Authors: Faye Avalon
He passed the time making calls and answering emails, until one of her
neighbors came along with a bag full of groceries.
The woman was probably in her seventies, and she gave Reed a smile as
she walked into her front garden. “You’ll have a long wait if you’re waiting
for Lissa.”
Reed stood, almost falling over his feet as the feeling left his legs.
“Is she all right?”
The woman nodded as she put the bag of groceries on the ground. “Went up
to
London
early
this morning to take some photographs for a school, then she was taking the
opportunity to have lunch with a friend who lives nearby. She’s visiting her
aunt on the way back, so she won’t be home until late. She asked me to feed the
cat.”
Cat
? She had a cat?
The woman dug for her door key. “I hope the weather doesn’t turn like
they’re saying it might. I don’t like her driving back from that nursing home
in the dark. I wish she’d get Betty into somewhere closer, but where her aunt’s
concerned it has to be the best. You know Lissa.”
It seemed he didn’t. He didn’t know her at all. First the fucking
threesome, then the cat, and now an aunt she’d never mentioned in a nursing
home. What the hell else hadn’t she bothered to mention to him?
Until the ink dried on the divorce papers, he was technically still her
husband. Damn it, he had a right to know these things. His jaw clenched
painfully, but he kept his tone light. “What nursing home did she finally
decide on for Betty? The one near Godalming?”
“That’s the one,” the neighbor confirmed, surprising Reed. Seeing as
he’d pulled Godalming out of a hat as being the only nursing home he’d ever
heard of. “Like I said, it has to be the best,” the woman went on. “Though how
she’s managing their fees I have no idea, bless her. As far as I know, she
doesn’t get any help from the Government.”
She hadn’t had any help from him either, Reed thought as irritation
flared in his chest. Why the hell hadn’t she told him? First the mortgage
repayments, and now nursing home fees. The woman was so damn stubborn it was
starting to piss him off.
“Here. Let me get that.” He hopped over the dividing wall and picked up
the bag of groceries. After he’d dumped the groceries on the woman’s kitchen
counter, gently declining her offer of tea, he strode back to his car.
On the drive to his office, he thought more about his relationship with
Lissa. What did he really know about her? They’d talked mostly business, that
was when they weren’t heating up the sheets. Come to think of it, they rarely
talked of anything personal.
Well, that was about to change. As soon as he saw her he wanted some
answers. The first one being why the hell she’d been at the hospital. From his
conversation with her neighbor, it sounded as if her health was okay, thank
God. Which meant she really could be pregnant.
Pregnant
.
The word pushed ice into his veins. If she was he’d… Fuck. What the hell
would
he do?
Well, for starters he’d make sure Lissa and his child never wanted for
anything. She could fight him all she wanted, but he’d damn well have a say in
his child’s life, and she wouldn’t shake him off no matter how much she tried.
He swore as he tightened his fingers around the steering wheel. He had rights.
It was his baby and she’d be the mother of his baby. He tried to push away the
image of Lissa, her belly swollen with his child, but it stuck in his mind.
Soon it was accompanied by a glow deep in his chest and a primal flare of heat
that signified he would protect Lissa with every fiber of his being, that he
would protect her and their child with every breath in his body.
His jumbled thoughts and the swirl of emotion had started to make his
head ache and his stomach twist. He pulled into the driveway of his office,
killed the ignition, and sat there as he thought through the heady realization
that he wanted her. Wanted her so fucking badly that she was like his fix. He
didn’t function well without her. Okay, he went through the motions, but
something was missing.
Her
.
Was he in love with her? Well, if this ache in his chest, this emptiness
in his soul, this damn pain in his heart was love, then he’d fallen just about
as far as a man could fall.
He didn’t like it. Didn’t like the feeling of being out of control, of
relying on someone else to fulfill him, make every day worth getting up for.
He was a damn mess, and over a woman who had chosen not to share
herself, or her life, with him in any way except the physical. Well, things
were about to change. He’d get some answers. And if she thought to fuck him
around, the woman had better prepare herself for disappointment. Big time.
****
As she left the nursing home after visiting her aunt, Lissa speculated
on the wisdom of letting her friend persuade her to stay in
London
for an afternoon of shopping. She’d
been up for the best part of sixteen hours now and still had the long drive
home back to
Brighton
.
Hell. She was so tired. The photo shoot that morning had been an
especially challenging one. While she loved children, eighteen of them, all
under the age of five, had been a nightmare to control. The contract had been
her very first recommendation. She’d done a photo shoot for a nursery school in
Brighton and the results had been so good she’d been recommended by the owner
to a colleague in London’s west end. She’d spoken with several of the parents
there who had also booked her for some private family shoots, so all in all it
had been a fantastic day. Her new business looked set to thrive.
Pushing through the exit doors of the nursing home, Lissa stepped out
into the night mist which was slowly giving way to fog. All she wanted was to
get home, take a hot bath, and get into bed. Chances were she’d sleep tonight.
That would be a real bonus. Maybe the day wouldn’t have taken it out of her
quite so much if she was sleeping well. Last night had been particularly bad. She’d
tossed and turned for the better part of the night.
It was
his
fault of course.
She’d barely been able to shake him from her mind these past few weeks.
If it wasn’t for her business, she might have fallen prey to the empty ache in
her chest and the sheer misery that he was no longer in her life. She hadn’t
heard from him. She hadn’t expected to. But it was impossible not to answer the
phone and for that brief second between expectation and reality, wish it was
his voice she would hear.
As she walked through the empty parking lot, she became aware of a
movement to her right. When she glanced up, her heart stopped then started
beating frantically.
Reed
.
She faltered as he started walking toward her. She’d forgotten how tall
he was, how imposing. How much her heart soared at the sight of him. In casual
jeans and a black leather jacket, he looked even more dangerous than when he
was wearing an immaculate Italian-cut suit. It didn’t seem to matter how he
dressed, the aura of authority surrounded him like a cloak.
As he came near, her heart beat so hard she felt it thumping in her
ears. “What are you doing here?”
Sharp blue eyes regarded her. “That’s my question. One of many.”
Her mind spun, her knees felt wobbly. “I’m visiting someone. Now I’m
going home.”
But it seemed her legs were incapable of taking her anywhere right then.
All the feeling had gone from them.
“I could have worked that one out myself,” he said with a deep scowl
darkening his handsome face. “I’ve got some questions, and you’re going to
answer them, princess.”
She angled her chin into the air, her heart now thumping with something
other than excitement at seeing him again. “We’re finished, Reed. We signed the
papers to prove it.”
He pushed his hands into the pockets of his trousers. “I’m not talking
about any damned papers. Are you okay?”
Momentarily shaken by the questioning look, the hint of what looked like
vulnerability, Lissa frowned. “Of course, I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be?”
His throat contracted as he swallowed. “Why were you at the hospital?”
Ah, so that was it. Maybe she’d been naïve to think her chance meeting
with Beth wouldn’t have repercussions. “That’s my business.”
“Maybe it’s mine, too.”
She ignored his fearsome scowl and started to walk away, but he stepped
in front of her. “Tell me why you needed to visit the hospital.”
She couldn’t let herself be swayed by the concern in his eyes. He was
simply doing what he always did. Exerting his control. Demanding answers.
Pushing his weight around. Well, she wasn’t falling for it, and she damn well
wasn’t going to lay her heart on the line where he was concerned. Not again.
Never again. “There’s nothing wrong with me, Reed. I’m fine. I’ll be even
better when you stop bothering me and get it into your head that we’re done.”
His eyes narrowed. “Are we? Done?”
She sighed heavily, wishing to heaven he would just go. She wasn’t sure
her nerves…heart…could take much more of having him so close and yet not being
able to touch him. “Do I have to spell it out for you?”
“Are you pregnant?”
If someone had handed her a million dollars right then, she wouldn’t
have been more shocked. “Pregnant? Why on earth would you think that?”
“Hospital. I didn’t use protection the last time we were together. Two
and two, princess. I’m pretty good at math.”
“On this occasion, they don’t make four.” She huffed a laugh, but it was
more a nervous reaction than filled with any humor. “Of course I’m not pregnant.
Is that why you’re here? Because Beth told you I bumped into her at the
hospital and you did a crap calculation?”
Anger simmered beneath the hurt. He’d come to find out if she was
pregnant. Now that he knew she wasn’t, he would be able to draw a line under
their relationship and go on his merry way. A baby on the scene would have
complicated things. Knowing Reed as she did, there was no doubt he would have
been prepared to honor his responsibilities.
“Like I said, I came here for some answers.”
“And now you have them.”
“How’s your aunt?”
“What?”
“Your aunt. The one you’ve been visiting. Apparently you pay the fees
for her to stay here.”
Lissa’s mouth dropped open. “That’s also none of your business.”
“The deal was for you to have a clean slate from debt. My side of the
bargain was to clear those debts. Now I find not only didn’t you tell me you
had a crippling mortgage, you didn’t tell me you had a sick aunt and were
paying equally crippling nursing home fees.” He scrubbed his hand through his
hair. “You didn’t tell me you had a damn cat, for God’s sake.”
Lissa felt sick. She hadn’t wanted Reed to know any of that. “It wasn’t
appropriate. It was my responsibility and is for me to deal with.”
“And what now? You’ve got a new business and you’re starting out with
more debt?”
“I have everything worked out. I can manage now.”
He shook his head. “You don’t have to manage. You can let me help you.”
A couple exited through the doors and glanced at them, smiled, then
hurried through the thickening fog toward their car.
Lissa turned back to Reed. “I don’t want your help. I have everything
under control.
My
control. I don’t
need you or anyone else.”
He stepped forward, his dark gaze so intent it made her stomach tremble.
He touched his hand briefly to her cheek. “How come you’re so damn stubborn?”
The brief contact seared her skin, made all her nerve endings quiver.
She took a protective step back. “You should look in the mirror, Reed.”
The door opened again and a group of people hurried out. Reed raised his
chin and nodded toward the parking area. “There’s a pub down the road I noticed
on the drive here. Let’s get a drink.”
Since the fog was deepening by the minute, Lissa shook her head. She
couldn’t bear the thought of spending time with Reed only to say goodbye again.
“We both need to get back before this turns into a pea-souper. Most of the
country roads aren’t lit and it comes in pretty thick before we hit the
outskirts of the city.”
“It’s thick now,” Reed said glancing around. “Thirty minutes isn’t going
to make any difference.”
She was about to protest again, when Reed grabbed the keys from her hand
and stuffed them in his pocket. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Like I said, I’ve got questions and you’re going to give me the
answers.”
“You arrogant—”
“Pig, bastard, jerk. Yeah. I’ve heard them all. You’ve thrown them at me
often enough.” Turning on his heel, he started walking toward his car. Saying
nothing, he opened the passenger door and nodded toward the seat.
A few feet away, Lissa stood her ground. “I’m not getting into your car.
I’m going home.” She held out her hand. “Give me my keys.”