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‘But an attack on a woman on her own at night is a threat,’ he insisted, catching her close. ‘You must never do this again. Do you understand me?’
She didn’t fight him this time. In some calm part of her she knew he was talking sense. ‘No, Luc, no,’ she said softly. ‘Don’t say anything. I should never have come to Brazil. I should have told you about the baby when we were in Scotland, and I should have stayed there. But I had to be stubborn and come here, and now I’ve complicated everything.’
‘When is life ever straightforward?’ He brushed a wayward strand of hair from her face.
‘It’s not straightforward tonight,’ she agreed. ‘Tonight is so complicated that I need to take a step back, but if you want to see me safely to the hotel...’
‘Of course I will.’
‘I was silly to run off. You were right about the hormones.’ She shook her head. ‘They rule me.’
‘I know.’ He paused before suggesting, ‘What if there were no conditions to your staying?’
She shrugged. ‘I’d stay?’
‘Seriously?’
‘But only if I can move into the staff quarters, and only if you let me stand or fall by my own merit.’
Everything she asked for was contrary to his nature, but he couldn’t deal with Emma as he dealt with everything else in life. He would have to learn to compromise. They both would. ‘We’ll have to talk this through.’
‘No surrender on the staff accommodation,’ she warned him.
Staying close but not touching was the most extreme torture known to man, but he did as he had promised and took Emma straight back to the hotel. They walked in silence the entire way, and by the time they arrived in the lobby something significant had changed. Even though they hadn’t spoken, it was as if a wall had come down.
‘Thanks for giving me the space I asked for,’ she murmured as they waited for the elevator.
He stood back as the steel doors slid open. ‘Goodnight, Emma. I’ll have someone sort out your accommodation.’
‘Thank you.’
He stood for a moment staring at polished steel as her face disappeared behind the sliding doors, and then, decision made, he turned on his heels and walked away.
* * *
She had asked Luc to back off and give her space. She hadn’t expected him to take her quite so literally, Emma reflected, chewing on her lip as she headed out of her new and very comfortable room in the staff quarters. They hadn’t spoken to each other since Karina’s party and that was days ago. She had lain awake at night since then wondering where he was, and had asked different members of staff, only to be told that Senhor Marcelos was away on one of his trips. She didn’t like to ask Karina. She had too much to tell her before that, and as Karina had been busy the old story of the right moment to talk about the baby had never come.
She found Karina sitting at their usual table in the staff canteen. She looked up as Emma approached.
‘You look as if you haven’t slept. Frustration keeping you awake?’
Ignoring this, Emma pulled a concerned face as she sank down onto the seat next to her friend. ‘Sat up all night worrying about the lack of hot water in my bathroom, if you must know.’
‘As diversionary tactics go, that was lame,’ Karina remarked. ‘Hot water?’ she repeated suspiciously, scooping up another mouthful of aromatic sauce. ‘Really?’
‘Yes. Really. The shower in my room,’ Emma explained, blinking owlishly as she forced out the story. ‘There’s something wrong with it. It made me think it might be worth completing a snagging list on every apartment in the staff quarters, so that’s what I’ve done.’
‘Of course you have,’ Karina commented drily, getting back to her food.
‘The plumber’s coming round today to check them all out.’
‘That’s not the kind of plumbing I had in mind,’ Karina murmured, shooting a look at Emma.
‘Oh.’
‘Exactly. Oh,’ Karina echoed. ‘I know about you and my brother, so no use pretending. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice you were missing from the party? For ever?’ she emphasised, rolling her eyes. ‘Or that when you left, Luc chased after you?’ she added when Emma started to protest.
‘That was nothing.’ She brushed this off with a casual gesture. ‘Luc saw me safely back to the hotel, and that was it.’
Karina hummed as if she didn’t believe a word of it. ‘Did he say anything when he caught up with you?’
