His Irresistible Darling - Sarah Randall Page 0,74

of the sofa. “He needs to hear this,” he said, looking up at his father who was pacing again.

“You are in my home and as such I expect you to show Pippa respect—” he paused and held his arm out towards the door “—or you can leave. Your choice.”

There was a stand-off between them as his father stopped pacing and digested his ultimatum before reaching his decision.

He approached his wife and offered her his hand to help her stand and told her in Arabic that they were leaving. His mother closed her eyes briefly and thinned her lips. That told Jumal all he needed to know about his mother’s opinion.

She ignored her husband’s hand and stood gracefully on her own before collecting her clutch bag from the sofa and moving towards him. She hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek before whispering in his ear, “She’s lovely, son. And you’re wrong—” before pulling back slightly and adding “—I saw it in her eyes.”

Wrong about what? he wanted to ask, but his father stormed dramatically from the room and his mother felt compelled to follow. “Goodbye, angel. Good luck,” his mother said, giving him a knowing smile and wink.

He found her curled up on the sofa in the snug. He closed the door to give them privacy from the resident staff.

“Hey, what’s the matter?”

She lifted her head. “What’s the matter?” she repeated, flabbergasted, her voice rising. “Really, Jumal. Are you that stupid that you can’t tell what’s the matter and why I’m upset?” she challenged.

He let out a sharp breath and held his left arm out at his side. “I have an idea but please won’t you spell it out for me if I’m so stupid!” he spat back at her defensively.

“I’m sick of being a dirty little secret and everyone thinking I’m some idiot kid,” she accused, sitting up.

She winced at Jumal’s curse as he dragged his hand over his head. “When have I ever treated you like that?” he demanded.

“Seriously?” She recoiled, her eyes wide as she shook her head. “You don’t want anyone at the office to know we’re seeing each other. You want them to just assume that I’m still living at your place to help you out and I’ve gone along with it. And just now, back there, you stood there and let your father treat me like something he stepped in on the way in from the stables. You just took it,” she mumbled, almost disbelievingly, her voice dropping low. “What else can I think but that you’re embarrassed by me?”

His emerald eyes narrowed darkly in annoyance. “Well what the hell am I supposed to say to anyone?” he shouted pointing at her. “According to you, we’re not in a bloody relationship and we’re just having fun!”

She jumped up from the sofa. “Fun!? Fun?! ” she spat. “We’ll I’m just having sooo much fun now, Jumal.” She threw her hands out wide before slamming her palms back against her thighs and turning to storm away from him. “Oh wait, my sides hurt so much from all the fun I’m having right now.” She bent to the sofa, picked up a cushion and hurled it at him. He ducked and it hit the wall behind him. She picked up another. “What about you, Jumal—” throwing another cushion “—you having fun yet?” she yelled, firing another soft missile at him as he dodged yet again.

“Wait, just wait,” he yelled back, holding his hand up defensively. “I’m not the one who—”

“Oh, oh,” she added, her voice reaching a crescendo as she interrupted him and pointed her finger at him. “And why the hell don’t you just tell your father how miserable you are. Be honest with him, with yourself, and for God’s sake stop treating me like a kid!” She was struggling to catch her breath and he’d never seen her so animated, except when they were intimate, but he flinched at her last accusations and hit back.

“Well stop acting like one, Pippa!” he fired back at her and immediately regretted it as she momentarily dropped her ammunition and her lips parted before she once again gathered her steel.

“Well…well maybe I act up just to get your bloody attention!”

What the hell?

“You already—” He forced his mouth shut as he dodged yet another cushion. Christ how many did he have in the room? He prayed she wasn’t about to move onto more breakable objects!

He wanted to grab hold of her and tell her that she’d had his complete attention