to analyze.
‘Besides,’ she added coldly, ‘I really see no point in your continuing this seduction act any further.’
‘Act?’ He sounded outraged. ‘Do you really think I can just manufacture my attraction to you?’
‘I think, Mr Prince, that you are capable of manufacturing anything you feel the inclination to,’ she told him candidly, at the same time aware that her attraction to him had been anything but manufactured! ‘Now, if you will excuse me, I think my lift is preparing to leave.’ She had just spotted Dick and Janet saying their goodnights to the other guests. ‘But for the record, Mr Prince,’ she paused to add huskily, ‘as predicted, having now met you “in person”, the answer is still an emphatic no! There will be no movie.’
His mouth thinned. ‘Isn’t that for your father to say, and not you?’
Jinx continued to look at him for several long seconds before giving a slow shake of her head. ‘In the circumstances, no, I don’t think so,’ she answered cautiously.
‘What do you mean?’ he challenged.
She met his gaze steadily. ‘My father isn’t a well man, Mr Prince.’
‘But all I want is his signature on a piece of paper.’
She gave a humourless smile. ‘A signature that would no doubt give you exclusive film rights to No Ordinary Boy!’
‘Yes,’ he bit out, at least sensible enough not to try to deny that was his true interest in pursuing her this evening.
‘That isn’t going to happen, Mr Prince—’
‘Will you call me Nik, damn it?’ he cut in harshly. ‘In the circumstances anything else certainly is ridiculous!’
Jinx didn’t need to ask what circumstances he was referring to; their physical response to each other during that dance certainly made a nonsense of any future formality between them.
‘Mr Prince. Nik. It’s all the same to me.’ She gave a dismissive shrug. ‘In either case, the answer is still no.’
‘As I told James Stephens earlier in the week, I never take no for an answer,’ he warned her grimly.
She drew in a sharp breath, unable to hide her surprise at the mention of the publisher. But then how else could Nik have discovered that J. I. Watson’s real name was J. I. Nixon?
‘James Stephens was the one who told you J. I. Watson’s real name?’ ‘James is far too much of a professional to ever do a thing like that,’ Nik reproved.
That was something, at least. If Nik Prince’s answer had been anything but the one he had just given her then she would have made sure that the second J. I. Watson manuscript, which was even now being prepared for editing, never made it onto James Stephens’s desk.
But it was still pretty obvious that someone at Stephens Publishing had to have revealed that confidential information to Nik Prince. The question was, who…?
‘Tell me, Mr Prince…’ she gave him a considering look ‘…what is it that you find so difficult to understand about the word no?’
‘As far as I can recall, it’s not a word that’s ever been in my big brother’s vocabulary,’ a female voice chimed in lightly.
Jinx turned to look at Nik Prince’s sister, Stazy Hunter, as she moved to stand next to her brother. The younger woman was extremely beautiful, her red hair almost as bright as Jinx’s own. In fact, Stazy Hunter looked a far nicer person altogether than her eldest brother!
‘Not at all,’ Nik came back smoothly. ‘I’m just a positive person rather than a negative one.’
Well, he could be as positive as he wanted as far as Jinx was concerned, because the answer to his request was no, and it would remain no.
‘If you’ll both excuse me…’ She gave Stazy Hunter a vague smile, shot Nik Prince a look of warning, before moving determinedly away from them, inwardly shaken by how close he had got to her.
Too close.
In more ways than one!
Nik frowned frustratedly as he watched Jinx join a mid-dle-aged couple across the room, his gaze narrowing as he considered his two choices of action. One, he could let Jinx just walk out of his life, also taking her knowledge of J. I. Watson with her. Or two, he could make sure that he left with her!
‘Do me a favour, will you, Staze?’ He turned urgently to his sister.
She looked slightly surprised. ‘Of course. If I can. What—’
‘Persuade your charming husband that it’s time for the two of you to leave.’
Stazy looked nonplussed. ‘But it’s still early, Nik; what on earth will I tell Susan and Leo—?’
‘I don’t care what you tell them,’ he cut in forcefully, starting to panic slightly as he could see Jinx and the older couple were coming to the end of their goodbyes. ‘Your house is on fire. You need to take your husband home and seduce him—’
‘Jordan doesn’t need any seducing,’ Stazy assured him happily.
Nik winced. ‘I really didn’t need to hear that.’ He was still coming to terms with the fact that his little sister was married at all, let alone to a man as powerful and experienced as Jordan Hunter. ‘Okay, find your own excuse, but think of something soon, hmm!’
‘Fine.’ Stazy held up soothing hands. ‘I take it you aren’t coming back with us, after all?’
‘You take it correct,’ he confirmed grimly, his gaze still fixed on Jinx. ‘But whatever you’re going to do, do it quickly, will you?’ Jinx was starting to move towards the door now!
‘I’m gone,’ his sister assured him—before doing exactly that.
And by the speed with which his sister and brother-in-law made their excuses to their host and hostess, before immediately leaving, Nik had a feeling that the suggestion of seduction might have worked on Jordan, after all!
Nik shook his head. Stazy had made her choice, and it was a choice he wholeheartedly approved of; it was his own problem if he was still having trouble coming to terms with another man being more important to Stazy than he was.
At this moment he had a much more serious situation to deal with!
‘Sorry I was delayed.’ He hurried to Jinx’s side just as she reached the front door, taking a firm hold of her arm before turning to smile warmly at the older couple who accompanied her. ‘I hope you don’t mind including me in that offer of a lift home?’ His tone was deliberately charming. ‘My sister was going to drop me at my hotel, but she and Jordan had to get straight back to their house—some sort of emergency…’
The couple shot each other a briefly knowing look before assuring him they didn’t mind at all, that there was plenty of room for him in their car.
Not that Nik had thought they would be a problem;
