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She glowered at him. ‘He came in to pick his mum up a couple of months ago when her car was in the workshop. It’s not easy being a stepfather and the job is even harder if the real father is not paying his way.’
His mouth was set in a white line of anger. ‘I don’t mind supporting Daniel, but I refuse to support that layabout jerk.’
‘He’s nothing of the sort,’ she threw back. ‘He seemed very nice and extremely concerned about Daniel, who is turning out to be a handful.’
‘Stay out of my life, Hayley,’ he said through clenched teeth. ‘You can sleep in my bed any time you like, but stay the hell out of my personal life.’
Hayley watched as he swung away to leave the villa, the door snapping shut behind him rattling the glasses on the silver tray.
She didn’t see him for the rest of the evening, which made her anger towards him move upwards another notch. She felt stupid sitting in the open terrace restaurant by herself, picking at the delicious food and sipping at the wine the attentive waiter provided while the other couples sat there in romantic, companionable bliss.
Finally she gave up and went for a walk along the beach, taking off her sandals so she could bury her toes in the powdery sand. The moon was a silver sickle in the sky and a few stars were peeping through the blue-black velvet blanket of the sky.
She saw a lone figure standing at one end of the strip of sand, his tall, athletic frame silhouetted by the lights shining from the terrace. He was throwing tiny pebbles into the water, one after one, skimming them along the surface, the dancing movements making popping noises in the stillness of the tropical night air.
She had seen him do the very same thing down at the Crickglades pond in the past. Even way back then she had been able to discern his moods by the force of each throw; the size of the missile had warned her on many an occasion to stay well away.
She suspected that if a decent sized rock were available now he would be using that to vent his anger. His every movement seemed to suggest he was coiled with tension, his back was rigid with it, and as she moved closer she could see the hardened line of his jaw as he aimed another throw.
He must have sensed her presence for he turned and looked at her, his eyes running over her like a hot flame. ‘If you’re after an apology I’m not giving it to you,’ he said, bending down to search for another pebble. He straightened and threw it as far as he could, the sound of it hitting the water fracturing the silence.
‘I felt like an idiot up there eating by myself,’ she bit out resentfully. ‘The least you could have done is brush off your surly attitude and play the role of attentive husband. That’s the deal, remember? When we’re in public we’re supposed to be acting as if everything is normal between us.’
He stepped towards her, standing so close she felt her neck crick to keep eye contact. ‘What’s wrong, baby girl? Feeling lonely all of a sudden?’
‘You’re horrid.’
‘And you are a nosy little bitch.’
She clenched her fists at her sides, determined not to slap him even though she dearly longed to. ‘I wish I had never agreed to this charade.’
‘Then why did you?’ he asked.
‘You know why.’
His smile bordered on a smirk. ‘Because you couldn’t resist me? Go on, admit it, Hayley. You wanted to do it with me, didn’t you? You’ve wanted to for years.’
‘I’m going to make you regret this, you know,’ she warned him recklessly. ‘You will seriously regret marrying me, I guarantee it.’
His eyes glittered as he took her upper arms in his hands, his fingers biting almost cruelly. ‘You are just like every other woman I know—greedy and grasping. But I should warn you, sweetheart, that I won’t let you get away with it. If you want to thrash it out once our marriage is over I’m well prepared for it. I have some cards up my sleeve that will make you think twice about playing hardball with me.’
Her eyes flashed at him in the moonlight. ‘I hate you.’
‘That’s more like it,’ he drawled as he dropped his hands. ‘I was starting to worry you were forming a bit of an attachment to me.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘As if I would be that stupid.’
‘Don’t confuse good old fashioned lust with love, Hayley,’ he said. ‘We can get down and dirty whenever you want, but don’t go wrapping it up in anything other than what it is.’
‘I. Hate. You. I can’t bear the thought of you touching me.’
‘Liar.’
‘I mean it.’ She lifted her chin.
He gave a mocking laugh. ‘You are so pathetic at lying. Ever since you were sixteen years old you’v
e been begging me to give you a good—’
