Harlequin Romance April 2015 Box Set by Jennifer Faye and Kate Hardy Jessica Gilmore Michelle Douglas Page A

‘How’s Ethan doing?’
    ‘She didn’t say.’
    A weight settled across his shoulders. He pulled out the nearest chair and fell into it. ‘Did she want me to ring her back?’ Which was a ridiculous question. Of course she’d want him to return her call.
    ‘She didn’t say.’
    He stared at her and she finally turned from where she was rinsing a few dishes and shrugged.
    ‘She hung up on me.’
    He closed his eyes. He could imaginethe conclusion Diana Devlin had come to upon hearing a woman’s voice at the end of his phone—especially a voice as rich and honeyed as Jo’s.
    When he opened his eyes he found a glass of water sitting in front of him. He drained it.
    ‘She’s a cheery soul, isn’t she?’
    ‘Jo, she’s spent the last few months in fear for her son’s life and now she fears for his future. There isn’t much inher life to feel cheerful about.’
    ‘Garbage.’ She dried a plate. ‘Her son’s alive, isn’t he? That’s something to be grateful for. His recovery is coming along nicely, isn’t it? Another thing to be grateful for.’
    ‘He’ll bear the scars from this accident for the rest of his life.’
    ‘Oh, for heaven’s sake—we’re not going to have this argument again. Ethan’s mother will love him no matterwhat he looks like.’
    She bent down to place the plate in a cupboard and Mac got an eyeful of the curve of her hips. His heart started to pound. Jo had the kind of hips that could make a man salivate. He dragged his gaze to the glass he twirled between his fingers. He lifted it to his lips and managed to find another drop or two, but they did nothing to ease the thirst coursing through him.
    Jo turned around. He kept his gaze on the glass.
    ‘All I can say,’ she said, ‘is that I wouldn’t want her in
my
sick room.’
    Slowly he lifted his head to stare at her. She squeezed out the dishcloth and wiped down the table, not meeting his eyes. As far as he could tell the table was perfectly clean as it was, but he lifted both the glass and his arms out of her way and did his bestnot to draw the scent of her into his lungs.
    ‘She’s his mum. She’ll be his best source of support...’ He trailed off. He hadn’t thought about it before. Not in that context. Ethan
was
doing okay, wasn’t he?
    For the first time he wished he hadn’t so comprehensively cut himself off from his colleagues on the show.
    He rose. ‘I’ll...um...’ For heaven’s sake—he didn’t have to justifyhis every movement to her.
    Turning on his heel, he strode out of the kitchen and headed upstairs. Seizing his mobile from the desk he punched in Mrs Devlin’s number. As he waited for her to answer he glanced at the curtains. He moved to close them, to shut out the day, and then stopped. He didn’t have the heart for it. What difference would a bit of sunlight make? Even if Mrs Devlin cared,she’d never have to know.
    ‘Malcolm,’ she said, obviously having checked her caller ID before answering. She never called him Mac. She never said hello. She just said Malcolm.
    ‘How are you, Mrs Devlin?’
    She didn’t answer him. She usually made some sarcastic comment—
How did he think she was, sitting at her son’s sick bed day in day out?
    While he welcomed the silence he forcedhimself to push on. ‘I understand you rang earlier?’
    He waited for her to demand to know who Jo was and what she was doing in his house. He could imagine her sarcasm when he told her Jo was his temporary housekeeper. It would be something along the lines of
It’s nice for some
.
    ‘I wanted to tell you that this quarter’s bills have come in.’
    He closed his eyes. This lot would justabout clean him out. To receive a much-needed portion of his advance he had to get something substantial to his publisher.
Soon.
That would cover the next quarter’s costs. After that... He swallowed. If necessary he’d sell the car, his Sydney apartment. And then this house.
    And if Ethan’s treatment needed to continue after