“You were going to say that you’re not important enough for me to abandon my business. Or something along those lines, anyway.”
He was right, damn it.
“But youareimportant enough. And …” He straightened, making a sweeping gesture. “What’s the point of having a yacht if I can’t take it into international waters from time to time?”
My lips parted. “We’re taking theGirl on Fireout to sea?”
He nodded, a smile filling his face before he turned away, pouring the pasta out into a colander, then serving it out into three bowls, covering it with a generous helping of Bolognese sauce.
“So, when are we leaving?”
“If I say tomorrow, will that worry you?”
I shook my head emphatically, inhaling the smell of Spaghetti Bolognese, my mouth watering.
“So … I’m guessing Kat knows that we’re married. But you’re not going to tell her that we’re leaving the country?”
I shoved a forkful of the food into my mouth, unable to stifle a moan as the deliciousness hit my tongue. “O Doamne! You’re such a good cook!”
“Ri …” he admonished gently.
I sighed. “Why worry her? She’s so busy. Her show’s about to open, and then there is the stuff with her parents, and her boyfriend.”
“But why lie?” Henry insisted, confusion knitting his brow. “She knows about us now, why not just tell her that we’re heading out of the country?”
“Because she’s already overloaded with her own shit. I’m not heaping my mess on top of it.”
Henry’s lips pursed, but he masked his reaction by forking spaghetti into his mouth. He chewed, eyes on my lips, and when he swallowed, he asked, “When people care about you, we want to bear the load with you.”
I stuffed another huge mouthful in. It was the only way to stop myself from saying something stupid, and romance-y, and utterly humiliating.
Lucian collapsed onto the stool beside me, thankfully stopping that conversation in its tracks. “Felix is lucky I didn’t fire him on the spot,” he grouched as Henry placed a bowl in front of him.
“It wasn’t his fault!” I protested. “It’s not like he would have known those two police officers from a bar of soap!”
“Except he failed to immediately report that Cockerels Cap arrived five minutes before the police. When they went inside, he waved at Felix before strolling off.”
I almost choked on a mouthful of spaghetti.
Henry put his fork down. “He knew they were coming.” It wasn’t a question, and there was a hardness in Henry’s voice that I wasn’t used to.
Lucian nodded. “It appears so. Felix didn’t think much of it, because the police didn’t have any interaction with Cockerels Cap, but …” He scowled down at his plate. “I can’t blame him, because I was the one who agreed to your hare-brained scheme to let an inexperienced staffer manage you.”
I glared at him. “Manageme? Like I’m a project?”
“Like you’re aproblem,” Lucian snarled.
“That’s enough!” Henry growled, and I blinked guiltily in his direction, but his ire was directed very firmly at Lucian. “Ri is not a problem, and you will not speak to her that way again.”
Lucian sighed, scratching the back of his head. “Shit. You’re right. I’m sorry, Ri, I’m just … fuck, it’s frustrating! I feel like this Cockerels Cap guy is playing games with us, and I’m sure I’m missing something important.”
My stomach twisted and I set my fork down, my appetite gone.
“Well, lucky Ri and I are setting sail tomorrow. You’ll have plenty of time to investigate without the added stress of ‘managing’ Ri.” Henry’s voice was low, and there was a level of coldness in it that made me shiver.
Lucian froze. “Are you saying … you want me to stay in Sydney?”
Henry twirled his fork in his pasta. “That is exactly what I’m saying. We won’t need protection while we’re at sea, and if you’reworried about Cockerels Cap, now’s the time to get to the bottom of it.”
