Where was that vow an hour ago, Neo?
I stifled a growl at the mocking inner voice. There’d been quite enough growling for one night. One lifetime. The cold calculation with which I should have approached this situation finally arrived.
I stared at Sadie Preston. Watched her fidget, like she did in my office.
Then slowly that chin went up, throwing the face I’d framed in my hands and caressed into alluring relief while those green eyes began to spark.
‘Are you going to stand there glaring at me all night? Look, I know the news is upsetting—’
Harsh laughter barked out of me, startling her, but there was no help for it. ‘You think this is merely upsetting? Do you not understand that there’s no making this right? No glossing over this?’
‘I was just—’
‘Attempting to make me feel better? Urging me to look on the bright side? Is that what the episode on the sofa was all about?’
Raw colour flared in her cheeks but she dared another step closer, that temper I’d suspected bubbled just beneath the surface rising. ‘How dare you belittle it?’ she breathed, stunning me with her fierce tone. ‘It wasn’t just a sordid little episode to me.’
‘Wasn’t it? If I didn’t know better, I’d think you actually mean that.’
Another less readable look flashed in her eyes. Lips that had tasted exquisite beneath mine firmed, holding in whatever response she’d intended to utter for several seconds before she shook her head and spoke anyway.
‘I know there’s nothing I can say or do to alter what’s happened. But I was actually talking about the...the incident with the condom, not what brought me here in the first place.’
Christos, the broken condom. Another intensely unwelcome first in a day of abysmal firsts that needed to be smashed out of existence.
But then you wouldn’t have met her.
Skatá! What was wrong with me?
I’d hung on to her when I should have handed her over to the authorities within minutes of her confession. Now was I playing devil’s advocate with myself?
Never crossing paths with Sadie Preston was a trade-off I could cheerfully accept—and that gritty little knot in my stomach that called it out for a white lie be damned.
So what if my digital little black book hadn’t been used for the longest stretch since its inception, and she, with that mystifying allure of defiance and sexiness, would’ve been a prime addition to it had we met under different circumstances?
Facts were facts. And the simple fact remained: sending her packing should have been my first and only course.
‘The accident with the condom is another consequence to deal with. But it should be a fairly straightforward matter. I’ll start by assuring you that you have nothing to worry about health-wise.’
She arched one well-shaped eyebrow. ‘And I’m to take your word for that? Because you’re...you?’
The clear censure in her tone grated. ‘That’s your prerogative. But other than the fact that I abhor liars, a man in my position would be extremely foolish not to take the necessary precautions when it comes to every facet of his life. My last medical check returned a clean bill of health. You’re the only woman I’ve slept with since.’
Her eyes widened a touch, questions glinting in their depths. ‘And what about...?’
The inevitable question. I needed to answer and it burned its way up my throat—a searing reminder of why my association with this woman should have ended many hours ago.
‘I’m sorry, but I can’t not ask, can I?’ she muttered.
Her expression morphed into one I’d seen on too many faces of friends and family members. Even those without full knowledge of what had happened in that hospital room deigned to pity me. It was why I’d banned my family from discussing my accident.
‘I don’t need your pity, Miss Preston. Or whatever that look on your face is supposed to signify. The simple truth is, I cannot father children. The why doesn’t concern you. It’s a proven reality—which makes your offer of a further visit to your previous place of employment null. The only thing I need from you right now is reciprocal reassurance that I’m not at risk after this unfortunate mishap.’
Her expression snapped back to that mixture of fiery irritation, hurt and censure.
She wore her feelings so plainly. She would be an abysmal poker player. So why did I crave to keep staring, keep attempting to read what else she felt within this chaos?
‘I tell you this only for reassurance, in light of everything that’s happened. Let’s call it a courtesy.’ She paused, pursed her lips. ‘I’ve had one relationship. It lasted five months, while I was in my second year at uni, and I took every necessary precaution. So you have nothing to fear from me medically either,’ she snapped.