Marriage in Name Only? Read Free Page B

halfway to her mouth. ‘My sixty seconds of fame. I’m not likely to be repeating that any time soon.’
    But he knew
she
knew exactly what he meant. As he watched her cheeks turned pink, her eyes darkened and met his for a few unguarded seconds before she reached for her coffee. She took a sip, leaving a tempting fleck of foam on her upper lip.
    ‘I didn’t know you filled in at the last minute until Zahira told me,’ he went on. ‘That was a pretty game stunt you pulled. I’m ashamed to say, I’d have had second thoughts about the safety of that rope myself.’
    ‘Yes, well, that’s me. Always up for a challenge.’ She licked the foam off with the tip of her tongue and said, ‘Apology accepted, by the way. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you follow me home.’
    ‘You don’t need to worry.’ No matter how he’d have preferred to end the evening.
    She nodded. ‘Thanks.’
    ‘Eight years is a long time to be away.’ She only looked around twenty. ‘How old were you when you left?’
    ‘Nineteen. I’m an adventureholic, couldn’t wait to leave.’ She snaffled one of his fries. ‘The freedom and independence. No one telling you what to do. No one to tell you you’re doing it wrong.’ Her voice turned sombre and the light faded from her eyes.
    A man? he wondered. And things hadn’t ended well. ‘So what brought you back?’
Or chased you away
.
    She chewed a moment, studying the table. When she looked up again, she was smiling, but she didn’t fool himfor a second. ‘Family,’ she said brightly, mask in place. ‘You know how it is.’ A haunted desperation flickered in her eyes before she looked away again, fingers tense around her bun.
    Yes, he thought, those same emotions running through him, he knew how it was to owe family, but his bet was still on the man. He waited until she met his gaze once more then murmured, ‘What did he do to you?’
    Colour drained from her cheeks. ‘Who?’
    ‘The guy who put those clouds in your eyes.’
    ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about—there’s no
guy,
I was talking about my
family.’
    He nodded slowly. ‘They’re glad to have you back, then? Your family?’
    ‘They live in Sydney.’ Biting her bottom lip, she rewrapped the remains of her meal in record time, screwed it up and stood. ‘I have to go.’
    ‘Hang on.’ He stood too. ‘Can I see you again?’
    ‘I don’t think so.’ She swung her backpack onto her shoulders, swiped up her helmet. Cool, guarded eyes met his. ‘Thanks for the coffee.’ Her tone was reasonable enough but the message was clear and final. A one-eighty-degree turnaround from the vibes he’d felt earlier in the evening when she’d swung down towards him.
    Fine. He didn’t need the complication in his life right now, anyway. ‘You’re welcome, and ride safely.’
    He resumed his seat, studying her through the windows as she walked into the damp night, her blonde hair washed moon-pale beneath the car park’s lighting. What was her story? She’d said she’d come back for family but hadn’t caught up with them? She’d tripped over her tongue with that one and hadn’t been able to get away from him fast enough.
    Nope. She could deny it all she wanted—only a love gone wrong would elicit that lost-soul response he’d seen in her Scotch-coloured eyes.
    And he ought to know.
    His gaze lingered on her a moment more, then he turned away. She worked for Dana; she’d be easy to find. Tonight he had more important things on his mind than casual sex and other people’s problems.
    Such as how he was going to sweet-talk Sheikh Qasim bin Omar Al-Zeid into buying his gold.
    Jordan’s mother had inherited the majority shares in Rivergold when his father had died, and she’d nearly bankrupted the company—his father’s love and life’s work. Jordan had finally bought her out with the trust fund he’d inherited on his thirtieth birthday, but it had taken him two years of solid work and little sleep