Page 137 of An Unholy Affair
‘Ah yes.’ His mother looked relieved. ‘Good luck.’
The walkto the rectory did nothing to calm Jack’s anger. Every step merely fuelled his rage. But under the layers of fury levelled at Simon lay the unshakable core belief that this was all his fault. Simon was merely the messenger. Jack was the general and the army, laying waste to Eveline’s life.
He paused, his hand on the back door, then knocked.
Opening it, Eveline’s friendly smile lit up into one of joy when she saw him, then crashed and burned at his expression.
‘When were you going to tell me?’ he asked.
He saw the shock on her face, then the soul-crushing realisation that he knew.
‘When you were packing your bags to leave?’ He ran his hands through his hair. ‘Christ, Eveline, why didn’t you tell me?’
Her lower lip wobbled, shooting a dagger into his heart.
‘God, Eveline, I’m sorry.’ He drew her into his arms, nuzzling the top of her head. ‘I’m so sorry, angel. Can I come in?’
She nodded into his chest, then disengaged. ‘Of course, you don’t need to knock.’ Her smile was bright, but her eyes glistened with tears.
‘Eveline—’
‘It’s fine,’ she said, and started towards the kitchen. ‘Would you like a cup of tea?’
‘Eveline, it’s clearly not fine. Please, can we talk about this?’
Entering the kitchen, her eyes flicked to the sink by the window where they’d had some of the most mind-blowing sex of his life.
She turned back to the door. ‘Can we go to the living room instead?’
He followed her.
Inside, her gaze fell to the sofa where they’d first had sex.
‘Actually, let’s sit in your office,’ she said, striding out and along the corridor.
Pushing open the door, she went in and sat on a chair, her knees pressed together as if she was a schoolgirl in trouble with the headmistress. The tightness around her face twisted the dagger in his heart.
He approached. ‘Up,’ he said, holding out his hand.
She stood, taking it.
‘Come here.’ He walked her to an armchair and sat, pulling her onto his lap. She flinched when he touched her arm and he noticed the bandage was still there. ‘Sorry, angel. How is it?’
She rubbed at the edges where the skin was red and inflamed. ‘It’s fine. Annoying more than anything else.’ She lay her head on his chest. ‘Are you sure I’m not too heavy?’
He shook his head and wrapped his arms around her. ‘You’re not going anywhere.’ In the silence, he stroked her back until she softened. ‘Eveline, what happened?’
She took a breath as if it was an effort. ‘That time, after you came back from your sister’s, and we…’ She took another breath, this one catching in her throat to become a sob. ‘Simon was… He was watching.’
Jack willed his body to stay still as the need for vengeance ran through his veins. ‘Angel, we did nothing wrong. We were in the privacy of your home and he’s a disgusting pervert who spied on us and trespassed on your land to do so.’
‘That’s what Estelle said.’
He stiffened. Eveline told Estelle before him?Calm the fuck down. ‘So, there’s no need to worry then, is there?’
She shrugged. ‘He’s claiming the rectory is church property and, as treasurer, he can come and go as he pleases. He also said… that I invited him for a meeting at that time and did it deliberately to—I don’t know… Show off?’
‘If you invited him for a meeting, then why didn’t he knock or come to the window, rather than peering through a fucking hedge?’
