November Harlequin Presents 2(226)

‘Which lie am I supposed to believe?’ Lily frowned. ‘The one that fits best—the one that makes things more palatable—’

‘We need to talk,’ Hunter broke in. ‘We both need to be honest.’

‘But I’ve been honest,’ Lily flared, but it quickly ebbed. Her lies by omission surely counted, too, and she lay back on the cushion, gave Hunter a window of opportunity to continue.

‘I want you to keep being honest.’ He was squeezing her hand so tightly it was starting to hurt. ‘I want you to wait till we’ve spoken before you leave. Abigail will be here in a few minutes—I have to go and sort out things for the ball tonight. I have to see this through.’ His eyes pleaded for understanding. ‘Please, come to the ball, Lily. There’s so much riding on tonight, I just can’t let everyone down. Please, come and stand by my side, then we’ll talk.’

‘I don’t know…’ She shook her head helplessly, scared of staying but terrified of leaving, too, watching as he reached into his jacket he pulled out a rather impressive silver envelope which she hesitantly opened.

‘Tell Abigail, thanks.’ If she was being churlish she didn’t care. Being pampered in a day spa was the absolute last thing she wanted right now, especially if Abigail had ordered it and arranged it as usual.

‘I booked it myself two days ago from Singapore.’ Hunter dragged in a deep breath. ‘Please, say that you’ll come with me tonight.’

She didn’t answer him because she truly didn’t know what her answer was. She was just grateful for his shard of sensitivity that when Abigail, no doubt indignantly, buzzed on the intercom, instead of pressing for her to come in, Hunter picked up his briefcase to meet her halfway as Lily lay there, wondering whether or not she could do the same for Hunter.



However thoughtful Hunter’s gift, it wasn’t the best choice for a pregnant woman in a state of high anxiety. Especially one who hadn’t yet told her husband! Paranoid, she ticked the ‘no’ boxes on the required forms but, reading the treatments on offer and the little information boxes beside them, Lily realised there was actually very little she could have.

The sauna was out, as were certain aromatherapy oils, deep-tissue massage. The list of what she couldn’t have was endless so, settling for a spray-on tan, followed by a facial and having her hair styled, Lily tried hard to relax, tried to let her mind wander as skilled hands supposedly massaged away the tension. But no matter how far she drifted, it was as if there was an elastic band strapped to her waist, snapping her back to the present, to the issues, to the very reason she was there…

She’d accepted his gift and it truly terrified her. She could almost hear his silken voice as it delivered lies that maybe deep down she wanted to hear. She wondered if she’d be strong enough to adhere to the one boundary she had set, the one thing she’d asked of him. She didn’t want to end up like her mother, eternally turning a blind eye in order to keep him, to give their child a father…Lily’s head tightened in horror at the prospect, panic gripping her as she lay rigid in the chair as if she were at the dentist’s—wondering for the millionth time how, or even if, she could ever break the news to Hunter.



‘Have you been sunbathing?’

Swallowing down a rather too generous dose of headache tablets, Hunter squinted at Lily as she padded into the kitchen wrapped in a flimsy sarong and frantically trying to locate the very sheer, extortionately expensive silk stockings she’d purchased that afternoon.

‘Just for a couple of hours.’ Lily crossed her fingers behind her back as she simultaneously smiled and lied. She certainly wasn’t going to tell Hunter that her healthy glow had been sprayed on!

It was hard to believe that something the size of a baked bean could wreak such havoc on her body, but even if she and Hunter had unequivocally proved that money didn’t buy happiness, it certainly helped you to look good in your misery. Her hair, temporarily thick and glossy, and lashings of mascara and miracle eye drops had tired eyes falsely sparking—her skin, just as the brochure had assured her, beach-babe golden rather than keratin-tinged orange

‘You look very nice.’ Hunter actually managed a complement without adding a backhander!

‘Have you seen my stockings?’ Lily pulled back every cushion on the massive sofa. ‘I know I bought them…’

‘Sheer, black?’

‘No, sheer, neutral.’

‘Not guilty, then.’ He attempted a smile at his rather pathetic joke but it faded midway, his fingers dashing to his temples, massaging them as he winced in sudden pain.