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r /> She didn’t look straight at him, and her evasion was beyond frustrating. “Because it was time for a change. What are you doing here?”
“You didn’t bank the cheque.”
She stared straight ahead, her eyes heavy on the garden beyond, but he suspected she wasn’t really looking.
“So?”
“You sold the house instead.”
A delicate pulse trebled at her jaw. “It’s not really any of your business.”
He nodded, but every fiber of his being pushed back against that summation. Of course it was his business.
“Am I going to be able to take my phone?” Sylvie’s voice came through to them from a distant room. “Will I need a charger?”
Adeline shook her head. “No, mum,” she called, swallowing. “No phones.”
Guy had about three thousand questions he wanted answered. “Where is she going?”
Adeline pressed her lips together. “It doesn’t matter.” She curled her fingers around the tea cup and moved to the other corner of the kitchen. With the distance, she apparently found it easier to look at him.
In fact, she stared at him unflinchingly.
“Adeline,” he said softly. “I need you to tell me why you returned the cheque.”
She sipped her drink. “Is it important?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.” His expression was one of frustration. “It just doesn’t make sense.”
“Of course it does,” she contradicted. “I couldn’t take your money.”
“You came and asked me for it,” he reminded her.
“Yes.” Tears filled her eyes and his gut twisted painfully. He didn’t want her to cry. His insides screamed at her visible agony; he wanted her to laugh again, like she had in London. Like they had.
“I came and asked you for help. If you’d … I asked you as … I suppose, as a friend. As someone who cared for me. I needed your help, Guy. But as soon as it became payment for … payment …” she squeezed her eyes shut. “I was never going to take it,” she said, dipping her head forward. “From the moment you made it a quid pro quo, I knew I wouldn’t accept it.”
Only the skills he’d learned in the boardroom enabled him to keep a neutral expression. “That was before we went to the island.”
“I know that.”
A small flicker of doubt crossed his face. “So why come then?”
Addie sipped her tea. “Why do you think?”
“I have no idea, Ava.”
She paled visibly.
“Adeline,” he corrected swiftly, mentally kicking himself. “I have no idea.”
“It was a week with you.” The words were whispered so quietly that he barely caught them. “And I would have done anything for that.”
Guy’s heart was twisting in his chest, ripping at his insides. “Why?”
