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SILK WICKEDNESS 26
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YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 27
I looked everywhere I could think of. The coffee-shop, the pool ... I even looked on the beach, although it’s pitch-dark and still as windy as hell. Eventually I came back to her room, to see whether she’d come back while I was gone.‘And she hadn’t.’‘No.’ He paused. ‘I went down to Reception to see whether her key was there. She went out about three o’clock.’‘What ? How can they know?*‘The guy on the desk remembered her because she looked pleased and excited. He asked her if she was going somewhere nice, and she said, “You bet I am.” ’Claudia suddenly felt sick. She turned away, ostensibly picking up a pair of shoes from the floor.You have to tell him , she thought, putting them in the cupboard. You can’t not tell him. It’s probably nothing to worry about anyway.‘Where the hell can she have gone with no money?’ he demanded.Unsteadily she sat on the bed. ‘Guy, I think she might have gone off with someone.’‘ What ?’ He started, his hands coming sharply out of his pockets. ‘Who?
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 28
A waiter appeared with the menus. ‘Desserts, sir?’They paused to order and Guy filled their glasses again. ‘If I’m boring you to death, say so.’She could hardly say, I’m riveted. ‘Not in the least.’‘We started arguing,’ he went on. ‘I don’t think An- oushka was what they call a difficult baby, but we had our share of teething and so on, and it was usually me who got up in the night. Anna was worn out. I didn’t properly realize at the time, but she was still a child herself. She wanted someone to look after her. And I did, at first. Cooked most of the meals, fussed her when she had a cold. But I had my finals looming, and what with the baby as well I just couldn’t run round after her like I had before.’Their desserts arrived, frothy concoctions of meringue and tropical fruits and cream.‘Was that why she left?’ asked Claudia. ‘Because she needed someone to look after her?’‘More or less. It came to a head when Anoushka was ten months old. She’d been ill - just a cold or something,
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 29
When she came back, he was still standing by the window. ‘I’m sorry,' he said. ‘I shouldn’t be here. It’s not your problem.’‘Oh, Guy.’ On an impulse she went up and put her arms around him. ‘I’m glad you came. I’ve hardly slept either.’He did not shake her off, as she’d half expected. His body was resistant at first, as if he was afraid that sympathy would make him crack, then slowly his arms came around her in return, and he stroked her hair with fingers that were not quite as steady as they might have been.‘I feel so bloody helpless.’ His voice was tense with a gritted anger that she knew was only a mask for his fears. ‘I want to go and look for her, but I don’t know where to start.’What he needed more than anything was to sleep, but it was useless to say so. She’d sound like her mother and he’d probably shake her off with an impatient, How the hell can I sleep?So what could she do? Distract him, obviously, but how? She detached herself, picked up the phone, dialled room servic
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 30
There was no reply. Only the gasping, indrawn breath that comes before a river of tears.It was well over an hour later that Claudia left her. For the rest of the afternoon she waited in an agony of impatience for Guy to return.He phoned at five. T’m just back and I’m shattered. I’ll sleep for a couple of hours before dinner.’A couple of hours weren’t going to make much difference. ‘Fine. I’ll be ready when you are.’‘How’s Anoushka been?’Leave it for later. ‘Exhausted. She’s been sleeping most of the day.*‘I thought as much. I gave her a knock on my way up but she didn’t answer.’ He paused, and his voice lost its crisp- and-businesslike tone. ‘How are you, after all the dramas?’‘Fine.’‘You sound a bit tense.*‘I’m fine, really.’‘Then I’ll see you later. If I’m not with you by seven- thirty, give me a ring.*‘I will. Sleep well.’He arrived all fresh and showered and looking as if he’d had at least six hours’ sleep the night before. He kissed her and told her she looked great a
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 31
‘You have to talk to her. Explain that it was all a misunderstanding.’There was another long silence, and when he spoke again his voice was roughened with emotion. ‘I wish to God I could look her in the eye and tell her truthfully that I never even thought it. But I did. And nobody will ever know how guilty I felt afterwards.’She longed to put her arms round him, even take his hand, but she didn’t. Any word or movement, she felt sure, would make him clam up.‘Until she was born, I felt very little,’ he went on. ‘Anna had this big lump that squirmed now and then, and I knew eventually it was going to come out and there’d be nappies and sleepless nights and a non-existent sex-life for weeksafterwards. I pretended, for Anna. But when she was bom . . .*He paused. Td had this idea that it was like shelling peas. I was utterly unprepared. Anna was in agony for hours, and I’ve never felt so helpless in my life. I got angry with the nurses, told them for Christ’s sake to give her somethin
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 32
It was happening all around them. At intervals across the sand, babies were popping up by the dozen.It seemed hours that they watched, and eventually Guy and Claudia retreated to the chairs. ‘It makes you feel very insignificant, when you think this has been going on for thousands of years,’ she said,‘Millions, probably. Mother Nature’s a clever old bird.’ He took another beer from the cold-box. ‘Like another G and T?’She’d already had two. ‘I’ll have a lemonade for now.’It was very quiet, only the waves crashing on to the shore. Anoushka was still watching popping babies. Now and then she helped one that was heading the wrong way, or floundering as it struggled up the sandy mounds.Gently Claudia touched Guy’s arm. ‘I’m going to disappear for a bit. You go to her. Talk about the baby turtles, and maybe you’ll find the right moment to tell her about another little newborn baby and the big ape who was terrified of dropping her.’Even in the dark, she suddenly saw from his face that
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 33
Guy had stopped waving. He had swum a little further with a powerful crawl. He stopped again, and gave another beckoning wave. Claudia waved back. ‘We’re coming!’ she yelled, but knew he couldn’t hear.Anoushka was suddenly rigid. ‘Get out!’ she screamed, waving her arms frantically. ‘Get out!’Claudia stared at her, aghast. ‘What on - ’‘Can’t you see?* She ripped off her sunglasses, handed them to her. ‘Look! In the water!’Claudia went cold.Without the sunglasses she could never have seen. But with powerful lenses cutting out the glare she could see all too clearly.There must have been a half a dozen of them. Dark, streamlined, stealthy shapes, circling beneath him.'Where there's food about, there are always predators .’This time, she knew they weren’t dolphins.- - -What must have gone through his mind when he finally realized why they were yelling and waving their arms so frantically she could not bear to think.He glanced behind him, but there was nothing to see, no fins br
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 34
Once out of the shower, she lay on the bed again, longing for sleep that wouldn’t come. There were too many things in her head.I’ve upset Mum now. Why ever didn't I keep my mouth shut? And why did I lie to Kate about Guy ?You know why. So she won't feel sorry for you and make it even worse when you get back home and that bloody phone never rings.Who says it won’t ?Your intuition, that’s what. Things have changed a bit, haven’t they? He’s got a chance to re-establish a relationship with his daughter. She’s in an intensely vulnerable state, and he’s sensitive enough to know it. You saw her face in the silver souk. She was jealous. She’s probably been jealous of every relationship he’s ever had. If he’s got any sense, he’s not going spread himself around for a bit. Besides . . .She didn’t like the way her thoughts were going, but they wouldn’t stop.Let’s face it, it’s got all the classic ingredients of a holiday fling. Exotic setting, two adults who fancy each other, and opportunit
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