“You startled me.” She gave a laugh she hoped sounded light.
He flicked the sweep of damp hair from his eyes. “For a minute there, you looked kinda down. Is it about last night?”
She chewed her lip as conflicting emotions warred.
“I’m just...” She shook her head, tried to focus her thoughts. “I’m not like you, Lex. You have no problem jumping in and out of bed with different partners.”
His eyes narrowed. “You make me sound like a complete man slut.”
“It’s different for you. I know you’ve had a few”—floundering, she waved her hand—“other women since we broke up.”
Why on earth was she bringing this up? What did it matter now?
Lex’s jaw hardened. “Who told you that?”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s irrelevant.” They’d split up. Lex was a free man. He could do what he wanted, sleep with whomever he wanted. It was none of her damn business. Except the thought of him with other women made her feel like she’d drunk bleach.
He pushed his fingers through his wet hair, his expression thoroughly riled. “Christ, Jacy, what the hell do you want me to say?”
That it’s all a lie. That you could never be with any woman except me. But she knew that couldn’t be true.
“Nothing, nothing at all.” She gave him a bright smile that almost tore her lips. “I’m being stupid. Please just ignore me. I’m going to finish my packing and go find some breakfast.” Even though the thought of food churned her stomach. She snatched up a couple of T-shirts and threw them into the suitcase.
Lex moved, blocking her way. He ran his fingers through his hair again, looking strangely uncomfortable. “Look, if you must know, since we broke up I’ve dated a few women, but I didn’t sleep with any of them.”
Her mouth fell open. “Oh.”
“Don’t you believe me?”
Of course she believed him. Why else was her heart soaring like this? “I’m sure you wouldn’t lie about something like that.”
“And you?” His jaw jutted out. The muscles in his shoulders bunched up. “How many men have you slept with since we split up?”
“None.”
“Yeah?” His eyes narrowed. “Not one?” She shook her head, and he exhaled, shoulders relaxing as he became more businesslike. “Good.”
Without another word, he disappeared into the walk-in closet, leaving her to wonder why both of them hadn’t asked the obvious question—why hadn’t they slept with anyone else? Were they too afraid to ask because they didn’t want to hear the answer?
A minute later he emerged dressed in faded jeans and tight T-shirt. “The meeting’s at nine thirty,” he said, his expression impassive. ”I’ll see you downstairs.” He left the room.
With a sigh, she forced her mind back to work. She’d meant to do a little more investigating using Lex’s laptop last night, but naturally Lex had proved too distracting. Now, abandoning her packing, she sat down at the desk, powered on his laptop, and flexed her fingers. She had to uncover this mole soon, because the more time she spent with Lex, the harder it would be to say good-bye in the end.
…
Lex nursed his espresso, aware of the ache in the middle of his chest. It felt like indigestion, though he’d had nothing for breakfast except the coffee. Couldn’t face any food, or the meaningless chitchat from other relatives in the dining room. Which was why he’d sought refuge in the deserted conservatory.
He shouldn’t have asked Jacinta if everything was okay. Because everything was not okay with him. He didn’t want last night to be his final night with Jacinta. But what did he want? He wanted her in his life again, but not like before when the sexual heat between them had blinded them to everything else. This time he understood her better, knew the strength of her character. This time he saw how determined and loyal she was, and he could appreciate her strengths.
If he chased after her and convinced her to give them another chance, he could see himself quickly falling under her spell, and this time he wouldn’t be able to write it off as only lust. He’d be forced to acknowledge... No, he wouldn’t follow that train of thought. He downed the last of his espresso and rose to his feet, determined to go through the meeting agenda or some paperwork or anything except dwell on Jacinta.
A tap at the French doors penetrated his roiling thoughts.
“Oh, Lex, just the person I was looking for,” his grandmother said.
He turned to find his grandmother entering the conservatory with Jacinta in tow. Somehow he managed to gather himself in a couple of seconds.
“Good morning, Nana,” he said, marveling at the evenness of his tone.
“Yes! Isn’t it a wonderful day?”
He blinked in surprise. After yesterday he’d expected his grandmother to be tired, but she seemed to be filled with more energy than ever before. She moved closer, drawing Jacinta with her. He allowed himself a quick glance at Jacinta. She looked wary and slightly puzzled.
Nana Alice’s voice lowered to a conspiratorial tone as she linked her free arm with his. “Now that I have you two alone with me, I need to ask you a big favor.” Her eyes shone with unnatural brilliance, while her lips twitched, threatening to break out into an enormous grin.
Alarm bells went off in Lex’s head. “Yeah? What is it?”
“I want you to humor an old lady.” She squeezed both their arms. “I know the two of you are hiding something from me, but, the thing is, I already know your secret.”
His stomach lurched. “You know?” His mind spun furiously. How the hell did she know about him and Jacinta? Had she picked up something from their behavior? Had they given something away?
“Oh yes.” Her expression grew a little sheepish. “I have a confession to make. The first night you were here, you two were sitting alone out in the garden, and I, er, overheard some of your conversation. Just a little bit, but it was enough. Jacinta said she felt bad about deceiving me, and you said it wasn’t the right time to tell me. Seeing you two together, how inseparable you are, I worked out what you were hiding from me, and I couldn’t be happier.”
“Happier?” Jacinta echoed, wide-eyed.
“You’re engaged! That’s the big secret you almost told me, wasn’t it, dear? The secret you promised Lex you wouldn’t reveal. Oh, I’m so thrilled!” With a deep laugh, she flung her arms around Jacinta in an extravagant hug.
Over his grandmother’s head, Lex’s gaze clashed with Jacinta’s. She looked completely gobsmacked, just like he was. Nana Alice released her and turned to Lex to envelop him in her arms.
“You’re such a sweetie, Lex. I can guess why you wanted to keep the engagement a secret. You didn’t want to upstage my birthday—that’s it, isn’t it? But you’ve given me the most wonderful birthday present of all.”
Jacinta’s eyes were wide with horror, the plea in them unmistakable. Make this awful mistake right.
Light-headed with shock, he hauled in a gulp of air to steady himself. Gently he disentangled himself from his grandmother to hold her at arm’s length. She might need his support when he broke the bad news to her. Her face was like a child’s on Christmas morning. Beneath her cashmere cardigan, her frail arms were like twigs. His gut twisted. This was going to crush her—finding out that there was no engagement, that it was all a figment of her overactive imagination.
He cleared his throat. “Nana, there’s something—”
The door clicked open and several people walked in. Ralph, Kirk, Holly. They stopped as one and surveyed the scene curiously.
Nana Alice turned to the other three. “You’ve arrived just in time. Lex and Jacinta have something very important to announce.”
Everyone looked at Lex. He hauled in another breath. “What I was about to say was—”
“They’re engaged!” His grandmother clasped her hands together to her bosom. “Lex and Jacinta are engaged.”
What the hell?
He couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, couldn’t do a damn thing. Beside him he heard Jacinta choke. His uncle and cousins gaped. For a few seconds no one said anything, then Kirk stepped forward, closely followed by Holly and Ralph.
“Congratulations.” Kirk shook his hand.
“What a surprise.” Holly pecked Jacinta on the cheek.
“You’ve kept this quiet.” His uncle pursed his lips.
“For good reason. They didn’t want to steal the show from my party.” His grandmother chuckled before giving an excited gasp. “Oh, I’ll have to tell everyone else, and get Hazel to open some champagne! We should have some left—”
“No, Nana,” Lex spoke sharply. “No champagne.” He moved in front of his grandmother to block her exit. She beamed up at him, almost intoxicated.
“What do you mean—?” She gasped, clapping a hand to her mouth. “Oh my goodness. Are you trying to tell me Jacinta can’t have champagne because she’s...” Her eyes widened. “Expecting?”
Dammit. The situation was going to hell in a handbasket. Sweat broke out over his back. Jacinta made a spluttering sound. Everyone’s gaze swiveled toward her abdomen.