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His mother sighed. ‘You know you’re not, and I know I shouldn’t interfere…’
‘Feel free,’ Joel said, his tone deceptively mild. ‘Everyone else has spent the entire afternoon listing all the reasons why I mustn’t corrupt Lucy with my wicked ways. It would be awful if you missed out.’
Elizabeth sensed something in his tone and her face softened. ‘Let’s get one thing straight here. I don’t think you’re wicked,’ she said quietly, draining the vegetables and tipping them into various bowls. ‘But I do think you’re totally wrong for Lucy. I know you don’t want to settle down, Joel, and that’s fine, but Lucy isn’t the sort of woman you can seduce and then discard.’
Joel’s smile faded. ‘I can assure you that I’ve never “seduced” anyone in my life,’ he said coldly. ‘All my relationships have been completely mutual.’
Elizabeth looked at her youngest son and gave a lopsided smile. ‘Now I’ve made you angry, and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to overstep the mark. Your trouble is you don’t even know your own charm. You break hearts without knowing you’re doing it, Joel, and you always have. There’s something about you that women can’t say no to, and if you—’
‘Mum.’ Joel lifted a hand and interrupted her, his tone slightly impatient. ‘I’m not going to hurt Lucy.’
‘But—’
His gaze was steady on hers. ‘Trust me, OK?’
Elizabeth stared at him for a long moment and gave a regretful shake of her head. ‘You’ve dated more women than I care to think about, Joel. When are you going to settle down with one of them?’
Joel gave his mother a tired smile. ‘Don’t let’s start on the subject of marriage so early in the evening, hmm? Truth is, I don’t believe in mediocre marriages and I’ve never met anyone that I want to wake up next to every morning for the rest of my life.’
In fact, he was beginning to wonder whether there was something wrong with him. He was used to deflecting his brothers’ teasing remarks about his inability to commit, but deep down they rankled.
Why couldn’t he find someone he wanted to settle down with?
Was he too choosy?
Did he expect too much?
He breathed out heavily. Well, if he was there was nothing he could do about it. He certainly didn’t intend to lower his expectations.
‘Let’s talk about something else, shall we?’
His mother looked at him guiltily. ‘You’re telling me I’m out of line.’
‘Yes, but I’m trying to do it nicely.’ He gave her a gentle smile and picked up a pile of plates. ‘I tolerate your interference because you’re my mother and I adore you. I let you go further than most, but I still have limits.’
Elizabeth picked up the meat and followed him across the kitchen. ‘Just as long as you promise to leave Lucy alone.’
Joel stopped dead and looked at his mother with a steady gaze. ‘I can’t do that.’
No way would he make a promise he knew he couldn’t keep.
His mother stared at him in exasperation. ‘But—’
‘I promised not to hurt her, and I won’t,’ Joel said, his soft tone a warning to her to stop interfering. ‘Now, change the subject Mum.’
It was only when dinner was over and he was back in his penthouse apartment overlooking the harbour that he suddenly remembered he’d forgotten to ask Michael about Lucy.
He still didn’t know why she needed to leave work at three o’clock.
CHAPTER THREE
ON THE way to work the next morning, Lucy called in to see Ivy Williams.
‘I was wondering how you were,’ she said quietly, moving past the old lady into the hallway and waiting while she shut the door. Despite the freezing weather, Ivy’s house was warm and snug and she was clearly looking after herself.
‘Well, it’s hard,’ Ivy confessed, her face lined and tired. ‘Did you know that we’d only been together for ten years?’
Lucy shook her head. ‘No. No, I didn’t know that.’
