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‘Is that a complaint?’
‘More of an observation. Since when did you work halfdays?’ His eyebrow lifted in mockery. ‘Since you made the rules.’
‘I said it would be nice if you were home at some point before the middle of the night,’ Millie muttered, stifled by how near he was, ‘not halfway through the afternoon.’
‘Is this going to be one of those conversations that a man can’t possibly win?’
She flushed, realising that she sounded completely unreasonable. ‘You shouldn’t have kissed me in front of all those people. Why did you do that?’
‘To stop you saying something that would have landed you in even more trouble. Every time you opened that mouth of yours, you dug a deeper hole in which to fall.’ Leandro’s gaze cool and assessing. ‘What did you think you were doing?’
‘I—I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry I embarrassed you. I just forgot to pay.’
‘I’m not talking about the shoplifting episode, I’m talking about the fact that you were walking around central London on your own.’
‘I was shopping for the baby.’
‘You left the house without telling anyone.’
‘I didn’t know I was supposed to tell anyone. You told me I could go shopping.’
His jaw tensed. ‘I assumed you would have called your driver.’
Millie blinked. ‘I have a driver?’
‘Of course.’
‘But I didn’t want to go in the car. I wanted to walk,’ she muttered. ‘All the books say that babies like fresh air. And I needed the fresh air too. I wanted to think.’
‘You didn’t appear to be doing much thinking when you walked out of the shop without paying,’ he said caustically, and she flushed.
‘I walked out because I saw you. You flustered me.’
‘I flustered you?’ His eyes gleamed with sardonic humour. ‘Exactly what made you “flustered”?’
‘You did. Flustering everyone around you is what you do best.’
Leandro removed his tie and leaned back in his seat, a faint smile touching his mouth. ‘I can see that I have a grossly inflated opinion of myself. So far, in our new spirit of honesty, I’ve discovered that I’m scary, intimidating and that I fluster you. I’m beginning to understand why you left. Who in their right mind would stay married to such an ogre?’
Remembering the circumstances of her departure, Millie glanced sideways at him only to find him watching her—reading her with almost embarrassing ease.
‘Our problems started before that day,’ he observed softly, and she didn’t deny it.
‘Our problems started the day I married you.’
‘No. Our honeymoon was wonderful. The day we returned from our honeymoon. And I’m still trying to work out why.’ A muscle flickered in his jaw. ‘Did I change?’
‘Yes.’ Millie frowned. ‘Or perhaps you didn’t. Perhaps you were just being you. I just didn’t know you that well. Once you were back in working mode, our relationship took a back seat to your business.’
‘Just for the record, were there any parts of my behaviour that met with your approval?’
‘I like the fact that you’re confident.’
‘Confidence is acceptable?’
She ignored the irony in his tone. ‘As long as you’re not so confident you make me feel like a waste of space.’ Seeing one of his eyebrows lift, she gave an awkward shrug. ‘When I can see you grinding your teeth and thinking, idiot, just because someone isn’t as quick or as decisive as you, I don’t like it.’ Millie hesitated, naturally honest. ‘But I can see why I annoyed you. I had no idea how to behave in your world.’
‘You make it sound as if we are occupying parallel universes.’ Leandro’s lazy drawl was in direct contrast to his sharp, assessing gaze. ‘I was under the impression that my world, as you call it, comes something close to female nirvana. You had access to unlimited funds and a lifestyle most people dream about.’
