An Heir Made In The Marriage Bed. Anne Mather
Joanna, and her lips tightened angrily.
‘My God,’ she exclaimed, involuntarily Joanna was sure.
‘I—what are you doing here?’
* * *
A couple of hours later, Joanna was surveying her reflection in the long bathroom mirror adjoining one of the guest suites.
God, she thought incredulously. How had she got herself into this mess? She’d had no intention of staying at the Novak house any longer than was necessary. Yet here she was, committed to having dinner with Matt and his family. Committed to spending an evening fighting off Adrienne’s hostility and Matt’s magnetic appeal.
But only an evening. When Matt had suggested she should stay at the villa, she’d reminded him that she’d booked a room at the Corcovado already. Otherwise God knew what Matt might have expected of her. To share his suite of rooms, perhaps? She couldn’t deny an involuntary shiver at the thought.
It was all Adrienne’s fault, she decided. The way Matt’s mother had reacted when she’d seen her daughter-in-law had put Joanna’s nerves on edge. The woman had obviously never expected her to come to Miami. And why not? Matt was usually based in New York.
The situation hadn’t improved when Matt had accused her of interfering. ‘I believe you knew Joanna was trying to get in touch with me,’ he’d said harshly, getting to his feet. ‘When were you planning on telling me about that?’
And, when she had evidently been lost for an answer, he’d continued, ‘Oh, and what happened to the messages I asked you to send to Joanna? Can I assume they didn’t make it either?’
‘Don’t be sarcastic, Matthew!’ Adrienne’s face had become even redder than when she’d first seen her daughter-in-law. ‘I didn’t want you tearing off to London when you’d been so ill. I can assure you, anything I’ve done has been with your best interests at heart.’
Well, at least that explained why she’d said nothing, Joanna conceded. And perhaps, in the circumstances, she’d had a point.
‘So you have been screening my mail.’ Matt hadn’t been inclined to be tolerant, and the look Adrienne had bestowed on Joanna then showed a little of the anger she was trying so hard to suppress.
‘As I’ve just said, I didn’t think you were well enough to deal with your—wife’s—problems.’ There had been a distinct hesitation before the word ‘wife’. ‘I would have told you, Matt. Eventually. I never suspected she’d turn up here, uninvited.’
Joanna had gasped at this, getting to her feet to confront the other woman. ‘I didn’t want to come here,’ she’d said tersely. ‘Your daughter invited me. She was kind enough to tell me that Matt had been ill.’
‘As if you care.’
Adrienne had spoken contemptuously, only to be taken aback when Matt had intervened. ‘That’s enough,’ he’d said grimly. ‘Joanna’s here now. And whether you attempted to thwart her efforts to get in touch with me or not, I think she deserves some respect, don’t you?’
Joanna doubted Adrienne thought any such thing, but she’d known when to give up. The fact that Matt had defended her must have been a bitter pill for her to swallow, and just for a moment Joanna had been tempted to wrap her arms around his neck and pretend she’d come here to forgive him after all.
But that would have been foolish. Not to mention giving Matt entirely the wrong idea. Until she’d told him why she was here, she had to keep her distance. If only Adrienne didn’t arouse such a reckless desire for revenge.
Matt’s invitation to stay for dinner had been unavoidable.
‘But I need to change,’ she’d protested. ‘My things are still in the suitcase in Sophie’s car. Why don’t I call a taxi for now, check in at the hotel, and come back again tomorrow? It will give you a chance to read my emails, and then we can discuss why I’m here.’
‘What a good idea,’ Adrienne had inserted eagerly, but Matt would have none of it.
‘I’m not asking you to move in,’ he’d said shortly. ‘Surely you can pull a change of clothes out of your case. Then you can have a shower and rest for a while until the meal is ready. I do know how exhausting jet lag can be.’
So here she was, Joanna reflected, preparing to join the rest of the family for the evening meal. But her reflection in the mirror filled her with regret. She hadn’t brought any formal clothes with her and the simple sage-green silk tunic, which she’d planned on teaming with a pair of black leggings to travel home the next day, ended several revealing inches above her knees. Without the leggings—which were too hot to wear tonight—she’d never been more conscious of her bare legs.
There was no doubt that Adrienne wouldn’t like it; might even think Joanna had chosen something purposely provocative to wear. Which was so far from the truth, it was laughable. The last thing Joanna wanted was to have Matt think she’d had second thoughts about the divorce.
And yet, when he’d reached for her hand...
But she refused to entertain such treacherous thoughts. She was sure the problems in their relationship would have developed whether her father had been involved or not.
The rift between them had probably begun to crystallise when her father’s company was found to be in difficulties. They’d only been married for a couple of years and, unbeknown to Joanna, Carlyle Construction had been struggling with financial problems for equally as long. It was before Angus Carlyle had been diagnosed with cancer that he’d welcomed NovCo’s assistance. It had been the only way to avoid insolvency and debt.
However, after the takeover, her father had insisted his difficulties had arisen because of the downturn in the economy, though Matt had told her they’d existed long before that. At the time, Joanna had been so grateful to Matt for his support that she hadn’t questioned his assessment. It had been enough to know her father was solvent again, that Carlyle Construction lived on.
Until the disaster in the Alaskan oilfield.
Two men had been killed and several more injured when a drilling platform owned by NovCo had caught fire. It had made all the newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic, with horrifying pictures of the rescue that had taken place. Joanna had been desperate to speak to her husband, to assure herself that he was well and to learn the truth about the incident. But Matt had been working in New York, and had been tied up in meetings with the offshore oil and gas authorities, and had promised they’d talk in more length when he got back.
And then, when she’d visited her father, who had been in hospital at the time, he’d told her—with some reluctance, he’d insisted—that the real reason Matt didn’t want to talk was because he was trying to blame Carlyle Construction for the accident. He’d assured her that he’d never have told her what was going on if Matt hadn’t betrayed him. As it was, he couldn’t let her think the worst of her father when it wasn’t his fault.
Unfortunately, it had been another week before Matt had returned from New York. He’d told Joanna when he expected to return, but that was all, and she hadn’t wanted to discuss her father’s affairs over the phone when she hadn’t known who might be listening. Matt had apologised for not being in touch, but he’d said he’d explain everything when he saw her. He’d finished by telling her he loved her, and not to discuss the accident with anyone until he got back.
When he had got back, she hadn’t waited before confronting him with what her father had said. She’d been terribly upset, of course, and in hindsight she should have been more willing to listen to Matt’s side of the argument. But her father had been dying, and she couldn’t bear to let Angus go on thinking that Matt was blaming him for what had happened.
Matt had been taken aback by her accusations. His revelation that her father had been cutting corners for years, that, prior to the takeover, Carlyle Construction had been struggling because her father had been spending money he didn’t have, had stunned her. Matt