fact.
Abby had been eighteen and three months pregnant with Alice when she and Rory had married so hastily. But it had been obvious within weeks of Alice being born that Abby and Rory should never have married each other, the attraction that had been between them when they had first met, and which had resulted in Abby’s pregnancy, having very quickly turned to resentment on Rory’s part and discontent on Abby’s. But instead of ending the marriage as they should have done, Abby and Rory had added to the mess by having Josh just a year after Alice had been born.
After eight years of unhappiness the two of them had finally decided to admit defeat and get a divorce. But even that had turned into a battleground as they wrangled, not just over the children, but the house and everything in it.
Not a shining example of marital bliss for Luccy to want to emulate any time soon!
‘What about you, Sin?’ she queried. ‘I know you don’t have any siblings, but you mentioned your mother is still alive…?’
He nodded. ‘She moved back to her beloved Savannah after my father died, but she comes back to New York on a regular basis.’ The affection could be heard in his voice. ‘She—ah, I believe our lunch has arrived.’ He stood up to answer the knock on the door. ‘I took the liberty of ordering for both of us. I hope you don’t mind.’
Luccy didn’t mind in the least—as long as Sin didn’t question the fact that she might not be able to eat what he had ordered!
She could smell the fish before Sin had even removed the domed silver covers from the plates, her stomach instantly churning in rebellion, feeling the slight sheen of perspiration that appeared on her top lip even as she fought back that nausea.
She lost that particular battle as soon as she looked at the medley of fish laid out so beautifully on the plates. ‘Bathroom!’ she choked weakly.
Sin looked up in astonishment. ‘What?’
‘Bathroom!’ Luccy repeated desperately. ‘Now! Unless you want me to be ill all over the carpet!’
‘Second door on the left,’ Sin told her slightly dazedly, staring after her in consternation as she made a mad dash down the hallway.
What the hell was going on?
‘When were you going to tell me?’ Sin demanded harshly several minutes later when Luccy returned to the sitting-room, her face deathly white.
Luccy stared at him as he stood across the room so broodingly tall and seething with explosive anger.
She moistened dry lips. ‘Tell you what?’
‘I advise you against treating me like a fool, Luccy,’ he warned coldly.
‘Heaven forbid anyone should do that!’ She shook her head, determined not to be cowed by the ruthless expression on his face, or the dangerous glitter in those arctic grey eyes. ‘But I’m really not sure what you want me to say—’
‘I really do advise you to stop right there, Luccy!’ he said in a carefully controlled voice. ‘Do not compound the seriousness of this situation by lying about the reason you were ill!’
Luccy swallowed hard. Sin couldn’t know. He might suspect, but he couldn’t actually know!
‘I must have eaten something that disagreed with me,’ she dismissed lightly. ‘Probably one of the canapés last night. But I’m fine now,’ she said reassuringly.
Sin’s hands clenched at his sides, and his teeth were clamped together so tightly that his jaw actually ached, both in an effort to hold onto his temper. He rarely, if ever, lost control, his anger tending to take the form of icy deliberation rather than a fiery explosion.
But this woman was seriously in danger of pushing him beyond that icy control. He very much doubted that she would like the result if that were to happen!
‘You’re telling me that’s the reason you were ill just now?’
‘Of course.’
‘I don’t believe you,’ he growled.
She gave an unconcerned shrug. ‘That’s your prerogative, I suppose.’
Sin looked at her searchingly, easily noting the changes in her now that he knew what he was looking for: there were dark shadows beneath those bewitching blue eyes that indicated a lack of sleep, her cheeks were more hollow than they had been, and there were lines of tension beside her unsmiling mouth.
His gaze moved lower. She was still incredibly slender, but he was sure that her breasts were slightly fuller than he remembered…
He wasn’t wrong in his conclusion, Sin was sure that he wasn’t!
He had spent the time while Luccy was in the bathroom considering all the options—including that she might have eaten something that disagreed with her. But the more obvious reason for her sudden nausea was the one that refused to go away…
‘When were you going to tell me, Luccy?’ he insisted.
Her chin rose. ‘Tell you what?’
Sin forced himself to relax. Losing his temper really wasn’t going to help this situation. ‘Okay, Luccy, let’s try getting to the truth another way, shall we?’
‘I’ve already told you the truth. I obviously ate something last night that disagreed with me—’
‘Why did you refuse to drink any champagne last night?’
He couldn’t know, Luccy reminded herself again firmly. Sin absolutely could not know!
‘I never drink alcohol when I’m working,’ she explained calmly. ‘Last night may have been a party, but it was still work as far as I’m concerned,’ she added.
‘You refused wine just now, too,’ he pointed out flatly.
‘I’m flying home later today—’
‘Luccy,’ Sin cut in warningly. ‘While you were in the bathroom just now I did a little thinking.’ A lot of thinking, actually. And his conclusion had left him almost paralysed with shock.
She drew in a ragged breath. ‘I think it’s time I was going—’
‘Sit down!’ he barked.
Her eyes flashed deeply blue as she glared at him. ‘How dare you tell me what to do?’
Sin’s mouth twisted impatiently as he crossed the room to stand in front of her. ‘Oh, I think you’ll find I dare a lot more than that, Luccy. For the last time, when were you going to tell me?’
He was extremely intimidating standing close to her like this, fury etched into his arrogantly handsome face, a warning in the glitter of his eyes.
Luccy broke the intensity of that gaze to turn away. ‘I have a plane to catch—’
‘You won’t be going anywhere today.’
Luccy became very still as she slowly turned back to face him, her eyes wide as she looked at him warily.
Sin’s face was hard, implacable, those silver eyes shimmering like shards of ice, his shoulders stiff and unyielding, the muscles in his arms tensed. Like a huge jungle cat poised to pounce!
She moistened dry lips. ‘Of course I’m going back to England today—’
‘No, you’re not,’ Sin bit out evenly.
‘You have no right to dictate where I do or don’t go—’
‘Luccy, I am holding onto my temper by a very slim thread.’ His voice was low and menacing. ‘I don’t want to have to shake the truth out of you, but, believe me, if I have to, I will!’
One look at the grimness of Sin’s expression was enough to tell her that he meant every word that he said.
Luccy could feel herself trembling,