‘Should I ask this man to leave?’ Elaine asked crisply. She had been standing politely to one side, to give Carrie some space, but now she stepped closer and handed Carrie her own towelling robe. ‘John and I certainly won’t put up with anyo
ne bothering you while you are in our home.’
Carrie turned away slightly and gratefully pulled the robe on. She belted it tightly and made herself look back up into Nik’s face with a confidence she didn’t really feel. She wanted Elaine and her husband to make him leave, but she knew they had to sort this out now. Besides, somehow she doubted whether anyone could actually make Nik leave if he wasn’t ready to.
‘Miss Thomas and I have not finished our discussion yet,’ Nik said arrogantly. ‘And we would appreciate a little privacy, if that would be convenient for you.’
‘Just hold on a minute—’ Elaine started to bluster.
‘It’s all right.’ Carrie spoke to her friend, making her voice sound bright and confident. ‘There are some issues that Mr Kristallis and I really do need to clarify.’
‘I’ll be just inside with John,’ Elaine said. ‘Call me if you need anything.’ She gave Nik a hard stare, then turned reluctantly and headed across the lawn to gather up the children and the nanny.
Carrie looked back at Nik. He was watching Elaine pick up Danny and carry him away into the villa. The intense expression on his face made her shudder.
He continued to stare into the dark interior of the villa for a few moments longer, then suddenly his piercing blue gaze turned back to her. But she was ready for him and spoke before he had a chance.
‘Let’s get this straight,’ Carrie said firmly. ‘You have no right to storm in here and demand explanations from me. I am under no obligation to report my plans to you.’
‘No, you’re not. At least not yet,’ Nik added. ‘But what about common decency?’
‘Decency!’ Carrie gasped. ‘That’s rich, coming from you—the man who forcibly kisses total strangers just because he feels like it, and who barges uninvited into other people’s homes whenever it suits him!’
‘And you’re so perfect?’ Nik asked. ‘By taking Danny out of the country you’ve done exactly what you accused me of planning.’
‘I haven’t abducted him,’ Carrie said. ‘It’s up to me to decide where I want to take him.’
‘And to do whatever you want without any regard for other people?’ Nik demanded. ‘I gave my word never to take Danny anywhere without your knowledge. And even as I made that promise you were planning to get on a plane with him a few hours later!’
‘That’s different—’ Carrie started.
‘Perhaps you would be so good as to tell me your plans now?’ Nik interrupted coldly, as if whatever reasons and explanations she was about to offer were completely immaterial to him. ‘How long are you staying in Menorca and where are you intending to go when you leave here?’
‘I shall be staying here with Elaine’s family until Friday,’ Carrie said quietly. Suddenly there didn’t seem to be any point in making things more difficult between them. ‘And then I shall return to my flat in London and carry on like normal.’
‘All right,’ Nik said. ‘You may stay here and honour your work agreement. But that is on the strict understanding that you will not agree to any similar undertakings in the future.’
‘My work is none of your business. I don’t need your permission,’ Carrie said in exasperation. ‘I keep telling you that.’
‘But where you and Danny go and who you see is my concern,’ Nik said. ‘I keep telling you that, but since you seem to have difficulty accepting it, I shall be leaving my assistant here in Menorca while I return to London to complete some business.’
‘You’re going to leave someone here to keep an eye on me?’ Carrie gasped. ‘Who do you think you are?’
‘You know who I am. I’ve never tried to conceal my identity from you or mislead you about my intentions,’ Nik said. ‘You, on the other hand, don’t have such a shining record. Let’s not forget what you were up to when we first met.’
‘I wasn’t up to anything,’ Carrie said, feeling her cheeks blaze. A rush of images spiralled horribly through her mind—Nik catching her red-handed in Darren’s study, Nik kissing her, the appalling photograph of them kissing that she’d just seen in the magazine.
She gritted her teeth and stared up at him, refusing to let her thoughts continue down that path. She flicked her damp fringe out of her eyes and tried to look confident and unperturbed by his comments.
‘I know what you told me,’ Nik said. ‘Surely you don’t think it’s wise to get involved with that sort of thing?’
‘I was doing a favour for Lulu,’ Carrie said. ‘What’s wrong with helping a friend out?’
‘Considering what Lulu was up to under her husband’s roof, with one of his best friends, I’d say the answer to that question hinges on your attitude to adultery,’ Nik said.
‘You don’t know the whole story,’ Carrie said defensively, actually wishing that she’d known what was going on before she’d agreed to do Lulu’s dirty work. But there was no way she’d admit that to Nik. ‘There are always two sides to these things.’
‘Maybe more than two sides,’ Nik said. ‘After all, you were in Darren’s study. Perhaps you were there for a secret liaison with him.’