Read Online Sarah's Secret by Catherine George - Free Book Online Page A

straight as his. ‘We don’t have a relationship—’
    ‘Of course we do. Admit it.’
    ‘All right. But we won’t if you still hanker after the lady.’
    ‘There’s no question of that.’ Jake touched a hand to her cheek. ‘Come and sit down again so I can explain. Then, if you still want me to, I’ll drive you home.’
    Jake switched on a couple of lamps and resumed his place beside her. But this time he kept his distance.
    ‘I met the lady in question in London,’ he began, staring out into the darkening sky.
    Sarah gave him a hostile look. Couldn’t he even bring himself to mention her name?
    ‘We were both after the same taxi, so we shared it, and things went on from there pretty rapidly,’ Jake continued. ‘She works in advertising, earns a lot of money, and loathes the country. I could never persuade her to come down here. So I went up to her place at weekends instead. Then before you could even call the arrangement a habit she met someone else. End of story.’
    ‘But you still care?’ asked Sarah quietly.
    Jake’s head swivelled, his eyes bright with surprise. ‘Good God, no. I was bloody angry at the time, but if you mean was my heart broken, definitely not. It was never that kind of thing.’
    ‘Then what kind of thing was it?’
    His eyes remained steady. ‘A fling, pure and simple.’
    ‘So why do you mind so much?’
    ‘Because she lied to me. Kept me on a string even though she fancied someone else. It was the other man who insisted she tell me.’
    ‘So why hadn’t she told you before?’
    ‘She said,’ replied Jake sardonically, ‘that she couldn’t bring herself to hurt me, which was a bit dramatic when all we’d had together were a couple of weekends of wining and dining. And bed, of course. Not earth-shattering stuff, by any stretch of the imagination. Any of it. When I pointed this out she lost it and slapped my face, at which point I lost my temper, stormed out of her flat and drove home.’ He was silent for a moment, his eyes absent, then smiled at Sarah in apology. ‘Sorry! I didn’t mean to bore you with my past.’ He slid closer and kissed her before she could dodge away. ‘I had avery different plan in mind for you for this evening,’ he whispered.
    She sprang up, eyeing him in suspicion. ‘Plan?’
    ‘Turn of phrase, nothing more,’ he said, taken aback. ‘I just wanted to spend time getting to know you better.’
    With a session in bed at the end of it? Sarah’s chin lifted. ‘I think I will go home now, please.’
    Jake rose to his feet, frowning. ‘Why so soon? If I swear not to lay a finger on you, Sarah, will you stay for a while?’
    She shook her head, refusing to meet his eyes. ‘It’s getting late; we both have work tomorrow—’
    ‘And suddenly you just can’t wait to get away.’ He looked at her in silence for a moment, giving her time to change her mind. When it was obvious this wasn’t going to happen he shrugged negligently, his eyes suddenly cold. ‘Let’s go, then.’
    Sarah sat silent on the way home, cursing her ingrained tendency to take flight at the first hint of sexual danger. This time it had spoiled an evening which up to then had been idyllic. The walk, the meal had been perfect. Then the mere mention of bed had ruined everything.
    When they arrived in Campden Road Jake pointedly left the engine running. He got out of the car, and with punctilious courtesy helped her out, then saw her to her door, brushed aside her thanks for the meal, and drove off.
    Sarah spent a very restless night afterwards. Had she really expected Jake to beg her to stay? Fond hope! The easy charm was a very effective disguise for the steel underneath. Not that it mattered any more, because she’d blown any chance of getting to know him better. All because Jake Hogan had uttered the buzz words ‘plan’and ‘bed’. And to cap it all they hadn’t exchanged telephone numbers after all.
    No more a lover of Mondays than anyone else, Sarah found her