She reached for her tea, taking a long drink as she remembered her devastation. ‘He was upbeat, said the treatment would help. But it didn’t work as well as hoped and he needed assistance sooner than expected.
‘In the beginning he urged me to leave, but I refused. I wanted to be there for him, as he’d been for us.’ Sometimes she wondered if she’d clung to him so desperately because he was the one person who’d always been there.
‘As he grew worse, he relied on me more and more. He didn’t advertise his illness, didn’t want people feeling sorry for him, so Miles Dawlish never knew till late. Dawlish is David’s wife’s nephew and, as the estate came from her family and she never had any children, he was the heir. And a bumptious little man too.’
‘He is. Thoroughly unlikable.’
Alice swung round to stare. ‘But you believed what he said about me.’
Adoni stared straight back. ‘I didn’t know he was biased. But yes, it wasn’t one of my finer moments.’ A flicker of a smile appeared at the corners of those mesmerising eyes, arresting Alice. ‘I was out of sorts because the fascinating woman I wanted to spend the night making love to had disappeared, presumably to siphon off my credit cards.’ He spread his hands. ‘I’m sorry.’
She shook her head, her pulse thrumming at the admission he’d wanted to make love to her all night. As if he couldn’t get enough of the passion they shared either. ‘I suppose it was understandable in the circumstances.’
She took a deep breath and hurried on, eager to get this over. ‘The sicker David became the more I helped. At first it was just correspondence and keeping him company but then it was running the estate.’
‘Like fixing the pool?’ Adoni’s half smile did strange things to her insides.
‘And more. Organising improvements. Checking on tenants, doing the books. That’s where Dawlish and I came into conflict. David couldn’t bear the guy and he kept trying to borrow money. After the first few times David refused to see him and I was the messenger.’ Alice lifted one shoulder. ‘That’s when he turned ugly. Accused me of sleeping with David to get money.’ She laughed, the sound bitter. ‘Actually, most of the money was tied up in the estate, then there were charity commitments like the artists’ colony. What was left over went on David’s care.’
Poor David—he’d been so determined to keep some of his personal funds aside so Alice could study art. In the end she’d had to lie and pretend it hadn’t been spent on palliative care, so as not to distress him.
Silence descended. Not a combative one, but a reflective one. Alice curled back in her chair and finished her tea, feeling strangely lighter.
‘Thank you,’ Adoni said eventually. ‘I appreciate you telling me.’
She turned to find his eyes on her. She couldn’t decipher his expression. ‘Where does that leave us?’
‘Ready to move forward.’ It was a statement but she read the question in his eyes, as if he sought her agreement. Slowly she nodded.
‘So now you want to talk about the baby.’ She straightened her shoulders, trying to dredge up energy though she wilted after the emotions of the last half hour.
‘That can wait.’
‘Really?’ Surely the baby’s future was uppermost in his mind? It was the sole reason she was here.
‘Really.’ His mouth tipped up at one side in a slow smile and reaction jangled through her. He wasn’t even touching her and she wanted—‘I find I have to go to Athens for business. I’ll be away overnight.’
Alice fought not to show a reaction though her stomach dipped at the news. As if she didn’t want him to go.
‘Would you like to come? You didn’t see anything of the city except the airport.’ He paused. ‘There’s an art exhibition you might be interested in too.’
Instantly Alice nodded, delight filling her. But was it delight at the idea of seeing some of Greece’s artistic wonders?
Or relief at delaying their negotiations about the future?
Perhaps it was simply because they’d cleared up the doubts and distrust between them.
Alice had a terrible suspicion her delight was because she’d be with Adoni.