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‘Don’t you want me to meet your friends?’
He swung round on his haunches, his eyebrow arching up his forehead. ‘Huh?’
‘It just seems a bit strange—’ she forced the comment out, past lips that had dried to parchment ‘—that wherever we go we never seem to bump into anyone you know.’
She saw the flash of guilt in his eyes before he was able to mask it.
‘They don’t even know I’m here, do they?’ she asked, but from the flags of colour on his tanned cheeks she already knew the answer. The fact that he hadn’t told anyone about the baby either went without saying. She clamped down on the feeling of unease though. She mustn’t overreact. Just because he hadn’t told them yet, didn’t mean he would never tell them.
He swore softly and stood up. ‘Not yet.’
‘I see.’ She swallowed. ‘Do you plan to tell people? Eventually?’
‘Yeah, sure. I just wanted to keep you to myself for a while.’ He held her arm, his voice lowering to a seductive purr as he caressed the sensitive skin on the inside of her elbow with his thumb. ‘You remember Josie, Sonny’s daughter, the kid that woke you up when you were in the hut?’
She nodded.
‘She’s having a big wedding on the beach next Saturday. We’ll have to go to that, I’m one of the witnesses. Everyone will be there.’
He went back to sorting out the equipment.
‘Oh, okay. That’s good,’ she said, although the way he’d said they would ‘have to go’ made it sound as if he wasn’t too happy at the prospect. ‘But it might be nice to see them before that?’ she pushed. Obviously she had overreacted, but something about the whole thing still bothered her. Was he planning to keep their relationship a secret until then? ‘Because, you know, it might be a bit weird me turning up at this wedding pregnant with your child, if no one knows me.’
‘Do you think they’ll be able to tell?’ He dropped the wetsuit he’d been packing as his eyes shot down to her tummy. ‘You’re not showing too much yet.’
What?
The feeling of unease was replaced by the shock of vulnerability.
‘Well, no, maybe not, but...’ The words got caught behind the silly lump of emotion. Which had to be the pregnancy hormones, making her feel ridiculously oversensitive. But she couldn’t stop the thoughts coming, now that the dam had broken. ‘Why don’t you want them to know?’
‘Hey, what’s the matter?’ He stood up, the concern in his eyes almost making her back down again. ‘It’s not that big a deal. Believe me, it’s just easier not to tell them yet.’
She stared at him. Was he actually serious?
Yes, it might make it easier for him, but how would it be easier for her? Wouldn’t it make things awkward at this wedding if someone did notice? And asked questions about her condition? She knew they weren’t a proper couple, that she shouldn’t get too invested in their relationship. That they were just having fun with each other while sorting out what to do about their shared child. But the fact was, she’d been here for ten days, and they hadn’t actually sorted out anything yet. Not even how he was going to introduce her to his friends.
Was she his girlfriend? His wedding date? A holiday fling? Or just another of his temporary bonk buddies? Maybe being the mother of his child didn’t give her any relationship rights, but surely it ought to afford her a tiny iota of respect?
‘The thing is, Coop,’ she began, trying not to let the hurt show, ‘I can’t see how not talking about the baby is making it easier for me. I can’t stay here indefinitely, you know, and—’
‘Damn it, Ella, you’ve only been here a week. We can’t rush this stuff.’
‘Rush it? Coop, I’ve been here ten days!’ she said, exasperated now. ‘And we haven’t talked about the baby at all.’
‘Because we’ve been busy, doing...’ he paused ‘...other stuff,’ he said, so emphatically that she suddenly realised she’d been right to be suspicious of the endless round of activities. ‘Stuff that you said you enjoyed,’ he added, grudgingly, sounding a little hurt.
‘I did enjoy them. I loved every single minute of them,’ she rushed to reassure him, but then noticed he didn’t actually look that hurt. ‘But that’s not the point. We could have talked about it in the mornings before we went out. Or in the evenings when we got back.’
‘Uh-huh, well, we’ve been pretty busy then too.’ His gaze raked down her figure, making her whole body warm. And it occurred to her that the relentless schedule of daytime activities might not have been his only distraction technique. ‘And I don’t recall you complaining about that either,’ he added. ‘Especially when I had my mouth on that succulent little clit this morning.’
Hell. That did it.
She glared at him—the succulent nub in question throbbing alarmingly now in unison with her distended nipples. ‘You sod.’ He’d been playing her all along. And she’d been too dazed by her own lust to see it. ‘You’ve been seducing me deliberately, haven’t you, to stop me from discussing it? I knew it.’
‘Hey, calm down. I have not.’ His lips quirked. ‘I love sucking on your clitoris, remember?’ He reached for her arm, but she jerked it out of his grasp. Not finding the joke—or the fact that her clitoris wouldn’t stop throbbing—remotely amusing any more.
‘I suppose the next question is why? Why would you do that? Unless...’ Her temper faded, and then collapsed, at the stubborn, defensive look on his face.
