‘Now we eat,’ he said, which snapped her back to reality. ‘You need food.’
So much for reality! Being free from consequences, fantasies were more enjoyable. And, yes, she was playing with fire sitting close to Luc when she could be safely asleep in the guest wing, but she preferred playing with fire to kicking around cold embers in the morning.
When she stretched and grimaced, he commented. ‘You could use a massage. Cold does that to your muscles.’
‘Are you offering?’ She gave him a sideways look while her heart started banging in her chest.
‘If you like,’ Luc said matter-of-factly. ‘A good rub down,’ he suggested.
‘I’m not your horse.’
‘Clearly,’ he observed.
She laughed. They both laughed, and she had to tell herself that the attractive curve on Luc’s mouth was just his way, and, though she was staying here overnight, she was as safe from him as she would be in a convent.
‘Penny for them?’ he probed, shooting a smouldering look her way.
She drew herself up. ‘You can’t know all my secrets.’
‘Let’s start with one.’
‘Says the man who never reveals a single detail about his life?’
Luc shrugged. ‘I asked first.’
‘Okay,’ she agreed. ‘You asked for it, so here’s one. What happened to my horse? What happened to Ludo?’
He sat back.
‘Don’t pretend you don’t know. And don’t keep me waiting for your answer, or I’ll know it’s bad news. That horse meant the world to me. He was the only friend I—’ She broke off. ‘Well?’ she demanded after a few seconds of silence had passed. ‘Tell me.’ She braced herself.
‘Ludo,’ Luc murmured.
‘Well, at least you remember his name.’
He frowned. ‘Of course I remember his name.’
‘So?’ she pressed.
‘Your pony is having a very happy retirement.’
Tension flooded out of her. ‘Go on…’ She sat forward eagerly.
‘He’s at stud siring some of the finest foals in the world. You don’t need to worry about Ludo. If you asked him, I doubt he’d want to be anywhere but with his harem on myestancia.’
‘I’ll ask him to confirm that the next time I see him,’ she teased, and then she thought of something else. ‘Do you still ride him?’
‘All the time,’ Luc confirmed.
‘Good. I can imagine the two of you together.’ One so fiery, and one so deep. They belonged together; deserved each other for all the right reasons, and she could see now that something that had hurt her at the time had done Luc and her beloved horse the world of good. ‘Ludo would be lost without regular exercise.’
‘As would I,’ Luc assured her, not troubling to hide the wicked glint in his eyes.
‘I wouldn’t know about that,’ she said, and before he had the chance to speak she put her hand up to stop him. ‘And I don’t want to know. Just so long as Ludo’s happy, that’s okay with me.’
They fell silent after that, reminding Stacey that, however much she longed for things to be easier between them, Lucas would always be intractably welded to honour and dignity, and, though he would quite happily talk about the horses they both loved, or the parties Stacey arranged for him, their encounter in Barcelona had been a one-off that he almost certainly regretted.
And yet…
