dared him to answer. Matt’s jaw was rigid, his mouth set in a hard line that brooked no nonsense. Lucy had never seen him like this before, and she was astonished that the easy-going, laid-back man that she knew had suddenly turned into this granite-edged guardian.
He walked towards them, his long stride steady and determined. ‘It looks as though you’ve finished your job,’ he said, looking at the closed toolbox and the old element on the kitchen worktop. ‘Now it’s time for you to leave.’
‘I … Yes, well, I …’ the young man floundered, pulling his hands away from Lucy as though he’d been stung. ‘I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just asking her out.’
‘And you had your answer. Now you should go.’
‘Okay, I’m out of here.’ He put up his hands in a gesture of submission and then hurriedly grabbed his toolbox. Matt followed him to the door and watched him get into his van and drive away.
Coming back along the corridor to where she was waiting, he glanced at Lucy and said calmly, ‘I can’t leave you alone for five minutes, can I? Men take one look at you and their brains fly out the window.’
She stared at him, dumbfounded. ‘Is that my fault?’ she said, feeling affronted. ‘Do you think I like it that way? I hate that it always happens. I hate it that other women resent me for the way I look, but I can’t do anything about it. I wish I could, but I can’t … unless …’ Her mind whirled. ‘Perhaps I should scrape my hair back into a ponytail and start wearing baggy clothes.’
‘I can’t see that working,’ he said with a wry smile. ‘Anyway, I was just teasing you—you make it so easy for me because you always rise to the bait. You really shouldn’t take things so seriously, you know.’
She frowned. ‘No, maybe not. But just lately I can’t help it. I feel as though I’m under pressure all the while, and you have a knack of turning the key and winding me up even more. I don’t want to feel that way.’ Her gaze flicked to him. ‘About what happened with the repairman just now … There was no need for you to intervene, you know. I was handling things. I was perfectly able to deal with him.’
‘Sure you were.’ He draped an arm around her and led her back towards the kitchen. ‘Anyway, forget about it. You have more important things to think about right now, don’t you?’
She looked at him in consternation. ‘Oh—the lecture, yes. I must get my head clear.’ She dithered for a second or two, undecided what she should do first. ‘I have to get my bag … And I need to sort out some paperwork for my father before I go—he’ll be ringing to ask me about it later today and I need to have it to hand.’ She frowned, trying to bring her thoughts into order. ‘What happened about the little boy … Jacob? Is he all right? He didn’t look as though he wanted to leave, did he?’
She realised that it might seem as though she was babbling, and she stopped talking, her mind in a whirl. Then she put a hand to her head and said raggedly, ‘Why can’t I think straight? What’s wrong with me? I’m not usually like this, and I don’t understand it. I don’t know what’s happening to me.’
‘Hmm.’ He was thoughtful for a moment or two. ‘I think you should sit down for a few minutes before you do anything at all. I’ll make you a milky coffee. That will help you to focus. Just try to stay calm for a while—you’re always so busy, busy, busy, but I’m sure you don’t have to fill every single minute of the day.’
He laid a hand on her shoulder and lightly pressed her down into a chair by the table. And that would have been good, she might have taken comfort in his gentle urging and given herself a few moments to gather her thoughts, except that her mobile phone rang and from the display she saw that it was her father who was calling.
She pulled in a deep breath before answering. ‘Hello, Dad, what is it? I thought you were going to ring later. Is everything all right back home?’
‘Of course everything’s fine. But the work’s piling up, and I need you to go and take a look at the house you mentioned to me at the weekend … the one that’s coming up for auction. I want to know if the structure is sound. How much work needs to be done? How much is it going to cost me to bring it up to scratch and what price do I bid to make a decent profit? The auction’s on Thursday, so you’ll need to do it in the next couple of days.’
Her mind reeled at the influx of new instructions. ‘I can’t, Dad. I can’t do anything more than the basics right now. I’m snowed under. Do you remember, I told you I’ve started my new placement? That means a lot of extra work, and I have exams coming up. I don’t have any spare time. I can manage the internet research, but that’s about it.’
‘You have the evenings, don’t you? You can’t be studying the whole time.’ He sounded affronted. ‘Anyway, how long will it take for you to get over there? It’s only a hop and a skip away from you.’
‘No, but that’s not the point, Dad. You’re not listening to me. I have exams, and I have to study every chance I get. With the best will in the world I can’t go checking out houses right now. This is my career we’re talking about—I have to take the time to work at it.’
‘You had a career all laid out for you back here in the family business.’ His tone was blunt. ‘I’m not asking for the world, Lucy, just a few minutes of your time. It’s not beyond you to give me that, is it?’ His tone was scathing. ‘You know I can’t get over there right now, with the accountants coming to see me.’
She sighed heavily. It was always the same. He never listened to her. No matter what she said, he would never understand her point of view. It wasn’t important to him. All that mattered to him was the family business, the company that his grandfather had started and had passed on to his son, and which from there had come to him. She felt as though she was being pulled in all directions. She knew he wouldn’t back down.
‘All right,’ she said with a sigh, giving in. ‘I’ll see what I can do … but I’m making no promises.’
He cut the call, after asking about the paperwork she had prepared for him, and she pushed the phone into her bag, staring into space, her thoughts bleak.
‘Well, now we know why your mind is all over the place, don’t we?’ Matt said, sliding a coffee mug towards her across the table. ‘It’s the same thing he does with my father. He pushes and pushes and doesn’t consider the effect his demands have on other people.’
Lucy winced. ‘He’s not a bad person. He just has so much drive and energy, and he can’t understand why other people don’t have the same priorities. I know your father works hard.’
‘Too hard.’ Matt was grim-faced. ‘His team does all the building work for your father, and they’re stretched to the limit to keep up with all the projects he’s taken on. My father’s recruited more men, but even so they can’t pull in all the extra work. My mother’s worried sick about him. She says he’s not sleeping well and she thinks he has the beginnings of a stomach ulcer.’
Her blue eyes were troubled. ‘It must be a huge anxiety for her.’
‘Yes, it is. For me, too.’
Lucy’s shoulders slumped. Was this problem with her father going to drive a wedge between them? She had to share this house with Matt, and she didn’t want any bad feelings to blow up between them.
Things had been different a few months ago when the two families had rubbed along well together—after all, it was the sole reason that Matt was living here in the house with Jade, Ben and herself. Her father was very particular about who shared the living accommodation with his daughter, but he had been only too pleased to help out by giving his partner’s son a place to live when Matt had been offered a job at the local hospital. But now it looked as though being in business together was going to have all sorts of repercussions, especially if it was no longer an amicable arrangement.
‘Drink up.’ Matt inclined his head towards her coffee mug. ‘Once you get that down you, you should be able