She darted out a tongue to moisten her dry lips.
‘I want us to talk. More accurately, there’s something I need to tell you...something I should have said a while ago.’
His face closed off, and she could see him mentally withdrawing from her.
‘I’m sorry, I’ve obviously misjudged the situation. We should go back.’
‘No, Max.’ She reached out, taking his arm and not letting him pull away from her. ‘This is beautiful. Incredible. I’d love to live here with you, and Imogen. Be a proper family.’
His eyes scanned her face as though assessing her sincerity.
‘I love you, Max.’ The words escaped her lips before she realised it. ‘I think I’ve been falling in love with you ever since I met you.’
There was a fatal beat of silence before he opened his mouth and Evie wished she could take back her involuntary declaration. Not because it wasn’t true, but because she was afraid it was too soon for Max.
She didn’t want to hear him deny her. Before he could speak, she launched herself forwards, her hands protecting Imogen from being crushed as she planted a kiss on Max’s lips.
&
nbsp; She’d meant it to silence him, but as he held her in place, deepening the kiss, exploring and teasing, Evie found she couldn’t pull away.
Only the ringing of his mobile finally made them reluctantly separate. As he glanced at the screen Max’s lips tightened into a thin, disapproving line.
It was irrational, but she couldn’t help a shudder of apprehension rippling down her spine.
‘I have to take this,’ he told her. ‘Go inside, look around. I’ll catch up with you in a moment.’
Against her better judgement, Evie watched him leave as she continued a tour of the stunning house alone.
She knew the moment he walked into the room that something had changed. That something was very wrong.
‘Max...?’
‘That was my parents.’
She could actually feel her blood pressure dropping, draining from her head, as her heart slowed down. She reached for the back of a chair to steady herself.
‘Your parents? I didn’t think...that is...you said you didn’t have much contact.’
It wasn’t what she meant.
‘They were calling to ask me if I’d submitted a medical paper yet on my work in Gaza. I decided it was time they knew about you and Imogen—after all, she is their grandchild. So imagine my surprise when it turns out they already knew all about you both.’
‘I wanted to tell you myself—’ Evie stumbled but Max interrupted.
‘Did my parents pay you to keep Imogen a secret from me?’
Quiet fury radiated out of every fibre of him.
She should have told him everything from the very start, instead of bottling out every time she came close.
‘Whatever you think, it isn’t like that.’
It sounded clichéd and hollow, but it was the best she had.
The flat, emotionless resonance of his words had cut into her. Whatever she said, it wasn’t going to make a difference. An overwhelming sadness consumed her. A sense of grief for what might have been, and the pain of losing yet another person she loved—except this time, it was all her own fault.
‘Did you cash their cheque?’