‘So you were being kind.’
‘There was a certain amount of self-interest involved,’ he admitted.
‘You used me,’ she insisted, clinging tightly to her righteous indignation even though what had seemed like a legitimate accusation on the taxi drive back now sounded a little bit hysterical. ‘You set it all up, got me here knowing that your ex would—’
‘Would what exactly? You seriously believe I arranged to have my ex-wife, my mother and my teenage daughter walk in on me naked with a woman in the middle of the afternoon?’
She had, but when he put it like that… The sliver of doubt in Eve’s head widened as, unable to admit she was totally in the wrong, she conceded, ‘I don’t suppose you expected your mother to be there too.’
‘Thank you for that.’
His sarcasm made her teeth ache.
‘For the record, I never expect my mother. She believes strongly in the advantage of surprise. Since my father died she is bored and I have become her project. Or, more correctly, getting me married to someone suitable has become her project.’
‘So you admit it. You let her think that we are…are…are… Will you stop looking at me as though I’m a bug under a microscope or something?’
‘In a relationship?’ he finished her earlier sentence.
‘We’re not in a relationship, we’re having sex!’ she bellowed before adding through gritted teeth. ‘Were having sex.’
Eve would have preferred her over-the-top reaction to make him angry, not curious, as she struggled to retain her defiance in the face of his searching scrutiny.
‘Why is the distinction so important to you?’
Wanting to aggravate him, she deliberately misunderstood. ‘I like good grammar.’
‘Not that distinction, the one between having sex and being in a relationship. Is this to do with your mother and Latimer…?’ he pressed shrewdly.
Feeling the pressure of his stare and reacting defensively, she stuck out her chin. ‘This isn’t about me, it’s about you; and anyway, I don’t think you’re anyone to lecture me about relationships. According to your daughter you change women the way most men change their socks.’
Draco recognised classic deflection when he heard it; he used it himself on occasion. But unlike Eve he did so consciously. He might not be guilty of contriving the situation earlier as she’d accused, but he had felt no compunction about taking advantage of it. For the first time in months, his mother had left without dropping heavy hints about moving in to take care of Josie.
‘You didn’t have to pump my daughter for information, Eve. You could have just asked me if you’d wanted to know anything about me.’
Eve rolled her eyes in response, while Draco made a discovery that utterly shocked him. He had meant what he’d said.
He had become adept at recognising the warning signs when a woman wanted more than he was prepared to give, and even the suggestion that they were looking for weaknesses in his emotional barriers was usually a signal to walk away—but now he was inviting Eve in to walk around his head!
‘I didn’t pump!’ she exploded, her eyes flashing green fire at the charge. ‘You’re Josie’s favourite subject.’