eyebrows lifted, then fell. ‘Do you want me to go, Jess?’
She shrugged. ‘I doubt you’ll enjoy it much. Mum will give you the once-over, then Dad’ll probably give you the third degree, if he thinks you’re interested in me.’
‘Which I am.’
It annoyed Jess, his saying that. Because he wasn’t really interested in her in that way. He just wanted to have more sex with her whilst he was here in Australia. Okay, so Ben was basically a good man, but he was also spoiled and selfish. It wasn’t all his fault, of course. He’d been born beautiful and into great wealth: both very corrupting factors. He’d probably developed his liking for kinky sex because he’d had so much sex in his life he’d got bored with straightforward love-making. Which was a pity. Because he did straightforward love-making very well indeed.
Jess sighed. ‘I honestly don’t think you should go.’
‘Why not?’
‘For the reasons I just told you.’
‘But I want to meet your parents.’
Jess rolled her eyes. ‘For pity’s sake, why?’
‘Because I want to ask them to give you this week off so we can go to Sydney and work together on Fab Fashions. I thought we might stay down there instead of driving up and down the motorway every day. Mum has a flat in Bondi we could use.’
Jess didn’t know what to say. She wanted to go, of course. Wanted the opportunity to do something about Fab Fashions. And, yes, she wanted to spend more time alone with Ben, especially some more of his very exciting brand of sex. She’d be lying if she didn’t admit that, especially to herself. But at the back of her mind, in that place reserved for difficult decisions, she knew if she did this, then she was sure to become even more emotionally involved with him.
‘I…I don’t know, Ben,’ she said hesitantly, turning away to make herself some coffee. ‘Like you said, there’s probably no fixing Fab Fashions. We’d just be wasting our time.’
‘I don’t agree. We’ll have that chat on the drive home and come up with a new name, one which will lend itself to a successful marketing strategy. Because you’re right, Jess. Companies like ours shouldn’t just bail out when things get tough. We can afford to ride some losses for a while, especially when the alternative means that people will lose their jobs.’
Jess wanted to believe he meant it. But she didn’t. Companies like De Silva & Associates were all about making profits. They didn’t give a damn about the little people. Which was what she was. One of the little people.
Jess finished making her coffee, then carried it over to the table. ‘I’m sorry, Ben,’ she said, pulling out a chair and sitting down, ‘but I’d rather not. I’m a mechanic, not some marketing expert.’
‘So you’re giving up on Fab Fashions?’
‘I’ve told you what’s wrong with the business. You’re an intelligent man. I’ll put my thinking cap on during the drive back and come up with a name which might suit. Then it’s up to you to do something with it.’
He looked at her long and hard, then shrugged. ‘Okay. If that’s the way you want it.’
What she wanted at that moment was never to have met Ben De Silva.
‘I still wouldn’t mind coming to that barbecue, Jess.’
‘No, Ben. I’d rather you didn’t.’
He frowned at her. ‘Why is that?’
‘I don’t want my parents knowing what we’ve been up to this weekend. And they will. Mum will take one look at us together and she’ll know.’
‘We’re consenting adults, Jess. Our having sex isn’t a crime.’
‘No, but it’s very unlike me, Ben, to hop into bed so quickly. Mum’s sure to jump to the wrong conclusion.’
‘Which is?
‘That I’ve fallen madly in love.’
Again, she was on the end of another long, thoughtful look.
‘I take it that hasn’t happened?’
‘You know it hasn’t. We’ve been having a dirty weekend, Ben. That’s all.’ It went against her grain to describe their weekend in such a crude fashion, but it was the truth after all.
‘I don’t see it that way, Jess. I like you. A lot. And I want to see more of you.’
‘You mean you want to have more kinky sex with me whilst you’re in Australia.’
He pursed his lips in obvious annoyance. ‘You make it all sound so tacky. Yes, of course I want to have more sex with you, but not just kinky sex. I enjoy making love to you in more traditional ways as well. I also want to spend time with you out of bed.’
Jess’s laugh was a little bitter. ‘Yes, I noticed you like having sex out of bed too.’
His blue eyes flashed with frustration. ‘Very funny. Just remember, you’re the one who knocked back my offer of our working together on Fab Fashions.’
‘I can live with that. I can’t live with you taking me for a fool.’
He sat bolt upright in his chair, his face furious. ‘I would never do that. I think you’re one of the smartest girls I’ve ever met. And the most stubborn. I suppose if I asked you to go back to New York with me, you’d say no to that as well!’
Jess could not have been more taken aback. Or more speechless.
‘Well?’ he snapped when she said nothing. ‘What would you say to such an offer?’
Jess gathered in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. ‘I would say thank you very much, Ben, but no thank you. My life is here, in Australia. I wouldn’t be happy in New York.’
‘How do you know?’
‘I just know.’
His eyes carried exasperation. ‘Most girls would jump at the chance. For Pete’s sake, Jess, you wouldn’t have to pay for a thing. You could stay in my apartment and have the holiday of a lifetime.’
The word ‘holiday’ reaffirmed what Jess already knew. He wasn’t seriously interested in her. Not the way she would have liked. But then, that was never going to happen. He’d already said he didn’t want to get married. She was just a passing amusement, one which he hadn’t grown bored with yet.
‘Couldn’t we just leave things the way they are, Ben? I’m happy to go out with you whilst you’re staying up on the coast. I like you a lot, but I don’t want to go to America with you.’
Ben should have been relieved, he supposed, that she hadn’t jumped at his somewhat impulsive offer. But he wasn’t. He was bitterly disappointed. He’d wanted to show her New York, wanted to give her the time of her life.
‘Fine,’ he bit out.
‘Please
