An Irresistible Temptation: Master of Fortune / The Temptation Of Rory Monahan

Astrid shook her head. She wasn’t ready to tell him all the details of her relationship with Daniel. That she’d gotten pregnant and lost the baby—and her life and her dreams had changed. “I’m nothing special, Henry. I’m just like any other girl from Surrey.”

She reached for the handle of the door, but Henry stopped her this time. “You’re not like anyone else in the world, Astrid.”

There was something in his blue eyes that made her want to believe him. But she was afraid to trust. Afraid to believe in anything that this man had to say. Yet at the same time she was afraid that those barriers wouldn’t be enough to protect her. Because no matter what she tried to tell herself, she knew that she was starting to trust him.

That was why she’d invited him here today and why she let him take her hand in his as they walked up to the front door. Bethann answered the door and Astrid realized her older sister wasn’t too pleased with her, or her choice of date.

* * *

Henry took his a pint of Guinness outside to the deck, where he stood next to Astrid’s dad, Spencer. Spence had a thick Cockney accent and a tattoo of a dancing girl on his forearm that he’d picked up while he’d been in the Royal Marines in Japan. He was affable, but a quiet man who was confined to a wheelchair due to complications from diabetes.

He recognized Henry from his playing days, but had immediately confessed that he preferred football to rugby. The conversation was pleasant enough until Astrid’s sister Bethann came to join them.

“Can I have a word?” Bethann asked.

“Sure,” Henry said.

“Walk with me down to the summerhouse,” she said.

It was easy to see that this woman was a solicitor. Astrid was by no means a passive woman, but Bethann was every inch the protective older sister.

When they got to the summerhouse, Bethann took a seat on the red cushion and gestured for him to do the same.

“You look like you’re about to bring me up on charges,” he said.

“Don’t make fun. I’m sorry if you think I’m out of line, but I can’t just let you go without saying something.”

“Saying what?” he asked.

“My sister isn’t someone you should toy with. She has a family who cares about her, and I think you should know that my practice specializes in women’s rights.”

Henry felt a swell of compassion for Bethann. Clearly she was at least a little aware of the situation with Astrid’s previous employer, and Henry could tell that she was struggling to protect her little sister.

“I am so informed. I have no intention of harming your sister, Bethann. I am attracted to her, and if she decided she wants more from me, then there is nothing you can say that will stop me.”

“All men say that.”

“Even your husband? Did he make a promise to you and break it?” he asked.

He’d met Percy Montrose, Bethann’s husband, briefly before the other man had left to run to Tesco for more ice.

“Especially him,” she said. “But when he messes up he fixes it. And I want to know if Henry Devonshire is the kind of man who will do the same.”

“Is there really anything I can say that would convince you that I’m an upstanding man? You seem to have your mind made up about me.”

“I don’t. I’m sorry if it seemed that way. It’s just—listen, I love my sister and I don’t want to see her stuck—”

Henry put his hand on Bethann’s shoulder. “Me, either.”

She looked at him, her level stare probing and then she sighed. “Okay.”

“Henry?” Astrid called.

“In here,” he said.

“Percy’s back and we are ready to eat,” Astrid said.

“Great,” Bethann said, stepping around them and heading up toward the house.

“What did she want?”

“Just to make sure I wasn’t going to hurt you,” Henry said. “Whatever happened with Daniel…there was more than the ending of an affair, wasn’t there?”

“I can’t…I don’t want to talk about that right now, okay?”

Henry saw the distress he’d caused her with his question. It was the second time he’d seen the sheen of tears in her eyes.

“Let’s go up to the house,” he said, letting his pursuit lie for the moment.

She put her arm through his as they walked up to the patio, where her mother had set the table. It was a beautiful day, the kind that they’d learned to relish in England since it was so often cloudy or rainy.

But today the weather was nice. Percy was a likable fellow who had a dry wit. He had no problems teasing everyone at the table including Henry. Astrid clearly liked her brother-in-law and flirted in an innocent way with the man.

“Are you a football man like Spencer?” he asked Percy.

“Not at all. In fact, Spencer used to be a big London Irish fan.”

“Used to be?”

“Don’t get around as good as I used to, so I miss a lot of games. Watching it on the telly isn’t the same,” Spencer said, shifting his wheelchair to intercept the conversation.

“No, it’s not. Are you managing well with the wheelchair today?”

“Listen to your doctor,” Spencer said by way of answer. “I didn’t and look where it got me. I’m afraid I’m a bit stubborn. May have passed that trait on to Astrid.”

“I have to say I think you have. She definitely knows her own mind,” Henry said.

“That she does,” Spencer agreed. “But we did love those games. You know my girls tried to get me to a few once I was in this damned chair but it was too much work and it broke my heart seeing them so exhausted from everything that I told them we weren’t going anymore.”

“Yes, he used to take both of the girls to the games when they were little. I believe that Astrid even had a poster hanging on her side of the bedroom.…Which player was that?” Percy asked.

Astrid flushed and Bethann swatted at her husband. “Enough out of you.”

“You had a poster on your wall?” Henry asked.

“It was of you,” she said. Everyone at the table was laughing.

“She had a huge crush on you when you first joined the team,” Mary said.