Passion's Mistress by Helen Bianchin Read Free Book Online

Come on in, we'll have some
    coffee.'
    'I'll make the coffee, and get you something for that headache,' Sarah
    insisted, suiting words to action with such admirable efficiency that Carly
    found herself seated at the dining-room table nursing a hot cup of delicious
    brew.
    'Now, tell me what's wrong.'
    Carly effected a faint shrugging gesture. 'I must be feeling my age,' she
    qualified with a faint smile. 'One late night through the week, and it takes me
    the next two to get over it.'
    'OK,' Sarah accepted. 'So you don't want to talk. Now take these tablets.'
    'Yes, Sister.'
    'Don't be sassy with me, young woman. It won't work,' Sarah added with
    mock-severity.
    'How was your date with James?' Carly queried in an attempt to divert the
    conversation away from herself.
    'We had dinner, we talked, then he delivered me home.' Sarah lifted her
    shoulders in a noncommittal gesture. 'It was all right, I guess.'
    'That's it?' Carly looked slightly incredulous. 'All right wraps it up?'
    'OK, so he was the perfect gentleman.' Sarah's expression became pensive. 'I
    was surprised, that's all.'
    James was beginning to sound more astute by the minute.
    'He's asked me out to dinner next Saturday evening,' Sarah informed her
    quietly, and Carly applauded his perception in taking things slowly.
    'He sounds nice.'
    'I get the feeling he's streets ahead of me,' Sarah owned. 'Almost as if he
    knows what I'm thinking and how I'll react. It's—uncanny.'
    Carly sipped her coffee and attempted to ignore her headache. It would take
    at least ten minutes before the pain began to ease, maybe another ten before
    it retreated to a dull heaviness that would only be alleviated by rest. After
    she dropped Ann- Marie at Susy's house, she'd come back and rest for an
    hour.
    Sarah left a short while later, and Carly headed for a long leisurely shower,
    choosing to slip into tailored cotton trousers and a sleeveless top in eau-
    de-Nil silk. The pale colour looked cool and refreshing, and accentuated the
    deep auburn highlights of her hair and the clear honey of her skin.
    Lunch was a light meal, for Ann-Marie was too excited to eat much in view
    of all the prospective fare available at Susy's party.
    'Ready, darling?'
    Ann-Marie's small features creased into an expression of excited
    anticipation, and Carly felt a tug on her heartstrings.
    'Checklist time,' she bade lightly with a smile. 'Handkerchief? No
    last-minute need to visit the bathroom?'
    'Yes,' Ann-Marie answered, retrieving a white linen square from the pocket
    of her dress. 'And I just did. Can we go now?'
    'After you,' Carly grinned, sweeping her arm in the direction of the front
    door.
    The drive was a relatively short one, for Susy lived in a neighbouring
    suburb, and in no time at all Carly brought the car to a halt behind a neat row
    of several parked cars.
    'We're cutting the cake at three,' Susy's mother bade with an expressive
    smile. 'And I'm planning a reviving afternoon tea for the mothers at three-
    thirty while Susy opens her presents. I'd love you to be here if you can.'
    Carly accepted the invitation, wished Susy 'Happy Birthday', then bent
    down to kiss Ann- Marie goodbye.
    On returning home she garaged the car in its allotted space, sparing its
    slightly dusty paintwork a faint grimace as she closed and locked the door.
    Perhaps she could leave early and detour via a carwash.
    The apartment seemed strangely empty, and she drifted into the kitchen to
    retrieve a cool drink from the refrigerator.
    The buzz of the doorbell sounded loud in the silence of the apartment, and
    Carly frowned in momentary perplexity as she crossed the lounge. Sarah?
    Instead, a tall, broad-shouldered, disturbingly familiar male frame filled the
    doorway. The few seconds between recognition and comprehension seemed
    uncommonly long as she registered his dominating presence.
    'What are you doing here?'
    'Whatever happened to hello? Stefano drawled, and his dry mocking tones
    sent an icy shiver down the length