‘They will be absolutely fine. Micah is even more protective of them than I am, and that’s saying something,’ Thadie replied, putting her glass down on the side table that separated their loungers. ‘Dodi is my best friend, but Micah was who I called at three in the morning when I was at the end of my rope. He’s been there for them, and me.’
Thadie half turned to face him, the nail polish on her bare toes shimmering in the sunlight. Pretty. Then again, everything about her was.
‘Did you have any help apart from Micah? Did you employ a nanny? Do you have an au pair?’ Angus asked, curious about her life.
Thadie shook her head and he saw her jaw tighten and her lips flatten. He’d hit a nerve and didn’t know why. ‘No, just me,’ she answered.
He frowned, trying to make sense of her answer. ‘You don’t work?’
Thadie’s eyes sparkled with annoyance. ‘My father left me a lot of money and I chose to stay home and raise the boys. Do you have a problem with that?’
He lifted his hands, wondering at the flash of her temper. ‘Of course I don’t, I’m just trying to understand.’
Thadie sipped at her mojito before resting the back of her head on the lounger. She tucked her legs up under her butt and released a long sigh. ‘Sorry for snapping, it’s a touchy subject.’
He wondered why but knew this wasn’t the right time to ask for an explanation. They’d get around to it...
Now, or later, but it would happen.
‘You’ve done a stunning job with them, Thads, they are great kids,’ Angus told her, needing her to know how much respect he had for her. ‘Thank you.’
Thadie smiled at him, her irritation melting away. ‘Someone once said that one’s greatest achievement might not be what you did but who you raised. I hold onto that.’
Angus heard the note of longing in her voice. Did she want to do something else, something for herself, or was his imagination working overtime? If he pushed her for an answer, she might shut down and they’d be mired in awkward, tense silence. No, he most definitely didn’t want that.
‘I think you’re raising Finn to become the president of the world.’
Thadie’s smile was as powerful as an asteroid strike. ‘Nope, Gus will talk his way into that role, and Finn will be the power behind the throne.’
Accurate, Angus decided.
He caught her eyes skidding off his thighs and hid his smile. He’d noticed her looking at his stomach, his arms, her dark eyes gliding over his chest. She’d been checking him out and she liked what she saw. ‘So, we have a decision to make,’ he said, flicking his finger against his beer bottle.
Thadie looked at her mojito, shook her head and sent him a pleading look. ‘Angus, the kids have just left, it’s blissfully quiet and I have a lovely drink in my hand. I know that we need to talk about the boys and your role in their life, but can we postpone it, just for a little while?’
Ah, yeah, he’d thought she’d jump to that inaccurate conclusion. He wanted something else, and he was pretty sure she did too. There was only one way to find out.
‘I was only going to ask you whether I could take you to bed.’
It was a bald statement, no frills, but Angus didn’t see the point in dancing around the subject. He wanted her, more than he wanted his heart to keep beating, but he now knew she wanted him too.
Thadie sent him a what-on-earth look and her drink sloshed in her glass. He removed it from her grip, placed it on the table between them and raised his head, his eyes slamming into hers.
‘I want you, Thadie. Desperately.’ He pushed his hand through his hair and released a laugh that was short on amusement. ‘From the moment I picked you up and carried you to my car, I’ve thought of nothing else.’
Thadie placed her hand on her heart, half covering the breast he so desperately wanted to kiss.
Her eyes darted to his mouth, and he saw her swallow, once and then again. ‘I... Angus...’ She closed her eyes, pulled in a deep breath and when she spoke, her words rushed out, like a spring tide racing to the shore. ‘We’ve always had a crazy attraction, a hot as hell chemistry.’
That wasn’t a yes. ‘But?’
‘But this isn’t London and we’re not who we were,’ she insisted, looking both terrified and earnest. ‘It’s so much more complicated this time around. The boys...’
It shouldn’t be. ‘The boys and how I am going to be in their life is a separate conversation, Thadie. They have nothing to do with the fact that I look at you and my mouth goes dry and the blood drains from my head. Seeing you in your gorgeous bikinis and not being able to touch you has sent my blood pressure rocketing.
‘I want you, you want me,’ Angus added. ‘Let’s make that happen.’
She was on the verge of agreeing but something held her back, a hesitation that wouldn’t let her slide into his arms. ‘You make it sound so easy!’