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He raised both his hands, as if to ward off the defensive daggers in her words. ‘You’re wrong there, Angie. I think I understand Lance very well. Maybe even better than you do.’
Angie jumped to her feet, her eyes spitting fire at her brother. ‘God, not that superstud stuff again, Bud. That’s ancient history. What is it with you, that you feel compelled to run Lance down all the time? You’re supposed to be his best friend. Fine friend you turned out to be. You know what? I think you’re jealous of him. I think you’ve always been jealous of him!’
Angie planted furious hands on her hips as Bud started looking her up and down, a stupid grin on his face. ‘I think I’m beginning to see what Lance sees in you, Angie. You’ve turned into one hell of a fiery female! I guess I was stuck in a time-warp, still thinking of you as a quiet, shy little teenager— so innocent in the ways of the world, needing your big brother to protect you from wolves like Lance.’
‘Lance is not a wolf!’ she protested hotly. ‘He wasn’t back then, and he isn’t now. You make it sound like he had to seduce me or something. I assure you he didn’t. I was only too willing to be seduced!’
‘So he said.’
‘He did?’ Angie frowned at this news. She didn’t like the sound of it. ‘What else did he say about me?’ she demanded to know.
‘I’m not at liberty to tell you.’
Disgruntlement curled her lips. ‘What on earth does that mean? Why can’t you tell me what he said? Why do you both have to be so damned secretive all of a sudden?’
‘That’s the way Lance wanted it.’
‘Since when do you do what Lance says? I’m your sister, for heaven’s sake. Your first loyalty is to me.’
Bud laughed. ‘Really? Then you don’t know anything about true mateship, do you?’
‘Oh, piffle. You and Lance haven’t been true mates for donkey’s years.’
‘Fat lot you know, little sister. Men aren’t like women. They don’t have to see each other every week for their friendship to remain solid. Lance and I sorted out a lot of things today, and we’re better friends now than ever.’
Angie scowled at her brother. ‘Well, bully for you!’
Bud laughed. ‘I’d watch that language, if I were you, madam. Any woman gracing Lance Sterling’s arm wouldn’t be expected to go around tossing off Aussie slang all the time.’
‘Is that so?’ Angie said archly, infuriated at this about-face in Bud.
‘Yes, that’s so. He has a certain position to uphold, you know.’
‘Well, stone the crows, Bud,’ she drawled, in the broadest Aussie accent, ‘maybe I should just grace his bed, then, and not his arm. I’m sure the almighty Lance Sterling won’t care what language I come out with there. I reckon I could be as colourful as I like and he wouldn’t object.’
Bud’s face darkened. ‘Cut it out, Angie.’
‘Why should I? Now that you’re back licking Lance’s boots you might as well know the whole score. I don’t know what Lance told you in that barn, but the truth is he asked me to marry him and I turned him down. I told him I wasn’t prepared to be the wife of some high-powered wheeler-dealer who spent more time in the air than on the ground. Of course, Lance wasn’t fazed one bit by my knocking back his proposal of marriage. He merely moved on to his next proposition to get me permanently into his bed. He asked me to be his mistress! How do you like dem apples?’ she flung at him.
‘Who’s running Lance down now?’
‘I’m entitled to. I’m the one who loves the bastard!’
He glared at her for several seconds before slowly shaking his head, a rueful smile splitting his round face. ‘You know what, Angie? I almost pity Lance. All these years, I thought you needed protecting from him. But I was wrong. It’s really the other way around. The poor bastard,’ he said, chuckling as he walked away. ‘Who would have believed it?’
A tap on Angie’s office door sent her eyes to the wall clock. It was three thirty-five, a little early for Vanessa, who was a conscientious teacher and never dashed out of the classroom straight after the bell.
