Shivering with cold and the rudeness of her awakening, Sarah grimaced. She liked to wake up slowly and peacefully, rising in her own time.
‘You’re like a zombie at this hour, aren’t you?’ Alex thrust a brush in her hand.
‘I have no dressing-gown.’
‘Have mine.’ Determined not to be circumvented, Alex took it upon himself to thread her arms into the sleeves and fold it round her. Helpfully, he tied the sash and rolled up the cuffs.
‘I look ridiculous.’
‘Who cares?’
Thrust into the bathroom, she groaned. She had barely slept the previous night and now the torture had started with the dawn chorus. What was the matter with Alex? Did a vein of insanity run in the Terzakis genes? Hadn’t she given him what he said he wanted? Hadn’t she left him alone, stayed out of his path? Most unfaithful husbands would kill for that sort of freedom. So why was Alex suddenly and inexplicably demanding that she do wifely things like sharing the same bed and breakfast-table?
‘I won’t be home tonight...’ Alex informed her.
Sarah didn’t bat an eyelash. She wondered why he was bothering to tell her.
‘I will be in Geneva until tomorrow.’
A long, simmering silence stretched.
‘Do you have any interest in my movements?’ Alex enquired very, very quietly.
None. She wouldn’t allow herself to have an interest. She wanted to think of Alex as Nicky’s uncle, not as her husband. In fact, she flatly refused to think of him as her husband. Her clear emerald eyes gleamed. ‘Do you want me to take an interest?’
His strong jawline hardened. Golden eyes flashed. Thrusting back his chair, he tossed aside his napkin. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’
Sarah cleared her throat and asked a question that had been nibbling anxiously at the back of her mind for several days. ‘Alex...?’
He studied her with unhidden impatience.
‘When is Damon planning to come and see Nicky?’ she completed tautly.
Alex stilled, clearly taken by surprise. ‘He has had an open invitation since
the day of our wedding.’
Sarah took a deep breath. ‘Is it me? Is that why he hasn’t come?’
‘I really have no idea. Naturally it will not be an easy meeting for either of you,’ Alex acknowledged. ‘Although a little more honesty on your part might simplify matters.’
‘On my part?’
‘I’m prepared to concede that you were not aware that Damon was a married man. But I will not accept that he ever asked your sister to marry him—’
‘He did,’ Sarah said tightly.
‘Or,’ Alex continued, ‘that he left your sister without means of support.’
‘He did,’ she said again.
‘I won’t believe that,’ Alex asserted grimly. ‘Money would have been the easiest thing of all for him to give to salve his conscience. He knew that the cheque I gave was never cashed. When you decide to face the truth of that affair, maybe then I will think the time is right to encourage Damon more actively to visit us here.’
‘I am not lying.’ Furiously conscious that he did not believe her, Sarah stared back at him, taut with frustration. Without proof, she knew she had no hope of convincing Alex of her innocence. First and foremost he would choose to believe his brother, but it angered Sarah that Alex should continue to harbour this view of her as an outright liar. Angered and hurt, she registered. Did that mean Alex’s opinion mattered to her? She was shaken by the awareness that it did.
Alex sent her a glittering golden glance. ‘For Nicky’s sake, I am prepared to make certain sacrifices.’
‘Sacrifices?’ she questioned without understanding.