To Win His Heart
The last thing she did was brush her teeth before going to the kitchen to fix Luc another cappuccino. When she entered the bedroom, she discovered he’d changed out of his clothes and was half-lying on the bottom bunk wearing one of the pairs of cutoffs she’d packed for him.
“Here you go.”
He took the mug from her. “You’re not having any?”
“Too much caffeine makes me restless this time of night.” She got down on her haunches. It put their eyes at the same level. His gleamed like sterling silver in the cabin light. “Where shall I begin your massage? How does it have to be done? I don’t want to hurt you.”
Before answering her, he drank his coffee, then set the mug on the floor. “I think I’ll forego the experience tonight.”
She eyed him anxiously. “Because you’re in too much pain?”
He seemed to hesitate, as if choosing his words carefully. “Because you’ve done enough for one night.”
Olivia sucked in her breath. “What you really mean is, I put our lives in danger today and you wish me thousands of miles away from here.”
His head went back against the pillow, but his eyes remained trained on her. “Since it’s a moot point, what I wish doesn’t matter.”
Luc was covering up for his discomfiture. “You’re hurting, aren’t you,” she persisted.
“No. It’s only a mild irritation.” He sounded as if he meant it, but she would never know for sure. “The doctor drew fluid out of my knee in several places. It relieved pressure that’s been building, Dieu merci.”
She inspected the visible signs of the operation done on him months earlier, then raised her eyes to his once more. “Cesar said you almost lost your leg. Thank God you didn’t!”
“I was very fortunate.” He put one arm behind his head. “The doctors were able to reattach the severed nerves, restoring circulation. Exercise and massages did the rest.”
“Are you sure I can’t rub your leg down?”
“Tomorrow will be soon enough.”
Olivia shook her head. “What a ghastly ordeal that must have been for you.”
“It was worse for Nic.”
She shuddered. “Cesar told me about his fiancée. I can’t imagine losing someone I loved, let alone in such a horrible accident.”
Luc didn’t respond to that, but she felt his emotional withdrawal. “I’d rather not talk about it.”
“Of course not. I’m sorry. Is there anything else I can do for you before I go to bed?”
“Shut off the light.”
CHAPTER FIVE
FOR a few moments there they’d actually been conversing without her feeling Luc’s animosity. But as soon as Olivia had brought Cesar into the conversation, a barrier slid into place like one of those cloaking devices in a science fiction movie.
It hurt to be shut out so totally. As she started to get up, her towel unraveled, revealing a head of damp, unruly curls before it fell to the floor. When she reached for it, she heard him whisper something unintelligible.
“You are in pain.”
“Give it a rest, Olivia.”
He’d delivered his last comment with an edge intended to warn her off. She wouldn’t be learning anything more from him tonight. Defeated for the time being, she retraced her steps to the bathroom and hung up her towel.
On the way back to the cabin, she made a detour to the kitchen for more mineral water and his pills. “I’ll put these on the floor by your bed in case you need them.”
Without expecting a response, she shut off the cabin light. There was a ladder at the end of the beds. She climbed it to the top bunk and eased herself beneath the covers.
“Luc?”