Taming the Notorious Billionaire by Carole Mortimer

Author:Carole Mortimer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

‘WHAT on earth can my mother have been thinking of?’ Kathy glanced worriedly at the door for about the tenth time since her arrival a few minutes earlier. ‘Why on earth did she have to invite him here tonight?’

As she had known she would her cousin had taken the news of Rod’s expected presence at the dinner party with a mixture of horror and fatalism, sure that tonight her past association with him would come out.

‘I tried every way I could think of to get out of coming here this evening,’ Kathy continued tautly. ‘I pretended a headache, sickness, that Heather’s cold seemed to be coming back. Peter just shrugged them all off,’ she trembled. ‘I feel like a prisoner waiting for the executioner!’ she added with a groan.

Most of the guests had already arrived for dinner, although Rod was still noticeably absent. She had no doubt that he would be here though, had seen him at the hotel bar on several evenings the past week, and he had given no indication then that he didn’t intend coming tonight. But it was already eight-fifteen, her aunt would be serving dinner soon, with or without Rod.

‘Do you have any idea what could be delaying Mr Bartlett?’ her aunt appeared at her side, calm and unruffled, used to coping when it came to cooking meals.

‘None at all,’ Keilly answered truthfully.

‘I see,’ her aunt turned back to the kitchen. ‘Well if he doesn’t arrive soon we shall have to start without him; otherwise everyone is going to be drunk before we have our meal,’ she derided the liberally flowing alcohol.

‘She’s lucky it’s only dinner she has to worry about,’ Kathy muttered once she and Keilly were alone again. ‘What can be keeping the man?’

Keilly wondered that too; he had proven his punctuality in the past, so it really wasn’t like him to be late. It was totally incomprehensible to her, but she was actually getting worried about him! She looked at her watch once more, twenty past eight. Something must surely be wrong.

‘I won’t be long,’ she told Kathy quickly, moving towards the door.

‘Where are you going?’ her cousin frowned her puzzlement.

‘To telephone Rod,’ she explained impatiently. ‘Isn’t it obvious?’

Kathy caught hold of her arm as they emerged into the reception area, the restaurant closed for this one evening of the year, and a couple of local men running the bar for her uncle. ‘Are you mad?’ Kathy demanded incredulously, her voice soft, conscious of where they were. ‘What more could we ask for than him not turning up?’ She looked at Keilly as if she had lost her senses.

‘He could be hurt—’

‘More than likely he’s decided the evening will be too tame for him—’

‘Kathy!’ she turned on her cousin angrily—something she couldn’t ever remember doing before. ‘Will you just, for once, stop thinking of yourself,’ she snapped, uncaring of Kathy’s indignant expression. ‘He meant to be here tonight, so there must be a good reason why he isn’t.’

Kathy looked angry—her nostrils flared.

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