Captivation

Captivated Part 49

Caitlin reached for the phone. "Jared D'Olivera's residence, Caitlin speaking." She said formally expecting to hear her father's voice at the other end. Hopefully he was calling to tell her he'd reached home.

Jared smiled at her formality as with his back to her Jared returned the milk carton back to its shelf in the fridge. On his way back to the breakfast counter Jared picked up his mug and walked over to the breakfast counter and watched Caitlin's expression.

"You want me to talk to him?" He mouthed silently as he pulled out a stool and sat on it, facing her.

"If you hang on a second I'll pass you on to him." Caitlin said then handed the cordless phone over, "It's Lisa!" She announced flatly. Caitlin got to her feet, picked up her mug of tea and waltzed out of the room leaving him to deal with the telephone call. She heard him say.

"Lisa. Yes. She is."

Caitlin wondered whether she should phone her father and ask him to come and collect her. She walked back to the room she knew to be Jared's study. And he was literally on her heels when she entered the room.

"Short phone call." She said coolly. Then she looked at him, and said blithely, "I wouldn't worry, Lisa won't tell anyone I answered your phone. So you haven't been compromised." Caitlin told him, as she continued to study the room and decide where to sit while she finished her mug of tea and they had this conversation that he was so all fired keen to have. Then she was going home.

Jared nodded, studied her closely and wondered whether they had just gone back several steps. Another plan went up in smoke. She looked as if she was trying to appear nonchalant. She was perched on the edge of the armchair he had recently vacated so he took the armchair that faced her. He put his mug down on the side table and asked, "Will you mind if she tells people?"

"Me?" She glanced across at him and shrugged her shoulders. "Why will I mind? It makes no difference to me." With her mug on the side table beside her chair she shuffled back in the armchair. " But you'll have problems with it."

"Me? Why would I have problems with it?" Jared frowned.

"You don't want to be bullied or compromised into marrying me. Remember? No..."

Jared smiled slowly and corrected her softly, "You're forgetting that in six weeks we get married."

"I'm not."

He remembered what her father had said about his daughters not wanting to get married. "You don't want to get married, or you don't want to marry me?"

"When I get married it will be to a man who loves and respects me." She folded her arms and leaned back in the rather comfortable armchair, "and from what I recall, you don't. In fact, if I remember earlier, you told Lisa tonight ....."

"If you'd hung around, you'd have heard me say, I didn't think it was any of her business what my feelings were for you." He interrupted.

"Yeah. Right." Trying to keep the exasperation from her voice, she reached for her mug and took a sip.

"I thought persuading your father to help me was tough, but he's not pig stubborn!"

Caitlin ignored his pointed comment, "Fine. I'm here. So please let's just have this talk over and done with, and then you can call me a taxi and I'll get out of your hair." She put her mug back on the table.

He huffed out a loud breath, braced his arms on the armrests of his armchair and looked straight at her. She folded her arms and looked straight back.

Slowly he levered off the chair, then added dangerously, "That's it. Enough!" He headed straight for her. Caitlin jumped to her feet. "Enough!" He bent at the waist, leaned closer and then tossed her over his shoulder. All thoughts of drinking their recently made mugs of tea disappeared from his mind. He was going to make sure that this woman understood once and for all that they were getting married.