‘Greer?’
Shock jolted through her as she felt the softest caress on her cheek. So light she almost wondered if it were real.
But there was no mistaking the feel of his knuckles brushing her face. For the tiniest second she wilted against his stroking fingers, posture relaxing and head leaning towards him.
Even that barely there touch held such power.
She snapped her eyes open and met his black stare. It shimmered with something she couldn’t read but felt all the way to her curling toes. It wasn’t sexual but it proved the connection between them wasn’t dead.
Unable to hold that searing regard, she looked down to her twisting hands and sucked in a breath, realising what she was doing. The way she slid her thumb over one finger again and again. She’d only worn her wedding ring for a short time but she was massaging the place where it had been.
Because she missed it?
The thought shattered her. She wasn’t ready to deal with her feelings for her husband.
But running away hadn’t helped, had it?
Finally she forced out the words. ‘Thank you.’ She cast a look his way, careful not to meet his eyes. ‘I’ll stay.’
She just hoped she wasn’t making an enormous mistake.
Days later Greer sat on the terrace, finishing the mango-and-coconut cake Alice had served with her afternoon tea.
Initially Greer had felt uncomfortable around the housekeeper. She’d never had staff, and wondered what the woman must think about a wife turning up out of nowhere.
But Alice was warm-hearted and practical, a soothing presence whose calm efficiency went a long way towards making Greer feel at home in Conall’s stunning home. She couldn’t think of it as hers. Yet each time she woke to that wonderful view, padded through the gracious, comfortable rooms or strolled in the gardens, she felt some of the tightness around her chest ease. Glimmers of lightness pierced the gloom of loss and hurt.
Conall had been right, insisting she stay.
It wasn’t just the peace here, but the company. He’d given her space but had worked mainly from home and she was constantly aware of him nearby. They ate together and Greer discovered that, far from dreading his presence, she looked forward to it.
Her emotions were so muddled!
Today, dissatisfied with reading or lazing in the pool, she’d started working again.
She’d spent the morning in the room adjoining Conall’s home office, and after the first hour they’d settled into a familiar rhythm. Each had their own tasks but with the door open between them they often consulted and even spent half an hour strategising on a new investment opportunity.
It had been just what she needed. To feel competent and, she realised, less alone. She enjoyed her work and it was good to have something positive to focus on.
A noise made her turn her head and there he was, ridiculously breathtaking in the suit he’d worn to a meeting in the city.
Her heart seized for a second before fluttering back into something like a regular beat.
Surely she shouldn’t still react to Conall with such breathless enthusiasm. But her awareness of him was as strong as ever, if not growing. Their passionate sojourn last weekend had amplified all her restless yearning. Or maybe it was those memories of the months they’d spent together, barely out of each other’s sight.
He’d been easier to resist when she had no recollection of the bliss she found in his arms.
Conall shrugged out of his jacket and tugged his tie loose, giving her a blistering smile that made her bones melt. He took a seat beside her and the blood fizzed under her skin. She tugged her gaze away as he undid his cuffs and rolled them up to his elbows. Something about those powerful forearms always made her feel like her insides were melting.
‘Alice made coconut-and-mango cake?’
Greer looked at her half-eaten slice rather than stare hungrily at the man she was trying to hold at a distance. It was hard, now, to remember why that distance had seemed so important.
‘Would you like some?’ She pushed her plate across the glass-topped table.
‘At the risk of turning into my father, I might just do that. Thank you.’
He took a bite. His expression changed and suddenly she remembered him tastingher, savouring her body as if she were the sweetest treat.
