smiled. ‘So how about having lunch with me tomorrow?’
The question was so smoothly asked that it took Sabrina’s mind a moment to assimilate it. Marc Kingsley was asking her for a date! For one wild moment she was tempted to say yes. Then she remembered Garth. For his sake it would be prudent to keep her distance from Marc Kingsley; the connection was too close. Anyway, Garth was taking her out tomorrow.
‘I’m sorry——’ she shook her head regretfully ‘—but I can’t.’
‘Am I stepping on someone else’s toes?’ he asked, his gaze never wavering from the bright blue of her eyes.
‘Well...’ She hesitated, unsure which was the best way to get out of this. If she said no, Marc might just suggest another date; if she said yes, he might ask her who her boyfriend was. ‘I have a date tomorrow,’ she said at last.
‘So how about the day after?’ he persisted.
She shook her head. ‘I... I can’t, Marc. I’m involved with someone else and it wouldn’t be fair.’
‘Lucky man,’ he drawled softly. ‘Well——’ he finished his coffee and stood up ‘—I suppose I should be going.’
She suppressed the immediate feeling of disappointment. Given different circumstances she would have loved to see this man again. There was something about him that was quite fascinating. ‘Thank you for the lift,’ she said politely as she stood up to walk with him to the door.
He smiled. Then quite suddenly he reached across and touched her face. ‘You know, I never take no for an answer ... it goes against the grain.’
‘Don’t you?’ Her voice sounded as breathless as she felt.
‘Certainly not.’ His finger trailed softly across the smooth skin of her cheekbone. ‘I’ll be seeing you soon, Sabrina Harrington,’ he promised decisively.
She watched him walk away from her with a pounding heart. Her skin seemed to burn where he had touched her. For one wild moment she was ecstatic that he would ask her out again. Then as he closed the front door behind him reality set in.
She couldn’t get involved with Marc Kingsley. It would be sheer folly. She turned to clear the table and then turned out the lights with a sigh. What would Marc think if he knew the truth? she wondered suddenly. Would he still be so keen to pursue her if he knew she was Garth Fraiser’s illegitimate daughter? The question taunted her as she made her way to her bedroom. Of course she would never have an answer; that was a secret she had to guard very close to her heart.
CHAPTER TWO
GARTH collected Sabrina promptly at ten the next morning and they drove out to the countryside in his Aston Martin.
It was a beautiful day. Sunshine played over the fresh green of the fields. The trees were knotted with buds ready to burst forward at any time and daffodils brightened the verges of the road.
Sabrina felt her spirits lift. Winter had been particularly grim for her and the promise of warmer, brighter days ahead was wonderful. It was like coming out of a long, dark tunnel into golden light.
She turned to Garth with a smile. ‘So where are we going? You’re being very mysterious.’
‘Well...’ He hesitated. ‘I thought it would be a good idea to bring you out to my house for lunch.’
‘Oh!’ She frowned. Somehow it didn’t seem right to go to his home, not when Nadine knew nothing about her; it seemed devious somehow. ‘What about your housekeeper? Won’t she think it’s funny that I’m having lunch with you?’
‘Don’t worry about Sadie; she’ll just think that you are coming to take notes. I’ve told her I’m having a working lunch.’ He smiled reassuringly at her. ‘I’ve decided we need to have a good heart-to-heart talk and the only place we won’t be interrupted is in my study.’
He was probably right. They did need to talk. It had been a hell of a shock to find out that Garth Fraiser was her father, especially when her mother had led her to believe that her father was dead. She still found it hard to comprehend.
She had spotted the advertisement for the job as Garth’s private secretary in a newspaper—or rather her mother had drawn her attention to it. It had been ideal, exactly what she had been looking for, and she had gone for an interview with high hopes. She’d known her qualifications were good and so were her references, but she’d also known that competition for the job would be stiff. She had been ecstatic when she’d got the job.
Working for Garth had been exhausting at times but she had enjoyed every moment of it. He had worked her hard but he had always been fair with her and she had respected him greatly.
Then just a few months ago when her mother had died in a tragic motorway accident, leaving Sabrina devastated, Garth had been wonderful. He had given her as much time off as she needed in order to sort things out. He had been kind and sympathetic and had even offered to help her with the arrangements for the funeral. At the time she had thought it was exceptionally kind of him, and she had been touched by his generosity, but she had never for one moment suspected the truth.
It had been two weeks after Lucy Harrington’s death that she’d discovered her diaries. It was then that she’d discovered that her mother had known Garth Fraiser years ago. That the two had in fact attended the same university and later they had both worked in the same law firm before Garth had got involved in politics. This had puzzled her intensely. Why hadn’t her mother mentioned that she knew her boss? Why the secrecy?
She had sat down to read the rest of the diaries with avid curiosity. What she had discovered had changed her whole life and she had been angry, bitterly angry that her mother had lied to her, that Garth had deceived her. Had he only given her the job as his secretary because of who she was? That question had haunted and humiliated her, and her first move had been to quit her job and to tell Garth Fraiser exactly what she thought of him.
Now her anger and her shock had cooled and she could feel sorrow at the situation, sympathy for her mother and for Garth. Lord, it was all such a mess. She pushed a hand through her hair in a distraught gesture. If only her mother had told her the truth... if only.
‘Damn!’ Garth pulled the car to a standstill at the gateway to a large Victorian house.
‘What is it?’ Sabrina’s gaze darted from her father to the house in front of them. Even as she asked the question she noticed the bright red Porsche parked on the gravel drive.
‘Marc’s here,’ Garth answered flatly.
Sabrina’s heart seemed to take up a rapid nervous tattoo immediately. ‘What should we do?’
With a sigh Garth started the car forward again. ‘Brazen it out,’ he muttered. ‘I’ll tell him you’ve come to do some important work for me. With a bit of luck he won’t stay.’ He grinned at her then. ‘Actually there is a stack of work you could do for me. I really miss you at the office, Brina; your replacement isn’t half as efficient.’
‘I’m sure you’re just being kind,’ Sabrina said lightly. ‘But thank you.’
‘No, I’m being honest,’ Garth replied earnestly as he pulled up outside his front door. ‘If you could see the state
