see how incompatible they were, on age alone.
‘Twenty-five,’ he mused. ‘It’s a little young but you’ve been passing as older successfully so it will have to do.’
Distantly, she heard the first call for their flight, but was too preoccupied to pay it much attention. How dared he assume she would fall in with his plans simply because he willed it?
‘All the same, I can’t act as your wife,’ she declared. What right did he have to ask such a thing? ‘I don’t even know you, at least, not in that way.’
His grim look lightened slightly. ‘You don’t have to know me—in that way,’ he said, deliberately misinterpreting her words. ‘There are no sexual favours involved so don’t look so affronted. I’m not looking for a wife in the literal sense.’
Did she imagine it or did he shudder slightly at the prospect of being tied down with a wife? No wonder he had to proposition her at an airport to fill the role, if he found the idea of marriage so repulsive.
‘Nevertheless, I take your point that we need to appear more familiar with one another than we do now,’ he went on. ‘An evening together should be sufficient. It can be easily arranged, as we’re staying in the same hotel.’
‘Which you no doubt arranged at the same time as you had my airline ticket upgraded,’ she assumed furiously. Boss or not, he was the most highhanded man she had ever met. If ever she went shopping for a husband, she would wish for someone a little more human than Slade seemed to be.
‘I’m sorry but I can’t help you,’ she said flatly, her voice vibrant with anger. ‘I don’t know why you’re asking me but no reason could possibly justify it.’
‘Not even the lives of hundreds of Aboriginal babies?’ he said blandly.
About to thank him for the drink and walk away, she froze. ‘What did you say?’
‘I said that your agreement to what is really a simple task could save hundreds of young lives.’
‘I don’t understand.’
He leaned closer, enfolding her in the potent male aura of his aftershave lotion so that she felt slightly light-headed. ‘The resort you’re booked into is also the venue for a business convention which I’m attending, along with some friends from my university days.’
‘If this is some kind of practical joke...’
‘It’s no joke,’ he said grimly. ‘At university, a group of us invested some money with the agreement that the last one to remain single would claim what has become a sizeable amount of money.’
She took a steadying sip of her drink. ‘And you don’t want the money?’
She knew without being told that Slade’s business had made him one of Tasmania’s richest men. ‘As you’re aware, I hardly need it,’ he confirmed. ‘But the other candidate does. Bob Hamilton, the only other bachelor, is a doctor who has devoted his life to setting up clinics for Aboriginal children in the outback. The money would greatly assist him in his work.’
More confused than ever, she shook her head. ‘Then why don’t you just give it to him?’
‘Bob’s damned pride would prevent him accepting unless he thinks he’s won it fairly.’
‘So when you found out I’d be there at the same time you decided to turn up with a wife to convince him that he’s entitled to the money,’ she summarised her understanding of the situation.
‘Exactly.’ He stood up. ‘That’s the final call for our flight. Can I take it that you’ll do as I ask?’
Miserably, she shook her head. ‘I wish I could, since it’s in a good cause, but I’d be no good at it, honestly. I couldn’t convince anyone that we’re husband and wife.’
His expression became glacial. ‘I hoped you’d be more helpful, Eden. That’s why I kept your file on my desk instead of returning it to Personnel.’
Was he making it a choice between doing as he asked and losing her job? ‘I can’t believe you’d be so cruel,’ she ground out. ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’
‘Beyond accepting a job under false pretences,’ he reminded her. ‘After that, pretending to be my wife should be a piece of cake for you.’
A piece she might choke on, she thought. But what choice did he leave her? If she resigned, who else would employ her when he refused her a reference? ‘Everything I’ve heard about you is true,’ she said through clenched teeth. ‘You’re arrogant, unprincipled and manipulative.’
‘But you’ll do as I ask?’
‘For no longer than is absolutely necessary to convince your Bob Hamilton that the money is his,’ she insisted.
‘Naturally,’ he agreed, his mocking tone making her want to hit him. When he took her arm to escort her to the plane, it was all she could do not to tear herself free. She had better get used to it in her new role as his wife.
Slade Benedict’s wife. The very thought sent surges of electric sensation pulsating through her. She told herself it was anger at the way he had virtually blackmailed her into playing the part. After all, what else could it be?
CHAPTER TWO
THE Sunshine Coast airport with its plush lounges and tropical gardens was a far cry from the sandy patch of Maroochy Beach where the first aircraft landing in the region took place in 1922.
In those days, guests stayed in boarding houses designed in traditional Queensland style with wide, airy verandas but little in the way of luxuries. Today, their plane was met by a uniformed resort driver who whisked them in air-conditioned comfort to a new, low-rise resort hotel which fronted Coolum Beach.
With the exception of a central core, the resort had no building higher than three floors. They nestled into the curve of the landscape, the colours chosen to echo the natural surroundings.
Although sharply conscious of the man at her side who was supposed to be her husband, Eden was distracted by the patterns of light and texture the design created with its clever use of roof angles, overhangs and lattices.
As their driver pointed out the resort’s own large tract of coastal rainforest alongside the golf fairways, she gave a sigh of longing. If only Slade hadn’t come along with his impossible demands, she would have looked forward to exploring the resort.
She jumped when he enquired solicitously, ‘Ready, darling? We’re here.’
They had arrived at Reception and their luggage was already being unloaded. A uniformed doorman held the limousine door for her to alight. Slade’s casual use of the endearment brought the colour rising to her cheeks and she ducked her head. It was one thing to agree to act as his wife but quite another to actually carry it out.
‘I something the matter, darling?’ he asked, materialising at her side.
‘Must you keep calling me that?’
‘It’s good practice,’ he said, unperturbed.
‘But everyone doesn’t have to think we’re married, only your doctor friend.’
‘Who is a highly intelligent man,’ Slade warned her. ‘The more comfortable we become with our roles, the more convincing we’ll be.’
‘I suppose so,’ she said on a sigh. ‘I hadn’t bargained on starting so soon.’
‘You didn’t find it difficult to keep up your act at work,’ he reminded her. ‘Why should it be a problem now?’
Fresh colour flamed in her cheeks, sparked by anger this time. ‘All right, so I was in the wrong, but I’m doing my penance. Must you keep reminding me of it?’
‘Only when you need encouraging to play the part you agreed to.’