One Night in the Orient Read Free Page B

Strung tense as taut wire, Siena forced herself to lean back in her chair and look around the room.
    “How lovely to see Nick again,” Diane said once they were safely out of earshot. “He was such a tightly buttoned boy I used to worry about him, but things have worked out so well for him.” She patted her husband fondly on the arm. “Thanks in no small measure to you, Hugh.”
    “He’d have got there by himself,” Hugh said confidently. “What we did for him, I think, was to show him what a happy household was like.”
    Surprised, Siena said, “Do you think so? I wouldn’t have thought he’d seen enough of us to do that. From what I remember he spent most of his time doing boy things with you.”
    Hugh shook his head. “Oh, he knew. Nick’s always been extremely astute. When his parents’ marriage ended his father was awarded custody at first, then somehow his mother regained it. Shortly after that thefather died. I thought it was interesting that Nick never spoke of him.”
    Diane said quietly, “He did—once—to me. In a chilling, very adult way. He told me he’d never allow himself to be like his father. I wondered if his father had beaten him, but he didn’t react like a child who feared physical harm.”
    Siena was horrified. Her comment to Nick about family dynamics couldn’t have been more unfortunate. “Do you think he beat Nick’s mother?”
    “Possibly,” Diane said.
    Shocked, Siena tried to reconcile this new information with what she knew of Nick. Somehow—by osmosis, perhaps—she’d absorbed knowledge that his family hadn’t been a happy one, but her parents had never discussed him and she’d had no idea his childhood had been traumatic.
    Had that trauma something to do with the shattering end to their—their
what?
Romance?
    Hardly. Although she’d prayed it might become one. Ever hopeful at nineteen, she thought grimly. Not a romance and neither had it been an affair, because that implied something more important than several weeks of flirtation followed by one night together.
    One-night stand she refused to accept. It had been—at least on her side—more than that. She’d been so sure she was in love with him.
    Interlude, she decided.
    Yes, that fitted the situation perfectly—reduced it to insignificance.
    Her mother broke into her thoughts with an inconsequential remark. “It’s time Nick got married. He was—what?—thirty in October?”
    “In November,” her husband informed her.
    It figured, Siena thought—Scorpio to the core, she’d bet. Dark and dominant, controlling a passionate nature with a will of steel. Her skin tingled as she remembered.
    Diane paused before saying, “I hope Portia isn’t what he has in mind.”
    Siena could only agree. The woman seemed cold—cold to the core.
    However, she said lightly, “I’m sure you can leave it to Nick to choose the right woman for him. Now, are you two going to dance again?”
    “I’m not—not right now, anyway. But you are,” her mother said briskly. “I’m going to repair my lipstick in the wonderful cloakroom they have here, so you two can enjoy this one.”
    The evening progressed very pleasantly; carefully keeping her gaze well away from the foliage that hid Nick and his lover, Siena watched her parents take the floor. She danced with her father again, and her parents told her all about their short tour.
    She despised herself for noticing that Nick and his Portia didn’t dance.
    Eventually Hugh noticed her hide a yawn. “You must be jet-lagged. I wish you could have found a room in this hotel.”
    “Dad, I couldn’t afford to sleep in the boot cupboard here. I’m so glad you decided to splurge all the way with this trip.”
    Her parents laughed. “This is the only night we’re spending here,” Diane admitted.
    Siena said easily, “Enjoy it! My hotel might not be anywhere near as opulent as this, but it’s perfectlycomfortable.” She got to her feet and gave her father a quick hug. “I’m