Sophie looked a little less confident now. ‘Oh—sure,’ she said. ‘Dad has physio every day, and, although he’ll never be the man he once was, he’s gradually coming to terms with his limitations.’ She paused. ‘Mom’s okay, too. I guess she’s glad Dad’s back home in Miami.’
‘Right.’ Matt tried to keep his impatience in check and with some tolerance, he said, ‘So what is this? A break from routine? An impromptu holiday? If so, you should have let me—’
‘Have you seen Joanna lately?’
Matt frowned. ‘No.’ He paused. ‘Why would I? We’re divorced, Sophie. You know that.’
‘Has she been in touch?’
‘No.’ Matt was getting impatient. ‘What is this, Sophie? Why are you asking me these questions?’
Sophie sighed. ‘I just wondered if she’d phoned you, that’s all. Do you think she’d have let you know if she was thinking of getting married again?’
Sophie’s words hit Matt like a blow to his solar plexus. For a few moments, he could only stand there, gazing blankly at her, striving to breathe normally. Then he sought one of the cushioned bamboo chairs at the other side of the table and dragged himself into it.
Sophie looked anxious now, and when Henry appeared from the back of the villa, she said swiftly, ‘Will you get some brandy for Mr Matt? He—he’s not feeling well.’
‘Sure thing,’ began the old man, but Matt stopped him.
‘No brandy, Henry. Coffee will do.’
When they were alone again, Matt sucked in a grim breath. ‘Who told you she’s getting married again?’
‘No one.’ Sophie looked uncomfortable now. ‘I just thought she might be.’
‘And why would you think that? Have you spoken to Joanna?’
Sophie shrugged. ‘Well, I have seen her.’ She paused. ‘But I haven’t spoken to her.’
‘So this is all supposition?’
‘Sort of.’
‘What do you mean—sort of?’
Sophie looked unhappy now. ‘It’s not up to me to tell you what’s going on. I came here with the best of intentions. I can’t help it if you don’t like my news.’
Matt shook his head. ‘What Joanna does or doesn’t do is no concern of mine any more,’ he reminded her. ‘Okay, I agree, she might have let me know if she was thinking of getting married again. But it’s really nothing to do with me.’ He paused. ‘Where did this come from anyway? The London office?’
‘Well, I was in London,’ Sophie agreed reluctantly. ‘Actually, I’d decided to look her up.’ Sophie hesitated. ‘I went to the gallery. A week ago.’
Matt scowled. ‘So why didn’t you speak to her?’
‘I—I intended to, obviously.’ She paused and then continued, ‘I’d got a taxi to the gallery. It was a spur of the moment thing, and I was about to get out of the cab when I saw her. But she wasn’t alone. She was—she was with another man. They were really—you know—cosy with one another. He—kissed her, actually. So I just asked the driver to take me back to Oxford Street.’
Matt stifled a curse. Bellamy, he thought grimly. The other man had just been waiting for their divorce to be made final before making his move. Matt didn’t really know why he cared. Dammit, why couldn’t Sophie have kept this information to herself?
His scowl deepening, he said, ‘And you really expect me to go and see her?’ He shook his head. ‘Why?’
‘I think she might like to see you, that’s all.’
Matt’s mouth compressed. ‘That doesn’t make sense.’
‘Probably not.’ Sophie shrugged as if getting tired of the argument.
Matt gave her a brooding look. Joanna had always insisted that she and Bellamy were friends. Yet foolish as it was, he couldn’t bear the thought of her with anyone else.
Damn her!
His scowl deepened. ‘So do you think I’m harbouring some desperate wish to see her again?’
‘Aren’t you?’ Sophie was annoyingly direct.
Matt’s jaw hardened. ‘You should have got out of the cab and asked her what was going on instead of bringing this to me.’
Sophie groaned. ‘But I wouldn’t have known what to say.’
‘And you think I would?’
Matt’s hands curled into fists on the table. But fortunately, Henry appeared at that moment with a fresh pot of coffee, sugar, cream and two cups, and set his burden carefully in front of Sophie.
‘Will you...?’ he began and Sophie nodded.
‘Leave it to me, Henry,’ she said, with a grateful smile. ‘Thank you.’
She poured two cups, leaving Matt’s black but adding two sugars before pushing the cup towards him. ‘Go on,’ she said. ‘Drink it. You look as if you need it.’
Matt’s lips twisted. ‘Do I?’ His tone was gruff. ‘Sophie, I haven’t seen Joanna in—what? Five months?’
‘But you did go to London to see her after our father’s stroke, didn’t you? I thought maybe you and she had mended your differences or something.’
Matt shrugged. ‘Hardly that.’
‘But you took her back to the hotel when she was in Miami.’ Sophie hesitated. ‘Did you sleep with her?’
Matt took the coffee she’d poured him and swallowed a mouthful before replying, ‘What’s that got to do with you?’
Sophie stared at him incredulously. ‘You were with her when I called the hotel to tell you about our father, weren’t you? Was she the reason why you didn’t answer your phone? My God, Matt, I thought you had more sense than that.’
Not that it mattered now, but Matt had thought so, too.
JOANNA CARRIED THE cup of tea she’d just made for herself through to the front office. She didn’t drink coffee these days, and, truth to tell, she hadn’t missed it.
All the same, she didn’t mind admitting she was tired, even though it was barely four o’clock in the afternoon. Getting up at half-past seven in the morning to arrive at the gallery before nine o’clock had begun to take its toll.
Still, she consoled herself, she only had two more days to go before she left to have the baby. Well, not exactly to have the baby, she corrected herself. But she was over six months now and she’d finally given in and accepted her mother’s invitation to spend the latter weeks of her pregnancy in Padsworth.
What happened after the baby was born was another matter. All she knew for sure was that during the course of the pregnancy, she had become attached to the small life growing inside her. He had become a part of her. The fact that he was a part of Matt, too, was something she still had to deal with.
Sitting down, she ran her hand over the bump that swelled her jersey shift. She felt the kick that pushed against her palm and couldn’t prevent a smile. Evidently her son wasn’t tired, she acknowledged. Even though his energetic antics had kept her awake half the night.
Not