In some way, Naomi’s appearance had put things into miserable perspective, and if she didn’t take hold of the reins now then when would she?
‘So now she thinks that this is serious? Now she thinks that you broke up with her so that you could bring me here to take her place?’
‘Do either of us care what Naomi thinks?’
His eyes were cool, already distant. Ellie wondered whether, down the line, he would care whatshethought. No chance. He was impervious to emotion, which was why it was so easy for him to take what he wanted when it came to women and then discard them when they began to bore him.
‘I care,’ Ellie said quietly. ‘Icare, James. I’m not like you. I can’t just do whatever I want to do and to heck what other people think.’
He flushed darkly and raked his fingers through his hair. He’d stripped off the shirt, unbuttoning the shorts that hung low on lean hips. She had to look away so that her body didn’t begin misbehaving. With an unconscious gesture of self-defence, she hugged herself and stared at him, not having moved from the door, having remained standing while he had powered into the room.
‘Who says we aren’t an item?’
‘You let her think that this was serious, and it’s not, and I know why you did that. You did it because you wanted to get rid of her and that was the most efficient way of doing it.’
‘She was going to believe what she wanted to believe,’ James countered, but he hadn’t breached the distance between them, and the air shimmered with antagonism.
‘I think we need to call it day.’
‘Oh, for God’s sake, Ellie. Isn’t that something of an overreaction? Why? Because an ex huffed and puffed and thought she could blow the house down?’
Because I think I’m falling in love with you.
It was a shattering realisation, one that had crept up and ambushed her when she hadn’t been looking. Sheshouldhave been looking. Instead, she had been busily telling herself that she couldn’t possibly fall for him because she wastoo sensible. As if being sensible made her invincible.
She breathed in deeply, taking her time to think, knowing that hysteria on any level just wasn’t going to work.
‘Because I stepped back, had a good, long look at myself and I didn’t like what I saw.’
‘Which was what?’
Which was a complete fool with cotton wool for a brain.
‘I wasn’t raised to have flings. It’s not what I do, and it’s especially horrible to know that someone might actually think I’m the kind of person who doesn’t mind sleeping around with some guy who’s involved with someone else. I was brought up with a lot of principles, and I guess I thought I could dump them for a while, but I was wrong. I can’t. We could carry on with what we have but, now that I’ve come to my senses, it would be hard for me to return to where we were...’
She sighed and looked away. She wished she could read what he was thinking but, for a guy who was apparently so open, he was adept when it came to revealing only what he wanted to reveal. Right now, she had no idea what was going through his head.
‘In that case,’ he said coolly, ‘you’re probably right. I’m not looking for involvement, Ellie. Not me. Never will be.’
A dagger had just shot through her heart but she only had herself to blame. She nodded and managed a smile. ‘I’ll move myself back to my bedroom...’
And what happens next?
He answered that unspoken question without her having to try and find a subtle way of asking it.
‘I anticipate,’ he drawled, ‘that all signatures will be in place tomorrow. There’s no more schmoozing to be done. The deal will have been done. To avoid any potential awkwardness, you are free to arrange a flight back for yourself, and I will see you when I return to London in a couple of weeks.’ He inclined his head to one side and gave her a half mocking salute. ‘That suit you?’
‘Yes.’ Ellie nodded, her face as blank as his. ‘That would be for the best...’
CHAPTER SEVEN
JAMESGAZEDOUTfrom the balcony of his suite at a view that was incomparable.
Sprawled on the hand-made bamboo chair, long legs stretched out on the matching footstool and hands folded behind his head, he let his eyes feast on a tapestry of navy blue sea and a sky that was ablaze with all the vibrant colours of sunset. Russet and burnt orange against a backdrop of deepest indigo and midnight-blue. No painter could have captured the natural beauty.
However, as he nursed a rum, the only persistent image in his head was that of his recently departed personal assistant.
For the first time since they had touched down on the island, his bed was empty. In a fitful sleep, he had rolled onto his side at a little after three in the morning, automatically reaching out for her warmth, but had jerked awake, uncomfortable at the thought that he didn’t care for the sudden emptiness of his sleeping arrangements.
