November Harlequin Presents 2(212)

‘Actually, no.’ Lily grinned at the prospect of a free day. ‘I might go and look for a car. The mechanic said it would be cheaper to replace my old one than repair it properly.’ Lily saw his hands still for a second, the tie he was looping pausing midway, and Lily felt herself stiffen in defence. ‘I’m not expecting you to pay for it!’ Even though she’d been desperately trying to help fund a huge mortgage for her mother, Lily hadn’t exactly been derelict financially when she met him—and she certainly wasn’t expecting Hunter to dangle a keyring to some sleek sports car, but still he shook his head.

‘What’s wrong with Lachlan?’ Hunter asked, referring to the driver Abigail had arranged for her.

‘Nothing.’ Lily frowned.

‘Because if you’re not happy with him, I can ask Abigail to—’

‘You don’t need to ask Abigail to do anything on my behalf,’ Lily interrupted, sitting up in bed, irritated that something so straightforward was being made so needlessly complicated. ‘Lachlan’s perfectly fine. I just can’t stand being driven everywhere when I’m more than capable of driving myself.’

‘But there’s no need.’ Hunter wasn’t listening. Instead he was loading up his briefcase with various papers and filling up his suit pockets with his mobile phone and wallet, deliberately ignoring her protests. When Lily raised her voice a touch to get his attention Hunter just switched the subject. ‘Just forget about looking for a car—why don’t we meet for lunch?’

‘Are you going to ask Abigail to pencil me in?’ Lily asked nastily. Every minute of his exhausting day was planned and accounted for by the ever-efficient, seemingly ever-present Abigail. It was as if Abigail’s emotional outburst at the wedding had never happened. Blasé and bold, she strode into the apartment in the mornings, treating Lily with nothing more than polite boredom, as if she was just another of her boss’s details to arrange, as she went through Hunter’s schedule with him, which was no mean feat—he could be in Sydney in the morning, Melbourne in the afternoon and checking in at the international departures lounge of the airport by evening for a three-day trip to Singapore. But no matter how indispensable Abigail was, no matter how professional she appeared with Hunter, Lily neither trusted nor liked her. ‘I don’t want to meet for lunch. I want to go and look at a car.’

‘It’s not open for discussion, Lily.’ Only now did he look at her, his stance completely immovable. ‘Abigail’s had practically every magazine in Australia’s features editor trying to arrange an interview—the press still have their lenses trained on you, trying to get a hint of a pregnancy bump.’

‘A pregnancy bump?’ Lily gave a shocked laugh. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘That’s the reason for most hasty marriages.’ Hunter gave a little shudder. ‘Heaven forbid. But, like it or not, it’s hard enough to explain why you insist on working, but the sight of you in a secondhand car yard isn’t exactly going to douse their interest.’

What Hunter was saying did make sense—the interest from everyone had unsettled and shocked her to say the least. Hunter Myles, as she’d found out from the evening news the night before her wedding, wasn’t just gorgeous in her eyes—he was one of Australia’s top most eligible bachelors, or had been. His hasty marriage had caused more than a stir of interest. But even if it made perfect sense she felt uneasy, felt another piece of her freedom being chipped away—yet another price to pay that Lily hadn’t considered when she’d agreed to this marriage.

‘I’ll leave it for today, then,’ she reluctantly agreed.

‘Good girl.’ Clearly happy he’d got his way, he sat on the bed, took her hands and toyed with them until they relaxed a touch then kissed away the frown that was forming on her face.

‘But only until things have calmed down,’ Lily said, making it clear that she wasn’t giving in on the subject. ‘And then I am going to get a car.’

‘Tell you what, when things are a bit more settled, I’ll buy you a car. A belated wedding present,’ he added, proceeding to kiss her rather more thoroughly now. But Lily felt as if she was being placated and she wriggled away ‘Abigail will be here soon.’

‘I promise I’ll be quick.’ He grinned that devilish grin, only this time she didn’t smile back.

‘What’s wrong, Lily?’ He must have sensed her disquiet, because he wasn’t trying to kiss her now, his voice so tender, so concerned that for a second she forgot the rules.