A REASON FOR MARRIAGE

Simon took a firm hold of Sara’s elbow as they walked towards the mansion house ablaze with lights, the rooms visible to them obviously already filled to capacity with other guests. “Is there anything you want to tell me before we go in?” he prompted softly.

There was a faint sparkle of humor in Sara’s eyes now as she gave him a sideways glance. “Such as?”

Simon had absolutely no idea. Their host for the evening was a man in his sixties-surely not someone Sara had ever been personally involved with.

“Don’t let your imagination run away with you, Simon,” Sara drawled derisively as she gave him another teasing glance.

“Ah, Simon-so pleased you could make it!” The smoothly charming voice of their host interrupted them.

Simon instantly felt Sara’s tension, and he maintained a proprietorial hold on her elbow even as he turned to face the older man. “Lincoln Bennet,” He nodded stiffly.

“Can I-?”

“Sara!” The older man appeared momentarily stunned as he instantly recognised Sara, but that surprise was quickly masked as he once again turned on a politely charming smile. “How lovely to see you again, my dear.”

“Lincoln,” she returned softly, and the two of them kissed each other lightly on the cheek. “You’re keeping well, obviously.”

“Very much so, thank you,” Lincoln said smoothly, his eyes narrowed shrewdly as he assimilated the fact that Sara was here with Simon Hamilton.

“Sara, I feel I should warn you that the party this evening is- We’ll talk again shortly, if that’s okay?” he added distractedly as yet more guests arrived noisily behind them. “Please, go through to the drawing room for champagne and canapes.”

Sara turned instinctively towards the blue and cream drawing room-a room which she had designed for Lincoln years ago, before her engagement to his only son had come to such an acrimonious end-all the time aware of Simon’s brooding preoccupation as he walked beside her, his hand still lightly on her elbow.

He was deservedly preoccupied. Despite Sara’s advice to the contrary a few minutes ago, she knew that Simon’s thoughts must be running riot as he considered all the possible scenarios for her being acquainted with a man like Lincoln Bennet.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Simon prompted softly once he and Sara were standing beside the unlit fireplace a minute or so later, the two of them having been supplied with glasses of champagne by one of the many attentive waiters circulating the crowded and noisy room.” Why didn’t you want to come in? And exactly what is-or was-Lincoln Bennet to you?” he added harshly.NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

“Lincoln Bennet was supposed to be my father-in-law.” Sara was still too distracted by Lincoln’s unfinished warning even to attempt to prevaricate, wondering what it was Lincoln had wanted to warn her about. He hadn’t sounded in the least threatening, so it obviously had nothing to do with the fact that she was here with Simon. So what-?

“Your father-in-law?” Simon repeated incredulously, totally stunned by this unexpected revelation.

She nodded abruptly. “Yes,”

“Oh,” Simon said with a pained wince, inwardly kicking himself for not having added two and two together before now.

She shrugged bare shoulders. “Yes,” she repeated.

“So you were engaged to Lincoln’s son?”

“The one and only,” Sara confirmed, aware that several of the other guests had seen and recognised her now. Their gazes were speculative as they also saw the identity of the dark and handsome man standing beside her. Even in a room full of other men dressed in evening clothes, Simon stood head and shoulders above them all, in both looks and autocratic bearing.

Sara realized she was grateful for his presence; if she was to be forced to meet any of Lincoln’s and Bruce’s friends again then she was glad it was in the company of a man as impressively handsome and wealthily powerful as Simon Hamilton! She turned to smile at him regretfully. “I really am sorry about this, Simon,” She placed her hand lightly on this arm. “I would never have put you in this embarrassing position if I had known it was Lincoln’s party you were inviting me to.”

Simon was still coming to terms with the fact that Sara had been engaged. Not that he had anything against it; he was of the opinion that it was far better to end something that wasn’t right than spend a lifetime of unhappiness with the wrong person. No, it was the thought of Sara having been engaged at all that disturbed Simon. That left him with so many questions unanswered… When, and for how long, had she been engaged? Why had the wedding been called off? Who had ended it? Sara or Lincoln Bennet’s son? And if it was the latter, did she still love the man who had once been her fiance?

He drew in a ragged breath. “Sara, what-”

“Hello, angel.”

Simon found himself as irritated at hearing Sara addressed as ‘angel’ by another man as he had been the when Mark Forbes had called her ‘baby’. But even without Sara’s hand tightening to a painful grip on Simon’s arm at the first sound of that man’s voice, a single glance at the man standing behind her would have immediately identified him as being Lincoln Bennet’s son.

The hair was golden-blond, where Lincoln’s was turning silver-gray, but other than that the family resemblance was unmistakable: blue eyes in similar boyishly handsome faces, both men lean and elegant in black tailored evening clothes. There was no doubt in Simon’s mind that this was the man who had once been Sara’s fiance.

This was what Lincoln had been going to warn her about a few minutes ago, Sara realized numbly, even as the full force of Bruce’s presence hit her with the force of a blow. He shouldn’t be here. Shouldn’t even be in the States. He had moved to France over a year ago, when he’d taken over the Paris offices of Bennet Inc.

Yet it was most definitely him standing just behind her. Even if Sara hadn’t known his voice as well as she knew her own, there was no one else on earth who called her ‘angel’. What was she supposed to do now? What was the protocol for introducing your ex-fiance to the man you were now…now what? She couldn’t claim to be dating Simon when this was the first evening they had gone out together, but she knew they weren’t only business acquaintances. So what were they?