‘Regret?’ He felt cold that she’d think that. ‘Lord, no. I don’t regret what happened between us. I couldn’t have stopped asking you up to my room if my life depended on it.’ His gaze rested on her and he recognised that same thrill. ‘It was as if we’d been together forever.’ Then his scalp crawled at the disloyalty to Roslyn and he ran his hand through his hair. ‘But … my wife died two months ago. What sort of man does that make me?’

Her bacon and eggs appeared before her. ‘I’ve been thinking about that.’ She considered him. ‘I’ve thought about it all the way from the car.’

She played with her fork without taking her eyes off him and he couldn’t look away from the gentle expression she regarded him with. There was no judgement there, and as if by osmosis, his tension eased away.

‘I think you’re a man who’s been grieving for twelve months already,’ she said, her tone careful. ‘You said there was no brain activity from the first day. It isn’t only two months since you lost her. You lost Roslyn more than a year ago.’

Why did his own theory sound more plausible coming from her?

‘Thank you. That’s the argument I’ve been using, but until now it hasn’t helped.’

The waiter came with his food and all of a sudden he had a big appetite.

She put the fork down with a metal chink and nodded at something he suspected had nothing to do with him. ‘We do love to make ourselves feel guilty.’

‘I feel guilty about making you lie last night.’

She nodded. ‘I wasn’t going to call you on it. I felt confused too.’

Lord, she was so honest.

Her chin went up. ‘Maybe I wanted to come back, even if it was on your terms,’ she said, meeting his eyes and laying herself bare.

He could do the same. He hoped. ‘I couldn’t process it. Pretending I didn’t know you kept things distant.’ He spread his hands. ‘At least I did come to my senses after I left you in maternity this morning. I’m sorry.’

She shrugged, but he knew he had caused her angst. Then she confirmed it. ‘I’m not an expert on the morning after with a stranger, but I’ll survive.’

‘I see that.’ He admired her resilience. ‘But I don’t want to be a stranger to you. I want to get to know you.’ These were words he didn’t know he’d been going to say, but they felt so right once they were out.

‘Why?’

His gaze swept over her face. ‘Because I have to?’

He heard her swiftly drawn breath, saw her hand lift to rest over her sternum as if her heart hurt.

She said very slowly and quietly, ‘We both need to slow down. We come from different worlds.’