to sneak under the radar. See any faces you don’t recognise?’
Hal bristled. ‘Why don’t you just get out of my face and leave me and my companion to enjoy our lunch in peace?’
The other man’s gaze swung interestedly across the table to Kit.
‘And who might you be, sweetheart? I must say I’m surprised. I thought our friend’s preference was for voluptuous blondes—not dainty little redheads who look like they come straight out of the Renaissance. But I suppose you must possess one or two sexy little tricks to keep him keen. You’ll certainly need to invent a few more of those if you’re going to keep him happy whilst he’s immobile. I hear it was a particularly bad break, and my guess is his recuperation is going to be a long one. But if his interest starts to wane at any time, sweetheart, you should give me a call.’
His pudgy hand dived into his wallet to extract a business card. He threw it down in front of Kit in a gesture clearly meant to insult. ‘I’ve had my surfeit of blondes lately, and I must admit, I could use a change.’
The look on Hal’s face would have put the fear of God into a man with any modicum of sensitivity.
‘Carry on in that vein, Rigden,’ he warned, ‘and I swear you’ll live to regret it. Now, get out of my sight! You’re not fit to even look at her. In fact you’d better get out of here quick—before I call the police.’
‘It’s all right, Henry. I can deal with this.’ Calmly taking a sip of her orange juice, with both men staring at her in mute fascination, Kit followed up this remark with another confident assertion. ‘I’d rather take my chances in a pool of piranhas than waste even a second of my time on an unsavoury character like you, Mr...er...?’ Coolly she picked up the business card that had been so insultingly flung down in front of her and read the name on it out loud. ‘Mr Simon Rigden.’ Pinning him with a direct and frosty glare, she finished, ‘You can be sure I’ll remember that, if I’m ever interviewed as a witness when Mr Treverne takes you to court on a charge of harassment. One thing’s for sure—it won’t enhance your reputation.’
‘Touché,’ Hal murmured beneath his breath.
‘You little—’ Flushing, the businessman abruptly turned on his heel and promptly left the restaurant, not even troubling to return to his companions and explain the reason he was leaving.
Given the looks of resignation on their faces, Hal deduced they weren’t at all surprised by his sudden exit. Some people just had a knack for self-sabotage...
Immediately returning his gaze to the much more pleasing sight of his Titian-haired companion, he asked, ‘What made you do that?’
‘You mean cut him down to size and stand up for myself?’
‘Yes.’
Kit’s blue eyes flashed. ‘Let’s just say I’ve had plenty of experience in dealing with men like him. My mother brought men like Simon Rigden home with monotonous and painful regularity in her search for the man of her dreams. Needless to say it was a fruitless and soul-destroying exercise. Unfailingly, her dreams turned into a nightmare. She wasn’t the best judge of men. And when each of those men took what they wanted and then abandoned her—which they did, without exception—I was the one left to pick up the pieces and try and convince her that what didn’t kill her would make her stronger. Except that it never did...’ Her gaze looked far away for a moment. ‘Make her stronger, I mean...’
‘That must have left some scars on you,’ Hal remarked, expressing the compassion he was feeling that she’d endured such a horrendous experience. It explained a lot about why she was so guarded and self-contained, so determined to protect herself from similar predators.
Grimacing, Kit gave a brief shake of her head. Her blue eyes were like the most intense moonlit stars they were so bright.
‘Scars heal...but unfortunately memories don’t. But you were right...that Rigden chap really is a weasel. What decent, right-minded man would mock a friend because he had lost a bet and suffered serious injury? It’s clear he doesn’t have any principles. It’s none of my business, and I don’t mean to be presumptuous, but I’d steer clear of him in the future, if I were you.’
‘Trust me. I will. I only wish I’d known the low-life was going to be dining here today—I would have suggested we went somewhere else. He keeps trying to rile me because he’s still mad that I broke off our partnership.’
‘So he’s your ex-business partner? If you don’t mind my asking, what on earth made you go into business with someone like him?’
‘Ever heard the saying that a salesman can always be sold to?’ Shrugging his shoulders, Hal was still pained to admit he’d been so gullible. ‘I was in my early twenties when he approached me, having heard about the success I’d been having, and I was eager to prove to my father that I could do even better. So when Simon offered me what sounded like a good deal at the time I suppose I let down my usual guard and fell for his convincing spiel. He was an experienced businessman in the industry that interested me the most, and his record of success was impressive.’
He gave a wry grimace.
‘Anyway, getting back to the skiing incident, when I saw him on the slopes at Aspen the only reason I agreed to his stupid bet was because I was certain I could beat him. I’d never lost a similar challenge before. But the truth is I was an egotistical idiot and I paid the price. I should have just walked away. But I want to sincerely apologise for Rigden’s insulting you, Kit. If I were back on my feet he would have been the one who was immobilised.’
The comment clearly perturbed her.
‘I can understand the impulse, but I abhor violence. It doesn’t solve anything in my view. Doesn’t the fact that there are so many wars in the world tell you that? It would be much better to talk things out or simply just ignore him. That would wound him more.’
An amused quirk lifted a corner of his lips. ‘Well, the fact that you made it clear you weren’t interested and then warned him what might happen if he continued to make a nuisance of himself was more than enough to see him off. You were quite formidable in your defence of me, Kit. I’m seriously impressed. The only other person who would have been quite so protective is my sister Sam.’
Giving him a captivating smile, Kit picked up the pristine silver cutlery she had laid at the side of her dinner plate ‘I’ll take that as a compliment. But now I think we should finish eating our meal before it gets cold, don’t you?’
‘I can always get the waiter to bring us fresh food if need be.’
‘And waste all that money you’re paying for what we’ve got already? No chance!’
* * *
Kit was deeply reflective on their return to the apartment. The appearance of Simon Rigden at the restaurant had given her a graphic insight into Hal’s regret about going into partnership with such a man. ‘A salesman can always be sold to,’ he’d said drolly. One thing was certain: she was sure he’d never be sold to by such a merciless shark again.
Walking beside him over to the couch, where he carefully lowered himself onto the firm leather seats and handed her his walking aids, Kit noticed that he looked particularly tired—as if the outing had been more of a strain than he wanted to let on. Not only had it been his first visit to a restaurant since his accident but, along with negotiating the challenge of appearing in public again when he wasn’t as fit as he wanted to be, he had been confronted by the one person who was guaranteed to raise his stress levels... Kit hoped it wouldn’t set his recovery back in any way.
Intermingled with those thoughts was the memory of telling Hal about her mother and her history of failed relationships due to her poor choice of men. Would she have revealed something so personal if Simon Rigden hadn’t presented himself at their table to mock him?
‘I’m going to relax for a while. Why don’t you take the opportunity to do the same?’
Hal broke into