Just One Night (Presents Plus) Read online

  The elegantly calm woman who had organised his business life for more years than he cared to think about emerged from her bedroom that adjoined the lounge, not at all perturbed by the chaos Hawk seemed to have brought back with him. After ten years she was probably used to it!

  ‘Yes, Hawk?’ she prompted softly; a beautiful woman, she usually knew what he wanted before he did.

  It had been her complete efficiency at her job that had thrown him into a panic four years ago when her marriage began to flounder and she had considered the idea of leaving her job to see if that might stop her husband jumping into bed with every woman who so much as smiled at him. Knowing her husband as he had, Hawk hadn’t believed anything would stop him playing around with other women, but he hadn’t tried to interfere; he knew that if Sarah loved Paul she should stay with him. However, he had been very supportive when she decided to divorce the bastard after finding him in her own bed with a woman she had thought was her friend. He hadn’t been averse to using a little of his charm to persuade her to stay on with him either, after she had voiced the possibility of perhaps making a completely new start; he knew that he would never be able to find a more efficient secretary, wining and dining her until she agreed to stay on.

  But for once her cool control irritated him. ‘Find out all that you can about a Leonie Spencer—Mrs Leonie Spencer,’ he added grimly. ‘Especially anything about Mr Spencer. She lives in the wilds of Buckinghamshire,’ he supplied absently. ‘I want to know everything there is to know about her, and I don’t care who you have to disturb on this English Sunday afternoon to get it,’ he warned harshly.

  ‘Will that be all?’ Sarah arched blonde brows.

  ‘Yes!’ Hawk glared at her. ‘Damn woman,’ he muttered once he was alone with Jake.

  ‘Who, Sarah?’ his assistant mocked disbelievingly.

  Grey eyes raked over him mercilessly. ‘Why do I keep you on the pay-roll?’

  The other man grinned. He possessed the type of fair-haired good looks that had caused more than one female to bemoan the fact that he was determined to remain a bachelor since his divorce sixteen years ago. ‘Probably because I’m a damned good assistant,’ he drawled.

  ‘Oh yeah,’ Hawk acknowledged dryly. ‘I knew there had to be some reason why I put up with you!’

  Jake’s grin widened. ‘You’re just put out because the woman on the plane last night offered me a date instead of you.’

  Hawk gave the other man a scathing look. ‘So that’s why your bed wasn’t slept in last night! I should watch it, my friend,’ he drawled, remembering the over-familiarity of the beautiful brunette on the plane; it was far from the first time she had picked up a man in that way! ‘You expose yourself to—all sorts of dangers that way,’ he added derisively.

  ‘Ouch!’ Jake grimaced, putting the contracts to one side. ‘So your meeting with the author didn’t work out,’ he remarked thoughtfully. ‘Don’t you think, in this day and age, especially with two old reprobates like us as an example, that perhaps you should be grateful Hal just wants to marry a woman you don’t approve of?’

  ‘I think that if Stephen came home and told you he intended marrying a woman he’s only known three weeks, a woman who’s older than him, you’d react the same way I did,’ Hawk grated.

  Jake shrugged. ‘I can think of plenty of worse things he could come home and tell me.’

  ‘Maybe,’ Hawk accepted grudgingly. ‘Maybe I should have made Hal go to college with Stephen instead of giving in to him when he said he wanted to learn the business by experience. They always got on well together, and Stephen might have been good for Hal, stopped him growing up quite so quickly.’

  When Jake had come to work for him fifteen years ago he had just been awarded custody of his five-year-old son after his divorce, and with Hal being a similar age the two boys had gravitated to each other from the first. Their friendship was probably as deep as his and Jake’s was. The two young men were opposites, Stephen always getting into mischief, and usually taking Hal along with him. Yes, maybe he should have insisted Hal attend college rather than going straight to work. But it was too late for that now.

  ‘He seems to be doing all right,’ observed Jake.

  ‘Too well,’ Hawk scowled. ‘Why the hell he wants to tie himself down with a wife I have no idea.’

  ‘Because he loves her,’ Jake suggested softly.

  Hawk gave a disbelieving snort. ‘He thinks he loves her,’ he corrected firmly. ‘And I object to being called an old reprobate,’ he added suddenly, and Jake grinned at his ability not to forget anything that was said to him. ‘The reprobate was fine, but I’ve already had enough aspersions cast on my age today without you starting too. How could anyone feel anything else but old after being in Leonie Spencer’s company for half an hour?’ he added disgustedly. ‘Her mind leaps from subject to subject without giving any indication that you’re now talking about something completely different! And even when she’s sitting still you get the impression she’d rather be on her feet and moving. She is definitely not a relaxing person to be around!’

  ‘Sounds familiar.’ Jake looked at him pointedly.

  ‘Very funny,’ snapped Hawk.

  ‘Who is Leonie Spencer?’ Jake asked slowly. ‘I thought you went to see a Laura Brandon?’

  ‘Leonie Spencer is an infuriating, provoking, kooky—’

  Jake whistled through his teeth. ‘Whoever she is, she made quite an impression!’

  ‘About as much as a puppy-dog chewing at my pants leg,’ Hawk replied. ‘She has six cats. Six!’ he repeated disbelievingly.

  ‘Shocking,’ Jake taunted.

  ‘Stop being so damned—Sarah,’ Hawk pounced as she came quietly back into the room, ‘what did you find out?’

  ‘Mrs Leonora Spencer lives at—’

  ‘I know her address, damn it!’ He glared at her.

  Blonde brows rose over reproving blue eyes. ‘She’s twenty-five years old,’ Sarah continued undaunted. ‘Her parents were killed years ago in a car accident. She has one sister, her twin, Laura Brandon—’

  ‘Ah,’ Jake nodded comprehendingly, shrugging as Hawk gave him a quelling glance.

  ‘Laura Brandon,’ Sarah continued determinedly. ‘Leonie was married at twenty to Michael Spencer. The marriage doesn’t appear to have been a success—’

  ‘Was he rich?’ Hawk cut in suspiciously.

  Sarah glanced at the notes she had made. ‘It says here he was a clerk in a—’

  ‘Not rich,’ drawled Jake.

  Hawk scowled as the theory of Leonie having married for money too was taken away from him. If only he could find something to dislike about the woman!

  ‘Shall I go on?’ Sarah enquired coolly.

  ‘Sure,’ he instructed tersely, ignoring Jake’s smile of amusement.

  ‘The marriage lasted only a short time—’

  ‘They’re divorced?’ Hawk interrupted sharply.

  ‘It would appear so,’ Sarah nodded.

  ‘Any children?’

  ‘None were mentioned,’ said Sarah in her usual precise way that was somehow managing to annoy him deeply today. ‘Leonie co-authors books with—’

  ‘Thanks, Sarah,’ he cut in dismissively. ‘I know the rest.’

  She shrugged, sharing a puzzled glance with Jake before returning to her bedroom to continue working.

  ‘Divorced,’ murmured Hawk triumphantly, suddenly realising he no longer needed a reason to dislike Leonie Spencer, none that need matter to them. Hal and Laura were completely separate from this. ‘Jake, my friend, I’m going out again,’ he announced determinedly.

  ‘Am I allowed to enquire where?’ the other man drawled.

  He grinned. ‘I’m going to show a woman, who believes a man of my age must be suffering from a mid-life crisis, just how wrong she is.’

  ‘What?’ Jake was astounded by his explanation.

  ‘You heard me,’ said Hawk with satisfaction. ‘And, Jake—’ he paused at the door.

/>   ‘Hm?’ The other man still looked dazed.

  ‘Don’t wait up,’ he advised softly.

  CHAPTER ONE

  ‘THREE more months of this torture!’ Laura bemoaned with a heavy sigh.

  Leonie gave a grimace of sympathy from her position on the adjoining lounger, knowing Laura had just finished reading a letter from Hal. ‘Try not to think of it as a life sentence,’ she encouraged gently.

  Her sister frowned at her. ‘How can it be any other way when I love Hal so much?’

  ‘Darling, you were the one who agreed to the year’s wait,’ Leonie reminded her softly. ‘Said you wanted to give Hal time to be sure too.’

  ‘I know,’ Laura gave a choked sigh. ‘But how could I know Hawk Sinclair was going to make sure Hal was out of the country most of the time!’

  Leonie gave a pained frown. A year, Hawk Sinclair had asked Hal and Laura to wait, assuring them that if they really did love each other it would pass quickly. As she had known he would, Hal had raised strong objections to the idea, wanting to marry Laura right away, but Laura had told him that perhaps it would be better if they waited, so that they could be sure of their feelings for each other too.

  Leonie had always known Laura wouldn’t object to anything Hawk Sinclair asked of them, but Hal had been hurt by what seemed to be Laura’s indecision about their love, storming out on all of them after accusing Laura of believing he was still a child too!

  He had come back, of course, as soon as he calmed down enough to realise Laura wouldn’t change her mind and marry him straight away as he wanted, and with both Laura and his father against the idea of an instant marriage he had finally agreed to wait the year.

  It hadn’t been too bad at first. Laura and Hal had seen a lot of each other, but then his father had begun to send him to other hotels that they owned for weeks at a time, straining their relationship as he and Laura had to rely on telephone calls and letters to tell each other of their love.

  Hal had been in Acapulco for over six weeks now, and those weeks had been difficult ones for her sister, Leonie realised. Laura was thinner than she used to be, fine lines of strain around her eyes that hadn’t been there before.

  All this pain and suffering because Hawk Sinclair had decided to play God with their lives!

  Leonie didn’t doubt that Laura would still want to marry Hal at the end of the year’s wait, or that Hal would feel the same way, in fact the two of them had already started discussing wedding plans.

  Leonie’s illness hadn’t helped Laura’s peace of mind; the emergency operation she had gone through had been frightening for them both, and the weeks she had spent in hospital had left her still feeling weak and far from well. Laura had taken complete control during the crisis, and was still doing so several weeks later. Today she was having to go alone to their publisher to explain why the book he was waiting for from them still wasn’t finished.

  ‘Are you sure you’re going to be able to handle this meeting with Desmond on your own?’ Leonie frowned her concern.

  Laura grinned. ‘I know you usually walk in and totally disarm the poor man, but I’m afraid that today he’s going to have to make do with me!’

  Leonie’s mouth quirked. ‘You could always pretend you’re me!’

  ‘Darling, much as I love your idiosyncrasies, there is no one else like you!’ her sister teased. ‘Are you going to be all right here on your own?’ She frowned her concern.

  ‘But I’m not alone,’ Leonie shrugged dismissively. ‘We have June to take care of us now.’ She mentioned the woman in her mid-forties they had employed to take care of the cooking and housework now that she felt too weak to do it and Laura was too busy taking care of her.

  ‘Call her if you need anything,’ Laura directed firmly. ‘You’re still far from strong. The doctor said you were to take things very easy.’

  Leonie looked down ruefully at the cat curled up on the bottom of her lounger, Pop stretched out on her legs from knee to thigh. ‘I think I’m about as relaxed as I can be,’ she drawled. ‘The sun’s out, there’s a gentle breeze, the jug of fresh lemonade’s within easy reach.’ She looked pointedly at the table beside her on the lawn. ‘I certainly don’t envy you your trip into London.’

  Laura grimaced. ‘Someone has to go and placate poor Desmond. The television series is going wonderfully in America, and the book they want to be published parallel with it hasn’t even been completed yet!’

  ‘That’s because you won’t let me near my typewriter—’

  ‘I nearly lost you, Leonie,’ her sister cut in emotionally. ‘I’m not taking any chances with your health now.’

  Being rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night, hearing the ambulance bell ringing and knowing it was for her, the examination before the stinging prick of the needle that rendered her unconscious for the operation, had frightened Leonie as well. She still felt far from well, but as much as possible she tried to hide that from Laura, knowing how illness worried her twin.

  Several months ago they had been approached by a television company in America who wanted to serialise their books, and after establishing that they would have some say in the scripts that were used they had signed the contract. They were now richer than they had ever dreamt of being, but Laura was still unhappy without Hal, and she had never felt so terrible in her life. That adage ‘money can’t buy happiness’ certainly seemed true for them. And Hawk Sinclair’s wealth didn’t seem to have made him happy either!

  Leonie’s mouth tightened as she thought of him, the fascination she had initially felt for his strength now completely dispersed after what he had asked of Laura and Hal.

  Laura stood up determinedly. ‘Oh well, sitting here complaining isn’t going to get this meeting with Desmond over with. I think I’ll pop into the hotel for a chat before coming back,’ she added lightly.

  Her sister had become friendly with quite a lot of the staff at the Sinclair London hotel the last few months, and Leonie knew that chatting to the girls who worked on the reception desk made her sister feel a little closer to Hal.

  She smiled encouragingly. ‘You do that. And don’t worry about Holly and me, we’ll be fine,’ she assured her.

  A frown marred Laura’s brow. ‘Hal’s going to be so angry when he finds out I didn’t tell him the baby came early,’ she sighed. ‘But if I’d let him know he would only have wanted to have come back, and then his father would have said I wasn’t keeping to the agreement, and—’

  ‘Darling, Hal will understand,’ Leonie cut in firmly. ‘And we both agreed it would be best not to worry him.’

  Laura nodded abruptly. ‘Are you sure you’re going to be able to cope with Holly on your own this afternoon? I’d take her with me, but—’

  ‘That would totally confuse Desmond,’ drawled Leonie. ‘Holly and I will be just fine together,’ she assured her twin.

  ‘She’s been fed and changed, and she’s sleeping now, so—’

  ‘I can manage, Laura,’ Leonie cut in softly. ‘You just worry about placating Desmond.’

  She kept the bright smile on her face for as long as it took Laura to go around to the front of the house, only relaxing back against the lounger when she heard the car leave the driveway.

  Could she cope with the baby? Until Holly’s arrival into their lives she had never had anything to do with babies, small or otherwise. And Holly was very small, only six pounds at birth. And she was so very beautiful too, with her cap of golden hair and blue-grey eyes that Laura was sure would eventually turn a deep grey. Her sister had read every baby book she could find before Holly’s birth, so Leonie was sure she knew what she was talking about. What was Hawk Sinclair going to say when he found out about the baby’s existence? She shuddered to think!

  She would cope with the baby, even though it was the first time she had been left on her own with her. She and Laura had shared Holly’s care from the day she came home, there was nothing different about it just because she was on her own. There was always Ju
ne to call if she got into difficulties, their housekeeper having had a child of her own years ago. She could do it!

  She must have fallen asleep in the warm sunshine, because the next thing she knew June was gently shaking her shoulder to wake her.

  ‘What is it?’ She immediately shot into a sitting position. ‘Is it the baby? What—’

  ‘Calm down,’ June chuckled softly; she was a gently rounded woman with laughing brown eyes and peppered brown hair that refused to be anything but flyaway; Leonie and Laura had liked her immediately when she came for her interview, and she had moved into the house with them within a few days. It was a move none of them seemed to have regretted. ‘I only came to tell you that there’s a visitor.’

  Leonie blinked to clear her brain of the fogging she so detested about the daytime naps she couldn’t seem to get out of since coming home from hospital. She took a sip of the lemonade to rinse out her mouth and moisten her lips. ‘Who is it?’

  ‘Mr Sinclair,’ June told her. ‘He asked for Laura, but I—’

  ‘Hal!’ Leonie cried excitedly, feeling a sudden surge of energy. He had come home from Acapulco to pay Laura a surprise visit! Or perhaps he had even decided to end this nonsense and come to tell Laura she was marrying him right away; she doubted Laura would still insist they wait after the agony of the last six weeks’ loneliness.

  ‘I’m sorry to disappoint you,’ drawled a familiarly mocking voice. ‘But as far as I’m aware Hal is still in Acapulco!’

  Leonie looked up to meet Hawk Sinclair’s derisive gaze with a feeling of dread, the energy of moments ago draining just as suddenly as it had arrived.

  * * *

  She looked so delicate lying there, her skin almost translucent against the shimmering brightness of her hair. All the laughter had gone from her eyes, her cheeks were drawn and hollow, the impish tilt to her chin completely gone too. What the hell had happened to her in the last nine months?

  What was he doing here? thought Hawk. He had seen Hal only two days ago, and although his son was resentful he was still determined; he was going to claim Laura Brandon at the end of the year. And so Hawk had come here today to admit defeat, to admit, if Laura still felt the same way, that he had been wrong!