take it all seriously.’
That, if anything, made him look grimmer. ‘Better that than to do nothing and live with the consequences. I’ve been down that road, and I’ll tell you this for nothing—it isn’t going to happen again!’
Shelby’s lips parted on a tiny gasp of surprise. This was an unexpected revelation. ‘What do you mean? What happened?’
Now his mouth twisted into a bitter smile as he shook his head. ‘You don’t want to know. The important thing is that I’m going to be doing everything in my power to prevent anything like it happening to you!’
She pressed a hand to a suddenly queasy stomach. His message got through loud and clear. ‘Why? I mean, what do you care what happens to me?’
‘I care because your father is a good man.’
‘It’s…all for him, then?’ For a fleeting moment she had harboured the idea that he might just care about her a little. Her heart suffered another bruise as she realised she ought to have known better.
Gray’s eyes looked piercingly into hers for an instant. ‘Did you think it would be for you?’
Shelby swallowed her hurt and shrugged. ‘Of course not. I know better than that.’
‘I’m glad to hear it. After all, why should I care anything for a woman who has done all the things you have?’ Gray observed sardonically.
Which, as it happened, was very much what she thought too. She had done nothing to endear herself to him. Why would he fall in love with her, or care anything about her? She had no answer, only wished that, despite everything, he could somehow do both. Flying pigs, though, were in short supply these days. So she rallied her spirit and responded swiftly.
‘Leave my past out of this, Gray!’ she commanded sharply, making him shake his head again.
‘I can see why you would want to. It’s not very flattering.’
No, it wasn’t, but she had worked hard to live it down. A fact he chose to overlook. ‘I’m trying to put all that behind me,’ she insisted, and he gave her a measuring look.
‘Well, now. Let’s hope you live long enough to do it. Which brings us back to why I’m here.’
Before Shelby could say anything more, her father rejoined them.
‘Sorry about that. Now, where were we?’ he asked as he made himself comfortable in his chair once more.
‘I’d just told Shelby that I would be moving into her spare room.’
Oscar shot her a quick glance. ‘How did she take it?’
Gray’s lips twitched. ‘About as well as we expected.’
Shelby rolled her eyes. ‘Will you please stop talking about me as if I’m not here?’ she commanded in exasperation. ‘I have the right to make the important decisions about my life.’
‘That’s good, because you’ve already made the most important one. You agreed with your father’s decision to ask for my help,’ Gray put in swiftly. ‘And, as I told you, I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Red,’ he added in the quietly confident way of his that had the uncanny knack of calming the nerves in her stomach immediately.
She stared at him hard, trying to penetrate those devilish blue eyes. ‘That’s a promise, is it?’
‘Cross my heart,’ he retorted, making the gesture to confirm it.
However much she trusted him when it came to his work, Shelby wasn’t going to appear to be won over too quickly. ‘Do you really have to move in to do it? Couldn’t you…oh, I don’t know…surveille—is that a word?—the house from a plain vehicle or something?’ she suggested rather wildly in a last-ditch attempt to retrieve her privacy.
Not surprisingly, Gray’s brows had risen as she meandered on and by the end he was frowning. ‘You’ve been watching far too many movies. Trust me, I know what’s needed.’
‘And you need to be in my home.’ It was a flat statement rather than a question. Gray answered it anyway.
‘Following your every step like Peter Pan’s shadow.’
That was hardly designed to improve her mood, and she knew it was a deliberate goad. She was going to have to resign herself to his being there for some time, and the worst of it was that she was still convinced the whole thing was a waste of time. However, her father feared the worst, and she wasn’t about to add to his worries. She could do this for him.
‘How long will it take you to get your things together?’ Shelby enquired with a heavy heart.
‘I have everything I need in the boot of my car, so I’ll be ready to leave whenever you are,’ he informed her, and her hope that he would delay his arrival until the next day was dashed.
Her father was all smiles. ‘You’ll be staying to dinner, I hope, now that everything’s decided?’
Gray looked to Shelby, one eyebrow raised questioningly. ‘Unless Shelby wants to go home now?’
Had she been going alone she would have decided to leave, but as that was impossible she decided to drag out the moment as long as she could.
‘Oh, I’ll be having dinner here,’ she responded, making a show of settling herself comfortably for a long stay. ‘I never miss the chance of eating one of Mrs Grundy’s meals.’
Oscar Greer rubbed his hands together. ‘You’re in for a treat, my boy,’ he declared as he stood up yet again. ‘I’ll just go and tell Mrs G to set another place. I won’t be long.’
Silence fell as he left the room, and, as if to balance that out Shelby became intensely aware of Gray’s physical presence. From the corner of her eye she could see his hand resting on his knee, and her heart twisted. It recalled the precise moment when she had fallen in love with him. He had offered her a hand to help her out of a taxi, and the touch had been like magic. Exactly as they said it felt in the movies, only for real. She had known then that Gray was special. What the movies hadn’t said was that it didn’t have to be mutual. From his behaviour, Gray had clearly felt nothing, whilst she had suffered an emotional sea change. She had been eighteen then and, ten years later, her feelings hadn’t changed one iota. He was still that special someone and she was still lonely.
‘So,’ Gray said conversationally, drawing her out of her reverie and making her glance his way. ‘Here we are. Together again.’
Shelby laughed harshly and looked at him askance. ‘I’d hardly call us together. We just happen to be in the same room.’
A reply that had his blue eyes gleaming with devilment. ‘I recall a time when a situation like this was just what you wanted,’ he went on, spreading his hands to take in the fact that there were just the two of them.
As was his wont, he was deliberately trying to embarrass her, but she didn’t embarrass so easily. ‘Well, you were dating every woman within a ten-mile radius. Good Lord, they were falling over themselves to be next in line, so I thought I might as well see what all the fuss was about. I got over it.’
He acknowledged that with a tip of his head, and added, ‘Cold shower helped, did it? I told you it would.’
Shelby ground her teeth together irritably. ‘I just knew you wouldn’t be able to resist saying I told you so.’
Her response drew a laugh. ‘I would have hated to disappoint you. At least now you know I’m every bit as bad as all the nasty things you called me.’
Shelby started to open her mouth to deny doing any such thing, but he gave her such a look that she thought better of it. ‘I hope your ears burned,’ she said instead, and his smile reappeared.
‘Stung for days afterwards.’
‘Good. I’m delighted to hear it. Of course, it was less than you deserved,’ she told him haughtily and he pulled a pained face.
‘Hmm, I wince at the idea of what you would consider just payment,’ Gray declared with a sharp intake of breath, and Shelby laughed this time.
‘You’re right to be afraid. As far as I’m concerned, there is no statute of limitations on your particular crime,’ she informed him with a challenging look.
Gray eyed her thoughtfully, and there was no way she could read what was going on in his fertile mind. ‘Looks like I’m in for an interesting assignment, doesn’t it?’ he said at last, and there was something in the way he said it that sent alarm signals through her system. She couldn’t say why, but all of a sudden there was something…dangerous in the air.
Shelby’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. ‘What are you planning?’
His smile was as innocent as the day was long. ‘Why, just to keep you out of harm’s way. What did you think I would do?’
She didn’t trust him, especially when he looked so innocent. ‘Just remember you’re here on sufferance. If it was left up to me, we wouldn’t be going through this.’
‘Don’t worry, I understand perfectly. You’re putting your father’s mind at rest, and you’re accepting my presence under duress,’ he summarised for her. ‘Correct?’
‘Why is it that the instant you start being reasonable, I start to get nervous?’
He grinned broadly. ‘Maybe it’s something to do with not wanting to be beholden to me for anything. Rest easy, this is for your Dad, not you.’
‘Fine. That’s fine,’ she muttered, silently praying that the whole ridiculous situation would be over soon.
At that fortuitous moment Oscar Greer returned to the room, looking much more cheerful than he had for days. She knew it was Gray’s presence which had brought that about, and it confirmed to her that she was doing the right thing. If it would put her father’s mind at rest, she would bite the bullet. After all, it wouldn’t be for long. She was utterly sure of that.
Why, she was willing to bet that by this time next week Gray Compton would have packed his bags and disappeared from whence he came. Then her life would get back to normal. By that she meant—Gray Free. Which wasn’t the way she wanted it, but it was how it was doomed to be.
