She believed him. With a mad sense of throwing her hat well and truly over the windmill, she said, ‘Okay. I’ll do it.’
‘That’s my girl!’ he rolled out with beaming approval. ‘What a lovely birthday I’m having. Now let me introduce you to Jake’s mother.’
And they resumed their stroll towards his table.
Behind them the orchestra started to play ‘The Night They Invented Champagne.’
CHAPTER FIVE
JAKE returned to his table, furiously smouldering over Mel’s—Merlina’s—hijack of his birthday surprise. It made his grandfather’s delight in her totally intolerable. She’d done it to thumb her nose at his male chauvinist game, to put the icing on the cake of her resignation, to walk away wagging her rose petalled bottom at him. He was so burned up by her triumphant exit from his life, he could barely respond to the bubbling good humour of his friends, the guys in particular.
‘Got to hand it to you, Jake. That was a maxi showstopper. Marilyn Monroe and American Beauty rolled out in one!’
‘Top wow factor. Talk about sex on legs!’
‘If she was in the garden, any man might be tempted to take time out to smell the roses!’
‘Looks like your grandfather is doing just that. Good one, Jake!’
‘Where did you find her?’
‘I bet she cost a bomb.’
A bomb that had exploded right in his face. And the cost was totally unacceptable. Losing Mel as his personal assistant…there was going to be one hell of a hole in his life. Then he remembered the exorbitant fee for the model. That was a kiss-my-arse hit if ever there was one. He almost erupted as he thought of how Mel had fooled him and feather-bedded her retirement from the job.
‘I was not counting the cost,’ he replied, using every gram of control not to sound as violently put out as he felt. ‘I just wanted to please my grandfather.’ And get under Mel’s skin. Except she’d got under his instead. Big time!
‘No doubt about that,’ Vanessa said dryly, nodding towards his grandfather’s table. ‘He’s obviously smitten with her.’
There he was, introducing Mel to his mother and aunts and she was laughing her head off. Jake’s hands curled into fists. Then, to really rub salt into his wound, one of the guys commented, ‘Definitely worth every cent she cost. Where did you say you found her, Jake?’
‘Oh, really!’ Vanessa interjected, a jealous note creeping in. ‘All this leching over the star turn is a bit rude in front of the women at this table.’
Female agreement swiftly followed, though in a more good-humoured tone than Vanessa’s waspish scolding. Which reminded him that his grandfather had always said skinny women thought too much of themselves. It had probably put Vanessa’s nose out of joint to be upstaged by a woman with a far more voluptuous figure.
Jake tried to give her the attention she wanted, but his heart wasn’t it. He didn’t even find her attractive any more. As for having sex with her tonight…no, he didn’t want to. In fact, he could barely resist the magnetic pull of following Mel’s progress with his grandfather.
No way would he give his erstwhile personal assistant more satisfaction by showing an interest in her outrageous gallivanting at this party, but it was damned difficult to keep his gaze trained on Vanessa and his other companions, and he found the popping of champagne corks a major irritation. The whole situation turned into an agony of waiting for the party to end.
Eventually guests started leaving. His friends decided on continuing the evening at a fashionable bar. Jake didn’t want to accompany them. He was in no mood to be civil let alone convivial. Vanessa was seriously put out when he excused himself, inventing some other commitment. He suggested she go with the others if she was so inclined and she rather sulkily said she would.
It made Jake wonder how he could have ever thought she was desirable on any level. Nevertheless, pride insisted he didn’t end their relationship while Mel could still see them together. To his over-burdened mind, that would give the highly provocative Ms Rossi not only the icing on the cake, but the cake, too.
She was hooked to his grandfather’s arm, saying goodbye to guests, playing hostess to his host with all the aplomb of a seasoned performer, which irked Jake to the bone. He put his left arm around Vanessa’s waist as they approached to take their leave.
‘Great party, Pop,’ he said, showing as much teeth as was possible to put into a broad smile.
His grandfather shot out his right hand to give Jake’s a strong shake. ‘Made more so by you, my boy. Can’t thank you enough.’
‘Yes, the cake idea was brilliant,’ Merlina trilled happily. ‘I’ve had such a wonderful time with Byron.’
Jake steeled himself to look at her. ‘Thank you,’ he said, grimly holding his smile. ‘And may I compliment you on once again rising to the occasion.’ Then to underline how gracious he could be in defeat and to minimise his previous bad-tempered reaction, he added, ‘I wish you well in whatever occupation you choose next, Mel.’ Be damned if he’d call her Merlina!
‘Which will be married life if I have anything to do with it,’ his grandfather supplied, twinkling indulgently at her.
‘Oh, Byron!’ she purred, hugging his arm in demonstrative pleasure.
Jake felt his innards being clawed.
The lion in him came roaring out, wanting to carry Mel Rossi off and do some clawing of his own.
‘Do you have transport home?’ he asked, trying his utmost to sound considerate and caring.
She smiled, the golden amber eyes glowing warmly. ‘How kind! But I don’t need transport. Byron has asked me to stay here with him and I am so enjoying his company…’
‘What about clothes?’ came straight out of his mouth. The image of her prancing around in her rose bikini throughout a private evening with his grandfather made him want to club her over the head and drag her off to a cave.
‘I brought a change of clothes with me,’ she answered with limpid ease. ‘The butler kindly agreed to mind my bag until the party was over. You don’t have to worry about me, Jake.’
‘No, I’m sure he doesn’t,’ Vanessa slid in snidely. ‘Thank you for a lovely party, Byron.’
‘Glad you enjoyed yourself, my dear,’ he replied, brimming over with enough bonhomie to indulgently encompass a skinny woman who was showing signs of becoming bitchy.
‘Take care, Pop,’ Jake managed to toss out before leading Vanessa away.