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‘You’re going? Really?’
‘Yes, I am.’ Quite why he’d made up his mind on the spur of the moment, he didn’t know. But he was stuck with the decision now. ‘My sister may drive me nuts most of the time, but I wouldn’t deliberately set out to disappoint her or my niece.’
Her arm went limp in his grasp, the colour riding her cheeks like a beacon as the tension drained out of her. ‘I didn’t … I thought you were …’ Her voice trailed off, the guilty flush heating.
‘See what I mean about the eavesdropping?’ he said.
She dipped her head. When her gaze lifted back to his, he saw contrite and embarrassed. Not a look he would ever have associated with her. But then she’d never been predictable.
He always made a point of not delving too deeply into a woman’s motivations, because that way lay madness. But the itch of discomfort wasn’t doing a damn thing to halt his curiosity. Why had she flown off the handle like that? She’d mentioned being rejected by someone she loved. And he suddenly wanted to know who. And why.
‘I shouldn’t have butted in. Or jumped to conclusions,’ she added. ‘I’m really sorry.’
‘You know, you owe me,’ he said, the solution to his problem popping into his head with startling clarity. ‘You made assumptions about me that weren’t true—and you should make it up to me.’
She’d forced his hand, made him agree to visit Maddy when he hadn’t properly weighed up the options. He deserved some payback for that.
‘How?’ she asked blankly.
Cal silenced the little voice in his head telling him to stop and think this through. So what if he was using whatever it was that had caused that passionate reaction against her? And so what if the urge to keep her with him was unprecedented? This solution would make the trip to Maddy’s a lot more bearable, and give them both the chance to finish this thing once and for all.
‘I want you to come with me.’
CHAPTER NINE
RUBY gave a half-laugh, sure he had to be joking, but Cal didn’t laugh back. In fact, he didn’t even smile. ‘You’re not serious? I don’t know your sister,’ she spluttered.
‘That didn’t bother you a moment ago.’
He couldn’t possibly be serious. The idea was preposterous. But even more preposterous was the fanciful little bump in her heartbeat at the determination in his voice.
‘You’ll like Maddy,’ he said, as if that were even relevant.
‘But this is a family affair, and I’m a stranger. Why would you even want me there?’ she said. She’d made a foolish mistake, not just jumping to conclusions, but getting worked up about what she’d overheard in the first place. How he behaved towards his sister—or anyone else—shouldn’t have mattered to her in the slightest.
His gaze roamed over her, making heat curl and twist in her abdomen. ‘You mean apart from all the obvious reasons.’
‘Yes, apart from those.’ She crossed her arms over her chest, refusing to let him sidetrack her—even if her hormones were dancing a jig again at the sight of his naked chest. ‘Sex isn’t a good enough reason to introduce a woman you barely know to your family.’
‘I think we’ve got to know each other pretty well, actually,’ he said.
She shivered as his thumb stroked across her collarbone.
He laughed, the sound rough with arousal. ‘See what I mean?’
She batted his hand away, colour rising to her cheeks at the quiver at her core, the quick-fire response making her feel oddly vulnerable. ‘You’re going to have to do better than that. It’s not like we can spend the whole time we’re there in bed. I’ll have to talk to your sister.’ She threw up her hands. ‘How are you going to introduce me? I’m not even a proper girlfriend.’ How could she have forgotten that a moment ago?
Placing a hand on her hip, he tugged her easily towards him. ‘I’ll tell her you’re a friend. She’ll be so excited to see you she won’t delve too deeply.’
Ruby’s brow creased. ‘Why would she be excited to see me?’
He dipped his head, touched her forehead to his before giving a hefty sigh. ‘All right, I’ll come clean. Ever since Maddy’s got married, had a child, she’s made it her mission in life to find me that special someone. So I can be as blissfully happy as she is.’
Beneath the amusement, Ruby heard the sharp edge of cynicism. ‘And you don’t like that?’
‘I hate it. I’m not the love and marriage type,’ he said, making it sound like an affliction. ‘But she won’t take the hint. Maddy’s a fixer. She always has been, ever since we were kids. If she sees a problem, she tries to fix it. Even if the problem doesn’t exist.’
‘Maybe she just wants you to be happy,’ Ruby said, finding it sad he didn’t appreciate having someone who cared that much about him.
