November Harlequin Presents 1(160)

‘Because I thought it was best to explain the situation to you face to face. You deserved that at least if you were going to help us.’

‘But when you got here, you found that I didn’t remember your letter—or you.’

‘And so I let you think that we had never split up. I’m sorry,’ Becca put in hastily and sincerely. ‘I couldn’t think of anything else to do.’

Andreas didn’t seem to be listening. He was reaching into the pocket of his trousers, pulling out a folded piece of paper. He tossed it onto the table beside her wine glass.

‘What’s this?’ Becca looked at him, puzzled.

‘Open it and see.’

She picked up the paper with hands that shook, opened it with difficulty. But she couldn’t make head or tail of the contents. Even when she held the document directly under the lamp, it still didn’t make any sense and the words and figures on it—especially the figures—danced and blurred in front of her eyes.

‘What is this?’

‘Instructions to my bank—I faxed them just now. They will release the money—anything you need.’

‘Anything I need…’

Becca couldn’t believe that this was happening. Was it true. Had Andreas really said…?

‘You’re going to help?’

‘I always said I would give you any money you needed.’

‘Oh, thank you!’

It was hopelessly inadequate to express the way she felt. She wanted to dance for joy—she wanted to fling her arms around Andreas and kiss him…but a careful look into his dark, shuttered face made her rethink that idea hastily. Instead she reached out across the table and caught both of his hands in hers, holding them tightly.

‘Thank you! Thank you so much!’

‘My pleasure.’

The words meant one thing, but the expression in those glittering black eyes and the way that he pulled his hands from her grasp said something else completely and a lot of Becca’s euphoria evaporated as he got up and moved away.

Of course—he was prepared to help Daisy, but not her. Though there was something he had said…

But before she could quite grasp what it was, Andreas had spoken again and his words pushed all other thoughts from her mind.

‘So now you’ve got what you came for…’

How she wished that Andreas hadn’t got to his feet because now he seemed to tower over her, dark and forbidding, as she registered what he had said.

She’d got what she’d come for and now he wanted her to leave. She’d been right that he couldn’t let Daisy suffer for the division that had come between them, but his actions hadn’t indicated any healing or even a hope of peace. He’d provided the money she needed; he wasn’t offering her anything more.

‘Of course.’

She stumbled to her feet in a rush, refusing to let the anguish in her heart show in her face. She might be falling apart inside at this speedy, cold-blooded dismissal, but outwardly she was determined to be as brisk and businesslike as possible.

‘I’ll leave at once. If you’d just give me time to pack, I’ll be on my way. And if you call me a taxi—’

‘No.’

It was hard and coldly savage, slashing into her words as she tried to get them out.

‘No. That’s not the way it’s going to be.’

‘It isn’t?’

The sun was almost totally below the horizon now and the room so dark that she could scarcely see his face. But one last, lingering ray of light fell on the coldly glittering eyes, the start of his tightly clamped jaw. There was no yielding in him, no gentleness at all, and her heart quailed at the thought of just what he was about to say.

‘You’re not leaving.’

It was so unexpected that she almost laughed. But she caught back the betraying sound with an effort and managed to control her face so that the shocked astonishment she was feeling didn’t show on it.

‘Of course I am.’

She had to get home, tell Macy the wonderful news, get the hospital to put things in motion…

‘You can’t want me to stay.’

She blinked in astonishment as an autocratic flick of Andreas’ hand brushed aside her protest in a second.

‘That is where you are wrong, agape mou,’ he told her with deadly intensity. ‘I very much want you to stay.’

‘But why…?’

‘Oh, Becca, Becca…’ Andreas reproved and the softness of his tone made an icy shiver crawl all the way down her spine. ‘You are not so naïve that you have to ask that question. You know why I want you here, what I want from you.’

And of course she did.

‘Sex,’ she stated baldly and saw a frown draw his black, straight brows together.