restaurant. She had to see Lucas, apologise for her behaviour, tell him that she knew all about
Marsha’s plans to remarry. All she wanted was for them to be friends again, for him to be
able to talk to her, the way he used to.
Lucas rented a floor on one of the buildings in the middle of town, having a couple of
assistants and their secretaries, as well as his own private secretary, working for him. The outer
room was empty when she entered his office, the secretary’s desk clear of papers, evidence
that she must have gone out for lunch.
How silly of her! It stood to reason that if she had been out to lunch then so were a
lot of other people. Lucas included? She knocked timidly on his office door, opening it to peer
inside, expecting the opulence that met her gaze—the luxurious brown and cream décor, the
imposing mahogany desk. She was a little unnerved by the man who stood so silently in
front of the window that had views over London, the sunshine behind him making it
impossible for her to see his expression.
‘Lucas?’ she said tentatively.
He straightened, stepping away from the sunlight into the room, his strain instantly
obvious as the lines about his mouth and eyes could clearly be seen, his mouth set in weary
lines. He looked all of his thirty-seven years at that moment, his expression harshly
unapproachable.
Nevertheless, Christi knew she had to approach him, that after the other night he wasn’t
likely to come to her again. And why should he? She was the one who had told him to get out
of her life and stay out! He frowned wearily. ‘What can I do for you?’
She wanted so badly to take the pain and despair out of his eyes, and felt violent towards
Marsha for doing this to him. How badly everyone suffered after a divorce: the children
bewildered because their parents were no longer together, one of those parents sad because they
were suddenly deprived of the children they loved. Lucas was the type of man who wouldn’t
allow his pain to make him so bitter he couldn’t function without dwelling on the past, but this
last blow seemed to have been one too many, and Christi felt tears in her own eyes as she
thought of Robin and Daisy being brought up by any other man but Lucas, possibly learning
to call that man ‘Daddy’ in time. It wasn’t fair, Lucas had done nothing wrong, he didn’t deserve
this pain.
But he looked as if her sympathy would be the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’, as if
he would crack under the strain if she said one word about Robin and Daisy, and Marsha’s
remarriage.
She forced a bright smile to her lips. ‘I was shopping—I didn’t see anything I
liked,’ she excused as his brows rose questioningly at her empty hands. Damn, she may be an
actress, but her lies could certainly do with improving! ‘And so I thought, why don’t I go
and see if Lucas is free for lunch?’ She looked at him enquiringly, acting as if she couldn’t see his
strain. As if she didn’t know every mood change this man made! ‘Are you?’ she prompted lightly,
knowing she wouldn’t be able to eat a thing, but from the look of Lucas he hadn’t eaten much
at all the last few days; his skin had an unhealthy pallor, adding to his look of strain.
His expression softened slightly. ‘I’m not really hungry, Christi, although I do
appreciate the thought,’ he bit out curtly.
He certainly wasn’t going to make this easy for her. And why should he? She had
behaved like a shrew on Saturday night, and Lucas hadn’t even realised what she was so
angry about!
‘Oh, come on, Lucas,’ she cajoled softly. ‘I know I was a bitch on Saturday night, but you
know how emotional women get.’ She hated it when men put women’s emotionalism down to
‘that certain time of the month’, but, without introducing the subject of Marsha’s visits to his
apartment, something that was sure to deepen the pain in his already shadowed eyes, she didn’t
know what else to do! ‘And it did seem as if you were treating me a little too much like a
child,’ she teased.
He held up defensive hands, lithe and attractive in the dark blue suit, although even
that seemed a little looser on him than the last time he had worn that particular suit; he
wasn’t eating properly. ‘I realised immediately afterwards that I had overstepped the
boundaries of our friendship—’
‘We don’t have boundaries to our friendship, Lucas,’ she cut in sharply.
He sighed, running a hand through the thickness of his hair. ‘Every friendship has
boundaries, Christi,’ he said heavily. ‘And just lately I’ve been going way too far over ours,’ he
grated harshly.
The kissing and caressing ... But she wouldn’t change a moment of those times she
had been in his arms, she knew they were possibly the only memories she would ever
have. ‘Did it seem as if I minded?’ she prompted softly.
Lucas drew in a harsh breath. ‘That isn’t the point,’ he rasped. ‘I had no right Are you
and David Kendrick still seeing each other?’ He looked at her with narrowed eyes.
After the earlier lie she had told him, she couldn’t say she had just had lunch with the other
man, but neither could she let him think she had carried out her threat of Saturday night with
that ‘one final test’! She gave an exaggerated sigh. ‘I think there must be something wrong
with me,’ she bemoaned. ‘Every sexually attractive man I meet offers me friendship, rather
than
‘Kendrick didn’t make love to you Saturday night?’ Lucas demanded tautly.
She knew David would forgive her for telling the truth, that he was the type of man who
really didn’t give a damn what people thought about him, or the fact that he had ‘offered a
beautiful woman only friendship’. ‘I told you, he wants to be my friend,’ she grimaced.
‘You’ll have to tell me what my secret is, Lucas—so that I can do something to change it!’ she said
disgustedly.
He relaxed slightly. ‘I’m not sure I want you to do anything to change it,’ he told her
ruefully. ‘Idon’t think I’m ready to lose my friend just yet,’ he shrugged apologetically.
Her expression softened. ‘You’ll never lose my friendship, Lucas,’ she assured him gruffly.
‘There may be times when you wish you could, but I’m afraid you’re stuck with me for life.’
A nerve pulsed in his jaw. ‘Promise?’
Christi flinched inwardly at the loneliness and despair in that question. Strange, she
had never thought of Lucas as being lonely before, but after knowing the companionship of a
family for those years it must have been difficult for him to adjust to being on his own again.
No wonder he had taken such pleasure in being so protective of her the last few years! While
the women in his life changed, with regularity, she had become the constant in his life; she
wasn’t about to let him down again!
‘I promise.’ She put her arm through the crook of his. ‘Now, are you going to take me
out to lunch or do I have to kidnap you?’ she teased to ease his tension.
He gave a rueful smile. ‘I’d like to see you try! But I really can’t spare the time for
lunch today,’ he told her regretfully. ‘I have an appointment in—ten minutes,’ he said, glancing
at his wristwatch.
Which meant he wouldn’t be bothering to eat lunch at all today, she thought. ‘Then I
insist you come over for dinner tonight,’ she decided firmly. ‘Unless—you have a date?’ She frowned
her sudden uncertainty.
His mouth twisted. ‘No date. I’ll bring the wine, shall I?’
She smiled her relief at his acceptance. ‘Make it champagne,’ she encouraged, her eyes alight
with mischief. ‘We haven’t celebrated my new job yet,’ she explained at his raised eyebrows.
‘So we haven’t,’ Lucas gave an indulgent smile. ‘Champagne it is,’ he promised lightly.
Christi reached up the couple of inches it took to put her on the same level as his cheek,
allowing herself the indulgence of her lips against the firmness of his skin. ‘I’ll see you
tonight.’ She stepped back, her expression deliberately casual. ‘About eight o’clock.’
‘It’s a date,’ he nodded as he walked with her to the door.
If only it were! But she had Lucas’s friendship back, and that was all that was important.
CHAPTER SIX AFTER
another week of watching Lucas suffer in silence, Christi wasn’t so sure of that.
Oh, their friendship seemed to have returned to its previous familiarity, and yet not once
had Lucas mentioned to her Marsha’s plans to remarry.
He couldn’t have forgiven her for her un characteristic behaviour last week if he
didn’t feel he could talk to her about his problems, she decided. And yet he discussed
business with her as he usually did, spent a couple of evenings of the next week at her
apartment just chatting the way they used to. But there was no mention of Marsha.
Christi didn’t know what to do. She was sure the problem was just festering and growing
inside him, tearing him apart, but until he spoke to her about it she didn’t feel able to offer her