said that.’
‘You didn’t have to.’ He studied her face for a long moment, then let her hand go. ‘Don’t ever be tempted to play poker, will you, Stephanie? Your face is far too expressive.’
He strode round the car and slid behind the wheel, starting the engine and driving off almost before she’d had chance to wonder what he’d meant by that cryptic comment. She sighed roughly and turned towards the beckoning lights of the hotel. What did it matter anyway? That was the last she would see of Logan Ford, and she couldn’t say that she was sorry. There was something about the man that spelled out trouble, and she had quite enough of that to contend with right now. And that was what she had to concentrate on.
It made good sense, yet strangely, when she finally got to bed and fell into a restless sleep, it wasn’t the precariousness of her situation that haunted her dreams, but the memory of a tall man with red hair and eyes the colour of the richest chocolate. Logan Ford, a true enigma; a man with a child who seemed more alone than anyone she’d ever met before.
Six dollars, twenty cents.
Stephanie stared at the neat pile of money, then picked up the bills to re-count them, praying that she’d made a mistake and mixed a twenty in with the rest. American money was extremely confusing, the different denominations of notes looking remarkably similar. However, not even a second nor a third count made a scrap of difference to the total, and her heart sank.
This was all that stood between her and destitution, this meagre sum of money which would barely pay for breakfast, let alone the cost of her stay in the hotel and a ticket home to England. What on earth was she going to do?
A knock on the door roused her from her brooding and she stood up with a sigh, smoothing a hand down over the fuchsia and white patterned shorts which she was wearing with a sleeveless white vest top. She hurried across the room to answer it, then stood frozen in shock as she recognised the man waiting outside the door. He smiled slowly, his eyes running deliberately over her figure in the revealing outfit before returning to her face with a hint of challenge in their depths.
‘Aren’t you going to invite me in, Stephanie?’
The husky roughness of his voice made a sudden unwanted shiver race down her spine, and she drew herself upright. ‘What do you want?’
He smiled again, one brow arching with mockery. ‘My, my, what a welcome, honey. Anyone would think you aren’t pleased to see me.’
‘I’m not,’ she replied baldly, tightening her grip on the edge of the door. ‘Now would you mind telling me what you want by coming here?’ She glanced past him along the empty hallway. ‘Where’s Jessica? Haven’t you brought her with you?’
‘No.’ With an ease which was galling, he removed her hand from the door and walked inside the room.
‘Now just a minute! What do you think you’re doing?’ There was a trace of fear in her voice, and he turned to stare calmly back at her.
‘Not what you evidently imagine I’m planning on.’ He closed the door, then leant back against it while he studied her. He was dressed in a navy T-shirt this morning with white trousers which emphasised the slimness of his hips and the length of his powerful legs, and in the light pouring in through the window his hair gleamed with an unrestrained fire. He was a startlingly attractive man with that unusual colouring, the sort who would draw any woman’s eyes, and Stephanie wasn’t immune to his appeal.
Nervously she turned away to pick up some of the coins from the pile on the table, tossing them from hand to hand as she tried to think of something to say to dispel the mounting tension; but typically it was Logan Ford who spoke first.
‘Let me make this clear from the outset: I am not here for any personal reasons. You don’t need to worry that I have designs on your...virtue. This is strictly business.’
She flushed at the note in his voice which implied that she’d probably lost her claims to virtue years before. She’d had her share of admirers, her attractive looks and vivacious personality being enough to guarantee that, but she’d never felt any desire to allow the friendships to develop into intimacy. One day she would meet the man she would want to share such a relationship with, but until that happened she wouldn’t settle for second best. She remembered the heartache her friend Laura had gone through when such a relationship had gone sour, and used it as a warning. She was probably far more ‘virtuous’ than Logan could begin to imagine, but there was no way she was going to inform him of that fact!
She returned his ironic look as levelly as she could, yet couldn’t quite keep the bite from her voice. ‘Then I suggest that you tell me exactly why you have come. I cannot imagine what sort of business we have with one another, Mr Ford.’
He laughed as he went and sat down on the chair, crossing one long leg over the other as he looked up at where she stood stiffly by the table. ‘Did that hit a bit too close to home, Stephanie? Sorry. I merely meant to reassure you as to my intentions.’
She ignored the taunt, setting the coins down with a clatter. ‘Then why are you here? If this is some sort of a game, then let me tell you that I am in no mood to play it.’
‘I’m sure you’re not.’ He flicked a lean hand at the small pile of money. ‘That’s why I’m here.’
Stephanie frowned as she glanced down at the table. ‘I don’t understand.’
He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair to push it back from his forehead. ‘It’s quite simple. You told me last night that you had lost your bag, and I assume that you lost most of your money with it. Am I right?’
‘Yes, but I don’t see how it’s any concern of yours. Look, if you feel responsible because I lost it when I was looking after Jessica, then don’t.’
‘Don’t worry. I have no doubt it was the result of your own carelessness—that plus poking your pretty little nose in where it wasn’t wanted.’ He ignored her gasp of outrage as he stood up and walked over to the window, staring out for a few seconds before he turned back to her. ‘However, unfortunately Jessica once again doesn’t share my view. She feels that what happened was her fault, and the last thing I want right now is for her to start worrying about it.’
‘I can understand that, but I explained last night that it was just an accident. I don’t want her worrying about it any more than I want you to. I am quite capable of looking after myself!’
‘Even in view of the fact that that is all the money you have left in your possession?’ He picked up the notes and fanned them between his fingers. He had beautiful hands, long-fingered and strong, the skin deeply tanned and sprinkled with the same dark gold hair that covered his forearms. Stephanie found herself studying them, then quickly took the money from him and laid it back on the table in a gesture of defiance.
‘I don’t see that it is any business of yours how much money I have. Now if you have reassured yourself that I don’t hold either you or Jessica to blame, may I suggest you leave? I have a lot to do, as I am sure you can appreciate.’
She turned towards the door, but he continued as though she hadn’t spoken. ‘As I was just saying, I don’t want Jessica worrying. She’s been through a lot recently without having this on her mind as well.’
The harsh note in his voice brought her head round, and she saw a flicker of regret kindle briefly in
