Her soft laugh reassured him. ‘I’ve hated you all week.’
‘Because you wanted more sex?’
‘Yes,’ she choked out. ‘All the time.’
‘Shall we take the rest of the afternoon off?’
‘We shouldn’t ’
‘But we will,’ he said, smiling as he turned off the taps.
But he’d only managed to wrap her in a towel when he heard the sound of his mobile ringing.
‘Damn,’ he muttered, thinking he should not have turned the wretched thing on. He was one of those people who couldn’t ignore a phone. He simply had to answer it.
‘Sorry,’ he said to Kathryn as he scooped his trousers off the floor and fished the phone out of the pocket.
It was Russ.
‘What’s up, buddy?’
Russ sighed an unhappy-sounding sigh. ‘Bad news, I’m afraid. Megan’s had a miscarriage. I tried to ring you earlier but your mobile was turned off.’
‘Poor Megan,’ Hugh said.
‘It’s James I’m worried about, Hugh. I’ve never seen him this distraught.’
Hugh didn’t say a word. His sympathies all lay with Megan.
‘Do you think you could come to the hospital?’ Russ went on. ‘Offer the poor bloke some words of comfort?’
Hugh pulled a face. ‘I don’t think that’s such a good idea, Russ. You know what I thought of his marrying that girl.’
‘That’s irrelevant now, Hugh. He’s still your friend and he needs you. You’re so much better at sympathy than I am.’
Hugh sighed. Russ was right. It wasn’t his place to judge. ‘OK. What hospital?’
‘Belleview Hill Private. Do you know where it is?’
‘Nope. But my car’s got a satellite navigation system. I’ll find it. See you soon, Russ. Bye.
‘I’m truly sorry, Kathryn, but I have to go,’ he said, grabbing a towel and drying himself with rapid strokes. ‘One of my golfing buddies. His wife’s had a miscarriage.’
‘You’re talking about James Logan, aren’t you?’
‘Yep.’
‘I didn’t realise he’d married again.’
‘He shouldn’t have. He’s still in love with his first wife. She divorced him when she couldn’t have children.’
‘Why didn’t they just adopt?’
‘Apparently she didn’t want to.’
‘That seems a bit silly.’
Hugh frowned. Yes, he supposed it was.
‘Whatever,’ he said, shrugging. ‘It was still very wrong to marry a girl he didn’t love, just to have children. But I’ll try not to point that out to him today. He must be feeling pretty terrible.’
‘Yes, he must.’
‘Look, from the sounds of things Jim’s in a pretty bad way, so I’ll probably spend a few hours with him. Why don’t you take the rest of the afternoon off? Go shopping. Keep your mobile on and I’ll give you a ring when I can. Or, if you like, you could take a taxi to my place. I’ll give you my key.’
Kathryn knew she should say no to this last suggestion. She hadn’t lied when she’d said she’d been hating him all week. She had. But that hate had evaporated the moment he’d taken her into his arms. Now, as she looked at him, she wasn’t craving his body so much. She just wanted more of his company.
The thought of going shopping did not appeal. The thought of going home to an empty flat appealed even less.
‘If I go to your place,’ Kathryn said carefully as she began dressing, ‘I don’t want to stay the whole night.’
‘That’s fine. I’ll drive you home at some stage.’
‘Do you want me to cook you dinner?’
‘No. Just meet me at the door with nothing on but your high heels.’
She blinked, then laughed. ‘OK,’ she said, thinking it was impossible to fall in love with a man who didn’t want anything from you but sex.
Once they were both dressed, Kathryn accompanied him downstairs, where he gave her his key and a goodbye kiss.
‘I’ve decided to hold the fort here for a while,’ she said. ‘If I don’t hear from you by four-thirty, I’ll take a taxi to your place.’
When he drew a fifty-dollar note out of his wallet, she shook her head. ‘No, thank you, Hugh. I like to pay my own way.’
He smiled a wry smile as he repocketed his money. ‘If we were getting married for real, I’d have to re-educate you, Kat, darling. At the moment you’re not cut out to be the wife of a billionaire.’