LITMIR.BIZ

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glared. ‘You can take it any way you please.’

      ‘Oh, believe me, I will,’ Lucan said.

      ‘No doubt,’ Jordan muttered disgustedly.

      His brother gave him an arrogant look. ‘That aside, I believe you owe Miss McKinley an apology—’

      ‘Like hell I do!’

      ‘You deliberately set out to insult her.’ Lucan gave him one of his superior looks.

      Jordan knew exactly what he had done. He just wasn’t sure why he had done it…What difference did it make to him whether or not Stephanie was still panting after some man called Richard she had been involved with before the two of them had even met?

      His eyes narrowed. ‘Tell me, Lucan—when you decided to hire her, did you do your usual check into her background?’

      His brother looked unconcerned by the insult in Jordan’s tone. ‘Stephanie McKinley graduated top of her class—’

      ‘I meant her personal background,’ Jordan cut in impatiently.

      ‘I don’t believe her personal life is any of my concern. Nor,’ Lucan added softly, ‘if your lack of interest in her is genuine, should it be any of yours.’

      No, it shouldn’t, Jordan acknowledged grudgingly. Except last night had made it so…

      Damn it, he had thought Stephanie was different. Had hoped that she was. And all the time she had been in his arms she had been hankering for some man called Richard.

      ‘Unless it escaped your notice, Stephanie McKinley was crying when she ran out of here.’ Lucan’s mouth had thinned disapprovingly.

      ‘I noticed,’ Jordan admitted. ‘But we have much more important things to worry about than Stephanie’s hurt feelings, remember?’

      ‘Let’s deal with one problem at a time, hmm?’ Lucan insisted. ‘Your first priority is to apologise to Miss McKinley—’

      ‘For stating the truth?’

      His brother looked implacable. ‘I didn’t hear her calling you a cruel and heartless louse, but at the moment that happens to be the truth, too.’

      Jordan’s mouth compressed into a tight line. ‘Obviously Stephanie is much more restrained than I am. Now, if you wouldn’t mind, Lucan?’ he added pointedly. ‘I need to go and lie down before I fall down.’

      He didn’t wait for his brother to answer, but limped the rest of the way to his bedroom and all but slammed the door behind him before collapsing on the bed with a heartfelt sigh of relief.

      Hours spent putting on an act for his mother had taken much more out of Jordan than he had expected. The conversation a few minutes ago with Stephanie even more so.

      Did he owe her an apology?

      Her private life was her business. A few kisses—okay, so it had been more than just a few kisses—didn’t entitle Jordan to know about every man she had ever slept with.

      Damn it, Lucan was right; he did owe Stephanie an apology!

      ‘I’m sorry.’

      Stephanie turned her head abruptly on the pillow as she looked across the room to where Jordan stood stiffly in the bedroom doorway. Swayed in the doorway, would actually be a better description of what he was doing. He leant heavily on his cane with one hand and held on to the doorframe with the other…

      She sat up with a frown. ‘You should be in bed—’

      ‘I honestly don’t think I can make it back to my own bedroom,’ Jordan admitted ruefully as he staggered across the room and sank down gratefully on the side of her bed. ‘I’m not sure I even have enough energy left to lie down, let alone walk.’

      Stephanie was pretty sure that he didn’t; his cheeks were hollow, eyes dark with pain, and his mouth was set in a grimly determined line. The same determination that had enabled him to get to her bedroom and no further…

      She stood up hastily to move round to Jordan’s side of the bed. ‘Are you going to let me help you this time?’ She was hesitant about even touching him again after the way he had reacted earlier.

      He gave a pained wince. ‘If you don’t then I’ll probably just slide onto the floor before passing out.’

      Stephanie shook her head even as she took away his cane and slipped off his shoes, before helping him to lie back against the pillows and carefully swing his legs up onto the brocade bedcover. ‘You shouldn’t have strained yourself by even attempting to come in here.’

      He glanced up at her. ‘Lucan seems to think I owe you an apology.’

      Stephanie stilled. ‘Do you think you owe me an apology?’

      ‘I was out of line earlier,’ Jordan murmured honestly as he saw the way Stephanie’s gaze was avoiding meeting his.

      ‘Yes,’ she agreed flatly. ‘And, as I have no intention of explaining who Richard is, I think it would better for all concerned if I went back to my own flat now, and recommended someone else to take over your therapy.’

      ‘Lucan assures me that you’re the best there is,’ he said.

      ‘Even so…’

      ‘He also told me that your private life is none of our concern.’ Those gold eyes were narrowed guardedly.

      ‘Your brother is very—opinionated,’ Stephanie acknowledged dryly.

      ‘But he’s usually right,’ Jordan pointed out.

      ‘Perhaps.’ Stephanie nodded, not sure whether she was relieved or disappointed that Jordan felt the same way as Lucan. If he had continued to demand to know who Richard was, then it might have meant that he was genuinely interested in her himself. As it was, he had obviously decided, on his brother’s advice, that her private life was none of his business.

      A complete change of subject was necessary. ‘How was your mother earlier?’

      ‘As bright and positive as she usually is.’ Jordan sighed heavily. ‘The two of us put on quite a show, I can tell you—my mother pretending she’s only here to shop, and me pretending that everything is going well with my recovery.’

      Stephanie had yet to meet Molly St Claire, but she had no doubt that she would like her; she had to be quite something for the three formidable St Claire men to adore her in the way they obviously did. She also doubted, if Molly St Claire was as close to her sons as she appeared to be, that the other woman had been any more fooled by Jordan’s act of wellbeing than he had been fooled by hers…

      ‘You shouldn’t have tried to manage without your cane,’ Stephanie scolded again, as Jordan gave a low groan of pain when he tried to move his leg into a more comfortable position.

      ‘It’s never been as bad as this before,’ Jordan grated, a nerve pulsing in his tightly clenched jaw. ‘The muscles in my leg seem to have seized up completely.’

      Stephanie no longer felt hesitant as she sat down on the side of the bed and gently ran her hands over Jordan’s right leg and felt the way his muscles were locked into place. Her glance flicked up to his rigidly set face. ‘Perhaps some painkillers to relax the muscles—’

      ‘No,’ he told her grimly.

      Stephanie chewed on her bottom lip. ‘I could probably ease some of the tension by directly massaging the muscles. But it’s going to be painful,’ she warned regretfully.

      ‘Can’t be any worse than it already is,’ Jordan muttered through gritted teeth, his fingers curled into the brocade cover at his sides.

      ‘It will work better if we take your trousers off…’

      ‘Are you trying to get me naked, Stephanie?’ he teased, even as he concentrated

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