Unknown by Unknown Read Free Book Online Page A

need a truce, Luke.' She let his taunting pass, determined not to allow him to provoke her again. 'I bear no ill feeling towards you,' she revealed evenly. 'Perhaps we'll never be able to be friends, but we can both be adult about this. There needn't be any impediment to us working well together.'
    'You bear no ill feelings towards me.' Her ex-husband's regard turned thoughtful. 'That's an intriguing way of putting it, considering I've always assumed our separation was entirely mutually agreed.'
    Annabel felt her face heat. 'Just because you assumed that, it doesn't mean it was true,' she said huskily. 'And what I meant was that I bear no ill feeling about you coming back. You have a perfect right to work wherever you want in the world.'
    His brows drew together. 'I don't need your permission, Annabel.'
    'I didn't say you did,' she retorted. She forced a faint smile in an attempt to take some of the sharpness out of her tone. 'I'm just trying to reassure you that I can put aside the pain of the past if you meet me halfway and stop bringing it up.'
    Luke still frowned at her. 'Are you talking metaphorically or are you actually saying you found our divorce painful?'
    'Of course I found it painful.' Unlike him, clearly. Until the actual moment he'd walked out on her, despite the arguments they'd been having, it had never occurred to her that he might leave. She'd—ludicrously—assumed their vows would hold them together for ever, regardless of what she'd thought of as their temporary difficulties. She hadn't properly realised then that love, outside the unconditional love a parent gave, rarely lasted. She hadn't known that it could be destroyed or so easily driven away.
    But that night, when he'd packed a case then walked out to his car, she'd known, shockingly and immediately, that their marriage had been over. Luke hadn't been a man who'd made idle threats. When he'd quietly wished her well with her life and closed the door behind himself, the finality of the gesture had been absolute.
    'Oh, yes,' she said huskily. 'I found it very painful.' It had taken her years to recover, and only recently had she begun to realise that by leaving when he had he'd done the best possible thing for both of them. Any longer and the damage he'd inflicted might have been permanent. 'I thought I'd never stop crying.'
    'Clearly you did.'
    'Clearly,' she agreed. 'You left on the Friday night and I had to be at work on the Monday. I had to pick myself up and get on with living my life.' She spread her arms, refusing to feel guilty about the defensive way she was downplaying the extent of the grief she'd suffered. 'As you see, here I am.'
    'Happy?'
    'Of course.' She frowned at the doubt in his tone. 'Very happy,' she stressed. 'I've never been more content. I have a lovely home, I enjoy my work and my life is very pleasant.'
    'Including a new fiancé?' he asked. 'Did you accept Clancy's proposal this morning?'
    'I'm fond of Geoffrey.' She found herself avoiding answering his demand directly. 'He's a nice man. He's been good to me.'
    Luke's eyes had narrowed and grown darker as she'd been speaking, and when she'd finished he said abruptly, 'Your life is pleasant .' The sudden harshness of his tone startled her. 'You're content,'' he continued, equally scathingly. 'Clancy's a nice man. He's been good to you. You're fond of him. My God, Annie. You used to have passion and fire to match your hair, but look at yourself now and listen to what you're saying. What the hell's happened to you?'
    Clearly— thankfully —not expecting any answer, he simply sent her a searching look then turned away from her and stalked out of the theatre, leaving her staring after him open-mouthed with bewilderment as to why her simple little remarks, could have provoked such a strange reaction.
    Annabel lifted a trembling hand to the hair he'd referred to so violently. Never mind what had happened to her, she thought dazedly. What had suddenly got into him ?
     

CHAPTER