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and was about to wrench her attention away when Raf strode towards them, his expression equally serious.
Her stomach tightened and her lips parted. Forget being a busy body; now, she couldn’t look away. It was a rare opportunity to be able to observe him without being seen and for just a few moments she weakened, allowing herself to drink in the sight of him, answering all her body’s cravings hungrily. He nodded at something Gabe had said then reached out, shaking Nico’s hand. They were preparing to say goodbye. She kept staring – she was powerless to look away.
Just a few more moments and the group broke up. They were moving. This was her chance – she needed to speak with Raf and now she could do so without attracting attention. She watched the direction in which he moved and quickly finished making her tea, setting off that way with the cup poised carefully in one hand.
She found him several minutes later, near the shiny black helicopter she’d seen him flying a few days ago.
She hovered on the periphery of the helipad, uncertain now. Perhaps he was leaving after all? And without saying goodbye?
Feminine pique propelled her forward, moving closer and closer until finally he looked up and their eyes locked and all thoughts scattered from her brain, making thinking almost impossible.
For a moment his expression was forbidding and then he smiled, a slow, sensual smile that caused her blood to simmer. “Hey.”
His voice was deep and raspy. Her stomach twisted.
“Hello.” She crossed her arms over her chest, staring at him before belatedly realising she’d come here with a purpose. “You’re leaving?”
He put whatever he’d been holding down and moved towards her, so she had to brace herself for his imminent proximity.
“Yes.”
Disappointment seared her from the inside out. She told herself it was relief but Lauren knew the truth. The nurses had got it wrong and whatever gladness she should have known at that reprieve eluded her completely.
“Oh.” Her brow furrowed. “I see.”
She could feel him staring at her, and her heart fluttered in her chest. What was happening to her? With effort, she suppressed any feeling whatsoever, nodding softly. “Good.”
“Good?” His lips twisted in a sardonic smile, as though he were mocking her. Her heart skipped a beat.
She didn’t know how to answer.
“I –,”
“Damn it, Lauren,” he said at the same time. “Do you want me to leave? Are you waiting for me to go away again because that will make it easier for you to ignore me?”
Heat bloomed inside of her because it was such an accurate description of what she wanted – needed. And yet the idea of him leaving also sat like a stone in her gut.
“I don’t know,” she said, surprised by her honesty.
“For God’s sake, is this how it is with you? Fuck some guy and then treat him like crap until he gets the hint?”
She drew in a sharp breath, shocked by his outburst.
He dragged a hand through his hair, his eyes pinning her to the spot.
“I’m not treating you like crap. And I told you from the beginning: I’m not interested in a relationship.”
“And nor am I, believe me.” His gaze held hers as if to communicate the seriousness of that. “But you go out of your way to avoid me, to run away from me, looking through me whenever we happen to be in the same room. I mean, there’s not wanting a relationship and then there’s the way you’ve been behaving.”
She had done all those things. She hadn’t known he’d even noticed. A need to go on the offensive sparked in her belly. “Like it even matters. What happened between us was just a blip for you. A couple of days later you were with some model or whatever, so don’t act like you’ve been losing sleep over my perceived treatment of you.”
He stared at her, bemused, then shook his head. “Giselle is someone I used to date, the operative word being ‘used’ to. She’s in my past. We’re business partners now, that’s all.”
She refused to admit – much less confess – how mollified she was by that. “Forget it. I don’t care.”
He moved closer and without intending it she breathed in, inhaling his masculine fragrance, awareness flooding her veins.
“I think you do care, Lauren.”
