‘I wouldn’t dream of it,’ he said, with deliberate calm. ‘It’s been a long day and I am tired and hungry. So, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go and get something to eat.’ He glanced pointedly around the room. ‘Feel free to continue “looking”. But remember—no touching.’
Her eyes narrowed.
‘I wouldn’t dream of it,’ she snapped. ‘Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go and check on Archie. He’s your brother, in case you’ve forgotten.’
She turned and flounced out of the room.
Gritting his teeth, he yanked off his tie and tossed it on the bed. He didn’t ever lose his cool. But Dora Thorn pressed all his buttons. Made him see fifty shades of red. He felt like shaking her.
Loosening the top button of his shirt, he made his way downstairs, trying to reinstate the legendary self-control that had gained him a reputation for being ice-cold in and beyond his casinos.
The kitchen was cool and quiet. He preferred not to eat heavily in the evening, and if he wasn’t dining at the hotel Jian prepared him a light supper in advance. But, delicious as it looked, he was too wound up to eat.
His spine stiffened. A week ago this had seemed so straightforward. Legally, he knew it would be a challenge to overturn her temporary guardianship, and almost on a whim he’d devised a less conventional strategy: bring her to Macau and persuade her to see the benefits for Archie of a life with him.
But now it was in play he was beginning to wonder if perhaps challenging her guardianship would have been easier. It would certainly have been better for his blood pressure and his temper.
Remembering the way her grey eyes had snapped with fury as she’d accused him of being selfish and spoilt, he felt the muscles of his arms bunch against his shirt. He might have had every material comfort, but he’d had to earn his place in the Lao family.
Dora had no idea. She was impossible. Irrational. Utterly unreasonable.
How was he even in the wrong anyway? She had been snooping in his room.
His mouth twisted a fraction. That was twice in under a week she had invaded his personal space.
Glancing up, he felt his whole body tense.
Make that three times.
Dora was standing in the doorway—though ‘hovering’ might be a better description.
He shook his head slowly. ‘I really don’t think—’
‘I’m sorry.’
Leaning back against the counter, he stared at her in silence. Whatever he’d been expecting her to say, it hadn’t been that.
‘I don’t think I heard you correctly.’
‘I’m sorry.’ She inched forward, her grey eyes watching him warily. ‘I shouldn’t have gone into your room. It was wrong. But I did it because I was angry.’
She was speaking fast, her words almost running into one another.
‘I was angry with you. I thought you’d be here to meet Archie. And then you weren’t. I know he’s little, and he doesn’t understand, but you didn’t even ask about him...’
Her face was taut.
In fact her whole body was taut—as if she was holding herself in. His shoulders tensed. She wasn’t as good at it as he was. But then she probably hadn’t had as much practice.
‘I saw the monkey,’ she said quietly. ‘Why didn’t you tell me that you’d gone to see Archie?’
He hadn’t wanted to turn on the light, so it had been difficult to make out the little boy in the darkness, but he’d placed the cuddly monkey at the end of his cot.
‘I tried.’ His tone was harsh and, watching her bite her lip, he thought that maybe it was too harsh. ‘But not hard enough. Look, Dora, I wanted to be here to meet Archie—only somebody lost their child at the hotel. I couldn’t just leave. It was fine—he was fine,’ he added, catching sight of her expression. ‘He was hiding under a table. But the parents were very distressed and it took a long time to calm them down.’
He glanced down at his untouched meal.
‘Are you hungry?’