‘I realise I’m not a catwalk model,’ Celia began stiffly, and Leandro grinned and waved his hand in airy dismissal.
‘Nothing to do with looks,’ he asserted. ‘You’re a romantic, Celia. Am I right? You don’t really understand why I would want to get married for any reason other than love.’
‘I see why you feel indebted to Julie’s father,’ Celia stammered, still red-faced but slightly mollified by what he had just said.
‘But for you, marriage is something that goes hand in hand with love. For me? I have no such illusions, and when I say that you’re not my type? My type of women aren’t looking for permanence, at least not with me. Scotland will involve a helicopter flight and then two nights at my estate, where your brother and Julie are currently hiding out.’
‘How do you know for sure?’
‘Because Julie has a key and it’s the only place they are likely to be heading. Trust me on this.’ He looked around him and then said, as though the thought had only just occurred to him, ‘I haven’t asked, but I’m assuming that you would be able to take two days off from your commitments?’
‘Work?’
‘I was thinking of commitments of a more personal nature. Boyfriend? Girlfriend? No dogs at any rate...’
‘I...no, I don’t have a boyfriend,’ Celia said stiffly. ‘Not that that’s any of your business.’
‘It is if I think it’s something that might influence your decision.’
‘I would never go out with someone who’s autocratic enough to disapprove of me being away for a couple of days.’
‘With another man. Apologies, forgot we’d established that I don’t fall into that category.’ Leandro grinned but then said, seriously, thoughtfully, ‘You’ll be gone for two days at the very most and I would want to leave first thing in the morning. I can’t force you to accept any financial compensation from me for the inconvenience, but every year I get several tickets for front seats at the London Fashion week. This year, it’s a winter spectacular according to the blurb.’
‘You like that kind of thing?’ She knew that he was cleverly tempting her in a way that showed just how adept he was at getting what he wanted. Would she want to go to the show of the year for a dress designer? Just thinking about the chance made her feel faint.
‘Oh, I try to avoid that event at all costs,’ he murmured silkily, ‘but I imagine the opportunities for you could be considerable. I could even put a word in about your...er...designs—from what I’ve seen, you’ve got a great deal of talent, which could end up going to waste without the right exposure.’
‘Are you trying to bribe me?’
‘I’m trying to persuade you.’
‘Will you let me think about it?’
Leandro smiled slowly and sat back. ‘Of course. The last thing I would want to do is force your hand. I’ll call you...’ he glanced at his Rolex then looked at her ‘...in precisely two hours.’
He would send a car for her and it would deliver her to an airfield, where he would meet her shortly after lunch.
Celia had squashed her apprehensions and agreed. She’d been swayed by her conscience. If someone were to suffer a misfortune because of her, then how would she ever be able to live with herself? If Julie’s father, on the brink of financial collapse, were to suffer a fatal stroke through the sheer stress of the situation, then no amount of reasoning would have persuaded her to conclude that walking away from the situation had been okay.
She also wanted to find out what was going on with Dan. Leandro’s assumption was that if anyone was going to be hurt, it would be Julie for having been targeted by someone who was after her money. Money she didn’t have, as things stood. Was he still of the opinion that her brother was guilty of being a gold digger? The topic had been shelved. He’d decided that he needed her input and so had tactfully pulled back from anything contentious.
From Celia’s point of view, what if her brother was the one at risk of being hurt if Julie had absconded because of a sudden attack of to-be-expected pre-wedding nerves? What if she had second thoughts and decided to get back together with Leandro? There were compelling reasons for her to do just that and where would that leave Dan? Footloose and easy-going he might be, but, like her, he was a solid traditionalist at heart. He’d been out with countless girls, but he’d never come close to asking any of them to marry him. What ifthe oneturned out to be a mistake? She could remember her own hurt all those years ago when the blinkers had been pulled from her eyes and she wouldn’t wish that on her brother.
And then the dangling carrot of that ticket to the fashion show...
He’d known just how to tempt. He’d been smart enough to drop all talk of money changing hands and instead had offered her something priceless. A golden opportunity to climb the career ladder and to see, first hand, what was happening in the fashion world, to have a possible audience for her calling cards.
They stood on opposite sides of the fence on pretty much everything. He was cold, tough and driven to make money and she could never like a guy like that, but she’d agreed, and even if the misgivings hadn’t been completely put to bed she managed to put a lid on them as, the following afternoon, she was duly delivered to the airfield in gathering gloom.
The helicopter was a dark shadow against the velvety sky, as still and as ominous as a giant, watchful, waiting insect.
Snow had gathered apace overnight though not enough to settle. The chauffeur-driven car slowly pulled to a stop just as the door to the helicopter was flung open and there he was, a commanding silhouette, barely visible in the semi darkness.
She had her overnight bag with her, stuffed with thick clothing and a selection of thermals and her computer in its waterproof case. Now, as the driver fought the sleet and snow to open the car door, Celia took a couple of seconds to review her situation. The darkness and Leandro’s commanding presence didn’t do much for her nervous system, which suddenly went into sharp overdrive.
Her heart began a steady thump as she headed towards the helicopter, with the driver bringing up the rear with her cases.
If she’d ever secretly mourned the predictability of her day-to-day life, then no one could accuse her of not being wildly and scarily unpredictable now.