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Her heart thumped uncomfortably and she closed her eyes.
No choice?
Why did Tom think that Jed had no choice but to marry her?
She gave a moan of panic. The answer was as clear as day. Because, like the rest of his family, he knew about Toby.
Was that why Jed was pursuing their relationship? Was he responding to pressure from his family as well as his own sense of responsibility? Obviously his family were putting pressure on him—she’d just heard the evidence with her own ears. They were telling him he had to marry her.
Shaking with emotion, she dressed, hardly noticing what she was wearing as she dragged her clothes on haphazardly. The rest of her clothes she stuffed into her suitcase, along with the other bits and pieces she’d retrieved from her house. She had to get away from him as fast as possible.
Tonight when she’d finished her shift she’d go straight home to her cottage, and she and Toby would just have to live in it as it was until she had time to get some quotes and arrange for the work to be done.
At least it was Saturday and Toby was spending the day with his friend. She was due to pick him up on her way home from work—
‘Brooke—are you there, sweetheart?’ Jed’s voice came through the door, strong and concerned. ‘Are you all right?’
‘I’m fine.’
Her voice was shaky. Dear God, what could she say to him? ‘I’ll be out in a moment.’
She saw the handle move and she closed her eyes, bracing herself for the inevitable.
‘Why have you locked the door?’ Puzzlement turned to anger as he rattled the door hard. ‘Dammit, open this door, Brooke!’
‘I want to be on my own, Jed.’
She could wait until he’d gone to work and then leave—
‘Like hell you do!’ His voice was raw as he thumped the door one more time. ‘I will not leave you alone—not until you tell me what’s happened. Don’t do this to me again, Brooke! Don’t shut me out.’
She swallowed down the lump in her throat, fighting the impulse to just open the door and fling herself in his arms. Who cared if he didn’t really want to marry her? If he was only getting involved with her because of Toby? Who cared?
She sighed and lifted a shaking hand to her throat. She cared, because she didn’t want that sort of relationship. It was obvious that they couldn’t just have a fling. His family were determined to see him ‘do the right thing’. Why else would Tom tell him that he had no choice but to marry her?
She loved Jed so much, so totally, that she couldn’t let him get involved with her out of a sense of responsibility. He deserved better than that. But she knew that at the moment he wanted her and probably his hormones would cloud his thinking. She composed herself and lifted her chin. Which meant that it was up to her to convince him that she wasn’t interested.
‘Brooke, if you don’t open this door now I’m going to break it down.’ His tone left her in no doubt that he meant it and she rose to her feet and turned the key, stepping back as he slammed the door open and glared at her.
‘What the hell is going on, Brooke?’
She flinched at the look in his eyes and backed away. ‘Jed…’
‘Don’t look at me like that!’ He frowned at her and raked long fingers through his dark hair. ‘Don’t back away from me. You know I would never, ever hurt you. I just want to know what’s happened. I leave you curled up in my bed as contented as a kitten, and I come back upstairs with breakfast to find that you’ve locked yourself in your bedroom. I deserve an explanation.’
Brooke fought the almost overwhelming urge to touch him one last time. ‘I— This isn’t right Jed.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘What isn’t right?’
‘Us.’ She met his eyes bravely, hoping that she could be convincing. ‘We shouldn’t—it shouldn’t have happened.’
‘What shouldn’t have happened?’ There was a long silence while he looked at her and then he spoke, his voice lethally soft. ‘Are you trying to tell me that we shouldn’t have made love? If so, you’re wasting your breath. It was totally right and you know it.’
‘Maybe, at the time…’ Her voice was little more than a croak and she dropped her gaze, unable to look him in the eye. ‘But it was still a mistake.’
‘Based on what?’ His hard mouth was set in a grim line. ‘Give me one very good reason why it was a mistake, Brooke.’
She took a deep breath and stared straight at him. ‘Because I don’t love you, Jed.’
