No stress or strain, she must remember that. ‘You must know I am,’ she gave a glowing smile. ‘We both are.’
‘It’s difficult to tell. On the surface Jordan is such an unemotional man.’
It wasn’t only on the surface. Except for the natural sexual urges Jordan funtioned as a machine. ‘We’re happy. Now stop worrying needlessly.’ She looked at her wrist-watch. ‘I think we should be getting back now, we don’t want to be late for dinner.’
Her father quirked one eyebrow. ‘No quick look at the nudist beach?’
‘In your state of health?’ she grinned. ‘Certainly not!’
‘Spoilsport!’ he moaned.
It was almost seven by the time they got back, and Kelly half expected Jordan to be pacing the hallway as he had been yesterday. She felt a sense of disappointment when he wasn’t. He wasn’t in the lounge either, or the bedroom when she looked there.
‘Mrs McLeod,’ she went down to the kitchen, ‘is my husband home yet?’
‘No, Mrs Lord.’ The housekeeper was in the middle of helping cook prepare dinner. ‘He rang earlier to say he’d been delayed.’
Kelly felt a familiar sinking sensation in her stomach. ‘Oh!’
‘He said that a business meeting had come up unexpectedly.’
‘I see.’ Kelly bit her lip. It was such a familiar story, painfully so. ‘Did he give any indication of when he would be home? If it isn’t too late perhaps we could delay dinner for him.’
‘Mr Lord said not to wait dinner, that he could be quite late.’
‘Thank you,’ she accepted jerkily, her hands twisting nervously together. ‘Serve dinner at the usual time, then, Mrs McLeod.’
She turned on her heel and left the kitchen, going up to her bedroom. The double bed in there seemed to mock her. Only hours ago she and Jordan had shared that bed, and now he was making up the usual excuse to see one of his women. Well, he wouldn’t see her depressed and miserable as she used to be when he called to say he would be late. Tonight when he got home he would find her either already asleep or coolly polite, depending on how late it actually was when he got here.
‘No Jordan?’ her father seemed surprised by his absence.
‘Business,’ Kelly dismissed tersely. ‘So perhaps you would like to do the honours and pour the drinks?’
He poured her a sherry and a whisky for himself. ‘Talking of business, I shall have to get back to work soon. There’s nothing wrong with me now, and I feel such a fraud lazing about here.’
‘There’s no hurry,’ she said smoothly. ‘Miles can cope admirably.’ Thank goodness her father had had the same assistant for the last twenty years! ‘A short holiday won’t do you any harm.’
‘But I was in the middle of buying out Landers,’ he complained.
Landers was a retail company her father had bought out years ago. In fact, it brought him quite a nice yearly profit nowadays. ‘Miles is just as capable of dealing with it,’ she insisted. ‘And the doctor told you’re not to even attempt to go back to work just yet.’
‘It surely wouldn’t hurt for me just to go in one morning or afternoon? I could just check to make sure Miles is handling everything the way I would myself.’
They went in to dinner, and Mrs McLeod served them the first course. ‘Miles handles everything the way you would,’ Kelly teased lightly. ‘He always has done.’
‘But—’
‘I really don’t think it’s a good idea,’ Kelly said firmly. ‘I know you, Daddy, it wouldn’t stop at Landers. I have a better idea. How about if Miles brings the work here? That way we can be sure you don’t get involved too much.’ They could also vet any work that he saw! She knew her father well enough to believe he wouldn’t just accept his inactivity. If they didn’t let him work here then he would merely find a way of getting to the office without them knowing about it. ‘What do you think?’ she asked him.
‘I’d rather go to the office—’
‘That’s definitely out. You either work here or nothing. I mean it, Daddy. The doctor only let you leave hospital at all because you promised to take things easy. Jordan and I could easily see that you’re readmitted,’ she threatened at his stubborn expression.
‘All right,’ he finally accepted with a sigh. ‘But I’ll get Miles out here first thing in the morning.’
‘Afternoon,’ Kelly insisted. ‘You had a hectic day today, I think you should rest in the morning.’
‘You’re very bossy all of a sudden,’ he scowled.