have anything to feel guilty about.’
‘Yes, you do.’
‘You’re seeing everything from one side as usual, which is totally unreasonable.’
‘You talk to me about unreasonable when you were the one who walked out?’
There was a long silence while the atmosphere throbbed and hummed. His dark eyes slid down to her mouth and she thought she saw a sudden flare of hunger. But then it was gone and he bent to pick up her case.
‘You’re right. This isn’t the right time to talk about it. You’ve been gone for almost two months so waiting a few days longer for a cosy chat isn’t going to kill either of us. I’ll take this through to your room.’ His tone was flat, emotionless and she watched him as he walked.
Her room? What did he mean, ‘her room’?
Her knees still shaking, she followed him, her heart diving south as she saw that he’d put in her in the guest room. He stood for a moment, one dark eyebrow raised in challenge, and she bit her lip, hiding the pain.
So much for using sex as a problem-solver.
Was he expecting her to beg? Clearly he didn’t want her sleeping in the same room as him, the same bed as him, but she wasn’t going to let him know how much that hurt her. She had too much pride.
‘Great. This is excellent.’ She swept into the room as though the sleeping arrangements had been her choice. ‘We did this up nicely, didn’t we? I always liked the throw on the bed.’
His gaze was steady on her face. ‘You should be comfortable enough.’
Oh, no, she wouldn’t, she thought miserably. She wouldn’t sleep a wink, knowing that he was just down the corridor. Sleeping naked… Alessandro always slept naked and she felt a sudden rush of heat at the thought. She missed him so much. ‘I’ll be fine. This is perfect.’
Something flamed in his dark eyes and she wondered what she’d said to anger him. After all, he’d been the one to put her in the spare room. If anyone had a right to be angry, surely it should be her? But he’d drawn the battle lines and made his position clear.
He didn’t even want her in his bedroom. Didn’t want their relationship to be mended.
And why did that come as a surprise? If he’d wanted to mend it, he would have followed her to London and dragged her back.
Which was what she’d thought he’d do.
She felt tears prick her eyes but fortunately Katy chose that moment to race back into the room, her hair and brightly coloured jumper dusted with snow. ‘Oh, Mum, this is wicked. There’s so much snow and—’ She broke off and glanced around her. ‘What are you doing in here?’
‘This is where I’m sleeping, sweetheart.’ Christy kept her tone bright, as if it were the most normal thing in the world for she and Alessandro to be sleeping apart, but Katy’s expression changed from happy to stubborn.
‘In the spare room?’
Christy suppressed a groan. Katy definitely saw too much. ‘Your father and I need some space,’ she said quietly, and Katy glowered at both of them.
‘This is Christmas. Goodwill and all that. If you argue, you’ll upset Ben.’
‘We’re not arguing,’ Christy said weakly, and Alessandro gave a disapproving frown.
‘Our sleeping arrangements are none of your business, Katherine.’ He spoke quietly, but there was a warning note in his voice that made Katy’s narrow shoulders tense.
‘No.’ Her expression was mutinous. ‘You’re not sleeping in here. I want you to sleep in the same bed, like everyone else’s parents.’
‘Sweetheart, plenty of your friends’ parents don’t sleep together. Look at Rosie’s mum and dad. They—’
‘That’s different. They’re divorced.’ Katy glared at her fiercely. ‘You and Dad are not getting divorced. That isn’t going to happen.’
Christy heard Alessandro drag in a long breath and bit her lip hard. Just hearing the word said aloud made her feel sick but at that moment all her thoughts were channelled towards alleviating her daughter’s distress.
‘Look, sweetheart, you’re too young to understand at the moment.’ She kept her tone modulated and reasonable. ‘But you have to leave this to Daddy and I. We’ll sort it out together in our own way.’
Katy put her hands on her hips and gave an innocent smile. ‘You think so?’ And she turned on her heel and left the room.
Alessandro swore softly in Spanish. ‘I will speak to her—’
‘No.’ Christy shook her head. ‘She’s upset. I’ll talk to her later, when she’s had time to calm down.’
‘And what are you going to tell her? That this was your choice? I need to get back to the hospital.’ He gave her a long, burning look loaded with accusation and then strode out of the room. Christy stared after him, feeling numb. It was clear that he blamed her for the entire situation and the knowledge that he’d absolved himself of all responsibility should have stoked her anger. Instead, it left her feeling exhausted. She’d known Alessandro angry, she’d known him passionate but she’d never known him cold before now.
There was no hope for them. None at all.
And it promised to be anything but a happy and peaceful Christmas.
CHAPTER TWO
ALESSANDRO drove too fast, eyes narrowed, hands gripping the steering-wheel of his sports car.
He’d put her in the spare room, expecting to get a reaction, expecting her to throw herself into his arms. She hadn’t even blinked.
Until she’d walked out three months earlier, they’d never even slept apart. Now she was behaving as though separate beds were an everyday occurrence.
Clearly it was what she wanted.
He parked in his space, still thinking about Christy, oblivious to the biting cold or the wail of approaching sirens.
She’d looked more beautiful than ever. She was the only woman he’d ever met who could appear so impossibly slender and yet still manage to have curves in all the right places. The gorgeous blue jumper had brought out the amazing colour of her eyes and her silky soft hair had tumbled past her shoulders like a blatant taunt. Had she done that on purpose? She knew how much he adored her hair. And then there were her legs, long, slim and tempting in those ridiculously high heels. She looked sexy and alluring and nothing like the way that a respectably married mother of two children was supposed to look.
Had she already taken another lover?
Discovering the meaning of insecurity for the first time in his life, Alessandro climbed out of the car, battling against a burning desire to put his fist through something. An ominous expression on his handsome face, he slammed his way through the doors that led from the ambulance bay
