Mills & Boon Modern Romance Collection: February 2015. Кэрол Мортимер
undeniable response to Darius earlier, that was probably a complete waste of her time.
She still felt utterly mortified every time she so much as thought of those earlier intimacies. It had been absolute agony to sit beside him during dinner and pretend that she was relaxed, and everything was okay between the two of them; her senses were now so heightened towards Darius that she was totally aware of his every move.
For his part, Darius had seemed completely unaffected, by her or his earlier concern for his brother. He’d been totally at his ease as he’d introduced her to the other guests seated at their table, all of whom he appeared to know. He had also made a point of including her in the conversation, and he had been nothing but polite and attentive to her needs during the meal.
No, obviously Andy was the only one who was still totally unnerved by earlier.
As she had been unsettled, after glancing about the room earlier, to see that Xander had been seated next to Tia, of all people. As evidence, no doubt, that Catherine Latimer knew Tia was one of the country’s prima ballerinas, even if one of her sons, at least, didn’t.
The look of triumph Tia had shot in Andy’s direction didn’t bode well either. Not that there was anything Andy could do about that.
No, the reason for the return of her tension now could only be attributed to one thing: the orchestra was tuning up ready to start playing so that the dancing part of the evening could begin. Dancing that Andy had no intention of being a part of.
She straightened in her seat. ‘I think I’d like to leave now. I’m feeling rather tired, and no doubt, despite what you said earlier, you would like the opportunity to go and talk to your brother?’
Darius wasn’t fooled for a moment by Miranda’s excuse of tiredness, knew only too well that her intention was to avoid the possibility of his asking her to dance. Not only in public, this time, but in front of one of her ex-associates.
Miranda might have refused to satisfy his curiosity in that regard earlier, but Darius knew there was something else between Miranda and Tia Bellamy. And, before too much time had passed, he intended to discover exactly what that was.
His mouth firmed. ‘Xander isn’t in the mood to talk right now. And we aren’t leaving until after I’ve danced with you again.’
‘No.’
‘Yes.’
Her face paled at his insistence. ‘You can’t make me dance with you, Darius.’
He arched one dark eyebrow. ‘No?’
She glared. ‘No!’
‘Your always questionable charm doesn’t appear to be working right now, Darius,’ Xander taunted as he came to stand beside the table where the two of them sat quietly arguing. ‘Let’s see if I have any more luck.’
He turned to look down at Miranda with warm and teasing brown eyes, his bad mood of earlier seeming to have dissipated.
‘Would you do me the honour of dancing the first dance with me, Miranda?’ he invited huskily as the orchestra began to play and the elegantly dressed couples immediately began to take to the dance floor.
A part of Andy so wanted to say yes to Xander’s invitation, if only as a way of putting Darius and his damned arrogance firmly in their place.
But common sense warned her against doing that. For two reasons.
Firstly, she really didn’t want to dance, with either of the Sterne brothers.
Secondly, the challenging glitter in Darius’s eyes told her that she would undoubtedly pay a price if she were to accept and dance with Xander after having refused him.
A price, after her responses to Darius earlier, Andy was afraid she might be only too willing to pay, and damn the consequences!
She smiled up at Xander politely. ‘I would rather not, but thank you for asking.’
‘So much for your own charm being more effective than mine!’ Darius eyed his brother mockingly.
‘Hey, it was worth a try.’ Xander seemed unconcerned as he pulled out the empty chair on Andy’s other side before sitting down. ‘I have no idea who that woman was sitting next to me at dinner, and it took me a few minutes to realise she was actually talking about you, Miranda, because she kept referring to you as Andy.’
‘Only your brother insists on calling me by my full name,’ Andy explained wryly.
‘Interesting,’ Xander murmured slowly as he gave Darius a speculative glance. ‘Anyway, the woman has it in for you, Miranda.’ He eyed her shrewdly.
A shrewdness that alerted Andy to the fact that, despite what the media might report to the contrary, Xander Sterne was every bit as hard-edged and astute as his twin brother. He just chose to hide it better than the more arrogantly forthright Darius.
She gave a shrug. ‘Tia and I once worked together.’
Xander huffed. ‘Not harmoniously, I’m guessing.’
Andy gave a small smile. ‘It was a long time ago.’
He shrugged. ‘That doesn’t seem to have tempered her dislike any.’
Andy was more than a little curious to know exactly what Tia had said about her to Xander Sterne to have alerted him to that fact. But it was a curiosity she had no intention of satisfying when Darius was listening to the conversation so intently. He had already shown he was more than a little curious about her past relationship with Tia.
‘It was just a little healthy rivalry, that’s all.’
‘It didn’t seem all that healthy to me,’ Xander warned as he looked across at his brother. ‘I should keep an eye out for knives in Miranda’s back, if I were you, Darius. The woman tries to hide it, but she’s obviously got a problem with Miranda.’
‘I already gathered that after we spoke to her earlier,’ Darius drawled. ‘And the only thing that is going to be anywhere near Miranda’s back in the near future, or her front either, for that matter, is me!’ he added with a challenging glance at Andy.
‘Darius.’ Andy gasped, even as her face blushed a fiery red. ‘That was totally uncalled for,’ she added with an uncomfortable glance at the now grinning Xander.
‘But true,’ Darius replied with infuriating confidence.
‘Have you two known each other long?’ Xander relaxed back in his chair as he watched them with amusement.
‘Too long!’
‘A few days.’
Andy and Darius both spoke at the same time, Andy irritably, Darius with as much amusement as his brother.
‘It might seem longer, Miranda, but it really is only a few days,’ Darius added dryly.
‘Well, you know the answer to that: don’t ask me out again!’ she countered tartly, causing Xander to chuckle appreciatively.
‘Oh, I wasn’t complaining, Miranda.’ Darius sat forward to place his hand over one of hers, his fingers curling tightly about hers as he felt her attempt to pull away. ‘Quite the opposite, in fact,’ he added huskily, his gaze holding hers captive as his hand continued to hold onto her slender fingers.
‘I’m starting to feel like a definite third wheel here,’ Xander murmured speculatively.
Darius shot his brother a narrow-eyed glance. ‘Then I suggest you go and find your own woman and stop trying to flirt with mine.’
He ignored Miranda’s outraged gasp this time as he glanced across Xander’s shoulder.
‘What the hell...?’ He gave an impatient shake of his head. ‘What is this? A family convention? Mother is on her way over here too now,’ he huffed.
‘Definitely my cue to leave.’ Xander stood