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He worked late into the evening, not returning to the house until almost eleven o’clock. But, unlike previous nights, when she’d been in her own room, either fast asleep or pretending to be, Amelia was awake when he returned, dressed, sipping a cup of chamomile tea.
He clearly wasn’t expecting it, if the look on his face was anything to go by. And he looked...tired. She only had a moment to glimpse that before he flattened his face of any emotion and looked at her with mild curiosity. As though she were a creature who’d wandered into his home, a unicorn or narwhal, utterly mystical and somewhat novel.
‘Amelia? I thought you’d be asleep.’
‘I need to speak with you,’ she said softly, then cleared her throat. Her body screamed at his closeness, her lips throbbed and a drum began to beat low down in her abdomen, demanding attention.
‘Oh?’ He moved deeper into the sitting area, placing a document wallet down on the front hallstand. ‘Is there a problem?’
‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘Not really.’
‘Good.’ He expelled a breath, a sound which might have been one of relief or impatience. But she ignored it. This was important.
‘I need your help.’
That had his attention. His eyes narrowed and he strode closer. ‘You are sure everything is okay? The baby...?’
‘The baby’s fine, so far as I know.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I’m twelve weeks into the pregnancy,’ she said. ‘I remember the doctor I saw in England telling me I’d need a scan around now. And some other tests. Only I don’t speak Spanish and I have no idea where to go. I’ve tried to use online translation to find somewhere but it’s pretty impossible, to be honest. And anyway I don’t have a car here, though I guess I could get a taxi—but where would I get a taxi to?’
He stared at her, his expression shifting from confusion to something else, an anger that was self-inflicted. ‘Of course,’ he said, and his frown deepened. ‘I’m sorry to say that hadn’t occurred to me.’
‘Why would it?’ she asked shyly. ‘It’s not like you’ve had a baby before. This is all new to both of us.’
He frowned. ‘Still, it’s not exactly rocket science.’
‘The doctor in England referred me to a clinic in London. Obviously that’s not much good here.’
He turned away from her, striding towards the pa
noramic windows. His hands were on his hips and his back moved with the increased pace of his breathing.
‘I have many cars. You are welcome to drive any of them.’
She frowned, following the thread of conversation. His cars were all fast, expensive, sleek and powerful. She shook her head gently. ‘I’d prefer to buy something myself, something that’s not got the horsepower of a wild beast beneath the bonnet. Except I don’t even know where to do that.’
He turned to face her, his expression grim. ‘Fine. We’ll buy you a new car.’
‘I can buy myself a new car,’ she chided softly. ‘I just need your help to...do that.’
‘Fine.’ Frustration zapped in the air between them, like lightning hitting a river.
‘Thank you.’ She cleared her throat and tried to break the silence with a smile. It felt strange on her lips—she hadn’t smiled in a long time. Not since leaving England?
His eyes flashed in warning. ‘Don’t thank me for this, Amelia. I should have thought of it. I am truly sorry I overlooked all these practicalities—it’s not like me to overlook anything. You must have felt like my prisoner here, after all.’
‘It’s fine. I’ve been reading, and swimming, and...’ Her words petered out as he took a step closer, and then her breath grew heavy and her eyes swept shut.
‘It is not fine,’ he said simply, his accent thick. ‘Please accept my apology.’
What she would have preferred was an apology for his absence.
‘Fine, apology accepted,’ she agreed unevenly. ‘Now, about the appointment. I’ve been searching online and I think I’ve found a good obstetrics clinic.’ She held her phone out to him and he took it, but his eyes remained locked to hers.
The air between them was charged and yet she was powerless to look away. Her eyes were held to his by an invisible magnetism, too strong to ignore. ‘I just can’t read the reviews,’ she said, the words husky.
