Claiming His Wedding Night

He stared at her thoughtfully. ‘Of course.’ His eyes were cool. ‘I want to get my money’s worth.’

There was a short, stilted silence, and then they both jumped as Malachi’s phone rang.

Retrieving it from his pocket, he glanced momentarily at the screen and then answered it. ‘Yes—no—I highly doubt that.’

Face blank, he shifted away from her, the muscles of his stomach suddenly taut and strained beneath her fingers, and after a moment of indecision she withdrew her hand. He stood and turned and, watching his shoulders tighten, she wondered who was

on the other end of the phone. His voice was quiet, but she could hear a tension that hadn’t been there before. With shock, she realised that he was struggling to maintain his composure.

Feeling as though she was intruding, she reached out and picked up a handful of sand, letting it run through her fingers.

Behind her, Malachi was winding up the call. ‘Okay, that’s fine. Just leave it to me. I’ll sort it out.’ He hung up.

Heart thudding, Addie stared at the back of his head, trying and failing to work out what had just happened.

‘Is everything okay?’ she said finally.

She was being polite. Clearly it wasn’t okay—at least not if the prickly energy coming off him was anything to go by.

But when he turned he simply smiled at her. ‘Everything’s fine. It’s nothing.’

She nodded mutely. It was the same smile he’d used when he was playing cards with her earlier. The one that was impossible to read. Probably it was the smile he used every day with anyone he wanted to keep at arm’s length. She felt a stab of misery. The easy warmth between them had trickled away just like the sand between her fingers.

Slowly, she stood up. She could just leave it. He’d told her it was nothing, and even if it wasn’t it was none of her concern. But there was something in that smile. Something in that voice that made her heart contract. And even though it was pointless to do so, she still cared about him. Still cared that he was hurting and upset.

She took a deep breath. ‘Is it work?’

He stared at her. He was still smiling, but his eyes were the cool grey of a battleship.

‘No. Work looks after itself. My parents, on the other hand, need a team of full-time minders.’

‘Your parents?’ Her pulse jerked. ‘What’s happened? Are they okay?’

He gave a casual shrug. ‘I expect so. It’s happened before. I’m sure it’s fixable.’

He paused and she watched his expression shift and clear, like one of those drawing toys where with one shake the picture disappeared.

‘But—’ she began.

‘Don’t worry about it.’ He interrupted her. ‘It’s nothing, I promise. It certainly won’t take more than a couple of hours to sort out. And thankfully they’re only in Miami. The last time this happened they were in Cannes.’

Addie gazed at him in confusion. ‘Are you saying we’re going back to Miami?’ she said hesitantly.

He looked at her in disbelief. ‘No. There’s absolutely no reason for you to be dragged into any of this. I’ll go on my own. If I take the helicopter and leave now I’ll be back this evening. Tomorrow morning at the latest.’

‘But—’ She frowned. ‘Surely it would be better if I came with you.’

‘Better?’ he repeated. ‘In what way would it be better?’

‘I don’t know. I just thought you might like to have a bit of support. Maybe I can help—’

‘You want to help me with my parents?’ Shaking his head, he laughed harshly. ‘I see. I should warn you they’re both tone deaf, so they might not be that responsive to music therapy.’

Addie stared at him, her breath hot in her throat, anger balling in her chest. It was like talking to a stranger, she thought wildly. A handsome, detached stranger. Instead of the man she had let inside her body.

‘I don’t understand,’ she said slowly.

His face didn’t alter but his eyes narrowed fractionally. ‘You don’t need to. This is way beyond your pay grade, sweetheart.’