insult her?
‘I don’t discuss my private business with strangers.’
Sophia’s lips thinned, almost disappeared. Her back stiffened. ‘I’m his mother. I have a right to know.’
‘Then perhaps you should ask him. Next time we’re in contact I’ll ask him to get in touch.’
It was a definite dismissal. Forget coffee. Alina wanted her gone.
The scathing look Sophia gave her was defused by the dull shade of red flooding her face. She rose stiffly to her feet.
‘Be warned, Ms Fletcher. You don’t fit. You may have him fooled for a short time, but his contemporaries will see through you as easily as I do.’
Her movement to the door was as near to a stomp as Alina had ever seen anyone do in heels. She followed, far enough behind so that Sophia had to open the door herself.
She turned for a parting shot. ‘Even suitable girls don’t seem to last long with Ethan. Your novelty will quickly pall for a man of my son’s impeccable taste.’
She swept out, leaving the door open.
Alina closed it, shaking with disbelief. She uncurled her clasped fingers to enable them to rub the back of her neck, tilted her head to the ceiling. What had she done? Apart from insulting his mother, and practically throwing her out of his home, she’d given the impression she had authority here.
Ethan hadn’t wanted his parents to know about her yet. A public kiss hardly equated domestic cohabitation. Should she have lied?
Her head reeled.
Should she wait ’til he came home to tell him, when she’d be able to see his reaction? What if Sophia rang him first with a distorted version of events?
Taking bites of some dark rich chocolate for courage, she debated the pros and cons...
‘She what?’ The outrage in Ethan’s voice seared down the phone line. She’d got no further than telling him his mother had visited before he’d exploded.
‘I’m sorry, Ethan. I didn’t know whether to let her in. I—’
‘She’s never been there before—never been invited. What did she want?’ Barked out, agitating her even more.
‘Someone sent her a photo of us kissing. I didn’t know what to tell her.’
She’d screwed up. No, he’d put her in that position by keeping her a secret. It was his family who had the issues.
‘You should contact her. I...I... I’ll see you tonight.’
She hung up.
* * *
‘Alina?’
She’d gone. Ethan realised his knuckles were white from his grip on the mobile phone. His free fist ground onto his desk. She’d sounded distressed. What the hell had his mother said to her?
He’d never been so angry. Or so worried when Alina didn’t answer his call back. He selected his mother’s number.
‘Ethan, we haven’t heard from you for a while.’
Not since they’d criticised the wording for the gravestone. Lucky for her there was half a city between them else he’d be tempted to throttle her.
‘So you thought you’d pop into my home when you knew I wasn’t there?’
She spluttered. He gave her no chance to refute his claim.
‘Don’t bother denying it. My receptionist logged the same female voice yesterday, saying she might call in. Your voice is quite distinctive.’
It wasn’t said as a compliment. Anyone who truly knew him would have been wary of his low, controlled tone.
‘I was worried. I’d received a photograph of you with that girl I met in your apartment.’
He almost lost it at her throwaway reference to Alina. Gritted his teeth, needing to know how his mother had discovered she was there. He waited for a long, tense moment.
‘Okay, I described her to an acquaintance who lives a few floors below you. She said she’d seen her—sometimes alone, sometimes with you. I’m only looking out for your welfare, Ethan. There’s something not quite right about her. She just about ordered me out.’
‘After, I’m guessing, you began to interrogate her. Listen carefully, Mother. You’ll have no more contact with me at all if you bother Alina again. Understand?’
‘Ethan, you—’
‘Goodbye, Mother.’
He dragged his fingers through his hair. Alina, sweetheart, you didn’t deserve that. I made a mistake—should have known she’d start digging at the slightest rumour I might be dating.
He tried the apartment. No answer. Tried Alina’s number twice more. It went to voicemail each time.
* * *
There was no sound in the apartment, no sign of Alina. Her mobile lay on the kitchen island. She has to be here. Has to be.
Ethan strode to her bedroom. The breath he felt he’d been holding for ever whooshed out at the sight of her handbag by her dressing table. Her bathroom door was open. Not there. One place left to check.
The gym area was silent apart from the low hum of the water pumps. The lights were dimmed, giving him limited vision of the figure floating in the pool. The only movements were slight flicks of her feet, gently propelling her along towards him. A rush of relief swamped his body. He sagged against the doorjamb, his heart racing. He’d had no reason to think she would run, yet he’d feared she might.
Wiping his hand over his mouth, he wondered why this fragile, damaged woman stirred him as no one ever had. It went deeper than the embryo she carried. His anger towards his mother had been at her treatment of Alina. His concern had been solely for Alina’s feelings.
He toed off his shoes, stripped to his boxer shorts, watching her slow progress through the water. Not wanting to startle her, he walked along the side, meeting her halfway. Felt his lips curl. How did she keep a straight line with closed eyes?
They flew open, though he’d swear he’d never made a sound. Her head turned. One look into sorrowful violet and he dived in, surfacing next to her. He hauled her into his arms, the anxiety he’d experienced giving his action more force than he’d intended.
He buried his head in her neck, his lips seeking her pulse, his heart rate lifting at the feel of its erratic beat. The feel of her hands clasping his shoulders, her legs brushing his as they trod water, the tantalising aroma from her skin—all heightened his senses.
Her wrists stiffened, preventing him from drawing her closer. He raised his head, meeting censure in her eyes.
‘Alina, I...’ Where the hell were the words he needed? ‘You hung up on me. Didn’t answer your phone.’
Indignation
