Pleading exhaustion on the flight to Seychelles, she’d handed the twins over to her family and disappeared into the plane’s bedroom. Instead of sleeping she’d spent the five hours of flight time examining the craziness of the past few days, specifically her immediate, fire-hot reaction when Angus kissed her. Part of it was a sexual hangover from London—she’d felt young again, unencumbered. Angus was someone she found attractive, always had, and probably always would. When he kissed her, everything—the kids, her disastrous non-wedding, the responsibilities of life—disappeared and it was lovely to justfeel.
But she knew she had to corral her attraction to him, had to get it under control because, even without his connection to the twins, it was far too soon for her to consider jumping into bed with another man. She needed to find her emotional feet again, to be on her own and to figure out exactly what she wanted. Her last attempt to create the family had backfired horrendously.
Angus wasn’t the answer to her prayers, nor was he the man she needed to make her family complete. And—this was a thought that popped into her head at the beginning of the flight and wouldn’t go away—maybe, just maybe, her family was perfect the way it was, with just the three of them. Her boys had Micah and Jago, and Jabu as role models and they were fine men. Yes, being a single mum was tough, but she’d survived the hardest years. She had plenty of money and her family’s support...
Maybe she’d been looking for something she thought she needed but didn’t. Not really. And how stupid did that make her feel?
Yes, Angus made her yearn and burn, but that was attraction, desire, a biological need for sex. She had to look at him clearly, look at their situation without rose-coloured glasses. He was the twins’ dad, not a potential love interest. She wasn’t ready for another relationship, not until she sorted her head out.
‘I don’t want to cause you more stress, Thadie,’ Angus told her when she turned to face him again, his thumb stroking the inside of her wrist. ‘But something is bubbling between us, we both know it.’
‘And it’s complicated by the fact that you are Gus and Finn’s father,’ Thadie agreed.
He pushed her sunglasses onto the top of his head and frowned. ‘Look on the bright side—with my arrival you don’t have to think about marrying to give the twins a father. I am their father so you can stop looking for another one. That’s the real reason you agreed to marry your ex, right?’
‘I...’ she spluttered, caught off guard. She started to deny it but stopped. It was the truth.
‘How did you work that out?’
Angus stuck his thumb out. ‘Reason number one, when you were doing that impromptu press conference—gorgeous dressing gown, by the way—’ Thadie glared at him but he ignored her ‘—you were angry, but you weren’t hurt. Your pride has taken a beating, but your heart is intact.’
Accurate but she wasn’t about to tell him that, so she remained silent.
‘And, two, you would never kiss me like you did if you were still in love with another guy. I remember you checking, and double-checking, whether I was single back in London. You don’t cheat, physically or emotionally. And if you still had any feelings for your ex, there’s no way you would’ve inhaled me the way you did yesterday.’
‘I think you are overstating my reaction,’ Thadie told him, heat in her cheeks. He wasn’t but he didn’t need to know that.
He folded his arms, completely at ease in the rocking boat. ‘I don’t think I am. So, am I right?’
He was, but Thadie had no intention of making his head swell any bigger by confirming his suspicions. She rolled her eyesand stepped from the boat onto the pier, turning back to look at him. He looked amazing, sunlight creating gold flecks in his dark hair. He was far too sure of himself, and, worse, of her. She looked at her family, who were using the narrow wooden path to cross the hot white sand. The twins had, naturally, stepped off the deck and were running on the sand, playing tag. Her beautiful boys...
Their beautiful boys. Hers, his, theirs...
Thadie felt her vision narrow and she swayed on her feet. She was emotionally and physically exhausted and the stress and anxiety of the past few days were waiting in the wings, ready to ambush her. She felt like a wet rag that had been wrung out and left to dry. She felt the deck coming up to meet her, but a pair of strong arms held her upright and gently lowered her to sit on the deck. Angus told her to bend her legs and pushed her head between her knees, his big hand sliding under her braids to hold her neck.
‘Breathe, Thadie, deeply and evenly. When last did you eat?’ he demanded, his voice rough.
She thought about it and shrugged. She’d had an apple for breakfast and refused lunch. Too hyped up by Angus’s unexpected arrival in her life, she hadn’t eaten any supper last night.
‘No food, stress, exhaustion, twin boys and a long-ish flight east will do that to you,’ Angus told her, balancing on the balls of his feet next to her. She turned her head to look at him and her heart banged against her ribs at the worry she saw in his eyes. It had been a long time since a man looked at her as if he wanted to take on the world for her.
Angus’s hand moved from her neck to her shoulder. ‘Better?’
She nodded.
He stood up and hauled her to her feet, lifting his hand to run it over her head, his knuckles drifting down the side of her face.His eyes darkened with determination. ‘Right, here’s the plan. You’re going to eat great food, sleep late, lie in the sun and chill. Your only job is to relax and unwind.’
That sounded like heaven. ‘In case you didn’t notice, I have two whirlwinds to keep lassoed,’ she told him.
‘I’ll keep them entertained,’ Angus told her. ‘Give me some ground rules and I’ll take over.’
She lifted her eyebrows. ‘Um... I don’t think that’s the best idea you’ve ever had.’
He threw his hands up in the air, at the doubt he saw on her face. ‘I was a lieutenant in the SAS, Thadie, and I led men into battle. Don’t you trust me to keep them safe?’
‘I do,’ Thadie quickly assured him, instinctively knowing he wouldn’t let them come to any harm. But he had no idea how exhausting the twins could be, with their constant questions and their six-in-the-morning to seven-at-night energy. They simply never stopped. Angus had no idea what he was taking on.
‘Then let me look after them for you,’ he insisted. ‘I can get to know them at the same time.’