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‘Because you had sex on tap?’
He blinked slowly and when he opened his eyes their deep sincerity almost made her look away. ‘I told you you were the best, and it’s true.’
She heard the rattle of a tea trolley and looked hopefully towards the door. Any interruption would be preferable right now to hearing these pointless words. She was good at sex, and he was in love with a dead woman.
It was never going to be a fair contest.
She stood up and started fussing with the recalcitrant zip on her bag, realised her toiletries were still in the bathroom and got frustrated with the slow progress. Where the hell was that doctor, anyway? Not that any doctor could help her now, because no doctor could help what was hurting inside her.
She took a calming breath. ‘Look, Daniel, thanks for being there yesterday. Thanks for stopping by and explaining all that. Please give my regards to Millie. Please let her know I was relieved to hear she hadn’t been hurt.’
He frowned. ‘Where are you going?’
‘Back to Brisbane. I have a flight booked. Meg’s going to meet me at the airport.’ She injected a dose of enthusiasm she didn’t feel into her voice. ‘I can’t wait to catch up with all the news.’
‘Sophie, I want you to come home.’
‘I am going home, Daniel. My home.’
‘But the wedding? What about the wedding?’
‘Didn’t you hear the news? I’m not needed here any more.’
He looked at her, dumbfounded. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘Why so shocked, Daniel? I thought you’d be pleased. It’s what you wanted, after all: the wedding’s off.’
His mind and senses reeled. He’d assumed he’d pick her up from the hospital and take her back to the island where he could soothe away her bruises, gentle her pain. He’d thought if he explained everything she might eventually understand, might forgive him.
She had to forgive him.
And he’d thought there was time, because there was a wedding to plan and she’d never walk away from that.
But if there was no wedding…
‘What happened?’
She put a hand to her hip and tilted her head with the falsest smile she could muster. ‘You know, it was the strangest thing. Apparently Monica overheard Jake talking to me on the phone and insisted he tell her what all the secrecy was about. When he told her that you were offering him money to break off the engagement, and had been responsible for dispensing with her last few boyfriends, she refused to believe you were capable of such a thing. You. The perfect brother.’ She laughed a little. ‘Imagine that.’
His hands fisted in his hair. What the hell had he done?
‘So you’ll no doubt be delighted to hear that they had a huge argument and it all got too hard—she couldn’t marry anyone who didn’t think the sun shone out of her brother, like she did, and he couldn’t marry anyone who didn’t believe him.’
She sucked in air.
‘So you finally got what you wanted. I hope you’re satisfied.’
She turned back toward her bags and made another effort at zipping up the zip, trying to make this chapter in her life final, all her efforts concentrated on the task in hand.
‘Sophie—’
She spun back round. ‘You’re still here?’
‘I’ll speak to them. I’ll fix it.’
‘Good luck. It didn’t sound too fixable when I heard the news.’
‘You can’t go. I said you were the best, Sophie. I meant it.’
Her sore lip suffered another ill-timed bite. ‘You played me for a fool—making love to me and flattering me like you actually cared. When all the time you just wanted to keep me held hostage in paradise, so I’d fall for your charms and believe you took this wedding seriously. Why the hell shouldn’t I go?’
‘Because I love you.’
He wasn’t sure who was the most shocked. She stood stock-still, her face drained of colour on one side, the garish blue bruises on the other standing out all the more.
While he reeled inside from the thunderclap discovery. He loved her. That was why he’d rejoiced when he’d discovered she wasn’t after his money. That was why he’d rejoiced every time Jake had turned his offers down, and why he didn’t rejoice when he’d heard the news the wedding was off. And that was why he’d never wanted to let her go.
‘I didn’t realise it myself. I didn’t know until now. But why else would I spend hours in meetings thinking about you rather than what’s on the agenda? Why would I rush home every day? Because I couldn’t get you out of my head. I wanted to be with you, Sophie, because I love you.’
