Not that Sin could exactly blame her. He had told her she could leave. He just hadn’t expected that she would leave without seeing him again, without so much as a goodbye.
‘I never claimed to be fair,’ he drawled ruefully.
‘You—’
‘Look, love, I’d get off the plane with him, if I were you,’ the elderly woman seated beside Luccy interrupted their conversation. ‘He doesn’t look like the type of man that you argue with. That you would want to argue with,’ she added with a coy glance in Sin’s direction.
A glance Luccy took exception to as she fumed quietly to herself. She still had no idea how he had got onto this flight in the first place, although no doubt it had something to do with the influence of the Sinclair name—and their billions.
‘I’m going home,’ Luccy told him determinedly.
He nodded. ‘You have a seat booked on another flight that leaves in five hours’ time.’
Luccy eyed him suspiciously. But of course he had her booked onto another flight later today. Just as he had said that he would.
She had left earlier in the hopes of avoiding any more conversation with Sin, but she could see by the determination of his expression that was no longer possible. And these poor people on the plane had been delayed long enough already…
Luccy undid her seat belt and stood up. ‘What about my luggage?’
‘Already taken off and in the car,’ Sin dismissed as he stepped back so that she could move into the aisle in front of him.
Of course it was. Why had she ever doubted it?
‘Good luck, love,’ the elderly lady called after her as Luccy walked down the gangway to where the door stood open waiting for them to leave.
Luck?
Luccy was going to need a lot more than luck if she was going to get through another conversation with Sin without breaking down…
‘You’ll give yourself jaw ache if you don’t relax soon,’ Sin murmured soothingly. Luccy was sitting absolutely silently beside him in his car as he drove the two of them away from the airport.
‘I would like to give you jaw ache!’ she muttered, dark sunglasses hiding the emotion in her eyes. ‘Half those people on the plane probably think I’m some sort of criminal being carted off to the police station!’
‘Then they would be wrong.’
‘You made me feel like a criminal!’ Luccy burst out angrily, her silence obviously at an end.
‘I didn’t mean to.’
‘I have no idea how you managed to delay the flight, let alone get onto the plane.’ She gave a snort of disgust. ‘You probably own shares in the airline—’
‘Make that a lot of shares,’ Sin interjected quietly.
Luccy’s fingernails dug into the shoulder bag she was holding protectively on her knees. ‘You think the Sinclair name gives you the right to do exactly as you please, don’t you?’
‘No.’
‘Well, let me tell you that I don’t give that—’ she gave a dismissive snap of her fingers ‘—for the Sinclair name or the Sinclair trillions! You’re—’
‘I know.’
‘—nothing but a—a—What did you say?’ Luccy turned to look at him dazedly.
Sin’s mouth tightened. ‘I said I know, Luccy,’ he acknowledged heavily.
Her brows rose. ‘What do you know?’
‘That you don’t give a damn for the Sinclair name or the Sinclair wealth.’
‘You—you know that, do you?’
‘I believe so, yes.’
‘But I—how do you know that? Last night—’
‘Luccy, I would really rather we weren’t involved in an accident before we get back to the house,’ he cut in. ‘So do you think we could have the rest of this conversation once we get back?’
Luccy looked at him searchingly, noting the grimness of his expression, the nerve pulsing in his own tightly clenched jaw. He looked—she wasn’t sure how he looked!
She wasn’t exactly sure about the state of her own emotions, if she were honest. She had been stunned when she’d first looked up and seen Sin standing beside her seat on the plane. Had been mortified at how he’d drawn attention to her in that embarrassing way. But another part of her—another part of her had leapt with joy at his being there! Had begun to hope—
Hope what?
That Sin had come after her because he actually cared for her?
That really would be allowing herself to wander into the realms of fantasy.
Then what was Sin doing here?
He had changed his mind about letting her go, he had said. But what did that mean? The fact that Sin had booked her a seat on a flight later today meant that she really shouldn’t read too much into that statement…