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Mary watched Andrew move the bishop across the board and take her knight.

She had discovered many elements of him, yet there seemed dozens more. He was like a puzzle – he could be gentle, kind and tolerant, but most of the time he was stubborn and defensive, and foolhardy with his friends.

Her father thought Andrew selfish, though pig-headed was the word he used. He asked if Andrew’s friends came to the apartment. Then asked if Andrew was rough and touched her neck where Andrew had sucked her skin and left a bruise.

She swore Andrew was gentle and respectful and told him about their ride in the park, only to make her father annoyed that Andrew let her gallop on the wet grass.

She sighed. Something had disturbed Andrew this afternoon, though. He seemed confused among her family, as though he had no idea what to do or say.

Perhaps he did not know… The only thing he had told her about his family was that he neither liked them nor visited them.

‘Have you spoken to your parents since we married?’ She lifted her bishop, moving it from the path of his. The marriage announcement was in the newspaper yesterday, so they must have seen it.

The muscles about his jaw tightened. ‘My parents…’ His pitch soured. He leaned to the side, grasped the neck of the bottle of champagne that had been delivered with their meal, and topped up her glass then his.

She guessed he filled their glasses to avoid answering.

‘Will you introduce me?’

He looked at the board and slid a castle across the squares until it faced her king. ‘Mate. No, I will not introduce you. Our marriage is nothing to do with my parents. Make your move?’ He sipped champagne.

She moved her bishop to defend her king. ‘I would like to meet them.’

‘You would not.’ He also made a defensive move.

‘Let me decide.’ She moved her queen in between two pawns. ‘I do not want to bump into them and not know them; that would be embarrassing. Are you ashamed of me?’

His eyebrows lifted. ‘I am ashamed of them.’ He moved a pawn closer to her king.

‘But we are married, I should at least know them.’

He did not answer. He sipped champagne, staring at the board, waiting for her to make her move.

Her fingers picked up her king and raised it close to her lips. His gaze followed the movement.

She smiled as his gaze struck hers. ‘Are they in town?’

He shook his head, his expression not saying no, but telling her to stop.

They were in town. He saw them at one of the balls he attended while pursuing her, but Drew was not introducing her. She returned her king to its place and moved a pawn.

He moved his knight.

‘I want to meet them.’

He ignored her, sipping champagne, and wishing she would give up. Today had been a good day, until she broached this untouchable subject.

‘Andrew…’

‘It is your move,’ he said.

She moved her pawn from the line of his king and suddenly he realised she had trapped him.

‘Checkmate.’

Damn , that was the end of distraction.

Conceding, he tipped his king over. She got up from her chair. He expected her to walk to the bedchamber, but instead she came to him and her fingers tilted up his chin, lifting his gaze to hers.

She smiled, coyly. ‘Please, let me meet your parents. They must want to meet me.’

‘They do not.’ He lifted his chin away from her touch. ‘Nor will they want to see me. So, no, we will not go.’

‘Did you argue with them?’ She picked up her glass, but did not sit down.

‘Mary, I do not talk to them.’ His temper increased by notches.

She was silent, as though she was working out a way to persuade him.

He sighed, drained his glass and stood. She needed something else to occupy her mind… ‘Let us go to bed.’

An hour later, lying naked beside her, satisfied, his fingertips drew circles on the soft skin of her shoulder. ‘You seem so fragile, yet you are not breakable at all, are you? I think there is steel beneath your skin, Mary.’

‘I can be hurt, but probably not broken, because I have my family.’

Her answer kicked – it would have pleased him if she had said, because I have you .

While they made love, he felt her tender trust, yet now, again, when it was over, she did not believe in him.

‘Introduce me to your parents, I want to meet them.’

Damn .

But… he thought… If it would convince her to believe in him, perhaps it was worth the risk. When she met them, she would know why he struggled with family bonds.

This was the worst thing she could ask of him.

Once it was over, his family would be forgotten and they could build their future.

She would see he had told the truth and might trust him more.

‘Perhaps…’ he answered. ‘I will think about it.’