The Baby Claim

Joss was glad of it. The last thing she wanted right now was solitude.

‘I’ve respected the veto on names,’ he went on, ‘but is it against the rules to ask what you do with your life?’

Joss decided against telling him she was a journalist. That might give too much away. For tonight she would just be romantic, mysterious Eve. ‘I’m—in publishing.’

‘Fiction?’

‘No. Fact.’ Joss settled herself more comfortably. ‘How about you?’

‘Construction.’

Joss was struck by a mental picture of suntanned muscles and heavy loads of bricks. ‘It obviously pays,’ she commented, eyeing his clothes.

‘If you mean the suit,’ he said, straight-faced. ‘It’s the one I keep for parties and funerals. My Sunday best.’

‘Is it really?’

‘Absolutely.’ His eyes roved over her tawny blonde bob, the wide-spaced eyes, the faint suggestion of tilt to the nose. His gaze lingered for a moment on the full curves of her mouth, then continued down until it reached her black silk pumps. ‘I don’t think you bought any of that in a chainstore, either.’

‘True. I felt Anna’s engagement party deserved something special.’ Her eyes clouded. ‘And when I bought it I was in belligerent mood.’

‘Is this something to do with the dinner date that fell through?’

Joss smiled bleakly. ‘In a way.’

‘But there’s a lot more.’

‘Oh, yes.’ Her eyes glittered angrily. ‘A whole lot more.’

‘Would it help to tell me about it?’

Joss frowned, taken aback.

‘It’s easier to confide in strangers,’ he pointed out.

‘I see. I confide my pathetic little story, you offer me a shoulder to cry on, then off you go into the night and we never meet again?’ She smiled. ‘I think I saw the movie.’

‘I’d prefer to alter the script a little,’ he said, chuckling. ‘But whatever you tell me will be in strictest confidence.’

‘Like confessing to a priest?’

Adam shook his head. ‘Wrong casting.’

She nodded, looking at him objectively. ‘You’re right. You don’t suit the role.’

‘But I’m a superb listener,’ he assured her.

‘And you’re curious?’

‘Interested, certainly.’

Joss gazed at him for a moment, weakening by the second in her need to talk to someone. Anna would have been her normal choice, but that, like staying away from the engagement party, had been out of the question. At least until Anna’s celebrations were over and the new, yawning gap in Joscelyn Hunter’s life could no longer be hidden.

‘Are you sure about this?’ she asked.

Adam nodded decisively. ‘I want to know what was behind the Oscar-winning performance tonight.’

Joss gave him a wry little smile and took the plunge. ‘I used to share this flat with my fiancé. A few weeks ago he walked out on me.’

CHAPTER TWO

JOSS had made an all-out effort to get home early for once. She’d rushed through the door, laden down with groceries for a celebration dinner. And almost fallen over the luggage in the hall.

As she’d stared Peter Sadler had rushed from the bedroom, his face the picture of guilt. ‘You’re home early!’ he accused.

Joss nodded coolly. ‘And you’re obviously not pleased to see me. Is there a problem?’

‘Yes, you could say that.’ He took the grocery bag from her. ‘I’ll put this in the kitchen. Would you like some tea?’

Joss stood tense with foreboding, watching as Peter filled a kettle and put teabags in a pot. ‘So what is the problem? And why the suitcases? Are you going somewhere for the firm?’

‘No.’ He turned to look at her, a truculent look on his fair, good-looking face. ‘I’ve resigned.’

She stared incredulously. ‘Resigned? Why?’

‘I got in first, before they could fire me.’

Joss shook her head in disbelief. ‘This is terribly sudden, Peter! If you were that worried they’d fire you why didn’t you talk to me about it?’

‘When?’ he threw at her in sudden anger. ‘You’re never here.’

‘That’s an exaggeration,’ she snapped. ‘We share a bed, remember? You could have given me a hint on one of the rare occasions you stayed awake long enough to say goodnight.’

‘You know I need my sleep,’ he said sullenly. ‘And lately there’s been precious little to stay awake for. We haven’t made love for weeks. You lust for your job more than you ever did for me.’

Joss felt as though her entire world was disintegrating. ‘You’ve obviously been building up to this for a long time. I’ve been blind.’ She thrust an unsteady hand through her hair. ‘I know you’ve been very quiet lately, but I thought that was for a different reason.’

‘What other reason?’ he said blankly, adding salt to the wound. ‘All I could think of lately were my plans for the new riverside complex.’ His mouth twisted. ‘In case you’re interested, Athena turned them down.’

Joss stared at him in horrified sympathy. ‘Peter—I’m so sorry! I know how hard you worked.’ She frowned. ‘But it isn’t the end of the world, surely?’

‘Of mine, with this particular firm of architects, it most definitely is.’ Peter shrugged his shoulders moodily. ‘Not that it matters. I was never cut out for corporate cut and thrust, Joss. I only took the job in the first place because you pushed me into it. I’m going back to the family firm. Where I belong,’ he added as the crowning touch. He glanced at his watch, then caught her eye and flushed. ‘I’m in no rush, Joss,’ he said quickly. ‘I can catch a later train.’

‘Don’t alter your arrangements on my account!’ She stood with arms folded. ‘I assume this means it’s all over between us?’

Peter swallowed convulsively. ‘I suppose it does.’

‘You suppose?’