her.
‘Oi. I love them, too.’
That was the last thing Maeve had expected him to say. ‘You love bon-bons?’
‘Yeah. Why not?’ His eyes crinkled and she sighed with relief that he was back with her. ‘Not like I had that many family lunches over the years. That Christmas at your place was the first. You made me coconut ice.’
He remembered. The thought expanded in ridiculous warmth. ‘I made everyone coconut ice at Christmas. For years. But it’s very cool that you remembered.’
He held his hand out for the end of her Christmas cracker and she waved it around at him. ‘I want to win.’
They pulled it and Rayne won. ‘Oops,’ he said. ‘Try mine.’ They realigned themselves to pull again and she could tell he tried hard to let her win but the cracker broke the larger end on his side. He got the prizes. Life sucked when you couldn’t even win in a cracker-pull.
‘Can I give it to you?’
‘Not the same.’ Shook her head. Pretended to be miffed.
He raised his brows. ‘But I can’t wear two hats.’
Then she said, ‘Men just don’t understand women.’
Rayne looked at the woman beside him, ‘I’m hearing you.’ He held out the folded hat. She took it reluctantly, opened it out and put it on. He’d given her the red one to match her dress and she looked amazing in a stupid little paper hat. How did she do that? He felt like an idiot in his.
He decided to eat. It seemed they were last to reach for the food again but, then, they’d made inroads into the basket Louisa had sent with them to the lake. He was starting to feel sleepy and he wasn’t sure if it was the fact he’d driven all night, though he’d slept most of yesterday after the flight. Or maybe Louisa’s rum balls were catching up with him. He stifled a yawn.
‘I’m a bitch.’
The piece of roast turkey that was on the way to his mouth halted in mid-air. ‘Sorry?’
‘You’re tired. I’d forgotten you haven’t slept.’
He had to smile at her mood swings. The idea that life would not be boring around Maeve returned with full force.
They ate companionably for a while, he answered a question from Louisa on how the drive had been and gradually relaxed a little more with the company. ‘I’ll snooze later. Isn’t that what everyone does after Christmas lunch? Wash up and then lie around groaning and doze off until teatime?’
‘You’re eating off a paper plate. The washing up’s been done.’ She smiled at him and his belly kicked because he was damned if there wasn’t a hint of promise in that smile. More than a hint.
She bent her head and spoke softly into his ear. ‘Not everyone sleeps.’
Geez. He wasn’t making love with Maeve when Simon’s room was two doors down. Imagine if she went into labour and everybody knew he’d been the one responsible for the induction. His neck felt hot and he couldn’t look at anyone at the table.
‘Rayne?’ She laid her hand on his leg and it was all he could do not to flinch. Since when had he ever been at this much of a loss? The problem was his libido was jumping up and down like a charged icon on a computer.
She yawned ostentatiously and stood up. ‘Happy Christmas, everyone. I think I’ll go put my feet up.’
‘Bye, Maeve.’ From Simon and the girls.
‘Don’t go into labour, Maeve. I’m too full,’ Tara said.
She turned back to Rayne. ‘You coming? I think we need to talk some more.’
His ears felt hot. He needed to get himself back on an even footing here. It seemed she’d turned into a militant dominatrix and while the idea of submitting to sex wasn’t too abhorrent, it didn’t fit with the very late pregnancy visual effect. And he wasn’t enamoured by the smothered smiles of his lunch companions.
‘Sure. I’ll just help Louisa clear the table first.’
She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘Fine.’
Hell. She’d said, ‘Fine.’ Which meant she was emotional and he might just have heard a tiny wobble in the word, which meant maybe he should go and comfort her.
Louisa shooed him away. ‘You cleared at breakfast. Off you go and help that girl put her feet up.’
He caught Simon’s perplexed glance at his grandmother and then at him. They both shrugged. How did you help someone put their feet up? Either way, he’d had his marching orders from two women. Maybe he should get his own place or they’d have him emasculated before New Year.
He stood up. Gave Simon a mocking smile and walked after Maeve.
Resting after lunch
MAEVE HAD GOT as far as slipping her shoes off, she’d been stupid, telling him to follow her, and she’d better learn from her mistakes pretty damn quick if she didn’t want to drive him away.
She stewed on that thought for a minute until she heard Rayne’s quiet footsteps coming down the hall and she didn’t know whether to sit on the bed, stand at the window, looking decorative, or just freeze where she was looking at the closed door like a rabbit in headlights.
Time took care of that because Rayne knocked, paused and then opened the door and put his head around. She didn’t get time to do anything except feel her heart thumping like a bass drum.
It was the Rayne from nine months ago. Black brows slightly raised, eyes dark and dangerous, a tiny amused tilt to those wicked lips. ‘Louisa said you needed a hand to get your feet up?’
She licked dry lips. ‘You can come in.’ But when he did push open the door and shut it again the room shrank to the size of a shoebox and they were two very close-together shoes. ‘Um. I am a bit tired.’
He glanced at the queen-sized bed then back at her. Looked her over thoroughly. ‘Want a hand getting your dress off?’
‘Thanks.’ She turned her back and once he’d worked out there was no zip and she only wanted him to help her lift it over her head, the task was accomplished in no time.
No real seduction in that swift removal. She tried not to sigh. While he was draping the dress carefully over the chair she was thinking as she sat on the bed, Thank goodness I changed my stretchy granny undies for the cute lace pair.
He seemed to be staring at her chest. ‘Nice cleavage.’ Well, at least he appreciated something.
He was so big and broad standing over her and she patted the quilt she was sitting on. She wished he’d take off his shirt. ‘Are you staying?’
‘Staying?
