In no way did he and Kate make a good team. They didn’t make any kind of team. They would never match. And he’d been wrong when he’d told her there was nothing she could do he wouldn’t like. He hadn’t liked what she’d said. He didn’t want anyone
singing his praises. He didn’t need anyone on his side. Ever.
One night of spectacular sex. That was all they’d had. He’d assumed she’d been on the same page, but it hadn’t sounded as if she was. It had sounded as if she’d become...involved. And if he was being brutally honest she wasn’t the only one.
When he thought of the uncharacteristic things he’d said and done since meeting her he realised that at some point he’d lost the sense of who he was. Despite blithely assuming he had everything under control, right from the beginning he’d allowed her to get under his skin and invade his thoughts.
Take the way he’d insisted on fixing her issues, issues that theoretically had nothing to do with him, out of some misguided non-existent sense of responsibility. Look at what he’d done with the thank-you note she’d sent him. He’d had no reason to keep it and he should have shredded it. Nevertheless he’d tucked it away in the top drawer of his desk in the office. Why? Who knew?
Then there was the red convertible parked up outside. It hadn’t been the only car left. He’d had ample choice. But when he’d been presented with the options he’d recalled the wistful longing in her voice when she’d told him all those weeks ago that she’d always wanted one and he’d simply thought she’d like it. In much the same way he’d thought she might enjoy a visit to the maths museum in Florence.
And then there were the tiny snippets about himself that she’d asked for and he’d given her. She’d only wanted one. He’d given her three. Too many. Too much.
He should never have done any of it, he thought grimly as he pushed himself upright and rubbed his hands over his face. He most definitely shouldn’t have slept with her again. However great the pressure of the weekend, however powerful his desire for her, he should have had better control. He’d been careless, weak and self-indulgent and that sense of imminent implosion was expanding with every second. If he didn’t want everything he’d striven for to crash and burn, he had to put an end to whatever was or wasn’t going on with Kate. Right now.
Shutting down and filling with steely resolve, Theo headed downstairs, and, on seeing that Daniel had gone, after muttering to Kate that he had something to take care of but wouldn’t be long, left. And when he returned an hour later, the chaos churning around inside him had been dispelled. Cool, steady calm had returned and nothing, nothing, was going to threaten it again.
‘Hi,’ said Kate, greeting him with a brightness and enthusiasm that bounced straight off his armour and a kiss on the mouth that he didn’t even feel. ‘Are we off? Did you know that the museum has a section dedicated to Pythagoras? It focuses on puzzles inspired by his theorem and I can’t wait.’
Too bad. ‘Pack up your things.’
‘Oh?’ she said, staring at him in surprise. ‘Why?’
‘We’re going home.’
Her grin faded and disappointment spread across her lovely face, and it bothered him not one jot. ‘But the deal?’
‘Signed.’
‘So Florence?’
‘Cancelled.’
‘And...us?’
‘Over.’
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE tautly silent journey back to a grey and wet London, Kate was accompanied by a level of disappointment that she didn’t understand. The weekend might have ended abruptly and a day ahead of schedule, but she’d always known that once Theo’s deal was signed that would be that. She’d always been more than all right with it, so what was this crushing sense of anticlimax all about? Why did she feel so stunned and so, well, sad?
None of it made any sense. Yes, she’d been excited about going to the Garden of Archimedes, but she could easily go on her own another time. She didn’t need Theo to make her arrangements for her. And while another night of incredible sex would have been wonderful, it wasn’t as if she wouldn’t survive without it. In fact, she ought to be glad this ridiculous charade was over and she could get on with the rest of her life, starting with the visit to her sister that she had been prepared to miss.
Yet she wasn’t.
Maybe it was the unexpectedness of it that was troubling her. Or the sudden inexplicable change in his mood this morning, which she still couldn’t fathom. When she’d left him in the shower, he’d been thoroughly relaxed. She’d made sure of it. Yet, mere moments after the chat she and Daniel had had, he’d stormed off and returned in a very different frame of mind.
What could possibly have happened in the meantime? Had he heard what she’d had to say about him? Since she hadn’t exactly been whispering he might well have done, but even if he had, why would that make him react so negatively? She’d only had positive things to say, and she was pretty sure that the false picture she’d painted of their relationship was what had got the deal signed. So really, he ought to be thanking her, not blanking her.
She didn’t understand it, but when she asked what was wrong all she got in response were grunts and monosyllables, and that hurt because she deserved more. She wanted more. She wanted to know what he was thinking and what he was feeling. She wanted to burrow beneath his surface, find out what was going on and fix it. And not just because she found him insanely attractive. She also liked and admired him and cared about him. He was everything she’d told Daniel Bridgeman he was, and so much more. He was complicated and difficult and layered and fascinating. Challenging and annoying and brilliant.
And about to drop her home and drive off out of her life for good.
This really was it, Kate thought, her heart squeezing painfully at the realisation. The fake relationship that somehow no longer felt fake was actually over. Once she got out of the car she’d never see or hear from him again. Why did that hurt so much? Why did she feel as though she were being sliced in two? Was she actually going to be physically sick?
With fingers that were oddly trembling she lowered her window and turned her face towards it. The cool fresh breeze instantly calmed her churning stomach but it did nothing to alleviate the misery now scything through her body. Why had it had to end now? Why couldn’t she have had one more day and one more night? Why couldn’t she have had for ever?
At that, Kate instantly froze. Time seemed to skid to a halt. Her head emptied of everything but that last bewildering thought.