touched places in him that no other woman had, but did he do the same to her? More time together should sort that out, but there was one thing he needed to know right now because it was twisting up his gut.
Was she still using him to fight off her feelings for Mickey?
* * *
Elizabeth silently fretted over whether she had spoken her mind too soon, aware that her announcements had upset the happy mood around the table. Although Michael had accepted her decision on the surface, it was obvious from the stony glances he threw at Harry that he blamed his brother for it and was barely holding in his frustration over the situation. Her nerves picked up tension emanating from Harry. Lucy kept looking anxiously at her. No one chose to eat any of the petit fours that accompanied coffee.
As soon as Elizabeth had finished her cappuccino, Lucy pushed back her chair and rose to her feet. ‘I’m off to the ladies’ room. Will you come with me, Ellie?’ Her eyes begged agreement.
‘Of course,’ she said, immediately rising to join her sister.
The barrage started the moment they were closeted in the ladies’ room. ‘Why are you leaving your great job with Michael? He’s not happy about it.’
Elizabeth shook her head. ‘It’s not my mission in life to keep Michael happy,’ she said dryly.
‘But you always said you loved that job.’
‘I did, but it’s high pressure, Lucy. I didn’t realise how much it demanded of me until I came out here. I don’t want to be constantly on my toes anymore. I want to look for something else—more relaxed, less stressful.’
‘Then it’s not because of me and him?’ she said worriedly.
‘No,’ Elizabeth lied. ‘I’m sorry Michael is unhappy about it but I don’t think he’ll take it out on you, Lucy. If he does, he’s not the man for you.’
She heaved a sigh. ‘You’re right. Okay. It’s completely fair for you to look for something else. He’s just got to lump being put out by it.’
‘You can play nurse and soothe his frustration,’ Elizabeth said with a smile.
Lucy laughed.
It eased the tension on that front.
However, Michael’s displeasure with her decision made the farewells after lunch somewhat strained. Elizabeth hoped that Lucy’s company would be bright enough to move his annoyance aside. She hadn’t meant to spoil their day.
Harry followed her into the administration office, obviously intent on pursuing the issue of her leaving his employ, as well, although he shouldn’t have any grievance with her. She had only ever agreed to the month needed for him to find another manager.
Wanting to clear that deck, she swung around to face him, quickly saying, ‘I won’t stay on, Harry. I didn’t promise to.’
His grim expression surprised her. The laser-blue eyes were so hard and piercing, her heart jumped into a gallop. The air between them seemed to gather an intensity that played havoc with her nerves.
‘Why did you throw in your job with Mickey?’ he shot at her.
‘I explained why,’ she said defensively.
‘You waffled to whitewash the true reason,’ he accused. ‘Tell me, Elizabeth.’
He had no right to delve into her private reading of a highly personal situation for herself and her sister. It was not his business. It was the involvement with his brother that was the problem and she was not about to spell that out.
‘I’m sorry you thought it was waffle.’ She shrugged. ‘I don’t know what else to say.’
His mouth thinned in frustration. He shook his head at her refusal to open up to him. ‘I knew you were using me on Friday night,’ he stated bitingly. ‘That whole scenario at the pavilion villa was more about Michael and Lucy than being with me. I want to know if what you’ve done with me since then and what you decided today was also driven by your feelings for my brother.’
Her face flamed with shame at how she had used him and her mind jammed with shock that he could believe she was still doing it. ‘No!’ she cried, forcing her feet forward to go to him, her eyes pleading forgiveness for her brutal lack of caring for his feelings. ‘I don’t even think of Michael anymore, not with any wanting in my mind or heart,’ she said vehemently. ‘I haven’t been using you, Harry. Even on Friday night I was confused about why I was doing what I did with you.’
She reached him and laid her hands on his chest, meeting his scouring gaze with open honesty. ‘Since then, I swear I’ve enjoyed every minute with you, wanting to know the person you are, liking what I’m learning about you. Please don’t think any of it was related to your brother.’
He frowned, not yet appeased by her outcry. ‘Then why not work for Mickey?’
She grimaced at his persistence. ‘Maybe I just don’t want to be reminded of how silly I was. A break is better, Harry.’ She slid her hands up around his neck and pressed her body to his, craving the wild warmth and excitement of his desire again. ‘Can we forget about Michael now? Please?’
His eyes still scoured hers for the truth. His hands gripped her waist hard as though he was in two minds whether to pull her closer or push her away. ‘He’s my brother,’ he said gruffly.
And Lucy was her sister, whom Michael could hurt very badly.
‘Does that mean I have to work for him or I’ll lose any interest you have in me, Harry?’
Again his brow beetled down. ‘That’s not the point.’
‘Good! Because as much as I want what you and I are having together, I won’t let any man dictate how I lead my life.’
That was a core truth.
She wanted a partner in life, not a lord and master.
* * *
Harry believed her. There was a strength in this woman that had always challenged him. As much as it had frustrated him in the past, he admired the way she made a decision and stuck to it. A warrior woman, he thought wryly, one who would fight tooth and nail for what she believed was right.
Yet she was vulnerable to the womanly needs that he’d tapped into. The wanting for him was in the soft giving of her body appealing to his, the hand-lock at the back of his neck, the slight pouting of her mouth waiting for a kiss that would blow everything else away. The challenge in her eyes burned into his brain. She was his for the taking, not Mickey’s, and the compulsion to take her forced him to set all reservations aside.
He kissed her.
She kissed him back.
And Harry revelled in the sense that this was a true beginning of a relationship that promised to be more right than any he had known.
ELIZABETH
