Page 54 of No Strings Christmas

‘As in, did you date him before your sister? Is he one of the reasons you’re so anti-relationships?’

I stare at him, shocked firstly by his perception and secondly by his interpretation.

‘No, I never dated Simon.’

He slides the car into the undercover car park then kills the engine and turns to look at me with eyes that are appraising. Not suspicious, but...something. As if he doesn’t quite believe me.

Indignation fires in my blood.

‘You honestly think I’d ever be interested in a creep like him?’

He continues to stare at me for several seconds then shakes his head. ‘I have no idea.’

‘God, no. Simon is—he’s just—Simon.’

‘What does that mean?’

I don’t answer.

‘Something happened between the two of you. You hinted at it a while ago.’

‘I didn’t hint,’ I correct matter-of-factly.

He lifts a brow, challenging me wordlessly.

‘Okay, fine. I don’t really...know how to talk about it. It’s quite...hard to explain.’

He looks at me for several seconds then nods. ‘It’s your personal business.’ The words are calmly said, as though he doesn’t care, but beneath them I’m almost sure I detect an undercurrent of something.

‘He hit on me.’ I blurt it out and then wince. ‘A bit over a year ago. He was really drunk. He suggested we get a room together. It was—icky. I was appalled.’ Heat stings my cheeks and a raw ache throbs in my throat.

‘I see.’ When I look at Zach his jaw is tight, his face giving little away. ‘What did you do?’

‘What do you think I did?’ I ask with a hollow laugh. ‘I left. I felt physically ill. That’s my sister’s husband. And he did it so casually, he was so cavalier, I could tell it’s something he must do all the time. Just like Dad. He’s just the same.’

Zach is silent but strong waves of emotion emanate from him. ‘And your sister has no idea?’

‘On the contrary, I told her straight away. I felt awful doing it but obviously she deserved to know.’

‘And?’

‘She made it clear he was just “drunk”, just “being a guy”.’ I bristle at that, the low expectation so insulting to the male sex. ‘And that I shouldn’t bring it up again. So I haven’t, but I don’t really love spending time with him, or them, even though I adore Jemima. I just feel so angry that she can even be with someone like that. He’s such a creep and she deserves way better.’

‘Yeah, he is. He looks at you like he’s possessive of you.’

Heat flares through me: angry, indignant heat. If he was, I didn’t notice because I was focussed solely on Jemima.

‘That’s not being a guy,’ he says quietly, leaning across and putting a hand on my cheek, angling my face to his. ‘It’s being a dickhead.’

My heart stammers. My stomach squeezes. ‘Real men don’t need to sleep around behind their partner’s back to feel good about themselves.’

I stare at him for several seconds, something shifting inside my belly. His words run through me, so simple, so truthful.

Real men don’t do that. There’s some kind of inadequacy in any man who needs to bolster his masculinity by being a creep.

‘Real men don’t make a commitment if they don’t intend to keep it.’

I stare at him in awe for a second, because I know Zach would never make a commitment to a woman and break it. He’s just not cut out that way.

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