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Because the man stood waiting for her.
‘Brandon?’ she said, her colour heightening. ‘I... Hi.’
‘Hello, Lacey.’ Turning to the eager assistant standing behind him, he indicated the garment bag she carried. ‘Take Ms Carstairs’ bag to the heliport, and tell Jim we’ll be ready to take off in ten minutes.’
‘Wait? What?’ Lacey stared, wide-eyed, as the garment bag—containing clothes which didn’t even belong to her—was whisked out of her hand and the assistant headed for the lift, clearly all too eager to do his master’s bidding.
Unlike Lacey.
‘I have the helicopter waiting to take us back to Cade Tower in London,’ he announced, cupping her elbow to direct her towards the lifts. ‘My car can take you to your sister from there. Is she in hospital?’
Us.
The single word reverberated in Lacey’s chest, disturbing her almost as much as the thought of spending several more hours in Brandon’s company. Or the thought of the big reveal in their future which she was not remotely prepared for.
‘No, Milly’s at our flat, she’s not that sick,’ she sputtered as the lift shot towards the roof, and the feel of his fingers on her arm did all sorts of disturbing things to her equilibrium.
‘You live with your sister?’ he asked, then his lips quirked in that predatory smile which had disturbed her so much the day before. It wasn’t doing much to calm her erratic heartbeat now either.
‘Yes, we share a flat in Hackney,’ she said, then realised she’d accidentally given him the location of her home. Her and Ruby’s home, as well as Milly’s. But, before she had a chance to kick herself, his smile widened.
‘How gratifying,’ he said.
She frowned, not sure what she was supposed to make of the smile now, because it almost looked possessive, as well as smug.
‘Really, Milly’s not that sick. I totally overreacted,’ she added, determined to head him off at the pass—now that her worries about Ruby had been alleviated.
She had called Milly back after her shower to quiz her about Ruby’s condition and her sister had confirmed the doctor had called and, after ruling out anything worrying, had told Milly to give Ruby a dose of children’s painkiller. Milly had re-checked Ruby’s temperature at Lacey’s request and it had already come down several degrees.
Unfortunately, her concerns about Brandon Cade were galloping off in the opposite direction with the speed of a runaway horse.
The guilt, which had been pushing at her chest ever since she’d left his suite, thundered under her breastbone as the lift glided to the hotel’s rooftop heliport.
‘Nevertheless, you are returning to London?’ Brandon clarified.
‘Yes, but...’
‘Then it makes sense to take the chopper—it will be quicker.’
‘But I really don’t want to put you to all that trouble,’ she said, getting a little frantic as all her lies threatened to choke her.
She didn’t want him to meet Ruby. Not until she was ready. And she definitely was not ready now.
He let out an indulgent laugh which did not help with her growing anxiety at all.
‘It’s a little late for that, don’t you think, Lacey?’
Ten minutes later, as the chopper lifted into the sky and Paris’ Golden Triangle dropped away beneath them both, Lacey’s stomach plummeted.
‘I’m sorry, Mr Cade, the driver is on his way back from the Cade Estate, where you were due to arrive from Paris this afternoon.’ The assistant at the London heliport glanced at his phone. ‘We contacted him as soon as we heard about your change of plans, so he should arrive in approximately half an hour.’
Brandon frowned at the news.
‘It’s really okay, Brandon,’ Lacey jumped in as they entered the lift together. ‘I can catch a cab home. I really appreciate all you’ve done already,’ she added, the relief on her face confusing him.
He wasn’t buying the news her sister was okay, because he’d sensed her anxiety as she’d sat opposite him during the helicopter ride from Paris. He hadn’t tried to engage her in too much conversation. Not only had it been difficult with the headsets on, but the only thing he really wanted to talk about was his plans for her... Forthem. And even he knew now wasn’t the time.
He had planned to have his driver take her home to her sister, to give himself time to regroup and work out a strategy.
