‘It’s quite simple, Jane,’ he interrupted patiently. ‘Lauren and I do have a date for this evening, but for some reason Lauren seems to have forgotten all about it.’
Lauri’s eyes flashed as she glared at him. ‘I didn’t forget,’ she snapped.
He shrugged. ‘Changed your mind, then. But if that were the case you should have let me know.’
‘I didn’t change my mind either! You were the one who did that,’ she accused.
‘I did?’ he challenged haughtily. ‘And just when did I do that?’
‘You know when,’ she mumbled, unable to look at him.
‘Would someone please explain this to me?’ Jane sounded at the end of her patience. ‘Have I understood this correctly, have you taken Lauri out before?’ she demanded of her boss.
‘I have,’ he confirmed. ‘A couple of times.’
Jane looked at her niece. ‘Lauri?’
She looked up with apprehensive eyes. ‘Yes?’
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
‘Because I—I—You came here deliberately to cause trouble!’ She rounded on Alex Blair. ‘Admit it,’ she said fiercely.
‘Lauri!’ Jane looked scandalised. ‘Remember who you’re talking to.’
‘Oh, I remember,’ green eyes flashed. ‘And I’ll remember this too, Mr High and Mighty Blair,’ her explosive temper was in full flow, ‘you knew damn well I didn’t want people to know I was meeting you, and yet you’ve gone out of your way to make sure people do know!’
‘And how have I done that?’ He eyed her with narrowed blue eyes.
‘By kissing me in the car park in full view of anyone looking out of the window, by—’
‘I don’t remember you objecting at the time,’ he drawled. ‘In fact, I believe you asked for more of the same.’
‘You conceited swi—’
‘Lauri!’ once again her aunt cut in. ‘Don’t add to the seriousness of this situation by insulting Mr Blair.’
‘Why shouldn’t I, if he deserves it?’ she returned resentfully. ‘And believe me, he deserves it.’
‘I’m not sure I’ll ever believe what you tell me again,’ Jane said dully. ‘You seem to have told me one lie on top of another. You weren’t ill Wednesday afternoon, were you, you were with Mr Blair.’
‘I—’
‘Weren’t you?’ Jane demanded that she answer truthfully.
‘Yes, I was. But I didn’t intend to be. He more or less kidnapped me.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ Jane snapped.
‘But he did,’ Lauri protested.
‘And was it on the occasion of this “kidnapping” that he kissed you in the car park?’
Lauri blushed. ‘Well, he—I—’
‘Was it?’
‘Yes,’ she admitted miserably.