bluntly. âSheâs a dear, and I love her, but thereâs no wayâ¦You donât think he could have guessed what you were doing do you? No way he could have knownâ¦?â
âNo, I donât,â Saskia denied. She was beginning to feel tired, almost aching with a sharp, painful need to be on her own. The last thing she wanted right now was to deal with someone like Lorraine, but she owed it to Megan to reassure her that she could trust Mark.
As they pulled up outside Meganâs house Saskia saw that her car was parked outside. Her stomach muscles started to clench as she got out of Lorraineâs car and walked up the garden path. Megan and Mark. Even their names sounded cosy together, redolent of domesticityâ¦of marital comfort. And yetâ¦if ever sheâd met a man who was neither domesticated nor cosy it had been Meganâs Mark. There had been an air of primitive raw maleness about him, an aura of power and sexuality, a sense that in his arms a woman could⦠would â¦touch such sensual heights of delight and pleasure that she would never be quite the same person again.
Saskia tensed. What on earth was she thinking? Mark belonged to Meganâher best friend, the friend to whom she owed her grandmotherâs life and good health.
Megan had obviously seen them arrive and was opening the door before they reached it, her face wreathed in smiles.
âItâs all right,â Saskia told her hollowly. âMark didnâtâ¦â
âI knowâ¦I knowâ¦â Megan beamed as she ushered them inside. âHe came to see me at work and explained everything. Oh, Iâve been such an idiotâ¦Why on earth I didnât guess what he was planning I just donât know. We leave next week. Heâd even told them at work what he was planningâ¦that was the reason for all those calls. Plus the girl at the travel agency kept phoning. Oh, Saskia, I canât believe it. Iâve always longed to go to the Caribbean, and for Mark to have booked us such a wonderful holidayâ¦The place weâre going to specialises in holidays for couples. Iâm so sorry you had a wasted evening. I tried to ring you but youâd already left. I thought you might have got here sooner. After all, once youâd realised that Mark wasnât at the wine barâ¦â She stopped as she saw the look on both her cousinâs and Saskiaâs faces.
âWhat is it?â she asked them uncertainly.
âYou said that youâd spoken to Mark,â Lorraine was saying tersely to Saskia.
âI didâ¦â Saskia insisted. âHe was just as you described him to us, Meganâ¦â
She stopped as Megan shook her head firmly.
âMark wasnât there, Sas,â she repeated. âHe was with me at work. He arrived at half past eight and Sister gave me some time off so that we could talk. Heâd guessed how upset I was and heâd decided that he would have to tell me what he was planning. He said he knew he couldnât have kept the secret for very much longer anyway,â she added fondly.
âAnd before you say a word,â she said firmly to her cousin, âMark is paying for everything himself.â
Saskia leaned weakly against the wall. If the man she had come on to hadnât been Meganâs Mark, then just who on earth had he been? Her face became even paler. She had come on to a man she didnât knowâ¦atotal and complete strangerâ¦a man whoâ¦She swallowed nauseously, remembering the way she had looked, the way she had behavedâ¦the things she had said. Thank God he was a stranger. Thank God she would never have to see him again.
âSas, you donât look well,â she could hear Megan saying solicitously. âWhat is it?â
âNothing,â she fibbed, but Lorraine had already guessed what she was thinking.
âWell, if the man in the wine bar wasnât Mark then who on earth