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now.
‘I didn’t help her unpack her luggage.’ Henry sounded doubtful. ‘But I expect she’d prefer to do that herself anyway.
‘Just a couple of cases and a laptop, that’s all.’
‘A laptop?’ Matt was intrigued.
‘Yes, she told me it had belonged to her father,’ Henry agreed thoughtfully. ‘She says she plans to do some work while she’s here.’
‘Work?’ Like Henry, Matt was surprised to hear this.
‘Yes, sir. Seems like the lady operates a website for some gallery she helps to run in London,’ said Henry, nodding. ‘Will that be all, Mr Matt?’
He was clearly waiting to go and get his supper, and Matt nodded. ‘Sure thing,’ he said, raising his glass, though he wasn’t altogether happy about Joanna’s plans to keep working for the gallery while she was here. But, at least she was here, where he could keep an eye on her.
For a while, after the man had gone, Matt remained where he was, watching the sunset. Teresa had cooked a steak for his supper, but he’d hardly eaten a thing. He hadn’t relaxed, even when his pilot, Jacob, had told him they were landing. Not until Henry had arrived to say Joanna was installed at the villa had his tension subsided.
An hour later, he left the comfort of the bamboo lounger and strolled restlessly to the edge of the veranda. Hooking his hip over the wooden rail, he gazed broodingly towards the cottage. He couldn’t see anything. It was too dark. But the temptation to go and check on his visitor was strong.
He’d had serious thoughts about the future since he’d returned to the Bahamas. One thing he knew for certain was that he wanted to play an active part in his child’s life. However Joanna felt, he wouldn’t compromise. Angus might have robbed him of his wife, but he’d be damned if he’d rob him of his son as well.
Foolishly perhaps, Matt couldn’t forget that night in Miami. Joanna had given herself to him so ardently. He had to wonder, if his father hadn’t been taken ill and he’d been able to follow her to London the next day, would the outcome have been the same? Or was that just wishful thinking?
He scowled and, finishing the last of his Scotch, he got up from the rail and dropped his glass onto the table. He was getting maudlin, he thought. Discovering he was going to be a father had done that to him. Nothing else.
After all, when he’d left her apartment after following her to England, he’d had no intention of seeing her again. And, despite his comparative isolation here, he’d been managing to make a satisfactory life for himself.
He wrote most mornings, and, when he got writer’s block, he had the businesses in town to check on. He’d actually been thinking he might get married again one day, although it was not a priority. But his parents wanted grandchildren and he’d had to acknowledge that as his father’s only son, he had some responsibilities in that regard.
Discovering Joanna was pregnant had thrown any other plans out of the window. And learning he was going to have a son had been the icing on the cake. During the long nights, as he’d waited for her to come to the island, he’d found himself wondering if he could persuade her to stay.
But hearing about her plans to keep working, he doubted she had anything similar in mind.
He scowled into the darkness, wondering a little anxiously if she’d remembered to lock her doors. People didn’t always lock their doors on Cable Cay, and it was unlikely anyone would disturb her, but Matt couldn’t put it out of his mind.
The sudden piercing scream that rent the peace of the evening set Matt’s heart pounding. The sound had definitely come from the cottage, and, after what he’d been thinking, his blood went cold.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he leapt down the steps and started along the path to the villa, all manner of horrific scenarios racing through his mind. If anyone had invaded the cottage, he’d kill them. And if they’d touched her…
But he refused to continue that thought.
MATT COVERED THE quarter-mile in minutes. Before he reached the cottage, he heard someone running after him and guessed that Henry, too, had heard the scream.
‘That was Mrs Novak, wasn’t it?’ the man panted as he caught up with Matt. ‘You don’t think there’s an intruder, do you?’ Henry persisted, and Matt was glad the older man couldn’t see his face.
‘I hope not,’ he retorted grimly, already planning what he would do if anyone had touched Joanna.
They reached the cottage and Matt bounded up the steps to bang on the door. But there was no need to announce his arrival. The door was unlocked, and, remembering his earlier fears on Joanna’s behalf, he hoped it was she who hadn’t turned the key.
‘Joanna!’ he yelled, bursting into the parlour, and heard what he thought was a responding cry coming from the other side of the house. It was from one of the bedrooms, he thought, his nerves as taut as violin strings. What was going on?
Henry was right behind him when he reached the bedroom where the sound had come from. The door was shut, which might or might not be a good thing. But then he heard Joanna call, ‘Matt! Matt, is that you?’ and realised that whatever had happened, she was still okay.
However, when he opened the door, the sight that met his eyes was not at all reassuring. Joanna was standing on the bed, and she was obviously terrified. Her arms were wrapped protectively around her middle, and there was a look of real terror in her eyes.
She was wearing only a man-sized tee shirt that was so thin as to be almost transparent. It barely covered her thighs, due in no small part to the size of her stomach that swelled beneath the cloth. Long legs, bare and disturbingly familiar, caused his stomach to tighten in response.
But Matt definitely didn’t want to think about that right now.
When she saw him, Joanna’s relief was evident. ‘Oh, thank God, you’ve come,’ she exclaimed tremulously, forgetting for a moment that she hadn’t seen him since her arrival.
Then she saw Henry hovering behind him, and half turned away in embarrassment. ‘Um—there’s a rat; under the bed.’ A sob broke from her throat. ‘Can you get rid of it? Please! It—it’s huge!’
‘A rat?’ Matt let go of the door and came towards her, dark and disturbing in a black tee and matching shorts. Immediately the room was filled with his raw masculinity, and Joanna had to grope for a breath of cool night air. ‘Are you sure?’
‘I’m sure,’ Joanna managed shakily, and wondered if he knew she was struggling against tears. ‘It was there when I came out of the bathroom. Just—just staring at me with evil little eyes.’
Matt reserved judgement on the evil little eyes but it was obvious something had frightened her badly.
‘So where is it now?’ asked Henry, coming into the room behind him. The older man seemed unconcerned about Joanna’s appearance, and Matt gave him a half-impatient look.
‘She says it’s under the bed,’ he said, going down on one knee to scan the area in question. And then he allowed a rueful smile when he saw what was huddling beneath the wooden frame.
‘What is it? What is it?’ Joanna was shifting from foot to foot, and Matt was half afraid she was going to lose her balance and fall. ‘Can you see it?’ Then, observing his expression, ‘What’s so funny?’
Matt shook his head, sobering, and, getting to his feet again, he turned to Henry. ‘It’s a hutia,’ he told the other man. ‘I’d say the poor thing’s more frightened than she is.’
‘A hutia?’ Joanna had never heard of such a thing. ‘Is—is that a rat?’