our relationship, Lara. We need to get the story straight before meeting your parents.”
She returned his intense stare. He was right, of course. For both their sakes, they couldn’t afford any more slip-ups and she did owe him a proper explanation.
Gripping the arms of the chair, she began, “I was hesitant in talking about you and my mother suspected something had happened between us.”
“She was right.”
Lara waved a hand in the air to stop him interrupting. This was bad enough to explain as it was without his cryptic comments. “She asked if you had forced yourself on me.”
She could sense his sudden tension and hurriedly continued, “I said no but we had made love—become lovers. She asked if we’d used protection and…and I couldn’t bring myself to answer.”
She swallowed as Jack shifted in his seat.
“That’s when my mother told me you would be invited to the palace as a friend of the family and we would wait and see if I was pregnant. My mother and the king, and probably their advisors, have it all planned.”
“Why didn’t you tell the queen you couldn’t possibly be pregnant?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Besides, you could have taken a pregnancy test in Australia within a few days without this panic to get you home and insist I come with you.”
“The palace wouldn’t risk anything like that in case word leaked out.” She frowned. “I guess you know all about a woman’s reproductive cycle?”
“I was married, Lara.”
Politeness kept her from questioning him further but she wondered if his wife had perhaps had a baby and miscarried.
“My mother is more comfortable to let nature take its course.”
“And you always do what your mother says, except tell the truth which leaves me to be the fall guy?” His harsh words ripped into her.
She leaned forward, her eyes filling with tears. Suddenly it was important that he understood. “Jack, you know I had never been with a man before. When you made love to me, it was as if you tore away every conceivable reservation I have ever had. I know we didn’t have actual intercourse but, the way you caressed and kissed me, it was as if we had been the most intimate a man and woman can be, at least, it was to me. To tell my mother that it hadn’t happened would have destroyed something very precious and I couldn’t do it.”
He was silent as she wiped a stray tear from her cheek. Would he understand? This man of the sea who had stolen her heart? Yes, he’d been married and probably had lots of relationships before and after his marriage. To him, their little episode on the island meant nothing. To her, it had changed her life.
Jack took a long swallow of beer before speaking. “I think it might be best if we both stick to the story that you might be pregnant.”
His voice sounded strange, deep and sort of husky. His expression had softened and a small smile played around his mouth. She had shown her vulnerability to him but she didn’t care. If it was only for three weeks, she would cling to every memory of being with him.
“Did the advisor question you about…about a possible pregnancy?”
“Obviously. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here, although he was very discreet. I thought for some obtuse reason of your own you had lied about our association so I kept quiet and did what I was told.”
She twisted a tissue between her fingers. This was dreadful. “Did the advisor offer you money to keep quiet?”
“No.”
“They probably will when we get to Challoner. And I think you should take what they offer, which will be a substantial amount, I’m sure. It’s the least you deserve after putting up with this.”
He finished his beer, placing the glass on the small table between them. “I don’t know whether you mean to be deliberately insulting, Lara, or whether these statements come naturally to you.”
“I don’t know why you should be offended by my suggestion. You are dropping everything to fly to Challoner and losing pay because of it. You were hounded by the media and made to look like a criminal. You have been embarrassed and even threatened by my family. Why shouldn’t you seek recompense?”
He watched the angry spark in her eyes. She seemed to have recovered from her bout of shyness and was bouncing right back at him. From what she said, Lara still believed him to be a lowly paid fisherman. That puzzled him. He knew