and met his gaze steadily. ‘I finish at the office at five-thirty. That’s non-negotiable. But I’m happy to take work home to complete in the evenings if necessary.’
Ramon’s eyes narrowed, his curiosity aroused by the quiet determination in her voice. ‘Everything is negotiable, Lauren.’
‘Not this.’ She collected Mateo from the day nursery at six-fifteen every evening, and not even the threat of losing her job would persuade her to work late.
‘I remember that you frequently used to work until seven or eight p.m.’ Ramon paused. ‘Maybe there’s someone you rush home to?’
He was skating dangerously near the truth. She flushed, and tore her eyes from his to stare down at the papers in front of her. ‘We’ve already established that my personal life is not your concern.’
‘Oh, we’ve established a number of things,’ Ramon drawled in a dangerously soft voice. ‘Not least that you are hot for me—much as you want to deny it.’
Lauren’s face burned, and she cursed those moments of weakness when she had responded to his kiss with a hunger that had more than matched his own. ‘As a matter of fact I need to leave half an hour earlier tonight. My mother is arriving from Jersey, and I’ve arranged to meet her at Gatwick.’ She hesitated. ‘I’ve already asked Alistair Gambrill for the time off. I hope it’s all right with you.’
Ramon gave her a sardonic look. ‘It will have to be, won’t it?’ He paused and studied her speculatively. ‘Is there anything else you should tell me?’
Her heart almost leapt out of her chest, and her eyes flew to his face. Did he mean Matty? Did he know…? His expression was unfathomable. ‘Wh…what do you mean?’ she stammered.
‘I simply wondered if you had any other engagements booked that I should know about, so that I can arrange viewings of properties around any other commitments you might have.’ Ramon stared at her impatiently. ‘Why are you so edgy, Lauren? And why do I get the impression that you’re hiding something from me?’
Her palms felt clammy, and it took all her will-power to meet his gaze. ‘I really don’t know where you would get such a ridiculous idea from,’ she said, managing to sound coolly dismissive. ‘I’m not hiding anything.’
‘Liar. You are doing your best to hide the fact that you are still attracted to me.’ Ramon suddenly leaned forward, rested one hand on the desk, and placed the other on her nape. ‘But you are not succeeding. Your eyes give you away, querida,’ he drawled, before he swooped and captured her mouth in a brief, hard kiss that left her aching for more.
He smiled sardonically at the confused mixture of anger and desire in her eyes, and then released her and strolled across to the door. ‘I’ll see you later,’ he threw over his shoulder—leaving Lauren too emotionally drained to wonder why he had said later rather than on Monday.
‘I’m sure Mateo will be walking before he’s a year old. Look how well he’s balancing on his feet.’
Lauren glanced up from her laptop and smiled at the sight of her mother, kneeling on the floor playing with Matty. ‘Do you think he’s advanced for his age?’
‘Goodness, yes.’ Frances Maitland beamed at her little grandson. ‘You were such a cautious baby—you didn’t even crawl until you were eleven months—but he’s so active. He certainly doesn’t get his daring nature from you. He must have inherited it from his fa—’ She stopped abruptly and looked flustered.
‘From his father,’ Lauren finished her mother’s sentence dryly. ‘You can say the word you know, Mum.’
‘Well, it seems strange to talk about Matty’s father when I don’t even know his name,’ Frances muttered. ‘I wish you would tell me about him. I don’t know why it’s all so secret.’
Lauren stifled a sigh. ‘I have told you about him. He’s a playboy. We had a brief affair, but when I found out I was pregnant I knew he wouldn’t want a child, so I didn’t tell him. End of story.’
Frances sniffed. ‘It’s not right that you have to work so hard to support Matty on your own. You must be entitled to maintenance from his father.’
Lauren shook her head fiercely. ‘I would never demand money for my son. Mateo is my responsibility, and I can give him everything he needs.’ She watched the baby zooming around the carpet on his hands and knees and frowned. ‘I still think he looks a bit flushed. And it’s strange that he didn’t eat his tea. Usually he loves his food. I don’t think I’ll go to the party tonight, in case he’s coming down with something.’
Frances stood up and lifted the chuckling baby into her arms. ‘He’s absolutely fine. You can’t miss the Valentine’s Ball—I thought it was PGH’s big social event of the year?’
‘It is,’ Lauren said heavily.
Alistair Gambrill’s wife organised the ball each year, and a proportion of the ticket money was donated to charity. The law firm’s most prestigious clients were invited, and every member of staff was expected to attend—particularly those who were chasing a promotion, she thought ruefully. She was still reeling from the shock of seeing Ramon again today, and felt in no mood to socialise, but she knew her absence would be noted by the senior partners.
‘Well, maybe I’ll go, but then come home tonight,’ she muttered. The ball was held in a hotel, and the ticket included overnight accommodation so that guests could drink and not have to worry about driving.
‘It’s one night, for goodness’ sake,’ Frances said impatiently. ‘Don’t you trust me to look after my grandson for one night?’
‘Of course I do, but—’ Lauren broke off helplessly when she saw the light of battle in her mother’s eyes. Mateo’s flushed cheeks were probably because it was warm in the flat. He looked the picture of health, with his bright eyes and cheeky grin, and she knew Frances had been looking forward to spending some time with him. ‘All right.’ She gave in. ‘I’ll go.’
‘Good.’ Frances beamed. ‘You never know—you might be swept off your feet by a handsome stranger.’
‘God forbid!’ Lauren said fervently as she pressed the ‘send’ button on her laptop to email the report she had been working on to Ramon. ‘The expression “once bitten, twice shy” has never been more apt.’
Huge, ornate chandeliers illuminated the ballroom and sparkled down on the dozens of guests who were milling about the room. Lauren smiled her thanks to the waiter who offered her a glass of champagne, and smoothed her hand down her dress as she made her way towards the group of senior partners and their wives. Her floor-length black silk-jersey gown was simple but elegant; the diamanté shoulder straps and narrow belt around her waist broke the starkness of the dress, and matched her silver stiletto heels.
It was amazing to think that ten months ago she had looked like a barrage balloon in full flight, she mused when she caught sight of her reflection in a mirror. She was lucky that her stomach had regained its pre-pregnancy flatness, but she had eaten sensibly while she was expecting Mateo, and, thanks to her hectic life of combining work and motherhood, she was actually a few pounds lighter than before she had conceived him.
It made a change to dress up for once, she admitted, feeling a little spurt of confidence when she became aware of the admiring glances from
