‘Why don’t I find that surprising?’ she asked drily.
Hunter hissed sudden anger. ‘You knew that I had no choice if I wanted to get ahead. Really, Keisha, your attitude’s not changed one iota. Maybe I had a merciful release? You’re not cut out to be an executive’s wife.’
Keisha said nothing, picking up her glass and taking a sip of the sparkling wine. Then she twirled the crystal flute between her fingers and stared down at the tiny bubbles.
‘So it’s not the fact you’ve been missing me that’s caused you to lose so much weight?’ he asked, his blue eyes intent upon hers. ‘It’s someone else who’s done this to you?’
Wouldn’t it be good if she could disappear as quickly and completely as the bubbles in her glass, thought Keisha. Pop—they had gone! No more fear that they would be swallowed whole and live the rest of their lives swimming through miles of tubes—just as she was now swimming through years of revived memories.
Ignoring his question, she said, ‘Actually, I’m pleased for you. You deserve success.’ Yet even to her own ears she did not sound sincere.
‘For that I thank you,’ he acknowledged quietly, inclining his head. ‘So, now that you know what I’ve been doing, tell me what you’ve been up to. Your mother told me you’d moved away.’
Keisha’s eyes widened in stunned disbelief. ‘You spoke to my mother?’
‘What did you think?’ he asked, both brows rising this time, his eyes very wide and questioning. ‘That I wouldn’t come looking for you?’
‘She never told me.’ Keisha could hardly believe that her parent had kept secret the fact that Hunter had been searching for her. And the worst part was that now she could never thank her.
‘She wouldn’t tell me where you were either,’ he responded. ‘She said that if I tried to find you I’d have her to deal with. She’s a tough cookie, your mother. Lord knows what sort of tale you spun her. She spoke to me as though I were some sort of perverted idiot.’
Keisha was amazed that her mother had stood up for her like that. Not that it would have stopped Hunter if he’d been really determined. She compressed her lips and tears threatened. ‘My mother died recently.’
‘Oh!’ he said. ‘I didn’t know. I’m sorry to hear that.’
And he looked it. Compassion softened his face and she had the feeling that he wanted to pull her into his arms. She hoped he wouldn’t. She didn’t want to experience the warmth of his body, his steady heartbeat, or the pleasure it could give her. Thinking about her mother made her vulnerable. She wished he hadn’t brought the subject up.
‘Don’t be,’ she said sharply. ‘She was very ill towards the end. It was a merciful release.’
‘You must miss her.’
Keisha nodded.
‘So where are you living now?’
‘In my mother’s house,’ answered Keisha reluctantly. Though for how much longer was one of the things worrying her.
‘And is there a man in your life?’
It was Keisha’s turn to lift a brow, and she noticed that he was watching her face closely. She hoped he wasn’t thinking of suggesting she move back in with him, that they try again. Heaven help her! ‘I hardly think it’s any business of yours.’
His brows lifted again, but he didn’t pursue the subject. Though she had a feeling she hadn’t heard the last of it.
There had been no man in her life since Hunter. For the first twelve months she had been too fragile, and since then she had nursed her sick mother and had had no time for boyfriends.
And she didn’t want any more of these personal questions.
‘I’m getting out of here,’ she declared, scrambling to her feet. ‘I’ll call a taxi. If you see Gillian tell her I’ve gone.’
But Hunter stopped her. ‘If you insist on going then I will take you myself,’ he said, in that deep, sexy voice that impinged on her nerve-ends every time she heard it. It was low and persuasive at this moment, snaring her, and when he caught her wrist and held on to it while he too rose from his chair Keisha knew she was lost.
He had a stranglehold on both her body and her senses.
There was no escape.
CHAPTER TWO
HUNTER’S CAR WAS black and sleek and luxurious. It smelled of leather and his cologne, and as Keisha sank into the seat beside him she marvelled at how far he had come in the last few years.
And she could have been a part of it if she hadn’t left him.
The thought gave her no pleasure. He might have all the trappings of wealth, perhaps even more money than he knew what to do with, but was he truly happy? ‘Have you married again?’ she asked bluntly. There was no ring on his finger either, and there’d been no beauty hanging on to his arm. Surely there would have been if he’d got either a wife or a girlfriend?
‘I’ve had no time,’ he answered, slanting a tight, smiling glance in her direction.
‘You’re married to money—is that it?’ she enquired, keeping her voice honey sweet and her eyes on the road in front of them. It annoyed her that simply by looking at him he disturbed her senses.
He was one of that band of men who could turn a woman’s head without even trying. He had certainly turned hers—quite magnificently! She had thought herself the luckiest girl in the world when he’d asked her to marry him.
‘Money isn’t my slave, if that’s what you’re suggesting,’ he answered smoothly. ‘I enjoy being successful, I admit that, and I enjoy being able to go anywhere or do anything, but it isn’t the be all and end all of my life.’
‘So why haven’t you remarried?’ she asked, turning to look at him as his lips gave a rueful smile. ‘It can’t be because there’s a shortage of women in your life.’
‘Of course not,’ he answered smoothly. ‘I could have my pick of maybe a dozen girls at any one time—it comes with the territory.’ He shot her a sharply dangerous glance. ‘But it’s not worth it. I learned my lesson many years ago.’
‘Are you suggesting that I flung myself at you?’ Keisha’s tone was indignant. If anyone had done the pursuing it had been Hunter. Not that she hadn’t enjoyed the chase!
‘You’re saying that you didn’t drop that file deliberately?’ he asked. ‘Come on, Keisha, it’s the oldest trick in the book. Of course I didn’t realise it at the time, but…’ He gave a tiny shrug and let his words fade into thin air.
‘Would I have walked out on you if I’d married you for your money?’ Keisha asked with a questioning stare. ‘I don’t think so, Hunter. You’re talking rubbish.’
It was a relief when they pulled up outside her house. It was a two-up-and-two-down terraced property, very modest but very comfortable, and her mother had loved it.
‘Thank you for the lift,’ she said, opening the door and scrambling out almost before he had stopped the car. ‘You won’t forget to tell Gillian that I’ve come home?’
‘I’m sure she carries her mobile, you’d best call her yourself,’ he said drily, sliding out the other side and following her up the short path.
‘You don’t have to see me in,’ declared Keisha in panic. This was the very last thing she wanted. She had left the party to get away from Hunter, not have him pressing further attentions on her.
‘A gentleman would never allow a lady to enter an empty house alone.’
Keisha put her key