The Trouble With Coco Monroe by C. C. MacKenzie Page B

watched sympathy for her slide away to be replaced by a mixture of emotions; deep hurt and bitter fury.
    ‘A year. I knew as soon as I saw her that she belonged to me.’
    She blinked at his choice of words.
    ‘Everyone has a basic human right to self-determination, to decide for themselves if a relationship is working for them or not. No person owns another,’ she said gently, even as she recognised her words had wounded him.
    The pain in his dark eyes, the lines of anguish around his mouth, pierced her heart.
    Poor man.
    He was suffering so much.
    ‘ Si . I understand that. What I cannot forget is how she felt in my arms, in my bed, just two nights before she left me for someone else. That I cannot understand. And when I find her I will expect her to explain herself. I have questions that need answered. Until then I am trapped.’
    ‘Don’t you know where she is, who she’s with?’
    He shook his head.
    ‘We think she’s living in Europe. But we can’t find her. It’s as if she’s dropped off the face of the earth.’
    ‘We?’
    His face flushed but his eyes held hers.
    ‘Private investigators, and my brother Lucas has put out feelers, but we’ve heard nothing.’
    ‘But what about her family, her friends, her agent? Gabriella Dolman has a famous face, someone, somewhere must know where she is.’
    ‘ Si . But her agent has no idea. I flew to New York to speak to Tobin Gillespie and he is as confused as I am. All she said to him was that her life had taken an unexpected turn and she wanted to concentrate on a new career. Her sister Sophie is working in Kenya, studying mosquito colonies for the World Health Organisation. She told me Gabriella wants to move on, that she is fine and to leave her in peace. Since then Sophie has not returned my calls, my messages.’
    Janine placed her other hand over his.
    ‘After a year don’t you think it’s time to move on?’
    ‘Until I speak to Gabriella face to face to understand what happened, how it went wrong, where it went wrong, I cannot do that.’
    And that was how Joshua Erichsen found them, with Janine’s swimming eyes gazing into Jacob’s, with their hands holding across the table, and with his heart being torn from his chest.
    His date tugged at his arm.
    ‘Josh, we’re being shown to our table. Are you okay?’
    ‘What? Yeah, sure. Sorry, was miles away.’
    How fair was it that the first night he’d taken a woman out in months he had to pick the Bar and Grill?
    Christ, Janine looked amazing.
    Her hair had grown over the past few weeks. The softer style suited her high cheekbones and feminine jaw. His body reacted as it always did around her, with a roar of arousal. Again, his date tugged his arm to attract his attention. A small part of his brain reminded him that he wasn’t behaving well. Another part couldn’t give a damn.
    ‘Hang on,’ he told her as she took her seat at their table. ‘I’ll be back in a minute, I just want to say hello to a couple of friends.’
    He ignored the hurt pout, the big brown eyes. And he even ignored his conscience telling him that abandoning his date, not introducing her to his friends was incredibly bad manners. But again he didn’t give a damn.
    Sliding through the tables he finally reached Jacob and Janine.
    Jacob stood and he shook his hand.
    Janine stayed right where she was.
    Normally he’d buss the cheek of a woman acquaintance or give them a hug. But this woman had Do Not Touch written all over her.
    Why couldn’t he behave like a normal human being in front of her?
    So like a pussy he just raised his hand.
    ‘Hi,’ he said as Jacob sat, reached across the table and took Janine’s hand in his. ‘We’ve just arrived and I thought I’d come over and say hello.’
    Christ, how pathetic did that sound?
    The whole time he couldn’t take his eyes from Janine.
    She’d gone tense the way she always did around him and Jacob was looking at him as if he’d lost his mind.
    ‘Small world,’ Jacob