It was late evening before Zane came home, which was very much what Lucinda had expected. There was not much about him that surprised her. She was curled up on a sofa in the sitting room watching TV. She had been tempted to go to her room, to make a point of telling him that she knew where her place was, but had decided against it at the last minute.
And she hadn’t really been watching TV. Her ears had been alerted to his return and she’d scarcely heard what the characters in the film were saying.
‘So you really came.’
Lucinda’s heart thumped so hard that she thought he must surely see it throbbing against her ribcage. Zane hadn’t changed at all. He was still magnificently handsome, still had the same gorgeous smoky blue eyes and still had the power to turn her world upside down.
Not surprising considering it was only a few days since she had last seen him. Yet it felt like a lifetime. And now she was here Lucinda wondered whether she had made a big mistake. There was nothing in Zane’s eyes to tell her that he was as delighted as she. They were matter of fact and considering, watching her gravely for a few seconds before he stepped further into the room.
‘How’s Tim?’
Not How are you? But How’s Tim? Not, I’ve missed you. Nothing like that! It felt like a slap in the face. ‘He’s fast asleep.’
‘Was he pleased to see you?’
Lucinda nodded. ‘I was surprised he remembered me.’
‘He couldn’t stop talking about the lady who was here before. He remembered you all right. As do I,’ he added sotto voce.
She almost didn’t catch those last words; perhaps she wasn’t intended to. But it made her look at him questioningly. Of course he remembered her. Was there some hidden meaning behind them? Perhaps he meant he was remembering their nights of passion?
They had been unforgettable nights. But they may as well never have happened if they meant so little to him. ‘How’s your health these days?’ she asked instead.
‘Back to normal,’ he acknowledged. ‘If you’ll excuse me I’ll take a shower and then I’ll join you.’
‘Fraternising with the hired help?’ The words slipped out without her intending them to. But he was making her feel like that. After all they’d gone through together, it would have been perfectly normal for him to stride across the room and take her into his arms. Instead he stood there in the doorway making no attempt to come any closer. He couldn’t have made it any clearer that that particular part of their life was over.
Zane’s lips tightened. ‘I’ll try to ignore that remark.’
‘It’s what you make me feel like.’
‘Nonsense!’
‘Is it?’ she asked pointedly. ‘You used me, Zane Alexander. And for that I will never forgive you.’
‘And yet you came here today?’ Sandy brows rose, blue eyes looked coolly into hers. ‘Doesn’t that tell you something? It certainly does me.’
Lucinda frowned. What did it tell him? That she was still his for the taking? Lord help her, it would be so easy. But she could see Zane clearly now for what he was and she stiffened her resolve. While she was living in Zane’s house she would never let him touch her, never let him kiss her.
She ought to walk out. It would be best all round. But young Tim had taken to her so willingly and completely that she couldn’t bear to let him down. It was bad enough that his beloved grandmother was so poorly. He didn’t need any more instability in his life. No, she would stay until the woman recovered. She would do what she had come here for, but that was all. Zane Alexander could go and take a running jump. She would never let him near her again.
Zane’s feelings were running high as he showered off his tiredness. He had been looking forward to coming home and finding Lucinda here. What he hadn’t expected was her animosity towards him. He’d given her a good time in St Lucia. He’d done nothing to hurt her. So what was it all about?
He had half wondered, when she’d agreed to look after Tim, if she would want to carry on their affair. He had been pleased and relieved that she’d accepted—of course he had—but nevertheless he couldn’t help speculating whether it might be because she wanted something more from him.
Clearly, though, nothing was further from her mind. He was shocked by how cool and distant she was towards him. Their brief affair might never have happened. But if that was the way she wanted to play it—then that was all right by him.
When he rejoined her Lucinda was deeply engrossed in the film showing on television and wasn’t aware of his presence, so he stood in the doorway watching her. She was even more stunning than he remembered. Her auburn hair was tied back in a ponytail but he knew how enticingly sexy it was when she left it loose around her shoulders. He had threaded his fingers through it so many times; he had used it to pull her face close to his; he had covered her naked breasts with it, enjoyed the intriguing little glimpses of her exciting nipples.
So many things they had done together and they all came rushing back in a brief moment of madness. Inhaling the sweet fragrance that was essentially Lucinda made him want to leap on her and make love until they were both senseless.
She was so gorgeously sexy. It had definitely been a big mistake to invite her into his house. When Tim had cried in his sleep and refused to be consoled he had been at his wits’ end. He’d taken time off work but even so he wasn’t used to young children and there had been times over the past few days when he had been at a complete loss.
That was when he had thought of Lucinda. He hadn’t dared hope she might agree to his request; indeed he had been shocked when she had. Shocked but pleased. Very pleased, because it meant that he would see her again.
It hadn’t occurred to him how much he had missed her until he’d heard her voice on the phone. Because he had thrown himself into his work, because he had Tim to look after as well, because he had fallen into bed each night dog-tired, Lucinda had not been on his mind. Now she was very much to the forefront and his male hormones began to take over.
Lucinda had shocked him when she’d stated that he had used her. How could that be when she had been a willing partner? And that comment about fraternising with the hired help. Where had that come from? Didn’t what they’d gone through together mean anything to her?
Zane felt both confused and not a little bit angry. She needn’t have come if this was the attitude she was going to take. He cleared his throat and she looked up and, for just a second, he thought he saw desire in her lovely green eyes. Gone in an instant; he might even have imagined it, because they were hard now, almost questioning his presence.
‘I didn’t see you there,’ she lied. In actual fact she had been aware of his presence the whole time; it would be impossible not to be. This house was full of him. Wherever she went Zane was there, whether in the flesh or not. But in the flesh, as now, she had sensed him, felt him, had never been more aware of him. And it made her realise what a big mistake she had made in coming here.
No doubt she would weather the storm, but it would be hard denying her feelings, pretending an immunity she did not feel. All she could hope was that he wouldn’t attempt to carry on their affair. It would be a bittersweet relationship, knowing it could end again once Tim’s grandmother was well enough to take him back. She couldn’t go through with it.
He came into the room. ‘A drink?’ he asked, walking over to a mini-bar in the far corner. The room was high-ceilinged and tall-windowed, with beautiful gold silk curtains against a wall of palest blue. The carpet had a blue and gold pattern and all of the furniture was antique. Money well spent, she thought. Not that it was to her taste; she preferred something more modern, but it suited Zane. The whole house suited him.
Even now, dressed down in black jeans and