‘Hmm...?’
‘You’ve been smiling like the cat that got the cream ever since you got in.’
I reach out and place my hand on his thigh, squeezing softly. ‘It kind of feels that way.’
His leg tenses beneath me and I see his jaw pulse. ‘You need to move your hand before I have to pull over.’
I laugh, the sound husky and loaded with the imaginings that have been keeping me company so far, and he looks at me briefly, shaking his head.
‘How was the ball?’
‘Are you trying to distract me?’
‘Yes.’
I pout and pull my hand away. ‘It was good. I think we stand a chance of raising more than we anticipated.’
‘That’s good.’ His eyes are fixed ahead now, as he drives. ‘Did your brother go?’
My laugh is harsh this time. ‘My brother would see it as a waste of his time. If there’s nothing in it for him, he doesn’t see the point.’
He nods, his fists flexing around the wheel. ‘You’re very different?’
‘We share our father’s DNA—that’s as close as it gets.’
He has successfully managed to kill my mood. Especially since I have no intention of returning home tonight, and that will lead to further questions from Philip tomorrow. In front of Granny, of course.
‘If he had his way he’d see me out of his life for good.’
I expect him to scoff. Instead he frowns at me, serious, concerned. ‘That’s a bit extreme.’
‘Not for him. He’d probably have me dead if it wouldn’t dirty his hands too much.’
‘That’s ridiculous—you can’t mean that.’
Did she? No, she guessed not. But... ‘He’d see me thrown out of the family without a penny—I know that much.’
‘What makes you think that?’
I shift in the seat and smooth out my dress. I feel his eyes flick to my exposed thigh, to the slit that won’t be tamed now I’m seated, and he swallows as he looks back to the windscreen. His obvious desire warms me, helps to beat back the chill of our conversation. Cait is the only one with whom I’ve ever really discussed Philip and his obvious dislike of me.
‘He puts a lot of effort into picking apart my flaws for Granny’s benefit. Take this morning, for example. The fact I hadn’t returned home last night was his topic of conversation when I arrived to visit her.’
‘You’re a grown woman.’ His fists flex around the steering wheel again as he presses himself back in the seat. ‘What business is it of his?’
‘It’s not my lack of homecoming that bothers him. It’s what he thinks I’ve been up to with my time. He’ll do anything to have my reputation pulled apart in Granny’s eyes.’
‘But why?’
I shrug. ‘To get me written out of her will, pushed out of the family, named and shamed... Take your pick.’
‘But your grandmother loves you,’ he says softly, clearly finding my reasoning hard to believe. ‘Surely she wouldn’t take his snide remarks as a reason to cut you off?’
I look out of the passenger window as I consider his question. ‘She loves me in so much as she can, but she’ll always put the Lauren name first. The family heritage.’ I blow out a breath as I turn back to him. ‘It sounds crazy, but it’s true. “A Lauren must be above reproach.”’
I mimic her voice as I quote her and smile. He doesn’t return it.
‘Sounds cold to me.’