‘It is. It makes life a lot easier.’
She sighed. ‘And that’s what you want, is it? An easy life.’
‘I certainly don’t want a difficult one.’ He frowned. ‘Is this what I’m going to be walking into on Sunday? Your mother berating me?’
Lucy looked a little shamefaced. ‘No. My mother wouldn’t do that. Only me. And I’ve been sworn to good behaviour.’
He smiled. ‘Good to know someone can control you.’
Her eyes flashed. ‘No one controls me.’
‘Except your mother.’
She shrugged, clearly unwilling to admit that this was, in fact, the truth. It was obvious she not only loved her mother but respected her, too. Kate MacLeod was evidently an impressive woman, not only to have a daughter like Lucy, but to evoke such loyalty and love in said daughter.
‘Anyway,’ he said, thinking he’d better change the subject, ‘may I ask why your mother has invited me?’
‘Only if I can ask why you just agreed without checking your calendar.’
His lips twitched. ‘You first.’
Lucy hesitated, then looked away. ‘She thinks you need to be… educated.’
His eyes widened. ‘Educated?’ This explanation hadn’t entered his head. Which perhaps meant that he did, indeed, need to be educated. ‘In what?’
‘In matters of our community.’
‘Ah,’ he said as the disparate puzzle pieces finally formed a coherent whole. ‘She thinks if I have dinner with your family I’ll suddenly not want to demolish the hotel.’
‘Something like that.’
‘I’m afraid nothing is going to make me change my mind.’
Lucy raised an eyebrow.
‘You don’t believe me,’ he said.
‘I don’t think belief comes into it. You won’t get past the public consultation meetings anyway.’
That annoyed him. ‘You sound very certain.’
‘You sound very arrogant.’
They stared at each other.
‘So why did you accept so quickly?’ she pressed.
‘Two reasons. First — I’m curious about the family who produced the woman who is doing her level best to upset my plans.’
‘You’ll like them,’ she said reluctantly. ‘Especially my mother. And the second reason?’
‘Because I will be alone. As usual.’
Her expression softened despite herself.
‘That’s exactly what Mum said. That someone who doesn’t understand community must be lonely.’
‘Well, I wouldn’t say —’
