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‘I’m not hungry.’
‘Eat, or I will feed you,’ he said pleasantly, but his eyes glinted warningly across the table. ‘I overlooked the fact that you didn’t eat last night. You’d worked yourself up into a state about telling me what had happened to you, and you’d braced yourself for rejection. But that didn’t happen, did it, Millie? You are still sitting at my table, having just climbed out of my bed—metaphorically at least—so there is no longer a reason for you to have lost your appetite.’
‘Nothing’s changed, Leandro.’ She watched as he drizzled the thick, golden honey over the creamy yoghurt. ‘The issues between us are still there.’
‘All right—so let’s address those issues because the worry is affecting you badly. First, can I get you anything? This sweet pastry is delicious.’
Millie shook her head, envying his calm. ‘You’re not stressed, are you?’
‘What is there to be stressed about?’ He drank his coffee and replaced the cup carefully in the saucer. ‘I am relaxing on a beautiful island with a beautiful woman. If I found that stressful, I would be a fool, no?’
She closed her eyes briefly. ‘So you’re just going to pretend that sex solves everything.’
‘No. I’m not going to pretend that. I want to make a few things clear to you. I made love to you in the dark last night because you were clearly very upset and I thought it was the sensitive thing to do, but…’ he gave a self deprecating smile ‘…as I now know, a man’s idea of what is sensitive isn’t always the same as a woman’s. As you keep pointing out, I’m not that good at the whole sensitive side of things, so I need to work on that.’
Millie gave a strangled laugh. ‘What? You’re suddenly going to turn into a modern man?’
‘I wouldn’t go that far.’ There was humour in his tone and in the glance he sent in her direction. ‘Tell me why you think I made love to you in the dark?’
‘Isn’t it obvious?’ Was he going to make her spell it out?
Apparently he was, because he showed no inclination to let her off the hook. ‘I think we’ve both accepted that what is obvious to me isn’t obvious to you and vice versa. Guessing games haven’t done much for the success of our relationship to date.’
Unable to argue with that, Millie grimaced. ‘All right.’ She adjusted the bottle in the baby’s mouth. ‘You made love to me in the dark because you didn’t want to see my body. I thought being in the dark was the only way you could be sure you’d be able to—’ She broke off and his eyes gleamed with sardonic humour as he challenged her unspoken assumption.
‘Well, you were wrong about that, weren’t you?’
Remembering just how wrong, her mouth dried. ‘I suppose I was.’
His mind clearly lingering on the same memories, he gave a slow, masculine smile. ‘It was fantastic, no?’
Millie looked away from him. ‘It didn’t solve anything.’
‘Yes, it did.’ His voice soft, Leandro leaned across the table and took her hand. ‘It told me a great deal about you.’
‘That I’m easy?’
‘Easy?’ He gave a hollow laugh. ‘You’re the most difficult woman I know. In every sense. You’re complicated, contrary, you don’t say what you think—and you put thoughts in other people’s heads.’ He paused. ‘And that brings us to the most important part of this conversation.’
‘Which is what?’
‘Your insecurities. We married quickly, as you constantly remind me.’ He pulled a face. ‘And I didn’t take the time to get to know you properly. That was my first mistake. The sex overwhelmed us both, I think.’
‘Yes, it did. You can’t build a marriage on…’ she cast a worried look at the baby and lowered her voice ‘…sex. Sex isn’t communication.’
‘Actually, I disagree.’ His gaze was direct. ‘I think sex is often a very honest form of communication. On our honeymoon you were insatiable—affectionate, uninhibited and spontaneous. When you turned your back on me, I should have made you talk. Instead, I gave you space.’ Leandro leaned back in his chair. ‘You assumed that I’d prefer your sister to you, isn’t that right?’
‘Yes.’ Millie didn’t lie. ‘Becca was beautiful, elegant and witty. She wouldn’t have had any difficulties knowing what to wear and what to say.’
‘So you saw us together and instead of thinking, He wouldn’t, you thought I understand why he would.’
‘Sort of.’
‘So would you agree that the whole incident said more about you than it did about me?’
Her heart was thumping. Had she been unfair? The doubt was slowly growing in her mind. ‘Maybe. I don’t know. She was my sister.’ She bit her lip. ‘I just want to put the whole thing behind us.’
His mouth tightened for a moment and then he lifted a padded envelope from the table and handed it to her. ‘This is for you.’
