and worries so effectively.
‘You know, Charles really only has your best interests at heart. It will do you good to stay here a while.’
‘Oh, yes?’ Lucy raised her brows enquiringly. ‘And you would know, would you?’ She saw the firming of his mouth, wondered despondently what on earth was making her so disagreeable.
‘I think so, yes.’ His voice was crisp and well defined.
Lucy focused on the view. ‘I didn’t ask to come here. If I had had my way I would have gone straight home from the...the...’
‘Hospital? You can say the word, you know,’ Alex drawled. ‘It won’t bite.’
‘I’d...I’d prefer to put all that behind me,’ she replied stiffly, glancing across at him. ‘If you don’t mind.’
‘Not at all.’ The rich dark eyes held her gaze. ‘You know, Lucy, there’s no need to feel awkward about anything, or uptight. You’re supposed to look upon your stay here as a holiday,’ he continued with infuriating ease, ‘not as some sort of incarceration.’
‘I didn’t want to come!’ she said stonily. She glanced down and saw that her linen trousers looked grubby and crumpled. She smoothed the fabric against her legs with shaking fingers, conscious that the humiliation of tears wasn’t far away.
‘You preferred the idea of returning to your cramped little bedsit in the heart of London?’ Dark brows were raised with an infuriating lack of sympathy. ‘A rather depressing area by all accounts. You know that Charles wishes you’d find somewhere better? He thinks—’
‘I know what he thinks!’ she cut in. ‘He’s told me enough times.’ She turned away angrily and stared out across the lush green valley. She felt hot and irritable and unreasonably defensive. Charles, it seemed, had told Alex more than she had imagined. ‘Anyway, my “cramped little bedsit” suits me fine!’ she added tightly. ‘Besides, it’s all that we could—that I can afford!’ she corrected herself swiftly. ‘I’m not into charity,’ she continued, hardening her voice and her heart, pushing away the dull thud of misery which threatened to take a hold all over again whenever she thought of the mess that had been her marriage. ‘I want to be independent. I was going to be independent, until Charles foisted me off onto you! He’s just salving his conscience! ’ she continued. ‘Charles is too busy to spare me any of his precious time and so he’s come up with this ridiculous idea!’
There was an uneasy silence. Lucy raised a hand to her head and smoothed slender fingers across her aching brow. She knew that she would regret this later, this petulant outburst. What was wrong with her? Why was she acting so dreadfully?
‘Tell me something.’
She glanced across, pushing a heavy strand of bronze-coloured hair out of her eyes, watching the handsome contours of Alex Darcy’s face warily. ‘What?’
‘Are you always this ungrateful?’ His voice was clipped and cool. There was almost a hint of dislike in his tone. Her eyes widened in surprise. ‘Charles is doing the best he can,’ he continued evenly. ‘You know better than I how important his job is. He has commitments that cannot be broken. He’s been working hard on the details of this summit for several months, hasn’t he?’
‘For about a year,’ she replied flatly, knowing deep down that her stepbrother was doing his best, knowing that she was being difficult merely to cover her unease at being in this new situation with a man who was everything she hadn’t expected.
‘Well, then, surely you can understand his predicament?’ Alex continued. ‘He told me you were incredibly proud of his achievements. Not many men or women reach such a position so early in their career. Don’t you think it’s time you considered the difficulties Charles has to deal with, instead of thinking only of yourself?’
It was a shock to be put in her place. So many people had been treating her with kid gloves for so long that she had forgotten what it was like to be on the receiving end of someone’s displeasure... almost.
‘Thinking of myself—?’ Lucy began. She caught sight of the watchful expression and released a weary sigh. ‘OK, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to take any of this out on you.’ It took a huge effort to keep her voice steady and calm. ‘I just feel that Charles has treated me like a child. There was practically no discussion about my coming here,’ she continued. ‘One minute I’m in the hospital; the next I’m being informed that I’m to travel to Majorca to recuperate with an old friend who just happens to be a man, who just happens to be someone I’ve never met before.’ She narrowed her emerald eyes. ‘How would you feel?’
‘A little disorientated, maybe, but essentially glad.’
‘Glad?’ She shook her head in disbelief.
‘You liked hospital?’ Alex enquired bluntly.
She hesitated, disliking the turn that the conversation was taking. ‘No...not really.’
‘You don’t seem too sure.’
Lucy heaved a sigh. Losing Paul had been hell. The agony she had gone through over his death, the guilt... Oh, how it had affected her. A nervous breakdown was not a thing she ever wanted to experience again—ever! But the hospital had been her saviour. For those vital few weeks the anxieties of life had been taken out of her hands. She had been nurtured and cosseted; everyday decisions that had become so hard to deal with had melted away.
For the first time Lucy allowed her gaze to rest calmly on the handsome face. ‘It was...safe,’ she replied simply. ‘There’s a certain comfort in that.’
He looked at her in silence for a moment then took a step towards her, narrowing the space she had put between them. His eyes were dark and magnetic. A hand was raised slowly and for a moment Lucy thought that the strong, tanned fingers were actually going to caress her cheek. Instead they reached forward and gently picked an insect off the sleeve of her blouse.
‘You’ll be safe here,’ Alex promised her softly. ‘I’ll make sure of it.’
His vow was put to the test earlier than either of them had anticipated. They were back on the road and Lucy kept her eyes glued to the scenery—it was easier that way. Besides, she didn’t feel like chatting about inconsequential things. Neither, it seemed, did Alex.
He had just informed her that they were only a couple of miles from his home when a car travelling in the opposite direction took a bend too fast and veered towards them, kicking up dust and grit as its wheels skidded on the sharply curving track.
It all happened so quickly, and yet everything seemed to take place in slow motion too. One minute they were driving along normally, the next Alex was manoeuvring the Jaguar frantically in order to avoid the oncoming vehicle.
Lucy closed her eyes tightly, gripping the edge of her seat as the car screeched to an unexpected halt.
She heard Alex mutter a curse. ‘Are you all right?’
She opened her eyes and nodded. ‘Yes. Just a bit shaken,’ she replied breathlessly. ‘For a moment...’ she gulped a breath ‘...I... I thought we were going to go off the edge.’ She glanced sideways and peered out of the window. Just a few feet from where she was sitting, the track disappeared and a sheer
