The Ruthless Marriage Proposal Read online

  Emily found herself looking up and into them; found herself thinking she would do anything he asked, if only he would keep looking at her like this. As if she were an attractive woman. No, a desirable woman.

  She could not tear her eyes away from his, no longer caring about anything but this moment, this precious, private, impossibly romantic moment.

  ‘Whereabouts around here do you want me to drop you off, mate?’ the taxi driver asked.

  Sebastian looked away and the moment was gone, torn from Emily with the wrenching pain of a suddenly amputated limb. Reality returned with a rush, making her face the fancifulness of her interpretation of what had just happened, plus what she was secretly hoping might happen later on.

  Sebastian was not going to seduce her. He was going to offer her more money.

  Her boss was a man who found practical solutions to problems he encountered, not ones which could cause him even more problems. Seducing his housekeeper would be an extremely hazardous solution, especially for a wealthy man. Sebastian would not risk his reputation—or a sexual harassment lawsuit—to keep her in his house. She wasn’t that valuable to him.

  ‘Just here will do,’ Sebastian told the driver, and the taxi slid over to the kerb just outside the ferry terminals.

  From there, it was only a short walk down to the restaurants and alfresco cafés which lined the quayside and which all provided their patrons with splendid views of the harbour, the bridge and the Opera House.

  Emily had no idea where Sebastian was taking her but she couldn’t imagine it being anything less than the best.

  Having lunch with him, however, had now totally lost its lustre. She’d be relieved when it was over. Very relieved when he graciously accepted her decision to leave.

  Emily opened the door and climbed out of the taxi, not waiting for Sebastian to do it for her.

  No more mooning over him, she lectured herself as she stood on the pavement and waited for him to finish paying the driver. No more foolish fantasies. No more saying she was going to do one thing whilst dreaming about another.

  Be the realist he thinks you are.

  ‘Emily?’

  A startled Emily turned at the sound of her name being called out from behind her.

  ‘So it is you,’ the owner of the male voice said as he strode over to her, his good-looking face breaking into a warm smile. ‘I didn’t recognise you at first with brown hair.’

  CHAPTER FIVE

  EMILY could not believe it! Fancy running into Mark, of all people.

  Still, he did live at Manly and had always caught the ferry to and from work. And he often worked on a Saturday, being one of the partners in a high-powered stockbroking firm.

  She supposed it wasn’t all that much of a coincidence.

  But still…

  ‘You’re looking very well,’ Mark went on, his eyes fairly gobbling her up.

  ‘You too,’ she replied, privately wishing that he might have grown fat or bald in the four years since he’d dumped her. But no, he looked even better than ever.

  Not as tall or as impressive as Sebastian, but extremely attractive. And very well dressed—Mark had always had style. And an eye for the ladies. He was eyeing her up and down right now, his dark eyes glittering in that way she’d once loved, because she’d thought his desire had been just for her.

  In hindsight, Emily suspected that he probably looked at every fanciable female with I’d-love-to-take-you-to-bed eyes.

  ‘I’ve often thought of you, Emily,’ he said, lowering his voice in the way she now realised was a ploy he used to sound sincere.

  ‘And I you, Mark.’

  He didn’t seem to notice the chilly note in her reply.

  ‘Good heavens!’ he suddenly exclaimed, his eyes having abruptly moved from her face to a spot over her shoulder. ‘That’s Sebastian Armstrong over there.’

  Emily spun round to see that Sebastian was finally getting out of the taxi.

  ‘Yes, it is,’ she agreed coolly. ‘He’s taking me to lunch.’

  Emily enjoyed Mark’s shocked expression. ‘You’re moving in pretty rarefied circles these days.’

  ‘Sebastian’s my boss.’

  ‘No kidding. The great man himself. Look, can I give you a call? It’d be great to catch up.’

  Emily found it difficult to hide her fury at Mark imagining for one moment that she’d want him calling her. Or catching up with her.

  ‘I don’t think so, Mark,’ she said frostily.

  ‘No? Oh, well, I suppose you’ve got better—and bigger—fish to fry,’ he said nastily with a sour glance Sebastian’s way.

  ‘He’s just my boss, Mark.’

  ‘Then why isn’t he looking too pleased with your talking to another man?’

  ‘Really?’ Now it was Emily’s turn to be shocked.

  Actually, Sebastian did look a bit annoyed as he stepped up on to the pavement. By then, Mark had gone, like the coward that he was.

  ‘Damned driver pretended he didn’t have the right change,’ Sebastian muttered as he joined her. ‘In the end I gave him a fifty dollar note. Which I suppose was what he was angling for from the start. But I do resent giving large tips to people who do nothing for them.’

  Emily castigated herself for entertaining the ridiculous notion that Sebastian could possibly be jealous. Her imagination was really working overtime today.

  But that was becoming a habit whenever she was with Sebastian.

  ‘This way,’ he said, taking her arm and steering a safe path through the people hurrying to and fro.

  Circular Quay was always busy, even on a Saturday, being a popular spot for tourists who flocked to see Sydney’s most famous icons, its Harbour Bridge and Opera House, which admittedly were both unique and very beautiful.

  Emily hadn’t been in this part of the city for years, but she was familiar with the area. She had, after all, once been a working girl in the city. She’d lived with Mark in his apartment at Manly as well, catching the same ferry he caught every morning, just so she could spend every possible moment with him.

  What a romantic fool she’d been back then!

  Maybe she was still a romantic fool.

  But not for much longer!

  ‘So who was that man you were talking to just now?’ Sebastian asked as he guided her along the sun-drenched quay.

  ‘And don’t lie to me, Emily,’ he went on before she could even open her mouth. ‘I’m a good judge of body language and I know when a man and a woman have once meant something to each other. He couldn’t take his eyes off you. And you…you looked almost murderous at running into him. If looks could kill…’

  Emily supposed there was no reason not to tell him the truth. Though really her private life was none of his business.

  ‘Mark’s an old boyfriend,’ she admitted.

  ‘How old?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘How long ago did you break up?’

  ‘About four years, give or take a month.’

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘My mother got cancer, that’s what happened,’ she said sharply, giving vent to some of the bitterness she’d bottled up for years. ‘Mark didn’t like my decision to go home and look after her. Prior to that, we were living together. But he couldn’t cope with a girlfriend who wasn’t there for him, twenty-four seven.’

  ‘He obviously didn’t care for you very deeply.’

  ‘I did come to realise that,’ Emily said with a sigh. ‘But it was very hurtful to be dumped at such a distressing time.’

  ‘You loved him a lot, didn’t you?’

  Emily wished she hadn’t. But she had. And there was no point in denying it. ‘Yes,’ she said simply. ‘I did.’

  ‘He’s the reason you haven’t had a boyfriend since, isn’t he?’

  Emily began to feel uncomfortable with Sebastian pursuing this line of personal probing.

  Grinding to a halt, she speared him with a firm look.

  ‘Could we talk about
something else, please?’

  ‘I’m just trying to get to know you better,’ he said.

  ‘Why? So you’ll know what buttons to push to persuade me to stay?’

  He smiled a wry smile. ‘You don’t pull any punches, do you?’

  ‘I just don’t like being taken for a fool.’

  ‘It would be very difficult to fool you, Emily.’

  No, it wouldn’t be, she thought as she glowered up at him. I’ve been made a fool of before. By Mark. And my father.

  You could make a fool of me too. More easily than you know.

  ‘I would hope that you wouldn’t try,’ she said in all seriousness.

  He frowned, his eyes thoughtful. ‘I would hope so too.’

  ‘So what is this counter-offer you’re going to make to me?’ she asked, sick of not knowing. ‘We’re alone now, so there’s no reason why you can’t tell me.’

  ‘I think we should get to the restaurant first,’ he replied, ‘before they give our booking to someone else.’

  Emily smothered her irritation at yet another delay with some difficulty. Sebastian led her down to a nearby Thai restaurant which had an alfresco section outside that captured both the splendid view and the warm autumn sunshine. By the time they were settled at one of the brightly umbrellaed tables, and the drinks waiter had taken Sebastian’s wine order, her patience was wearing very thin. Her stomach had begun churning with nervous anticipation, but her resolve to move on had grown stronger than ever.

  ‘No more hedging, Sebastian,’ she insisted. ‘Out with it.’

  ‘Very well,’ he said, his piercing blue eyes locking with hers. ‘I must warn you, however, that you’ll probably be taken aback at first. Promise me that you will give my proposal due consideration. Don’t reject it out of hand.’

  ‘Your proposal of what?’

  ‘Of marriage.’

  Emily knew that if she’d been holding a glass of wine at that moment she would have dropped it, or spilt wine all over herself.

  Taken aback did not begin to describe her reaction. Shocked was also inadequate. Stunned came close, but still fell short of capturing the emotions which crashed through her.

  ‘In case I haven’t made myself perfectly clear,’ he swept on, ‘I’m not proposing some kind of business arrangement, or a marriage in name only. This would be a real marriage in every sense of the word. I’m well aware you want at least one child, Emily, and I’m prepared to give you what you want.’

  He couldn’t be serious, she thought dazedly as she stared at him.

  And yet he was serious!

  She could see it in his eyes.

  ‘I…I don’t know what to say,’ she choked out.

  ‘Yes would be acceptable,’ he replied with a small smile.

  She stared at his smiling mouth, her own mouth still open and rapidly drying. She closed it and licked her parched lips, then shook her head, not in rejection, but in bewilderment.

  ‘You don’t propose marriage to your housekeeper, Sebastian, just to stop her from leaving. That’s a crazy thing to do, especially for a man who’s made it perfectly clear he never wanted to get married. Or become a father.’

  She’d overheard him say as much to Lana. Loudly and firmly.

  ‘I haven’t up till now, that’s true. But then I hadn’t met a woman I wanted to marry. I want to marry you, Emily.’

  ‘But why? You don’t love me. You still love Lana. I know you do.’

  ‘Then you know differently to me,’ he stated quite coldly. ‘I do not still love Lana. I never did.’

  ‘Then why did you chase after her?’

  He shrugged. ‘There were things left unsaid which had to be said. My going to Italy was more a matter of curiosity. And closure.’

  Emily was not in any way convinced. If that was the case, then why had he over-indulged in alcohol on the flight home? That was not like him at all. Sebastian liked a couple of glasses of wine with his meals, but she’d never seen him as intoxicated as he’d been last night.

  He could say what he liked. He had loved Lana and he wasn’t over her. Not by a long shot.

  The drinks waiter arriving with the bottle of white wine Sebastian had ordered put paid to their conversation for a while, giving Emily the opportunity to get a grip on her emotions and think more rationally about Sebastian’s marriage proposal.

  It was utterly outrageous, of course.

  But a very Sebastian thing to do.

  In one fell swoop, he would solve both his current problems. Keep his housekeeper, plus fill the empty space Lana had left in his bed.

  Thinking of filling Lana’s space in his bed, however, sent Emily’s head into a whirl. As much as she secretly thrilled to the prospect of Sebastian as her husband and lover, she could not discount the awful thought that if she married him she would always be a second-choice substitute for the woman he really wanted. What would happen when he got over his hurt and realised he’d married a woman who couldn’t possibly fire up his passions the way Lana had? Would he want a divorce, or expect his wife of convenience to play the little woman at home whilst he took a mistress? Or two?

  As much as Emily was madly tempted to still say yes, yes, yes and be damned with the consequences, her bitter experiences in the past kept warning her to stop and think. Did she really want to let herself be used by another man? Her father had used her, till her services were no longer required. Mark had done the same.

  Could she rely on Sebastian being any different?

  If anything, he might be worse, given his extreme wealth. Billionaires were used to getting their own way. Just because she thought the sun shone out of Sebastian didn’t mean he didn’t have a dark side. All men did.

  By the time the drinks waiter left, Emily’s head felt as if it would burst with the torment of her emotional dilemma.

  For how could she possibly say no? She loved him and she wanted him.

  It was the wanting which was the most difficult to resist. Last night she’d run from the chance of having Sebastian make love to her. How could she run from it again and not regret it till her dying day?

  ‘Have a sip of the wine,’ Sebastian suggested as soon as the drinks waiter left, ‘and tell me what you think of it.’

  Emily gripped her wineglass tightly lest her hand begin to shake. She brought it to her lips and sipped, then put it down carefully.

  ‘Very nice,’ she said.

  ‘Have a guess where it comes from.’

  Emily felt like throwing the wine in his arrogantly handsome face. But such overt tantrums weren’t in her nature.

  ‘New Zealand,’ she answered. ‘The Marlborough region.’

  It was a game he played with her sometimes. Like most men, he liked to show off his own knowledge on a subject. But she knew her wines, her father having always kept an extensive cellar. Mark had been a wine buff as well so she’d had a very good schooling on the subject.

  ‘Damn. I thought you might say Western Australia.’

  ‘I’ve always liked New Zealand whites.’

  ‘They do go well with Asian food. Have you decided what you’re going to eat?’ he added when another waiter materialised by their side, holding an order pad.

  Emily had glanced at the menu sitting in front of her, but very blankly. Since Sebastian had dropped his bombshell, her mind had been on other things.

  ‘Why don’t you order for me?’ she suggested, not really having much appetite. She was also beginning to feel quite warm, with her shoulders and arms in the sun.

  Sebastian ordered a couple of noodle dishes, after which he stood up and took off his own suit jacket, draping it over the back of his chair.

  Emily had seen him wearing a lot less. She already knew he had broad shoulders, a flat stomach and slim hips. So why did she have to stare at him the way she did?

  Perhaps because she was already anticipating that moment when she would see him wearing absolutely nothing. Which she would, if she became his wife. He would be hers to look at. To kis
s. To make love to.

  The thought was mind-blowing. And a serious turn-on.

  When his eyes met hers across the table, heat zoomed up her throat into her face.

  ‘You should take your jacket off as well,’ he said, thankfully misinterpreting the pink in her cheeks. ‘You’re looking hot.’

  ‘Here,’ he said, when she tried to struggle out of it whilst sitting down. ‘Let me help you.’

  She had to stand up, holding herself stiffly whilst he peeled the jacket back from her neck and lifted it up off her shoulders. Was she imagining it, or did he deliberately allow his fingertips to brush against her skin as he slid the jacket down her arms?

  ‘I’ll bet that feels better,’ Sebastian remarked as he draped her jacket across the back of the chair next to her.

  She sat down again and leant back in her chair, making a conscious effort to relax. Not an easy thing to do when her nipples were like bullets and her whole body was on the verge of spontaneous combustion.

  She managed a small smile as he sat back down. ‘It’s turned out hotter today than I thought it would.’

  His gaze flicked over her bare arms and shoulders, then back up to her face. His expression was guarded, his eyes unreadable. But the air between them crackled with an unspoken tension.

  ‘Have you had enough time to think about my proposal?’ he asked, his voice calm but his eyes watchful.

  ‘Yes…’

  ‘Good. Then what’s it to be, Emily? Yes? Or no?’

  Emily’s head shouted no at her whilst her heart screamed yes.

  At the last moment, she realised she didn’t have to say, either. Let him wait for her answer. And work a little harder for it.

  ‘As I said earlier, Sebastian,’ came her cool sounding reply. ‘I don’t like to rush my decisions. Could you give me the rest of the weekend to think about it?’

  ‘The rest of the weekend,’ he repeated slowly, looking not at all pleased by her answer.

  ‘Yes. I’ll let you know by Sunday night.’

  ‘I would prefer to know where I stand today,’ he ground out. ‘Is there anything I could say, or do, to make up your mind a little earlier? Perhaps we could discuss your concerns over lunch, whatever they are.’