Page 24 of Suddenly Tempted
“Darcy—”
“What?” she asked. “What have I done wrong now?”
“Darcy,” he said again, eyes fixed on hers. “I trust you.”
Darcy felt his words like an untimely shove. Or maybe a warm hug. She couldn’t quite decide.
She lifted a brow in response, no easy feat in the freezing cold temperatures.
“It’s me,” he said. “I don’t . . . I don’t cope very well with other people. I don’t cope very well with being helped. I’ve been on my own too long.”
“I find that hard to believe,” replied Darcy, pulling the collar of her coat tight around her neck. “Aren’t you around people all the time? Supermodels and actresses?”
“Yeah, sure,” he said. “If you believe what you read in the newspapers.”
“It’s not true?” she asked, taking a step towards him, so close she could see the flecks of emerald in his green eyes. Devlin shook his head. “Is the first rule of billionaire club, do not display weakness? That’s sad, Devlin.”
“It’s just me.” He gritted his teeth.
She wasn’t exactly sure what he meant by that, but she could tell by his expression how much he was hurting — and not just his arm.
“You can talk to me, you know,” Darcy said. “I know I’m not a model, or rich, or famous. I’m just me. And you’re right, I’m scared of most things. I’m scared of adventures. But you know, my mum always told me the greatest gift you can give in life is listening to people, and one thing I definitely am good at is listening.”
Devlin looked at her,reallylooked at her, as if she was a rare and fascinating plant he had discovered on the mountainside. He opened his mouth as if to speak, then closed it again, turning away.
“There’s a gentle climb ahead,” he said. “Not exactly easy, but the terrain isn’t too treacherous. I’ll carry my case just fine. But . . .” He swallowed, as if about to do the most difficult thing he’d ever done. “But after that there’s a patch of harder ground to get past. I’d be grateful for the help then, if the offer is still there.”
“It will be,” she said. “Providing I actually make it that far. It’s so cold!”
He smiled, then picked up his case.
“The faster you walk, the warmer you’ll be.”
Chapter 13
DEVLIN
The slope wasn’t quite as gentle as he’d hoped, and the thick carpet of snow hid countless loose rocks and craters, but he took it one step at a time, testing the ground before committing himself. He kept the pace slow for safety, but also for Darcy. He felt bad for what had happened as they’d been leaving the cabin, and for marching off and leaving her behind. She had been right, it was the kind of thing a child did, not a grown man.
Glancing back, he saw her just behind him. She was still putting her feet exactly where his had been, like it was a game. It was a sensible move, though, and once again he found himself impressed at how smart she was. Her makeshift shoes were a stroke of genius — her feet were most certainly warmer and drier than his were.
He was impressed with how she had stood up to him, too. Darcy Wainwright was proving herself to be more of a firecracker than she gave herself credit for. Devlin could count on one hand the number of people who would dare to talk to him the way she had back there, and the memory of it made his stomach somersault. He also didn’t know a single other person who would be that kind and magnanimous while also flying into a rage at him. It was obvious she disliked him, understandably given the way he’d treated her back at the research hut, but she still offered to help himandhe hadn’t needed to bribe her with more money in order to do so. Devlin scrunched up his forehead. That was what he was finding most difficult, he realised. Accepting help when he wasn’t paying for or demanding it.
He turned back to the plateau, working his way around a shark’s fin of snow-covered rock. The ground dropped away sharply to the side, and he could see the line of their footsteps leading down to the distant cabin. It was almost invisible in the snow, but anyone flying overhead would probably see them, and see their prints too — unless another storm hit, of course.
That thought concerned him. He’d spent enough time in the mountains to know that bad weather could hit any time. Usually he had his phone and his sat nav on hand, so that he would get plenty of warning. But all he had to go on now was his own senses and experience. The sky was clear, though, perfectly blue in every direction.
Please stay like this, he pleaded, silently.
If it didn’t, if it turned, then he and Darcy would be in serious trouble.
He glanced back over his shoulder again, slowing down to let Darcy catch up. He felt a strange and unexpected feeling of protectiveness over the young woman, and a huge pang of regret for what he’d said to her. The thought of anything bad happening to her out here was painful. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt that way about anyone — even with Claudia he’d kept his distance.
Although that hadn’t always been the case, had it? It was almost too hurtful to think about, but he forced himself to — if only to get a grip on the feelings that ran through his head, and his heart. He remembered one night he and Claudia had been dining out on the terrace of his villa in Tuscany. It had been an incredible evening, and he’d been so relaxed that he’d started telling Claudia about his childhood, about what it had been like growing up in a poor and unhappy family. It had felt great to be able to open up to her, toanyone.
Claudia had held his hand across the table, nodding as he spoke, her eyes soft with understanding.
But when he ended things months later, that very story was the first thing she sold to the press.
