‘Shall I teach you?’
He leaned back in his chair. ‘How do you know how to play if you were always entertaining yourself alone?’
‘I spun the board and played against myself.’
‘Oh?’ He looked arch. ‘What else did you do to entertain yourselfalone?’
She shot a look at his saucy tone and felt that delicious warmth deep inside. ‘I painted my nails and I plaited my hair. And I’m not joking. I mastered all sorts of cool styles with my wigs.’ She leaned forward. ‘But I don’t like that I have to play by myselfnow.’
He opened his arms. ‘Come play with me, then.’
Finally.She sauntered over to him and straddled his lap. Looking deep into his eyes, she saw that lingering tiredness. He’d been awake for hours.
‘I think you need to go to bed.’ She brushed her lips against his.
‘You think?’
‘I know.’
‘Only if you come with me.’
‘Oh, I intend to. Repeatedly.’
He chuckled and stood, lifting her easily. Violet wriggled and wrapped around him in delight. This chemistry they had... She was beginning to think it had an eternal source of fuel.
‘I’ve been researching on the Internet,’ he said hours later after they’d eaten a lazy dinner and were naked and reclining on the bed like debauched demigods from antiquity.
‘Is that wise?’ She looked at him askance. ‘There’s a lot of rubbish on the Internet.’
He chuckled. ‘You don’t bother?’
‘Never.’
‘You haven’t typed in my name?’
‘No.’ She really didn’t want to see what the world said about him.
‘Well, I’ve been looking at some obstetricians. You want to look over their details? Then maybe we can make an appointment for next week back in Manhattan.’
She wrapped her arms around her legs. ‘If we must.’ But she appreciated that he was asking her, not just making the appointment without even informing her.
‘You know we must, Violet. Don’t let fear stop you from doing what’s right.’ He inhaled. ‘We’re still going to need confirmation of everything. All counts.’
‘All counts?’ She frowned, puzzled, and then narrowed in on his wariness. ‘Do you mean you still want to get a paternity test?’
He nodded. ‘My lawyers will require evidence of the relationship between the child and me.’
‘Your word isn’t enough?’ Shock then anger rippled through her. ‘Don’tyoubelieve I was a virgin that night? Do you believe I’ve had sex with someone else since? A whole lot of someone else’s? Unprotected sex, even?’
How could he even ask this when they were lying naked in bedright now? She sat up and tugged the top sheet, wrapping it around her and not caring at all that she’d left him exposed.
‘I apologise if it offends you. I’m not questioning your integrity.’
‘Of course you are. That’s exactly what you’re doing.’ She frowned. ‘I told you. At the time. I trusted you enough to tell you and then to let you...’ She was hurt that he wouldn’t believe she’d been honest about that. ‘The only person I’ve ever had sex with is you. But you don’t believe me.’
‘I do believe you,’ he argued gruffly. ‘Otherpeoplewon’t. It is in both our best interests for everything to be proven. For the baby too. It’ll stop the worst conjecture.’
‘What do we care about conjecture? I don’t care about what strangers think about me.’