Сьюзен Мейер – Hired: A Bride for the Boss: The Playboy Boss's Chosen Bride / The Corporate Marriage Campaign / The Boss's Urgent Proposal (страница 19)

What?

Merlina’s body froze into suspended animation while her mind spun in wild circles. She feverishly wished Jake had just spoken the truth. But he might not mean it. He was trying to get her out of trouble. Trouble that he’d made for her. Though not entirely. She had been a willing party. But if he hadn’t come after her, brought her home, she’d still be the good girl her father wished her to be, and which she had been on the whole, within her own sense of right and wrong.

No doubt Jake was thinking they could break the pseudo-engagement at a later date. It was Byron’s ring, not his, but her father didn’t know that. His eyes were goggling at the diamond. Hopefully its magnificence was blinding him to her fall from grace.

‘You are engaged to be married?’ His wrath had been considerably appeased by the ring but a frown of disapproval was still aimed at Merlina. ‘Why did you not tell him he should ask me for your hand first? Why have you not brought him to meet the family?’

Her mind boggled over the thought of Jake with her family. They’d eat him alive. He could put on a fine act for her father tonight but her family en masse was another kettle of fish. ‘I, er, this has all been very sudden, Papa.’

‘Please accept my apology, Mr Rossi,’ Jake smoothly appealed. ‘With my own parents divorced when I was a child, I didn’t appreciate that traditional courtesies would be expected. I surprised Merlina with the ring tonight. We hadn’t talked about marriage before. Of course, we know each other very well from having worked closely together for almost two years, but it was only after Merlina resigned, that I’ve pursued her in a personal sense.’

Oh, wow! He was covering all bases with that little speech. Ironically, all of it was the truth this time, except he was making himself out to be gentleman Jake for her father, not one hint of playboy Jake!

‘You did not take advantage of her at work?’ her father asked suspiciously.

‘I give you my word that nothing untoward happened between us during her employment with me. Completely professional,’ came the firm assurance.

Another truth.

Her father gave the situation some hard pondering before finally conceding, ‘Then I accept that you are a man of honour.’

‘Thank you,’ Jake replied respectfully.

‘If you are marrying Merlina, you must come and meet the family.’

‘Whenever that can be arranged,’ Jake replied.

Evasive tactics coming in, Merlina thought. For a moment there he had sounded so sincere, the hope that he might truly mean to marry her had fluttered through her heart. However, the far more credible truth was Jake coming to her rescue, being gallant as a good playboy should when caught out.

‘Tomorrow would be very suitable,’ her father announced in a challenging tone.

‘Tomorrow!’ Merlina cried, alarmed at how quickly her father was putting Jake to the test. She desperately wanted to hold onto him, not have him driven away. ‘Jake has a business to run, Papa. Tomorrow is a workday.’

‘What is more important than family at a time like this?’ was hurled back at her. ‘Mario’s wife has given birth to her baby. Which your mother wished to tell you.’

The telephone calls that she hadn’t been here to answer!

But the birth had not been expected for another month. ‘That’s way too early,’ she protested anxiously. ‘Is the baby all right? Is Gina all right?’

Her burst of caring seemed to give her father a strong measure of satisfaction. For the first time tonight he spoke to her in a reasonably calm tone. ‘Gina is fine. The baby is a little small but he is perfectly healthy.’

‘He…a boy this time.’ She relaxed into a smile. ‘Mario must be pleased.’

‘Yes. Three daughters are enough.’ Her father glowered pointedly at her. ‘Especially when they do not behave as they should.’

‘Sorry I was away, Papa…’

‘Merlina was with my family, meeting my mother and grandfather,’ Jake declared, stepping in to give her absence respectability, having already lifted her up from being a fallen woman.

She heaved a sigh at how adept he was at making their relationship sound official. In fact, he was every bit as good as his grandfather at deception. Unfortunately that was not a happy thought. Deception could achieve a short-term effect, but what would happen when this engagement fell through?

On the family front, she’d probably get sympathy, with Jake cast as a villain for taking her virtue, which she’d supposedly given up in good faith. But what might her brothers do to the absconding husband-to-be? Jake had no idea what he’d just set in motion. Maybe she should spill the real truth, save him from the consequences of his well-meant lies. On the other hand, if there was a possibility…

Hope was a terrible thing.

It held her tongue.

Her father addressed Jake. ‘Mario is bringing his wife and baby home tomorrow. We will be holding a family barbecue in the evening. I am inviting you to attend with Merlina.’

Throwing him to the wolves.

Panic drove her to attempt a rescue. ‘Papa, I’ve already explained about work.’

‘He’s the boss, isn’t he? The call is his,’ her father insisted aggressively. ‘You have met his family. He should meet yours.’

Italian pride!

There was no way to fight it. Jake’s respectable scenario was reaping what it had sown.

‘We’ll be there,’ he said.

She turned on him in exasperation for jumping straight into the hole she’d been trying to dig him out of. ‘It’s in Griffith, Jake. That’s a six hour drive from Sydney.’

‘You can both catch a plane like I did for you, Merlina,’ her father persisted.

She swung back to him, frightened of the dilemma he was posing. ‘It wasn’t for me. It was because Mamma nagged you into it.’

‘So? We do these things for our women, do we not?’ He tossed this at Jake, testing how deep the devotion was to his daughter.

‘Yes, we do,’ Jake cheerfully agreed. ‘We’ll catch a plane to Griffith tomorrow afternoon.’

She could have choked him.

He was escalating something that shouldn’t be escalated. Not unless it was real and she didn’t think it was. Jake was so far into game-playing, he was losing his judgement on where the line was crossed. It was wrong to deceive her family. Wrong, wrong, wrong! Especially up close and personal with the whole lot of them!

‘Good! Merlina can call her mother and let her know the time of the flight and I’ll have one of her brothers meet you at Griffith airport,’ her father offered, nailing down the arrangement.

One of her brothers! They’d all be eyeing Jake over—the outsider fiancé, a city man who wasn’t even Italian.

‘That’s very kind. Thank you,’ Jake said, pouring on the charm.

‘Well, I’ll leave you two alone then,’ her father granted gruffly, not liking the idea at all. ‘I did not think you were home, Merlina. You did not answer the telephone. I have arranged to stay with my brother, Georgio, at Glebe.’

‘I’ll call a taxi for you,’ Merlina said, intensely relieved that her father was prepared to leave her and Jake together instead of taking up residence to enforce his moral standards. She’d slid out of Jake’s hug and was heading for the telephone in the kitchen when Jake dropped another bombshell, halting her in her tracks.

‘My car is out the front, Mr Rossi. If you’ll give me a few minutes—’ his clothes were still on the floor! ‘—I’ll drive you to Glebe myself. It will give us a chance to get to know one another.’

Merlina’s stomach curdled at the thought. Had Jake suffered some mad rush of blood to the head?

‘Your car…would that be the red Ferrari?’ her father inquired.

‘Yes, it is,’ Jake answered matter-of-factly.

‘You have good taste in cars.’ A stamp of approval. ‘Nothing outclasses the Italians. I have always driven an Alfa, myself. A family sedan these days, but when I was a young man…’ He actually smiled at Jake. ‘I shall enjoy riding in your Ferrari. Thank you.’

‘My pleasure,’ Jake rolled out and scooped up his clothes. ‘Please excuse me. I won’t be long.’

‘Take your time,’ her father said graciously. After all, he not only had his son-in-law-to-be coming to his party and dancing to his tune, Jake was even providing the Italian music!

Merlina was so stunned by this last development, she was completely robbed of speech as Jake headed for the hall, grinning at her and dropping a kiss on her forehead as he passed her by.

He was having fun.

It was a game to him and he was revelling in carrying the ball right into her father’s court. He didn’t realise that the Rossi playground was hemmed in by rules which had to be respected. Flout them and…panic swirled up again. Her family took some things very, very seriously, and Jake was diving into the deep end without knowing what he was getting into.

Action had to be taken!

She gestured to the sofa as she forced her legs forward, wanting to pick up her own clothes and follow Jake to the bedroom. ‘Sit down, Papa. I need to go and have a word with Jake before you leave.’

‘Fine-looking man,’ he commented, nodding his understanding of the attraction as he settled himself on the sofa to wait. Then he shook a stern finger at her. ‘After we go you must call your mother, Merlina. She will not sleep until she knows all is well with you.’