But she lay awake a long time that night after she knew Jenny to be asleep. She might resent and despise Leon Masters’ unwelcome intrusion into her life, might hate him for kissing her, but there was one thing she had to acknowledge. In the two years since the accident, since Michael’s death, she hadn’t cried once, not over anything, and yet half an hour after meeting Leon Masters she had been crying almost hysterically. And she didn’t like the fact that he had been the one to take the first brick off the wall she had built around her emotions; she didn’t like it one bit.
CHAPTER TWO
‘ARE you sure you won’t come?’ Jenny cajoled. ‘It’s sure to be fun.’
‘I’m not in the mood for a boating trip,’ Helen refused, her nose buried in a particularly good murder story.
Jenny laughed. ‘It isn’t a “boating trip”! Cruising over to France for the day can hardly be called that,’ she said disgustedly.
Helen rested her chin on her drawn-up knees, the denims she wore old and worn, her blouse casually unbuttoned at her throat for coolness. ‘It is to me. And I don’t want to go to France, I’m perfectly comfortable where I am.’
‘But you can read that book any old time.’
‘And I can go to France any old time too. I do work in a travel agency, you know. I get discount.’
‘But this trip would be for free.’
‘I don’t want to go,’ Helen told her firmly. ‘I haven’t forgotten the last time you persuaded me to go out when I didn’t want to.’ She touched her bottom lip, which after a week still showed some signs of bruising. ‘Everyone at work thought someo
ne had slugged me one.’
‘It wasn’t my fault Leon Masters took a fancy to you.’
Helen grimaced. ‘Thank goodness he’s stopped telephoning now.’ He had telephoned every day for five days, but for the last two she had heard nothing from him.
‘Why?’ Jenny teased. ‘Were you beginning to weaken?’
’Certainly not!’ But Helen was aware her denial didn’t carry conviction. ‘I’m glad he’s stopped trying.’
‘Maybe he hasn’t,’ Jenny remarked casually. ‘Maybe he’s just trying a different approach.’
‘Absence making the heart grow fonder?’ Helen queried wryly.
‘Something like that.’
‘It hasn’t,’ she told her firmly.
‘Sure?’
‘Very sure.’
‘And you won’t come today?’ Jenny persisted. ‘You just have time to get ready if you’ve changed your mind, Matt won’t be here for another ten minutes.’
‘I haven’t changed my mind.’ Helen stretched, yawning tiredly. ‘I’ve had a hard week, I’m going to lie back and relax.’
‘You could relax on the boat.’
‘No, thanks. 1 know that crowd, you have to fight off lecherous men all the time. And talking of lecherous men,’ Helen smiled mischievously, ‘you’ve seen rather a lot of Matt this week.’
Jenny blushed prettily. ‘He isn’t lecherous.’
Helen quirked an eyebrow. ‘You mean he’s changed?’
Her cousin laughed. ‘No, silly! He’s just never been that way with me. He even told me off for wearing that dress last Saturday.’
‘Mm—well, I wish you hadn’t persuaded me to wear one of yours. It gave Leon Masters the wrong impression. It may look good on you, but with my—well, my fuller figure up top it was too revealing to be thought anything other than a come-on.’
Jenny grinned. ‘And he came on strong!’