Page 29 of No Going Back

CHAPTER TEN

As soon as he was sure he was legally sober, Guy was on the road to Remington Grange. Barely keeping within the speed limit, he tried to work out where he’d gone so disastrously wrong. At the same time, he also tried to figure out the logic behind Maddie’s incomprehensible decision. What the hell kind of connection had she made, where her relationship with him couldn’t coexist alongside her business relationship with Ros?

One thing was for sure—he now knew the extent to which Maddie mattered to him. In an astoundingly short time, she’d come to mean far more to him than he would have imagined possible. He wasn’t about to give her up without a damn good fight. If he thought for one moment she truly wanted to end their relationship, he’d accept her decision with grace. He wouldn’t like it, but he’d accept it. However, the reluctance in her voice conveyed an entirely different message.

The car park was crowded when he arrived at the hotel. Judging by the finery of the people milling around, he’d arrived in the middle of a wedding. The irony of the situation didn’t escape him—a wedding was the very reason for his critical mission to save his relationship.

Hell and damnation. There she was, and it appeared she was at work. Attired in the suit she’d been wearing when they’d first met, she was moving among the guests with understated efficiency and a tray of canapés. A waitress now? Guy bristled on her behalf. Totally shameless, he swiped a glass of champagne from a passing waiter as if he were a legitimate guest, and made a beeline for his target.

“Please tell me waitressing isn’t standard operating procedure for an events manager.” He kept his voice low enough for only Maddie to hear as he drew alongside her.

“Please, Guy, not now. I’m working.”

“As a waitress?”

“There’s nothing wrong with waitressing. For your information, even though I don’t owe you any kind of explanation, I’m covering for a member of staff with childcare issues. His mother’s been taken ill and can’t look after his daughter. Happy now?”

Not in the least, but it had nothing to do with what she was doing. He could only admire her for the way she’d stepped into the breach, but they still had a far larger issue to deal with. “When do you finish?”

“As soon as Mark gets here, or when his shift is due to finish, whichever comes first.”

“Miss Scott!”

Guy pivoted to see a young man hurrying in their direction. He had the harried look of a parent with a problem.

“Mark.” Maddie stepped around Guy. “Is everything all right? We weren’t expecting you in so soon.”

“My sister came up trumps. I’m so sorry.” He took the tray from Maddie.

“These things happen—don’t worry. And Mark? I’ll make sure you get paid from the start of your shift, okay?”

The waiter turned to her, eyes wide. “Miss Scott? Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure. You clocked on?”

“Just now.”

“Then I’ll go straight to my office and email HR now to tell them to credit you from 7 a.m. Now go and do your job.”

With a nod of acknowledgement and a grateful smile, he hurried away.

“That was good of you.”

“He’s a young single parent who works hard to support his child. He can’t afford to lose the money. I suppose you want to talk about our conversation?”

Guy closed a proprietorial hand around her elbow. “You could say that. Shall we go to your quarters?”

“Looks like I don’t have much choice,” she muttered, but went with him anyway.

Once they reached her rooms, Maddie removed her jacket. Without thinking, Guy took it from her and put it on the hanger.

“So, were you planning to dump me by voicemail?”

The thought had occurred to him as he’d turned into the approach road to the hotel, leaving him even more pissed off and worried.

“How dare you? Of course not! That’s the coward’s way out. I would have waited, but the opportunity presented itself, so I had to take it.”

“Don’t you think you owe me an explanation? Please—by what convoluted reasoning did you reach the conclusion that we should stop seeing one another? And don’t cite Ros’ wedding arrangements, because that’s a load of crap and we both know it.”