Page 73 of Moonlight Kisses at Willow Tree Hall

She was surprised he had guessed, but nodded her reply. She couldn’t stop herself nodding or biting her lip to hold back the sudden tears that filled her eyes. She was just drunk, that was all.

‘Do you want to talk about it?’

She realised what he was asking and sighed. ‘Not tonight,’ she told him.

Lily sank back deep into the pillows and closed her eyes, letting a sudden tiredness wash over her.

‘Get some sleep,’ she heard Jack say. ‘I’ll stay close by.’

Deep inside, she knew she should be strong. She knew she should send him away. She had stood alone for so long.

But his presence calmed her. So, for once, she let her guard down and whispered, ‘Thank you,’ before falling back asleep.

29

Late the following morning, Lily woke up to the sound of birdsong and a thumping headache.

She slowly sat up and remembered where she was. In Jack’s bedroom. Actually in his bed, floating on a fluffy cloud, such was the thickness of the mattress that she was lying on.

She turned her head to look for him, but there was only the indentation on the cover to show that he had slept next to her.

In the soft, muted light of the curtain, she could see the dark oak furniture was complemented by modern touches of silver and glass. It felt like a luxurious hotel suite, not a normal person’s bedroom. But, again, there were no personal items to make it feel like a home.

What it did feel was masculine. Warm. Comfortable. Sexy.

She knew deep down that she shouldn’t be here. That she should have been strong enough to prevent Jack from absconding with her away from her home. But she seemed to remember her mother being there as well. But she was too lightheaded from lack of food to think anything through properly.

She looked around for her phone but couldn’t find it, so she slowly swung her legs out of the bed and stood up.

Her head thumped in protest. Why on earth had she drunk the damn stuff?

Because you lost control, she reminded herself.Lauren walked out.You upset Annie. She went into early labour. You mucked up the invitations. You’re a mess and a rubbish housekeeper.

She had gone to find her grandad: that much she remembered. It was all a bit hazy after that. She’d found some alcohol. Drunk it. And then Jack and her grandad had appeared. Suddenly there was a mad rush and something had exploded. Fire engines. And her mother had arrived soon afterwards.

But, apart from her head, the only part of her that appeared to be exerting any other kind of protest was her stomach, which was growling. She was starving, having not eaten since yesterday lunchtime.

She was also mortified. Jack had had to look after her. He’d taken care of her. It was too close. Too intimate.

She was confused because she knew he didn’t want her. He had never wanted her. Their past was exactly that.

She sank back on the bed at the thought of him. What on earth was she going to do? She stood up once more. She would face him, of course. She would thank him for looking after her and then she would leave. Quickly.

But as she stood up again, she caught sight of herself in a nearby reflection and grimaced. Her hair was in knots. She hadn’t washed the previous day. Despite the fact that she was desperate to leave, she knew that there was no way that she could face him like this.

So she went into the beautiful en-suite bathroom and had the most glorious shower of her life. She could feel herself coming back to life as she scrubbed her skin and hair clean.

Her top, in particular, was filthy; she’d been wearing the same one for the past twenty-four hours. She wandered back into the bedroom, trying to work out what exactly she could wear.

Feeling guilty, she opened up one of many wardrobe doors on the other side of the room and discovered many suits and, thankfully, shirts.

For a second she allowed herself a moment to inhale the faint smell of his aftershave that hung on the clothes. Then she shook her head, wondering what on earth she was doing.

She grabbed the nearest shirt and quickly closed the door.

*

Jack stood outside on the vast decked terrace, leaning on the glass balcony.