Mother Of The Bride

An excitingly attractive man.

A fact the young Saturday girls were well aware of as they fluttered around him, totally impervious to the fact that, at thirty-nine, Zack was old enough to be father to both of them!

But even Sonia, a much more cynical individual where men were concerned, was eyeing him with totally feminine curiosity, Helen noticed.

‘My name is Neilson,’ he was informing Sonia now, his voice deep and husky, and not cold as it had been when he spoke to Helen earlier. ‘I'm here to see—–'

‘Mr Neilson,’ Helen greeted smoothly, moving forward with easy grace, meeting Zack's mocking gaze with a challenge of her own as he turned to look at her with raised brows.

‘Neilson?’ Sonia repeated softly to herself, looking up at him with dawning comprehension. ‘Then you must be—–'

‘The owner,’ Helen cut in abruptly. ‘Zack, would you like to come through to the office?’ She held the door open pointedly.

He gave an acknowledging inclination of his head, dark eyes openly mocking now as he realised he had her at a disadvantage.

Helen preceded him into the adjoining room as he gave her no chance to do otherwise, standing back deliberately until she had gone through.

She could feel his gaze on her the whole time, and hoped she hadn't suddenly developed a ladder in her tights since this morning when she set out so neatly. The distance between the shop floor and her little office suddenly seemed like a mile!

‘The owner, yes,’ Zack echoed softly from behind her as he closed the door with a decisive click. ‘But also your husband—Mrs Neilson!'

CHAPTER TWO (#u06f0b525-21d8-5e8e-a4d6-4cc464501101)

COLOUR flared in Helen's cheeks. ‘That,’ she bit out tautly, ‘is only a formality, and you know it!'

‘Formality or not—–’ Zack shrugged unconcernedly ‘—the fact remains, we are husband and wife.'

‘Only just,’ Helen snapped. ‘Another couple of months and I can apply for a divorce on the grounds of two years’ separation.'

Zack's mouth twisted derisively. ‘And you're counting the days!'

And the hours and minutes! God, she didn't know why she should be made to feel so defensive about wanting their divorce; the marriage itself had been a mistake from the first, a convenience, and not even of their own choosing.

Which was why she would rather it had been any other young man than Greg Neilson who had been named in this birthday joke on Emily! Although the people responsible for the announcement couldn't have realised just what a hornets’ nest they were poking; they had only lived together as a family for a matter of months, so most of Greg and Emily's friends wouldn't even realise they were stepbrother and stepsister.

She had known Emily and Greg still saw quite a lot of each other socially—of course she had; it had been inevitable when they were both attending the same college, and obviously the friendship had given their friends a good idea for a practical joke.

With any other boy but Greg even Helen might have found it funny!

She moved to sit behind the small desk, which was all she could get inside this room, feeling more self-assured as she took on her business mantle. ‘I'm sure you aren't here today to discuss our divorce—–'

‘Are you?’ His voice was silkily soft, as he moved with the minimum of effort needed to take him to the chair placed opposite hers, his height looking slightly ridiculous folded into the small wooden chair.

She sighed. ‘Zack—–'

‘Emily and Greg,’ he intercepted drily. ‘What are we going to do about them?'

‘Do about them?’ she echoed in a puzzled voice. ‘We aren't going to do anything about them.’ She shook her head derisively. ‘Their friends are all having a good laugh at their expense because of Emily's birthday today—–'

‘I'm well aware of the fact that it's my stepdaughter's eighteenth birthday today,’ he bit out harshly.

‘Emily is not your stepdaughter!’ Two bright spots of angry colour heightened her cheeks.

His mouth tightened. ‘Oh, yes, she is, Helen. And she always will be. Whether you like it or not,’ he challenged hardly. ‘Whether you go through with the divorce or not—–'

‘Of course I'll go through with the divorce!’ There was no doubt about that.

‘Why?’ Zack watched her with narrowed, questioning eyes, no longer the colour of warmed chocolate, so dark now, they were almost black.

Her eyes widened. ‘Why?’ she echoed. ‘But—–’ She shook her head dismissively. ‘We're straying from the point of your visit.'

‘Are we?’ He crossed one long leg over the other, perfectly relaxed, filled with that stillness that was so unnerving.

‘Zack, I've had a busy day.’ And her head was starting to pound! This man always had been able to tie her up in knots.

‘Of course,’ he acknowledged coldly. ‘Heaven forbid I should interrupt your working day about something as trivial as our children's engagement!'

He was trying to make her feel guilty again! ‘I've already told you that it's all nonsense,’ she snapped. ‘Just a not very funny joke.'

‘You seem so convinced of that, but I don't see how you can be so sure.’ He shook his head. ‘Or have you spoken to Emily?’ His eyes were narrowed.

‘Well, no, but—–’ She frowned. ‘I've called her at home a couple of times,’ she added defensively. ‘She hasn't been at home.'

Zack nodded slowly. ‘Greg has been equally elusive …'

‘When I see her tonight we can all have a good laugh about it,’ Helen dismissed, although she didn't think her father would find it in the least amusing; he had never approved of Zack, and Greg was Zack's son …

‘So we can,’ Zack drawled. ‘Won't it be a jolly way to start the evening?’ he taunted.

Helen became suddenly still, staring at him as a terrible possibility occurred to her. ‘Emily invited you and Greg to join us for dinner tonight …?’ But she already knew the answer, could see it in Zack's face.

‘Yes, she—and she didn't tell you she had done so, the little minx,’ he slowly realised at Helen's distraught expression.

Deliberately so, Helen knew; Emily had known that although she had always got on with Greg she certainly wouldn't want Zack there. She knew exactly what her daughter had done, that she had invited Zack and Greg and then telephoned her favourite Chinese restaurant herself to change the booking from three to five people, without telling Helen she had done it.

The problem was that Emily had adored Zack from the first. Never having known her real father because he had died while she was still only a baby, it had been easy for the fifteen-year-old Emily had been when Helen and Zack had married to accept him as a father figure.

Helen knew, belatedly, that it should have occurred to her before that Emily might want Zack at her birthday party—her family birthday party.

Zack watched the emotions flickering across the paleness of her face with narrowed eyes. ‘Helen, I meet Emily for lunch at least every couple of weeks,’ he told her softly. ‘And she visits the house often, goes up to her bedroom, lies on the bed, listens to music—–'

‘Her bedroom is at my house!’ Helen burst out tautly, shaken by what he was telling her, each word like the prick of a knife against her skin. ‘And you knew damn well I wouldn't want you at this dinner tonight; you could have—–'

‘You wouldn't want?’ he echoed, dangerously soft, giving her a pitying glance. ‘I don't think Emily's eighteenth birthday celebrations should have anything to do with what you want! When we got married we didn't just marry each other; the children were involved too,’ he reminded her coldly. ‘And my relationship with Emily has survived the separation; I intend for it to remain that way,’ he informed her in a voice that brooked no argument.

Helen sensed his criticism of her own relationship with Greg. She had been very fond of her stepson, had deeply regretted not being able to maintain their friendship, at least. But at the time she had thought, whether rightly or wrongly, that a clean break was the best way.

She had had no idea that Emily had kept up such a close relationship with Zack, had always believed that she and Emily had a close mother-daughter relationship, that Emily could tell her anything. My God, she thought, no wonder Zack had been so scornful of that claim earlier today; he had known the truth.