still children at heart. ‘Do you have children of your own, Mr Thornton?’
‘Not at the moment, no,’ he shook his head. ‘And it's Sin,’ he reminded.
She knew what his name was, she just felt uncomfortable saying it, the name Sin making her feel wicked too! And what did ‘not at the moment’ mean? Was he, like Brad, a part-time father who chose to forget about his children when he wasn't actually with them, or did he mean he was contemplating fatherhood? Maybe what she should have asked him was whether or not he was married.
‘Sin was once a reporter like Daddy,’ Kim put in eagerly, obviously considering that anyone who was remotely like her father was okay by her.
‘I know,’ she replied stiffly, amazed that had been revealed in the short time she had been in the kitchen. ‘Can you put some of those things away while I serve dinner?’ They had managed to get out an awful lot of toys during her absence too!
‘Did you lose your husband very long ago?’
Robyn almost dropped the vegetable bowl she had carefully been pouring peas into at the sound of that husky voice just behind her, having been unaware of the fact that Sinclair Thornton had followed her.
‘Careful.’ Sin took the bowl out of her hands. ‘The twins have gone to wash their hands for dinner so I thought I would join you. I didn't mean to startle you.’
‘You didn't,’ she assured him stiltedly.
‘Then my question did,’ he said shrewdly, watching her with narrowed eyes. ‘Which means it must have been recently. I'm sorry, I——’
‘I wouldn't call four years ago recently, Mr Thornton,’ she dismissed briskly. ‘Now shall we go in to dinner before everything gets cold?’
She was slightly ashamed of her waspish behaviour as he did everything he could through the meal to be interesting and interested in her children, effectively covering up any prolonged silence on her part. He had caught her offguard with his question about Brad; having lived in Colton for so long she wasn't used to having to explain her single-parent state to anyone, every-one already knew! But of course this man couldn't be expected to know anything about her past life, and after the trick she had played on him this morning he was entitled to be curious.
He didn't even attempt to interfere in her nightly ritual of putting the twins to bed, as some other over-eager adults had done in the past, and because he didn't Kim and Andy made the request for him to go up to their bedroom and say good night to them, an honour few were granted.
‘You're very good with children,’ Robyn turned to smile at him as they returned to the lounge.
He shrugged his broad shoulders. ‘I try to be.’
That was the whole point, he didn't ‘try’ at all, and the children loved him for it. ‘Coffee?’ she offered.
‘Let me make it.’ He followed her through to the kitchen, the four of them having already done the washing-up, a hilarious affair, with Sin pretending to drop things. ‘You sit down and rest for a few minutes, you must have had a long day.’
Robyn sat as he deftly prepared the coffee. It was nice to be waited on for a change.
‘That was a stupid thing for me to have said,’ Sin realised as he poured their coffee. ‘Every day must be a long one for you.’
‘A six-thirty start can be a bit tiring,’ she admitted. ‘But it has its compensations.’
He nodded. ‘I'm sure it does. I'm sorry about earlier,’ he added gently. ‘I didn't mean to pry.’
‘You didn't,’ she shrugged, carrying the tray through to the lounge. ‘It was just natural curiosity.’
‘Hm,’ he grimaced acknowledgment. ‘And I seem to have rather a lot of that.’
'Surely that's only natural in your profession?’ She sat across the room from him.
‘Some people don't like it.’ He leant back in his chair, totally relaxed, having eaten the casserole with relish, and having had two helpings of apple pie, much to the twins’ delight. ‘It's a bit like being a doctor or a psychiatrist, people don't altogether trust your motives for talking to them, think you're analysing them, in my case for a character in one of my books,’ he revealed dryly.
She smiled. ‘And don't you?’
He grinned, the devilish twinkle back in his deep blue eyes. ‘I suppose I do, sometimes. But it isn't done consciously,’ he defended.
‘I'm sure most people consider it a compliment to recognise themselves in one of your books.’
‘That's the problem,’ his humour deepened. ‘Most people don't see themselves in the character I create for them, see themselves entirely different to the way I do. Several of them have threatened to sue in the past.’
‘Oh dear,’ she laughed. ‘Then let's hope the Colonel isn't one of them!’
‘You know my reason for being here?’ he seemed surprised.
‘I'm the Colonel's secretary,’ she explained.
‘You're RDW,’ he realised in amazement, referring to her initials that always appeared at the top of the letters he had received from the Colonel during their negotiations for him to come here and interview the older man.
‘It's a small place,’ she shrugged.
‘I know,’ he nodded. ‘I took a look around this afternoon, talked to a few of the locals. The Colonel seems to be a well-liked man.’
‘I'm sure he is,’ she replied noncommittally, unwilling to discuss anything concerning her employer.
‘What happened to your husband?’ Sin suddenly asked in the silence of the room.
Robyn blinked her surprise. ‘Are you always this—forthright?’
‘My reporter's instincts,’ he apologised.
‘Of course,’ she realised dryly. ‘For a moment I forgot …’ She sighed. ‘Nothing “happened” to my husband.’
‘You mean he just died?’
‘Died?’ she repeated incredulously.
‘Well he obviously isn't here now, and the Colonel told me you live here alone with your children …’
‘I see,’ she frowned. ‘He isn't dead either. Brad is still very much alive.’
‘Brad?’ Sin repeated slowly. ‘Are you saying Brad Warner is your husband?’
She flushed at his incredulity, knowing herself now what an unlikely combination they must seem. ‘Ex-husband,’ she confirmed abruptly. ‘We're divorced.’
‘I didn't even know he was married,’ Sin seemed stunned by the revelation. ‘Let alone that he had two children too.’
Her mouth twisted. ‘It isn't something he
