she couldn’t turn away from this now. She knew that this was the only likely way to even begin getting over Tiarnan properly. But she was very afraid that Sorcha was right: that as distant as she planned to keep herself from emotional involvement with Tiarnan, she was already fighting a losing battle …
CHAPTER FIVE
THE following day Kate followed Tiarnan across the tarmac of the airport in Madrid to his private jet. He was hand-in-hand with a still serious-looking Rosie. As he’d said, Rosie had welcomed the news that Kate was coming with them—much to Kate’s relief—but she still couldn’t quite figure out the tension between father and daughter. Tiarnan looked back at her in that moment, making Kate’s breath catch in her throat. He was wearing jeans and a plain polo shirt which made him look astoundingly gorgeous.
‘We’re flying to New York. I’m leaving my plane there and we’ll be taking a smaller plane down to Martinique.’
Kate just nodded and forced a smile. What she also knew was that, far from just leaving his plane in New York, he was leaving it to be used by the philanthropic organisation he’d set up, which covered a multitude of charities he chaired or had set up. It was a very public move he’d made some years ago, to try and discourage the unnecessary use of private aircraft. Kate also knew he took commercial flights wherever possible.
She cursed him under her breath, her eyes drawn with dismaying inevitability to the perfection of his tautly muscled behind in the snug and faded jeans. The man was practically a saint, which made it so much harder to keep herself distanced. But from now on that was what she had to be—distanced. She was a woman of the world, sophisticated and experienced. Not shy, gauche Kate who quivered inwardly at the thought of what lay ahead.
Once they were settled onto the plane and it had taken off, Kate was relieved to see Tiarnan take out some paperwork. She and Rosie set up a card game at the other end of the plane. They were served a delicious lunch, after which Kate and Rosie had exhausted all the card games they knew—so Rosie started reading and Kate went back to her seat to try and get some sleep.
Tiarnan glanced over at her and Kate noticed that he looked tired. Her heart clenched, and she had the bizarre desire to go over and sweep away all his paperwork and force him to relax. Her cheeks warmed guiltily when she thought of how she’d like to make him relax. Already that precious distance was disappearing into the dust.
His head gestured towards the back of the plane, a glint in his eye. ‘You can lie down in the bedroom if you want.’
Kate shook her head and tried to stem the heat rising in her body, which had reacted to that explicit glint. ‘No, it’s fine. Rosie’s in there reading; she’ll probably fall asleep.’
He just looked at her. After a moment he shrugged minutely and went back to his work. Kate reclined her chair and curled up, facing the other way.
Eventually the tension left her body. She was relieved that since that kiss in his study he’d been the personification of cool, polite distance. For all the world as if she were nothing more than a family friend joining them for a holiday. She would have been scared off if he’d been any other way: triumphant or gloating. But Kate didn’t doubt that Tiarnan was a master in the handling of women, and even though that realisation hit her in the solar plexus she was too exhausted after a couple of sleepless nights to feel enraged.
When Kate’s body had stopped moving, and it was obvious she was asleep, Tiarnan put down his paperwork and looked over. A tight coil of tension seemed to start in his feet and go all the way to his head. He allowed his eyes to rove over her form, taking in the deliciously round provocation of her bottom as it stuck out, straight at him, encased in linen trousers through which he could see the faint outline of her pants. Her legs were curled up, shoes off. Golden hair billowed out across the cushion and her head was tucked down into her chest. He got up silently and took down a blanket from overhead, spread it out over her body. In profile her face was relaxed, with none of that wakeful watchfulness that she seemed to subject him to, her big blue eyes wary.
He’d had to fight to control himself since he’d kissed her in his study. He’d expected to feel a certain level of disappointment in her acquiescence, which was such a contradiction when all he’d wanted was for her to say yes. And yet she hadn’t been coquettish, she hadn’t been calculating. When she’d stood in front of him in his study, strangely defiant, she’d had faint bruises of colour under her eyes, and if anything he might have guessed that she’d spent a sleepless night.
He stood straight and looked down at her. A surge of possessiveness gripped him. None of that mattered now. What mattered was that she was here, and very soon he would be discovering all the secrets of that luscious body. He turned abruptly before he did something stupid, like kiss her while she slept, and went to check on Rosie.
Kate woke to the sound of heated voices. Rosie and Tiarnan. She sat up and felt thoroughly dishevelled. She pushed her hair back from her face as she heard Tiarnan’s voice emerge from the bedroom at the back.
‘Rosalie Quinn, I will not continue this discussion until you can talk to me in a civil manner.’
Kate looked around, and her eyes widened as she saw Tiarnan standing in the doorway with hands on hips, obviously facing Rosie. And then she heard a tearful, ‘Go away! I hate you, Tiarnan. Why should I listen to you when you’re not even my real dad?’
And then a paroxysm of crying started. The door slammed in Tiarnan’s face. He sighed deeply and jiggled the knob.
‘Rosie, come on …’
Then, as if he could feel her eyes on him, he looked around and saw Kate. He ran a hand through his hair and walked up the cabin towards her, dwarfing everything around him as he did so.
‘I’m sorry—we woke you.’
Kate just shook her head. ‘It’s fine …’is everything OK?’ Patently it wasn’t.
Tiarnan sat in his seat, tipped his had back for a moment. ‘Not really, no.’
He looked at her then, and Kate felt speared by the intensity of his eyes and the pain she could see in the blue depths.
‘I should be honest with you, Kate. Rosie—well, it’s a little more complicated than just moving schools—’
Just then the captain’s voice interrupted, to announce that they were approaching New York and to get ready for landing. Kate had no idea she’d slept that long.
After the steward had come to make sure they were all awake, Kate said softly, ‘Do you want me to go and—?’
Tiarnan shook his head. ‘No, I’ll get her. It’s not your problem, Kate, and I’m sorry you had to hear anything. I’ll explain later.’
After a few minutes a white-faced and obviously upset Rosie came out with Tiarnan and strapped herself into her seat.
As they landed and went through the formalities to change planes, Kate did her best to be upbeat and chirpy, to try and take Rosie’s mind off whatever tension was between her and her father. She’d said that Tiarnan wasn’t her real dad. Kate had no clue what that could be about. Sorcha had never mentioned anything.
By the time they’d boarded a smaller yet equally luxurious plane for Martinique, Rosie was obviously wrung out, and after picking at a meal she let Kate put her to bed in a small cabin in the back. Kate stayed with her till she fell asleep, feeling
