‘I know what I’d like to do.’
‘Yes?’
A vision of her falling into his lap and his arms wrapped tight around her flashed into his mind. But what would be the point? They were two very different people, with different values and different lives ahead of them. He had no right to taint this wonderful woman. But he also had no right to hurt her. He’d go with her now, and let her down gently.
He stood. ‘The heater in your car will warm you up.’
Her disappointment flickered — but she nodded.
‘Let’s go then.’
Chapter Eighteen
It wasn’t until Lucy hit the Ngauranga Gorge — dark rock on each side, harbour lights behind — that the sheer insanity of what she was doing hit home.
She was driving Oliver Perry-Warnes back to MacLeod’s Cove.
Back to the people who’d spent the last week calling him everything but his name.
Mum would manage politeness. Kate could do politeness in her sleep. Jen would be kind because Jen was kind to everyone, even men who had broken her sister’s trust. Ellie would be unpredictable. But Dan…
Lucy exhaled slowly through her mouth and fixed her gaze on the road.
Oliver sat beside her with his head tipped back against the seat, face turned towards the window. He looked drained. Not brooding-dramatic drained. Just…used up.
If she’d known how it would feel to win the battle over the hotel, she might not have started it. But even as the thought flitted through her mind, she knew she would have. Because it was the right thing to do for her world.
She cleared her throat. ‘So. Worked out where this magical mystery tour is headed?’
He turned his head and looked at her properly. There was no quick quip, no immediate answer.
‘It doesn’t take a genius, Lucy. You’re taking me back to MacLeod’s Cove.’ His gaze slid away again. ‘Question is, why.’
‘Because…’ There were lots of reasons she could select to answer his question because there was no way she could tell him the truth. He was hurting and the only place where she knew he would heal would be in the heart of her own home. She didn’t examine her impulse too closely. She never liked to see anyone hurting. ‘Because it’s your birthday, and I wanted to celebrate. I…’ she thought quickly, ‘have a favourite bottle of champagne on ice,’ at least she hoped she had, ‘I’d like to share.’
He made a sound that might have been a laugh, if he’d had any humour left. ‘You’re not going to let me disappear quietly, are you?’
Her hands tightened on the steering wheel. ‘I guess not,’ she said at last. ‘It’s not in my nature to let things take the wrong course.’
‘And you think I am?’ he asked.
‘Put it this way. It’s your birthday and you’re sitting at the end of a pier, looking through the wooden boards into the sea. That doesn’t sound like you’re happy to me.’
‘And so you intend to make me happy by… taking me back to the heart of your community where I’ll be overcome with happiness.’
His words stung. ‘There’s no need to be sarcastic.’
‘I’m sorry. I just think you’re fighting a losing battle with me. I am who I am and there’s no changing me. I’ve given you what you wanted. Now it’s time for me to leave stage left.’
‘This isn’t a play with a neat ending,’ Lucy said.
He gave a tired sigh. ‘Don’t I know it.’
She ignored him. ‘This is real life where we can change what we need to change to make things happen.’ She felt his eyes on her, but she kept hers fixed on the road ahead.
‘You’re wrong,’ he said.
She changed gears a fraction too aggressively and the gearbox complained. ‘I’m not wrong,’ she said between gritted teeth.
