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without the note of censure she had expected to hear. 'I thought
you had more sense. You're going to feel pretty sore later.'
Groaning, Abby hauled herself into a sitting position, and
the silk tabard, which Jake had dropped over her, fell to her
waist. 'What time is it?' she asked, shading her eyes with one
hand as she looked up at him, and his eyes narrowed
appraisingly.
But it was not Jake who answered her. 'It's nine o'clock!'
exclaimed Dominic, from his position opposite his father, and
Abby's head swung round in alarm. Clutching the tabard to her
breasts, she scrambled to her feet in some embarrassment. Jake
might have told her he was not alone, she thought frustratedly.
'We wondered where you were,' Jake added drily, and if he
was amused by her appearance he hid it well. 'How long have
you been out here? Don't you know you should always tell
someone if you're going swimming?'
Abby managed to fumble the tabard over her head, and
pulled her braid free of the neckline. Her hair was still wet and
encrusted with sand. Much like the rest of her, she thought
irritably. She didn't feel half as good now as she'd done when
she came out of the water.
'Does it matter?' she muttered in an undertone, and Jake
regarded her steadily.
'It matters,' he conceded, using his finger to flick a speck of
sand from her cheek. 'And I meant what I said about feeling sore
later, too. You've been exposing skin that isn't used to being
exposed.'
'My breasts, you mean,' she retorted, gaining a little more
confidence as her brain began to function again. She recoiled
from his hand. 'Is that what you mean?'
'Something like that,' agreed Jake, without any of his usual
hostility. His eyes dropped to the sensuous crests that swelled
against the thin silk. 'I've got some cream you might like to
borrow. Remind me later, and I'll hunt it out.'
'Where's the rest of your swimsuit?' Dominic demanded
now, tugging at her hand, clearly impatient that he was being
ignored. 'Have you lost it? Did it come off in the water?'
Abby couldn't prevent the faint tinge of colour that entered
her cheeks at her son's words, and it didn't help to have Jake
watching her now with unconcealed amusement. 'No I I
forgot to put it on,' she lied, refusing to look at either of them.
'Um well, if you'll excuse me I'll go and take a shower. I
feel hot, and sticky.'
'Can I come with you?'
Dominic pulled on her hand again, but this time Jake
intervened. 'We'll see Mummy in a little while, after she's had
her shower,' he declared smoothly. 'Come on, I've got something
I want to show you. Say goodbye to your mother, and we'll see
her back at the house.'
Abby took the image of Jake and their son walking hand in
hand along the beach back to the house with her. A tall dark
man in frayed denim shorts and trainers, and a small dark boy,
similarly attired.
She examined her breasts after her shower, but to her relief
they didn't appear to have suffered any damage. They were very
warm, but that was only natural in the circumstances, and she
felt sure Jake had exaggerated just to make her feel bad.
Downstairs again, this time wearing a modest hip- length
tunic and Bermudas, she found breakfast waiting for her on the
veranda. Orange juice, coffee and a plate of Rosabelle's famous
pancakes couldn't be ignored, and, finding she was hungry,
Abby said a temporary goodbye to her diet. But it was good to
feel relaxed and lazy, and she was still sitting at the table,
sipping her fourth cup of coffee, when Jake and Dominic came
back from their walk.
Studying the man she had lived with for almost two years,
Abby couldn't help thinking that he looked a little better than he
had done when she had first arrived. He was still far too thin, of
course, but a little of the strain had left his face, and if she didn't
know better she would have said he was not displeased to see
her there.
'Mummy, Mummy, look!'
As soon as her son saw her, he left his father to dart towards
her, clambering on to her knee to show her the enormous conch
shell he had brought up from the beach. But over Dominic's
head Jake's expression was indulgent, and, pulling out one of the
chairs from the table, he straddled it to face her.
'May I?' he asked, lifting the lid of the coffee-pot to discover
it was still a quarter full. Then, borrowing her cup, he filled it
and raised it to his lips.
'You should have come with us,' said Dominic, distracting
Abby from the amazing sight of seeing Jake drinking from her
cup, and she forced herself to pay attention to him. 'There were
heaps of shells,' he added. 'But none as pretty as this.' He
hesitated a moment, and then held it out to her. 'Would you like
it? You can have it, if you like.'
'Oh, no, I...' Abby shook her head protestingly, her eyes
seeking Jake's now in an effort to gain some support. 'Darling,
it's your shell. You found it. I couldn't possibly take it from
you '
'He wants you to have it,' Jake inserted flatly, finishing his
coffee and putting the cup down. 'If you're refusing because you
think I'll mind, don't. It's yours. Be grateful.'
'Well, I am, of course, but...' Abby shifted a little awkwardly
on her seat, and Dominic wriggled down to the ground.
'Daddy said you could have it,' he declared, causing Jake to
look away now. 'He said the colour reminded him of your skin.
Don't you think it's pretty? I do.'
Abby's palms were damp as she put the pink-tinged conch
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