Games (Timeless Series) (35 page)

“Yes
, well, she has nothing to fear from me.”

Something about her tone caught Simon’s attention
. Looking at her closely, he demanded, “Exactly what are you getting at?”

“Your job is her main competition, not me.”

“Now, just a damn minute. If you think I’d ever be interested in her, you don’t know me very well, and honey, you know me well enough!”

“Oh?” she countered, snorting
. “Then why was she speaking to you like she expected something? She made it abundantly clear what she wanted and you were going along with it.”

“T
his subject is best discussed in private.” There was a warning note in Simon’s voice. “I’ve been trying to find a time to speak with you to explain things, but you won’t give me the chance.”

“I have no intention of speaking with you in private
. If you have something to explain, say it here.”

“Don’t push me, Giselle,” Simon warned
. “You know I’ll push back.”

“Then keep your words to yourself because I do
not want to hear them.”

“Like hell I will
.” He threw down his fork and pounded the table in frustration. “I’m through playing whatever game you’re playing. Since you don’t want to hear my words and you won’t give me a chance to explain, I’m taking matters into my own hands. My case should be wrapped up by this afternoon, tomorrow at the latest. We will be on the next train to Washington and we’ll be married as soon as we can.”

“You can go to Washington, but you
will be going by yourself,” Giselle said haughtily, glowering at him.

“You think so?
Would you care to wager on that?”

“
How dare you throw my bet in my face! You do not own me, Simon, and you will not tell me what to do.”

“Oh?”
Simon’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “You want to test me, sweetheart? You go right ahead.”

“
Mon Dieu
! You are the most insufferable man I have ever met. It will be a cold day in hell before I marry the likes of you!”

“We
’ll see about that.”

With a stubborn tilt to her head, she met his gaze
. “Yes, we will.”

Simon leaned closer
. “And what about the other night?”

Her expression became defiant. “What about it?”
Their gazes locked and she hissed, “I cannot believe you would be so bold as to bring it up in present company.”

Looking around and noticing
that the two other occupants at the table had their gazes glued to the two of them, he chuckled. His eyes went back to hers. He smiled and challenged, “I’ll be as bold as I have to be.” When she didn’t back down and remained silent, he continued in a louder voice, “Besides, you’re the one who set the rules on this talk, by not having it in private. So, are you going to tell me our night together meant nothing?”

“And if I say yes?” Giselle asked tentatively.

“Then I’ll have to remind you of what went on when you spent the night in my arms.”

A fiery red blush crept up her face
. Glancing over at her parents, who were both looking straight ahead pretending they hadn’t heard a word, she appeared mortified. Eyes slit with anger turned toward to his and her voice was chilling. “How dare you!”

Where her voice
was like ice, his was heated and much louder. “Oh, honey, where you’re concerned, I dare a lot. Now, since I’ve totally compromised you in front of your parents, you have no choice but to marry me. You
will
be on that train with me.”

She stood up and
glared at him. “That is where you are wrong.” Then she turned and ran out of the room.

Simon shook his head and watched her go
. He’d never met a more irritating woman. How he let her bait him, he didn’t know. But he did know one thing. She would be accompanying him, one way or the other.

Marcus and Sophie exchanged worried glances
, and Marcus spoke up. “Don’t you think you should go and talk to her?”

“Why?” Simon’s eyes narrowed
. “It’s a foregone conclusion she’ll marry me now.”

“I wouldn’t count on it.”

“Surely you’re joking. I’ve compromised her. We spent the night together. She has no choice in the matter.”

“If you think that, you don’t know my daughter,” Marcus
said.

This news stunned Simon
. “You aren’t going to let her get away with charging off and throwing my proposal in my face? Do something!”

“What would you have me do
,” Marcus asked calmly.

“Can’t you talk to her
—force her into it?”

“Simon
, I’m not about to coerce my daughter into marrying someone she doesn’t want to marry.”

Confused, Simon shook his head
. “That’s just it. I know she wants marriage. I don’t understand why she’s balking.”

Marcus heaved a heavy sigh
. “Well, my boy, I’m sure you’ll figure it out. You only have to convince her and you’ll have our complete blessing.”

“Convince her?” Simon asked, completely bemused.

“Yes. I’m sure you’re up to the task.” Marcus rose from the table. “And if not? Well then, you’re not the man I thought you were and you don’t deserve her.”

Turning to Sophie, he
slid back her chair. “Come,
chérie
. I think I’ve had enough excitement for the day. I don’t know how you could ever think it’d be more restful to come here.”

Simon watched the couple leave the dining room with an incredulous expression sliding over his face
. Damn, he thought. He didn’t have time for this right now. Why was Giselle being so stubborn? And blast her parents. Why couldn’t they see that their daughter had no choice but to marry him?

He needed to leave within the hour if he was going to make his rendezvous at the Hillier place with Davis
. Shaking his head at the absurdity of the situation, he got up from the table and headed to Giselle’s room.

As he took the stairs two at a time to get there faster, he realized what Marcus Franklin had been saying when he said the challenges take on a new shape when confronted with love
. The biggest challenge of his life was convincing the irritating bit of baggage that she needed to marry him. No, he rephrased the thought in his mind. He needed her to marry him. If he couldn’t convince her, his life meant nothing.

~~

As Simon rushed ahead of them, once they were out of the room, Sophie whispered, “You are being a little hard on him. Perhaps you should give him another hint.”

Marcus chuckled and whispered back, “No! Remember, this is Giselle we’re talking about. The two have to come to terms with each other at some point. It would be better for all concerned if they do it before they are married. Besides, my money’s on him. He’s no fool. He does seem to know how to handle her. After all, he’s gotten this far.”

In her room, Giselle sat
in the window seat and scanned the horizon.

Simon Harrington was in for a rude awakening if he thought she was just going to bend to his will like a willow branch
. She had a backbone and it was made of steel. How dare he try to tell her what she would be doing. Who did the man think he was? Then she let out a self-deprecating laugh. Who was she kidding?

Excitement at what his words meant at breakfast had already taken hold. Try as she might, she could
not let them go. The more she thought about their meaning, the more her excitement increased. She would go anywhere and do anything for him, if it meant doing it as his wife. But was a wife something he really wanted, or was he just being honorable?

More than anything she wanted him to love her as she loved him.

How had her life changed so drastically in one week? Last Friday, she was on her way to her parents’ house with not a care in the world, except Bradford’s visit. Now it seemed as if she had the weight of the world on her shoulders, and it was all because of one infuriating man.

How she wished she’d never met him
.

She chuckled and gave her head a slight shake
. Not true, she thought. Her life had taken on a new vitality since he rode into it. Simon Harrington presented her with the biggest challenge of her life. Loving him and dealing with his autocratic ways would be a daunting challenge. All of a sudden, she smiled. Was she not Giselle Franklin? The same Giselle Franklin who had men eating out of her hands. Simon might be an impossible man to deal with, but she knew she was just the person to take on the task.

A
knock at the door brought her out of her thoughts, along with Simon’s “Open up, Giselle, we need to talk.”

With new purpose, she stood up to answer it.
“By all means, come in,” she said, opening the door and holding out her hand in a sweeping motion. With a stubborn set to her chin, her firm gaze met his hesitant green gaze as he entered the room. She turned to close the door, then returned to the window seat. Flashing him a radiant smile, she peered up at him. “I guess we are due for a talk, Simon.”

Simon appeared a bit apprehensive
. He cleared his throat and paced the room as if he wasn’t quite sure how to begin.

Noticing his reticence, Giselle goaded, “I can
not believe the calm and collected Simon Harrington is nervous.”

He halted in
midstep and pierced her with his intense gaze. “Don’t make light of this. Contrary to what our relationship has been thus far, this is not a game, Giselle, and I am not a puppet to be led around by my nose.”

Her smile suddenly faded
. His forceful eyes held something in them.

“
Mon Dieu
! I could never lead you around by your nose and you well know it. You are much too stubborn to go anywhere, other than where you want to go.”

“But that doesn’t stop you from trying, does it?”

Her grin was quick and spread to her eyes. “Of course not. Old habits die hard.” She stopped talking and looked out the window. Her smile turned wistful. “It is just a shame I realize too late how the one man worth keeping gets thrown out with all the others in the net.”

Simon chuckled
. “No, Giselle, you haven’t thrown me out yet. Your lure is too embedded in my gut to let me go.”

Tears started streaming down her face
. “I don’t want to be just a lure, Simon. I want permanence and a family. I didn’t realize how badly until this moment.”

Simon sat next to her and pulled her into his warmth
. Kissing her face and wiping the tears away, he whispered, “I know, sweetheart. Would it be so bad to have that with me?”

“
Non,
I would love nothing better.” She closed her eyes, also realizing she loved him enough to want him to be happy. She could never marry him without his love. She opened her eyes, and her next words were spoken more fervently. “Don’t you see? I can’t marry you. I have to let you go.”

“You’ve got me, so why not hang on to me
? You don’t have to throw me back.”

“Yes
, I do. You told me you did not want marriage and a family. I would slowly die inside to see you unhappy doing something I wanted, solely for honor’s sake.”

“Is this the action of a man doing somet
hing purely for honor’s sake?” His lips were gentle and coaxing as they found hers. Giselle lost herself in the kiss until he broke contact. His mouth moved up the sides of her face, tenderly tasting her tears, until he rested his forehead on hers. “Honor be damned, Giselle. Honor has nothing to do with this. I could drink from your lips forever, and still not get enough.”

“But I don’t understand
.”

“Neither do
I. All I know is the thought of not having you by my side is unbearable.”

Pulling back from his arms enough to look into his eyes, there was no mistaking what she saw in their emerald depths
.

Elation surged through her
. “What are you saying?”

He smiled
. “You know what I’m saying. I’m telling you I love you. You had to have felt it in the cabin. Our night was born of love, Giselle—pure and simple love. Did you think I could take everything from you without leaving part of myself in your hands? That part was my heart. It will always be yours, my love, just as I know I will always have your heart.”

“Oh
, Simon, I do love you.”

His smile turned into a satisfied grin and he rose from the seat, pulling her with him.

He turned to go, after kissing the top of her head, and said in a smug voice, “Now that we’ve established what’s what, you will be on that train with me.”

A bubble of laughter burst from within
. “
Non,
I will not.”

H
is startled gaze flew to hers and his eyebrows rose in question. “And why not?”