Wish Upon a Star

‘I’ve been waiting for you—you’ve just worked a ridiculously long day. Again. Are you all right?’

She almost laughed. She was so far from all right that it wasn’t true, but she could hardly tell him that, could she? ‘I’m fine.’

‘You’re a liar.’

She lifted a hand and tried to rub away the nagging ache in her forehead. ‘If you want a rehash of last night’s conversation, I ought to warn you that this isn’t a good time. I know you’re mad with me, but—’

‘I’m not mad with you.’

‘Last night you—’

‘Last night I was angry, yes,’ he admitted, ‘but you have to admit that I had a lot to take in. I’ve had time to think about what you said and you’re right, of course. Your life is none of my business but, for some reason that I don’t entirely understand, I keep wanting to make it my business.’

‘Jake—’

‘I’m worried about you.’ His voice was firm and masculine and his gaze was disturbingly intent. ‘You shouldn’t be working these hours when you’re six months pregnant. I hope when you get home, he’s spoiling you and feeding you decent food.’

Miranda thought of the contents of her fridge and gave a wan smile. ‘Of course.’

Something flashed in Jake’s eyes and he straightened. ‘Come on, then. The least I can do is drop you home again.’

She glanced at him, startled. He hadn’t actually dropped her home the night before, but he didn’t know that, of course.

Too tired to argue with him, she followed him down to street level and watched in weary silence as he secured her bike to the back of his car.

Without speaking, he took the same route that she’d given him the day before and pulled up in the same street. Then he looked at her with a strange gleam in his eyes.

‘Are you going to tell me the truth now?’

‘About what?’

‘Well, about where you live, for a start.’ His tone was pleasant. ‘I know it isn’t here.’

Her spine straightened. ‘I don’t know what you mean.’

‘Oh, I think you do.’ He switched off the engine. ‘You don’t live here, do you, Miranda?’

She stared at him. ‘I—’

‘After I finished on the phone last night, I went looking for you. I knocked on every door in this street but no one had ever heard of a midwife called Miranda.’ His gaze didn’t shift from her face. ‘Funny, that, don’t you think?’

She swallowed hard. ‘Jake, I—’

‘So then I started to ask myself why you’d lie about where you lived.’ His voice was steady and calm. ‘It’s obvious that you’re involved with someone and that’s fine, but I would like to know why you’re lying to me. Why not just tell me the truth?’

‘I’m not lying. I haven’t lied once—’

‘We’re sitting outside a house where you don’t live. What’s that if it’s not a lie?’

She looked away from him. ‘I’m not used to confiding in people.’

‘Giving me your address counts as confiding?’ His tone was mild and she turned back to look at him.

‘All right, you can take me home. But then I want you to leave. I’m not prepared to answer questions and I don’t owe you any explanations.’

Jake pulled up outside the dimly lit block of flats and felt a shiver pass through him. In the darkness the whole area was threatening and unsav

oury, and he knew from experience that daylight didn’t improve it at all.