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said, ‘you might find something of more use to a soon-to-be heiress.’

      Sarah did as she was told, and discovered a small, rectangular-shaped box made in dark red velvet. She knew, before she opened it, that it contained jewellery, but what?

      Nerves claimed her stomach when she started to lift the lid. Nick never bought her jewellery. So why had he this time?

      The sight of what was inside took her breath away.

      ‘Oh, my God!’ she gasped before gazing with wide eyes up at Nick. ‘Tell me they’re not real diamonds. Tell me they’re zircons, or cut glass.’

      ‘Of course they’re real diamonds,’ Flora said, leaning over to gaze at Sarah’s present.

      ‘They do look expensive,’ Jim said, not for the first time that morning.

      ‘Don’t you like them?’ Nick said drily. ‘If you want to return them, I’m sure I still have the receipt somewhere.’

      ‘Over my dead body!’ Sarah retorted, snapping the box shut and hugging it to her chest.

      Nick smiled. ‘I do realise that you have all your mother’s jewellery, but what suits one woman doesn’t necessarily suit another. I thought these were more you.’

      Sarah opened the box again, then picked one of the earrings out of the box for closer viewing. It had a large diamond at the lobe, and two dangling drops of smaller diamonds that shimmered and sparkled with the slightest movement.

      ‘You think I’m a girl who favours flashy jewellery?’

      ‘Diamonds aren’t flashy, they’re classy. And they never go out of fashion. You can wear them with any outfit.’

      ‘Then I’ll wear them today,’ she decided immediately. ‘To the Christmas lunch.’ And I’ll make sure Chloe knows who gave them to me, she vowed with uncharacteristic bitchiness.

      ‘Yes, do that,’ he agreed, an odd glitter in his eyes.

      Sarah wished she knew what was going on in his head. But he was a closed book when he wanted to be.

      ‘I’d like my present from Nick now,’ Flora piped up.

      ‘Oooh, did I get diamonds, too?’ she added when Jim handed her a beautifully wrapped gift that was almost as small as Sarah’s.

      ‘Sorry,’ Nick returned. ‘I thought you’d prefer sapphires, to go with your pretty blue eyes.’

      ‘Oh, go on with you,’ Flora said laughingly.

      But he had bought her sapphires, in the form of an utterly stunning, sapphire-encrusted watch. Jim got a watch, too, a very expensive gold one. Both were thrilled to pieces.

      Sarah had never known Nick spend so much money on Christmas presents. He couldn’t possibly be having serious financial worries, she thought with some relief, if he was throwing money around like this.

      Flora and Jim seemed to like the gifts Sarah had chosen for them, Flora gushing over her favourite perfume and a cookbook, a new one that featured healthy meals. Jim was notoriously difficult to buy presents for, but a bottle of really rare port, plus a special glass engraved with his name, found favour.

      In return, Flora and Jim gave Sarah a truly beautiful photo frame and a lovely feminine diary for the following year. It had pictures of flowers on every page, along with a special thought for the day. Nick became the proud owner of a new leather wallet, along with a very stylish gold silk tie.

      ‘For the rare occasions when you’re forced to wear one,’ Flora informed him.

      Which was, indeed, rare. Nick looked drop-dead gorgeous in a tux, or any suit for that matter. But he hated wearing them. He much preferred casual clothes. When circumstance demanded, he did wear a business suit, but he mostly teamed it with an open-necked shirt, or a crew-necked designer top. Only when protocol insisted on a tie did he wear one.

      Around the house, he lived in shorts and jeans. Like now. Of course, he would change for Christmas lunch into a smart pair of trousers and an open-necked shirt, its length of sleeve depending on the weather. Today the forecast was for twenty-eight degrees, a very pleasant temperature for this time of year.

      Sarah was glad it wasn’t going to be cool, or rainy, as she would have frozen in her outfit.

      ‘OK, folks,’ Nick said, and abruptly stood up. ‘Time to clean up the mess we’ve made here and shake a leg. Jim, I’ll need your help getting everything ready outside. But Flora, you’re not to rush around working yourself into a lather like you usually do. The caterers are due here at ten. All they require is a clean kitchen. They’re providing everything, right down to the crockery, cutlery and glasses. Though not the wine. I bought that last week and stored it in the cellar. Jim, we’ll need to bring that up as well. I’ll put my presents away first, then meet you on the back terrace in five minutes. The guests are due to arrive from midday on, so, Sarah, leave plenty of time to dress and be back downstairs by five to twelve, ready to help me greet people at the door as they arrive.’

      ‘How many are coming this year?’ she asked.

      ‘Twenty, if they all show up. Twenty-four, including us. OK?’

      ‘Fine.’

      They all rose to do as they were told, Sarah’s heart beating faster when she thought of what lay ahead. Ok, so maybe it had been foolhardy of her to go along with Derek’s plan without thinking it fully through, but now that the moment was at hand, it was still better than facing Christmas lunch alone. If nothing else, Derek wouldn’t let her eat everything in sight.

      But would he be able to withstand Nick’s scrutiny?

      Flora had told her yesterday that Nick took his job as her guardian very seriously indeed. Which in the past had obviously included vetting her boyfriends and making sure they weren’t fortune-hunters.

      Bringing Derek home so close to her inheriting her father’s estate—not to mention telling Nick that they were very much in love—would only make him extra-protective. And paranoid.

      She’d feel more confident if Derek weren’t gay. And if she’d met this Chloe before. The unknown made her nervous. And she didn’t want to be nervous. She wanted to swan downstairs just before midday, the epitome of cool composure and worldly sophistication. She wanted Nick to take one look at her and think to himself that she was the most beautiful and desirable woman that he had ever seen!

       CHAPTER SIX

      BY ELEVEN, Nick had done everything that needed to be done downstairs. The tables and shady blinds had been set up, and the wine brought up from the cellar and delivered to the family-room bar. The caterers had arrived right on ten, the staff consisting of three females and two males, a highly efficient group of people whose job it was to take the stress out of Christmas Day dinners.

      Nick smiled ruefully to himself as he went upstairs. He had no doubt that they did a very good job with the food, the serving and the clearing up afterwards. But nothing—and no one—was going to take the stress out of this Christmas dinner. Not for him, anyway.

      He’d thought he’d finally got a handle on the unwanted desires Sarah had been evoking in him since she turned sixteen. But no, he’d just been deluding himself. Her staying away from home for most of this year had lulled him into a false sense of security. That, and meeting Chloe, whose sexy body and entertaining company had banished his secret lust for Sarah into the dungeon of his mind; that dark, dank place in which Nick imprisoned memories and emotions that were best forgotten. Or, at least, ignored.

      He’d honestly thought he was prepared for Sarah’s presence at Christmas. Thought he’d taken every precaution to keep the door to that mental dungeon firmly locked.

      It had been Flora’s news over breakfast yesterday that Sarah was bringing a boyfriend

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