Page 26 of The Secret Sanchez Heir
She got that close but was determined to get no closer and he couldn’t blame her. She couldn’t forgive him for having walked away from her the first time. She never harked back to it, but why else would she have turned down his marriage proposal? There was still a part of her that distrusted him. Leandro was certain of it.
‘I suppose I could work from here...’ Abigail flicked a sideways glance at him. He was just so...perfect. If they moved here, would she be letting herself sink ever deeper into a situation from which it would be more and more painful to extract herself? Would this cottage existence with the man of her dreams, the man who didn’t love her, just feed the illusion that what they had might end up being the real thing?
Another, darker thought hit her.
Was this his way of removing her from London so that he could gradually resume the life he had put on hold? Was this step one in distancing her from him?
‘I expect you’ll find it pretty tough to commute from here yourself,’ she said lightly, making sure not to look at him, because she didn’t want to see her worst suspicions confirmed.
‘What are you talking about?’
‘Well, it’s not exactly next to a railway line, is it?’ She forced herself to laugh carelessly. ‘If I can’t commute easily to Central London, then you won’t be able to either, will you? I mean, you’ll have the same problems as I have.’
‘I own the company,’ Leandro pointed out gently. ‘I can work whatever hours I want, and I have a driver to accommodate the travel situation. There isn’t the same necessity to get in and leave by certain times. I also don’t go to work just to prove a point.’
‘I’m not doing that!’ Abigail flushed angrily and glared at him.
‘Aren’t you?’ he said wryly and she had the grace to remain silent.
‘Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I just want you to know that.’
‘Sorry, but you’ve lost me. What doesn’t matter?’
‘If you need to stay in London overnight.’
‘If I need to stay in London overnight?’
‘Yes. If we both decide that this is the best place for Sam to grow up, then I don’t want you to feel that you have to come home every single evening out of a sense of obligation.’
‘It’s no obligation when it comes to seeing my son,’ Leandro grated, enraged at the not-very-subtle dismissal in her voice.
‘I just thought I’d mention it,’ Abigail pointed out. ‘It’s going to be inconvenient for you to be travelling back and forth each day, every day.’
‘Why don’t you let me decide for myself what I find inconvenient and what I don’t?’
She shrugged. ‘Sure. Maybe I’ll go and have another quick look around before we go.’ She sprang to her feet, angry with him for no reason whatsoever.
When he talked about obligation it only reinforced her suspicions that the glue that was temporarily binding them together wasn’t going to last longer than the blink of an eye. But, whilst being out here would give him ample opportunity gradually to break free, didn’t it work both ways? She would gradually get accustomed to having him around less and less. She would be able to distance herself and pull back.
She lost herself in reviewing the cottage all over again and finished up back in the kitchen, and was looking around, when Leandro surprised her from the doorway.
‘It’ll need work.’
Abigail turned around and looked at him across the width of the kitchen. Due to the lack of furniture, their voices echoed. She hugged herself and raised her eyebrows in a question.
‘The cottage,’ Leandro said patiently, moving towards her. ‘There will be work to be done on it.’
‘It’s perfect the way it is!’ Abigail said immediately, wanting an argument.
‘I’m taking it that you have decided that you’re happy with the place?’
‘I can see myself living here with Sam,’ she conceded. ‘But I don’t want you getting some interior designer in who will get rid of all the traditional features and turn it into a replica of your apartment.’
‘Why would I do that?’ He strolled towards her and curled his fingers into her silky hair. ‘Are you trying to have an argument with me?’
‘Of course not. Why would I do that?’
‘You chose not to change anything in the apartment.’
