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“No’ this week.” His lips twitched, and she could have sworn he was about to smile. “From now on, I’ll deal with the Women’s Institute.”
Donna didn’t argue. She hadn’t planned on being there to deal with them anyway. Her mouth felt dry, and she licked her lips to wet them.
“There’s water on the bedside table,” Duncan said.
Grateful, she took it and drank her fill.
His eyes never left her. “There’s also the matter of you lying to me.
”
She took another sip of water, wishing it was wine. She could have done with some fortification for this conversation. “Are you firing me?”
“Oh, no, Angel. I have other punishments in mind.”
She wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. “If it’s any consolation, I hated lying to you. I was sick over it.”
“I know.”
“How?”
“Because I know you. Although, you don’t seem to think I do,” he said ominously. “We’ll deal with the issue of you lying to me later. There are other things we need to get sorted first. Like this.”
He tossed a book onto her bed, and she grimaced. “I don’t suppose you’re just upset because you don’t like Peter Pan?”
He wasn’t amused. “Why didn’t you tell me you could draw?”
She almost choked on her water. “Because I can’t. You can draw. I doodle.”
He stared at her for so long, she started to squirm. “You really believe that, don’t you?” He didn’t wait for an answer, he just leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs. “Those are some of the best illustrations I’ve ever seen.”
The blood drained from her head so fast she felt dizzy and had to curl a hand into the bedding to stop from falling over. “You don’t mean that.”
“Aye, I do. And the dean of the Fine Arts school thought the same thing when I showed her your copy of The Hobbit last night.”
“I’m going to be sick.” She swung her legs over the side of the bed.
Duncan was there in a flash, pressing a gentle hand to the back of her neck. “Lean over and breathe slowly until it passes. You’ll be fine.”
She didn’t think so, but she did as he told her. When she sat back up, he was on the bed beside her.
“Okay,” he said. “We’ll deal with that topic later too. There’s something more important to discuss first. Why are you moving out of the mansion and quitting your job?”
“Oh.” Donna had forgotten about the state of her apartment.
“Aye, oh. I’d like an explanation.”
She eyed the bedroom door.
“Don’t even think about running,” Duncan said. “I’ve locked us in and taken your key.”
“Do you realise how wrong that is?”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “As wrong as running out on me when I wasn’t here to stop it happening?”
There was no other option but to brazen it out. “We both know this situation is going nowhere.”
“What situation?”
