To Love Again

honesty, sighing as the man opposite her looked uncomfortable. ‘Look, I’m sorry, this—this

awkward situation isn’t your fault, but I don’t think either of us really feels like making polite

conversation.’

‘No,’ he conceded with a weary sigh, relaxing back in his chair slightly. ‘It is a little

awkward, isn’t it?’

A little? It was impossible! But if she had been the woman in Lucas’s life, as this man

believed her to be, it would have been even more uncomfortable.

God, if she’d really had the right to tell Marsha what she thought of her, she certainly

wouldn’t have hit out at the other woman with veiled innuendoes about Lucas and herself,

she would have left Marsha in no doubt as to her claim to him and would have shown

Marsha that she could have a fight on her hands for custody of the children. Instead, she

had to stand by and watch Marsha destroy Lucas that little bit more. No wonder Lucas was

incapable of loving another woman after Marsha! She had taken all he had to give, was still

taking what little peace of mind he managed to attain for himself.

The silence in the room as they waited for the return of Lucas and Marsha was very

uncomfortable, and Christi passed the time by looking at eachof the abstract paintings in turn

and trying to visualise what had sparked off the monstrosities in the artist’s mind in the first

place. She had just decided the one on the far wall was a bloated fish when Lucas and

Marsha came into the room.

Under any other circumstances, their flushed and dishevelled appearance would have looked

highly suspect, but the damp patches on their clothing told their own story, although the indulgent

smiles they shared about their children’s antics in the bath caused a painful lurch in Christi’s

chest.

She stood up jerkily. ‘Finished?’ Her voice was unnaturally high, her cheeks flushed.

‘I---------’

‘Cook is just about to serve dinner,’ Marsha lightly interrupted Lucas. ‘I’m sure

there’s enough for four—if you would care to stay?’

If you would dare to stay! Christi read the challenge clearly in her words. The last thing

she wanted was to sit down to dinner with this woman in the name of civilised behaviour, and

yet she knew that if Lucas chose to accept she would be at his side.

She deliberately kept her expression bland, her gaze averted, not wanting to influence his

decision.

‘Thanks for the invitation, Marsha,’ Lucas’s hand came to rest lightly against Christi’s

back, ‘but I’m afraid we’ve made other arrangements.’

Christi’s breath left her in a relieved sigh, and as she looked up at Lucas she could see the

amusement in his eyes, evidence that she had given herself away seconds ago. She returned his

smile ruefully.

‘In that case, don’t let us keep you,’ Marsha’s caustic voice interrupted the moment

of shared humour.

Lucas nodded abruptly to Julian Holland as he stood up, his gaze then flickering to

Marsha. ‘If you need somewhere to park the children again soon, let me know,’ he rasped.

‘I think all the arrangements for the wedding next month are completed now, thank you,’

Marsha returned scornful y. ‘You’ll receive your invitation in due time, of course,’ she added

bitchily. ‘And you must bring dear Christi.’

Her eyes narrowed on the other woman. ‘I wouldn’t miss it for anything!’

Marsha gave a mocking smile. ‘Always the bridesmaid, never the bride",’ she taunted.

Although the barb hit its mark, it wasn’t obvious from Christi’s relaxed pose at Lucas’s side.

‘Is that an invitation?’ she derided.

‘What do you think?’ Marsha snapped.

Christi gave her a mocking smile before turning to Julian Holland; the poor man was

starting to look a little dazed by this whole encounter now. ‘Nice to have met you, Mr

Holland. I’m sorry the next time we meet can’t be under better circumstances,’ she added

with sweet sarcasm.

How Lucas managed to get her out of the house without Marsha physically attacking

her she couldn’t say, but minutes later they were in his car, driving away from the house, and

she didn’t have a scratch mark on her! Lucas chuckled at her side. ‘I never thought I would

see the day that Marsha would be left speechless,’ he explained at her frowning look.

‘Was that what it was?’ she sighed, some of the tension starting to leave her. ‘I thought she

was just trying to prevent Julian Holland from seeing her true nature!’

Lucas instantly sobered, and Christi could have kicked herself for her lack of tact. ‘You’ll

have gathered by now that the two of them are getting married,’ he bit out abruptly.

How could she help but know? ‘Yes,’ she sighed.

‘He wasn’t quite what I was expecting—hell, I don’t know what I was expecting!’ Lucas

shook his head. ‘The kids seem to like him, don’t you think?’ He glanced at her before his

attention returned to the road in front of them.

‘They like you better,’ Christi rasped.

‘And the thought of any other man but me in their life breaks me up, but ‘ He broke

off abruptly, sighing heavily. ‘We all had a good day together today, didn’t we?’ he lightly

changed the subject.

‘Very good,’ she agreed huskily. ‘Robin and Daisy are lovely children.’

‘Yes,’ he said heavily. ‘Yes, they are.’

There didn’t seem to be anything else to say on the subject; Lucas was lost in his own

thoughts as they drove back towards town, and Christi didn’t want to intrude on those

thoughts, knowing he needed this time to himself.

Finally he gave a deep sigh, shaking off his oppressive mood. ‘Shall we go home and change

first before going out to dinner, or do you want to find somewhere that will accept us dressed

like this?’ He looked down ruefully at the denims they both wore, he with an open-necked

shirt, Christi with a pale blue blouse.

She was surprised to learn that he had meant it about the two of them having dinner

together, had thought it had just been a way to get away from Marsha’s invitation. After all,

it was a Saturday night, and Lucas usually had a date on a Saturday night.

‘No Michelle tonight?’ she enquired lightly.

He smiled teasingly. ‘I would hardly be asking you to go out to dinner with me if there

were.’

Now, there was a logic she couldn’t argue with—and didn’t want to! She was glad the

other woman at last seemed to have faded from his life. ‘I could always get us something at my

apartment,’ she offered. ‘I feel a little too salty and sandy still to go straight out,’ she explained

as he hesitated. ‘And it will be a little late to go anywhere by the time we’ve both showered

and changed.’

‘Asking you to cook dinner doesn’t seem very fair after you’ve helped me entertain the

children all day,’ he frowned.

She should have known the dinner invitation was a thank you for going out with them

today! ‘I really don’t mind,’ she said a little flatly.

‘What if I cook dinner, instead?’ he suggested lightly, giving her a brief grin. ‘You seem

just assleepy from your day by the sea as the children were!’

Just what she needed, to be classed with a six-and seven-year-old! ‘I’m fine,’ she

reassured him sharply. ‘More than capable of cooking us some dinner.’

‘OK,’ Lucas accepted shruggingly.

Christi hurried into her own apartment once they got back, anxious to wash the salt and

sand from her body now, absently acknowledging Lucas’s comment of ‘see you soon’.

If nothing else, she needed these few minutes alone to put the meeting with Marsha

from her mind. The other woman was a possessive bitch who kept Lucas tied to her by using

their children, and who had made it obvious she didn’t intend relinquishing that hold even

once she had remarried, by reminding him all too forcefully of his relationship with her through

his children if he should ever start to think of a life of his own, separate from theirs. Lucas

would never give up his relationship with his children, but surely he didn’t have to pay for the

rest of his life for the mistake of his marriage to their mother, a marriage that Marsha

herself had chosen to end? It just didn’t seem fair! She must have spent longer under the shower

than she had realised, just letting the steaming hot water beat down on her as she inwardly

steamed at the injustice of the emotional blackmail Marsha felt no hesitation in using to keep

Lucas running to her side, because she could hear the doorbell ringing now. Realising it must

be Lucas, arriving for the dinner she had promised to cook him, she hastily switched off the

shower tap, opening the door to wrap the towel around her wet hair in the process of

stepping from the shower when a movement near the door caught her eye.

She froze in the action of picking up the second towel she had laid out to dry herself

with, her startled gaze fixed on Lucas’s suddenly pale face as he stood in the bathroom

doorway.

‘I used my key to get in.’ He explained his presence gruffly. ‘I thought you might