Heathrow in the bleak early hours of the morning. She was facing the end of her time with Max and the resumption of her battle for her home.
After the tropical heat of the Caribbean, and the crisp, clean air of the American west, the wet spring weather of the UK was uninviting and drear as a chauffeured car drove them into London through the rush hour traffic.
Ellen sat huddled into a corner, groggy from the red-eye flight, and Max let her be, busying himself with catching up on his emails on his laptop. Thoughts were racing across his mind.
As they stepped out on to the pavement outside the hotel he shivered extravagantly. ‘It’s freezing!’ he exclaimed. He ushered her inside the hotel, and as they reached the warmth of the lobby said, ‘Thank goodness the Gulf is our next destination!’
He didn’t notice Ellen’s sudden start at his words, only guided her into the elevator. Back in his suite, he elaborated, watching as room service departed after setting breakfast out for them.
‘I’ve just had confirmation via email that my appointment with the business adviser to the Sheikh there is the day after tomorrow. It will be a bit of a rush, but we can fly out tomorrow. You can cope with that, can’t you?’ He smiled. ‘We’ll stay on—go camping in the Arabian desert. Stargazing, camel rides, dune-bashing—you’ll love it.’ Then his expression changed. ‘What is it?’ he asked.
Concern was in his voice. Ellen was just looking at him in consternation.
‘Max... Max, I can’t,’ she said.
He frowned. ‘You’ve still got a while before your next term starts,’ he said.
She shook her head. Her expression had not changed. ‘It’s not that,’ she said.
‘Then what is it?’ he demanded.
There was an edge in his voice he could not suppress. Emotion was starting up inside him. An emotion he did not want to feel, but that was happening all the same. Why was she hesitating like this? Making objections? Didn’t she want to come out to the Gulf with him?
Because I certainly want her to come with me. I don’t want to let her go—not yet. Definitely not yet.
Emotion swirled within him. He was certain—two hundred per cent certain—that he had no desire whatsoever to part company with Ellen now. That conviction had been growing with every passing day they’d spent together, and had come to a head on their overnight flight, when he’d realised he did not want their time together to end yet.
She’d been a revelation to him—a total revelation. Not just in her new-found physical beauty, which had knocked him for six from the moment she’d walked out looking so incredibly fantastic in that Edwardian ballgown, but ever since... And, no, not just in that respect. But more—oh, much more!
I like being with her. She’s good company. Fun, intelligent, with a great sense of humour. She’s easy-going, undemanding. She enjoys everything, is good-tempered, isn’t self-obsessed or demanding of my attention—though I’m more than happy to lavish it on her because I so enjoy being with her.
The litany ran on in his head, concluding with the most obvious reason of all. In bed, he and she set off fireworks!
Ardent, passionate, sensual, sensitive, affectionate...
The litany set off again. And was cut brutally short as she shook her head again. He saw emotion flash across her face, then vanish. There was something different about her suddenly. Something that reminded him, with a sudden flicker of concern, an inward frown, of the way she’d looked when he’d first gone to look over Haughton and succumbed to its charms. As if she were locked inside herself. Shutting out the world. Shutting him out.
And he didn’t want that. He didn’t want it at all.
OK, he allowed, trying to rationalise her reaction, so she was jet-lagged. Flying the red-eye was never a fun experience. But her wavering was more than just sleep deprivation and grogginess. His thoughts raced on swiftly. Was it because although he was two hundred per cent sure he had no desire to call it quits between them, she might not realise that? Was she feeling uncertain about him? About what they had between them?
He took her hand in his, squeezed it tight. Time to reassure her.
‘Ellen—we are good together. Never doubt that. So let’s go on making the most of it until your term starts. Don’t cut this short unnecessarily—come with me to the Gulf! I want to show you as much of the world as I can. I want—’
But she tugged her hand free, stepping a pace away from him, her face working. Emotions were swilling within her—a turbulent mix. All the way back on the flight it had been worsening with the knowledge that her time with Max was ending. And it must end. That was the blunt truth of it. She would be back at school, and Max would either be pressing ahead with his proposed purchase of her home—although Pauline would have to start legal proceedings against her to force a sale—or else he would be backing off and leaving Haughton alone.
Whichever he did, her time with him would have ended. And while part of her—the part that had her heart leaping at the thought of what his words meant—was saying, Go with him now—take these last few days with him! she could not let herself listen to it. A few more days and then she would be back here again, just as she was now, and their time together would be over.
Better for it to be over now. Because the longer you are with him, each and every day, the worse it will be for you when it’s finally over. The more you will fear that you’re falling in love with him—which you must not do. You must not!
Because whether she was falling in love with him, or whether it was just an obvious reaction to her first romance, it was going to hurt, doing without Max—it was hurting already...had been hurting all the way across the Atlantic...this prospect of her time with Max running out, reaching its close.
I’m going to have to do without him. I’m going to have to go home, back to my life, and keep fighting for Haughton to the bitter end.
So she had to crush down the rush of joy that came from the knowledge that Max wanted to spend more time with her.
She sought for the right words to say to him. ‘Max, I can never thank you enough for what you’ve done for me. Never!’ Emotion filled her voice, though it was low and strained. ‘You’ve given me a gift I never thought to have—and this time with you has been...miraculous. I’ll always be grateful to you—’
He cut across her. ‘I don’t want your gratitude! I want you to come to the Gulf with me, make the most of our time now, before your term starts again. It’s not too much to ask of you, is it?’
His tone was persuasive, compelling, but there was an edge to it as well. Didn’t she want to be with him for longer? That bite of emotion came again, and with it another spiralling upwards of frustration.
She was staring across at him, her hands lifted as if—damn it—as if she were holding him at bay. Ellen was holding him off—
Emotion bit in him again, more painful this time.
‘Max—it isn’t that. It’s...it’s just that it’ll only be postponing the time when I have to get back to Haughton. And it seems to
