To Love Again

to remarry have nothing to do with it, hmm?’ David frowned.

‘I’m saying ‘ She breathed heavily. ‘I’m saying that this is really none of your

business, David,’ she told him regretfully.

He nodded without rancour. ‘I suppose not. I just Are you sure this is what you really

want to do, Christi?’ he prompted gently.

She gave a choked groan. ‘I--------’

‘Kendrick.’ Lucas’s hard drawl cut in on the conversation as he moved to stand at Christi’s

side. ‘I didn’t see you here earlier.’ His eyes were narrowed on David as he handed Christi her

drink.

‘I only arrived a few minutes ago,’ David dismissed lightly. ‘I hear congratulations are in

order?’ He held out his hand.

Christi watched as the two men warily shook hands, eyeing each other critically, almost

as if they were sizing each other up for a fight.

Lucas touched her for the first time since driving to the restaurant earlier this evening, his

arm lightly about her waist. ‘To me, certainly,’ he rasped. ‘To Christi, I’m not so sure,’ he shrugged.

‘Hrn.’ David eyed him mockingly. ‘You certainly aren’t my type, but I believe women find you

fascinating,’ he derided.

Christi gave him a grateful smile for lightening the conversation, looking up at Lucas

with loving eyes. ‘I’m certainly happy with my choice.’ She put her hand possessively on his chest.

‘And that’s the important thing,’ David said lightly, before Lucas could make any

comment. ‘And now, if the two of you will excuse me, I’ve ignored my date long enough.’ He

smiled wolfishly at the beautiful blonde woman watching him across the room. ‘Are your

beautiful fiancée and I still allowed to have lunch together tomorrow as we’d arranged?’ he

paused to ask Lucas, as if in afterthought.

But Christi knew that it wasn’t an afterthought at all, that David was determined to

talk to her again about her plans to marry Lucas. And it wasn’t too difficult to guess why! In

truth, she had forgotten all about her agreement to have lunch with David tomorrow, but after

tonight she had no doubt what their main topic of conversation was going to be! Lucas was

standing stiffly at her side. ‘Christi is perfectly at liberty to spend time with whom she chooses,’ he

grated abruptly.

David quirked a mocking eyebrow. ‘You didn’t give that impression the other evening,’ he

mocked. ‘Still,’ he added lightly as Lucas’s expression darkened ominously. ‘I’m glad if my

intrusion on the situation made you realise you’re in love with Christi, after all. See you

tomorrow, Christi,’ he added firmly before strolling across the room to join the beautiful

blonde.

Christi chanced a glance at Lucas, instantly wishing she hadn’t; his face looked as if

it were carved from granite, his eyes narrowed to silver slits.

‘If you would rather I didn’t have lunch with David

‘I told you both, you can spend time with whom you want to,’ Lucas interrupted harshly.

‘Our marriage isn’t going to be a prison, Christi,’ he said firmly. ‘I don’t expect you to give up

your friends just because you’re married to me.’

As he wouldn’t give up his ‘friends’? She couldn’t survive a marriage like that! ‘Friends,

no,’ she conceded lightly. ‘But surely anything else?’ she tried to tease, although the subject

was much too important to her to take lightly. But wouldn’t Lucas, a man who had become used to

the freedom of bachelorhood, and the relationships that went along with that freedom, find it

difficult to suddenly find himself with just one woman in his life again? He looked at her steadily.

‘I thought you said nothing like that happened between you and Kendrick?’ he rasped.

Her cheeks coloured warmly. ‘You know that it didn’t. I meant—well, I meant you.’ She

frowned.

Lucas’s expression darkened even more. ‘Just what the hell are you implying?’

Christi glanced about them awkwardly, very conscious of the party going on

around them. ‘Perhaps it would be better if we left now,’ she suggested awkwardly. ‘It’s

late, and I start work on the commercials tomorrow.’

‘We’ll leave, Christi,’ he nodded tersely. ‘But this conversation is far from over,’ he warned

grimly.

She was conscious of David’s concerned gaze on her as she stood at Lucas’s side making

their farewells to their host and hostess. She deliberately refused to meet that gaze, aware that

things were tense enough between Lucas and herself without him finding her and David

relaying silent messages to each other across the room! Christi sat tensely at Lucas’s side on

the drive home, wondering just when he was going to resume that ‘conversation’ that had so

angered him. But could she be blamed for having her doubts? He had never once said he loved

her, and his manner hadn’t exactly been lover like towards her today!

‘This is ridiculous, Lucas,’ she attacked impatiently once they reached her apartment.

‘I couldn’t agree more,’ he said harshly, very dark and forbidding. And, when he had been

one of her best friends until yesterday, it was a little difficult to take! ‘I realise marriage to me

is a big step for you to take, but after Marsha ended our marriage because she decided it was too

restrictive, do you honestly think I would do the same thing to someone else?’

One of those statements stood out more than the others: marriage to him was a big step

for her to take. Because they both knew he was using that marriage in order to try and get

his children into his custody, and that once he had them back with him she would be

expected to become their stepmother.

‘I like being married, Christi,’ he added gruffly. ‘I like sharing breakfast with the same

woman every morning, rather than some woman I can hardly remember the name of, I like

coming home to that same woman in the evenings, having dinner with her, sleeping with

her. I even like the arguments, because making up makes it all worth while,’ he said

ruefully. ‘When I asked you to marry me, I wanted all of those things with you.’ His voice

hardened. ‘Maybe you had better take the time to think about whether those are the things

you want, too.’

Her already stricken gaze widened. ‘Oh, but

‘While you’re thinking about it, I don’t think there should be any repeats of last

night,’ he told her abruptly. ‘You have to be sure about this marriage, Christi

‘I am sure,’ she cried, her arms about his waist as she rested her head against his

chest. ‘I want to marry you, Lucas. I want that more than anything else in the world.’

‘I hope so.’ His arms moved slowly about her. ‘I really hope so, Christi,’ his arms

tightened convulsively, ‘because I don’t think I could survive another divorce.’

She trembled at the thought of anything so ugly happening between them, at the bitterness

and hate that was usually all that was left of such a re lationship. They had always liked each

other, surely that would never change.

‘Our marriage will last for ever, Lucas, I promise.’ She held him fiercely.

His mouth twisted wryly. ‘I wonder how many other couples have made the same

promise, and a couple of years later ended up hating each other across a courtroom? And

the fact that I’ve already been married once makes it so much worse,’ he frowned. ‘I have

two children, two children I love beyond mere words, and they will always be a part in my life,

often have to be put first, before other considerations, even a second wife. That isn’t going to be

easy for any woman to live with.’ He shook his head self-disgustedly. ‘I had no right to involve

you in the mess I’ve made of my life

‘I want to be involved,’ she assured him firmly.

He looked down at her with dark eyes. ‘I should never have taken advantage of you

‘I’ve been waiting four years for you to do so!’ she attempted to tease.

He gave a slight smile, but his eyes remained sad. ‘That doesn’t change the way I took

advantage of the fact that emotions were running high yesterday, that I made love to you

when I had no right to do so.’

‘I gave you that right.’ She smoothed away the frown from between his eyes. ‘And you

did offer to make an honest woman of me afterwards,’ she reminded teasingly.

Lucas shook his head. ‘I don’t believe I’m doing you any favours by marrying you

‘That’s for me to decide,’ she said, putting silencing fingertips over his lips. ‘You’ll

just have to accept that I’m all grown up now, Lucas, that I’m a woman who knows what

she wants. And I want you. And your children,’ she assured him softly. ‘You know I love

Daisy and Robin.’

He rested his cheek against the top of her head. ‘I wonder what I ever did to deserve you,’

he sighed shakily.

‘Ate all your vegetables as a child?’ she teased. She could feel him smile against her

hair. ‘No,’ he drawled.

‘Did well in your exams at school?’