Read Online (2012) Evie Undercover by Liz Harris - Free Book Online
Authors: Liz Harris
Tags: Mystery
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know there’s nothing I like better than a challenge, as many courtroom opponents have found to their cost.’
‘Oh, I do believe you.’
And she did. She finished her wine in double quick time, lay back on the grass and waited.
Don’t do it, his inner voice screamed at him.
He was furious with himself: it was entirely his own fault that he’d got himself into the situation he was in. She’d picked up the baton that he should never have dropped, and now she was teasing him with it. Worse still, he seemed to b e letting himself take the bait .
He glanced across at her. Her skin was creamy smooth in the afternoon sun , and he r lips were parted in an inviting sort of way . It would be very easy to lean over and kiss her, and probably quite pleasant – all in all, it could be a diverting way of killing time . A nd what harm could it do? He found himself turning slightly towards her and lower ing his head towards her mouth .
The inner voice screamed at him again, louder this time, more insistent.
It was a voice that he’d first heard years before, a voice that he’d then ignored, and had regretted doing so ever since. He’d turned a deaf ear the first time that he’d heard it and he wasn’t going to ignore it a second time. Only fools failed to learn from the lessons that life threw at them. H e wasn’t a fool and he wasn’t giving in to temptation. Not this time.
Abruptly, he straightened up.
Making a move on Evie was fraught with potential disaster. He didn’t get i nvolved with people like her. T o have a casual dalliance with her would be both unprofessional and foolhardy. Theirs was a friendly working relationship, and that was the way it had to stay. He scrambled to his feet.
‘We’ll tidy up now, and then get off to Massa. Up you get, Evie.’
Turning round, h e walked away from her.
Chapter Seven
Help! T h ere ’s a spanner in the works
From her table in the corner of the piazza in Todi, Evie watched Tom stroll across the square and start to climb the stone steps leading to the cathedral. The weathered marble walls of the cathedral shimmered pink in the light of the dying sun. She helped herself to a handful of nuts from the small bowl in the centre of the table. Why had Tom ch anged towards her ? B ecause change he certainly had.
It wasn’t that he was act ing coldly towards her or anything like that ; it was little things she couldn’t really put her finger on. She’d been certain – absolutely certain – that he’d been about to kiss her the day before when they’d been mucking around on the grass after lunch, but he’d suddenly pulled back and things hadn’t been the same ever since.
They’d ended the afternoon by ordering the beds and bedside tables as planned and had arranged for them to be delivered to the house on the Thursday morning, and then they’d had a nice dinner at Il Poggio , b ut at the end of the meal he’d made it clear that he didn’t want to hang around and they’d gone off to their separate rooms as soon as they’d finished their coffee.
She’d had a burst of hope when there ’d been a knock on her door soon after they’d parted. She’d rushed to the door, pulled it open and found him standing there , a can of insect spray in his hand. H er h ope had faded fast. The pre-picnic-lunch Tom would have cracked a joke as he ’d handed her the can; the post-picnic-lunch Tom had made do with, ‘In case there are any problems. Good night.’
The day in Città di Castello had gone well and they’ d ordered everything Tom needed .
He’d seemed quite relaxed all day, and hadn’t even appeared to be the least bit put out when he’d learnt that the furniture would be delivered over a period of a couple of weeks – he’d just told Eduardo that he could get someone to stay in the house during that time if it made things easier for him. Nevertheless, he’d kept firmly to his side of an invisible wall all day .
This had been even more
‘Oh, I do believe you.’
And she did. She finished her wine in double quick time, lay back on the grass and waited.
Don’t do it, his inner voice screamed at him.
He was furious with himself: it was entirely his own fault that he’d got himself into the situation he was in. She’d picked up the baton that he should never have dropped, and now she was teasing him with it. Worse still, he seemed to b e letting himself take the bait .
He glanced across at her. Her skin was creamy smooth in the afternoon sun , and he r lips were parted in an inviting sort of way . It would be very easy to lean over and kiss her, and probably quite pleasant – all in all, it could be a diverting way of killing time . A nd what harm could it do? He found himself turning slightly towards her and lower ing his head towards her mouth .
The inner voice screamed at him again, louder this time, more insistent.
It was a voice that he’d first heard years before, a voice that he’d then ignored, and had regretted doing so ever since. He’d turned a deaf ear the first time that he’d heard it and he wasn’t going to ignore it a second time. Only fools failed to learn from the lessons that life threw at them. H e wasn’t a fool and he wasn’t giving in to temptation. Not this time.
Abruptly, he straightened up.
Making a move on Evie was fraught with potential disaster. He didn’t get i nvolved with people like her. T o have a casual dalliance with her would be both unprofessional and foolhardy. Theirs was a friendly working relationship, and that was the way it had to stay. He scrambled to his feet.
‘We’ll tidy up now, and then get off to Massa. Up you get, Evie.’
Turning round, h e walked away from her.
Chapter Seven
Help! T h ere ’s a spanner in the works
From her table in the corner of the piazza in Todi, Evie watched Tom stroll across the square and start to climb the stone steps leading to the cathedral. The weathered marble walls of the cathedral shimmered pink in the light of the dying sun. She helped herself to a handful of nuts from the small bowl in the centre of the table. Why had Tom ch anged towards her ? B ecause change he certainly had.
It wasn’t that he was act ing coldly towards her or anything like that ; it was little things she couldn’t really put her finger on. She’d been certain – absolutely certain – that he’d been about to kiss her the day before when they’d been mucking around on the grass after lunch, but he’d suddenly pulled back and things hadn’t been the same ever since.
They’d ended the afternoon by ordering the beds and bedside tables as planned and had arranged for them to be delivered to the house on the Thursday morning, and then they’d had a nice dinner at Il Poggio , b ut at the end of the meal he’d made it clear that he didn’t want to hang around and they’d gone off to their separate rooms as soon as they’d finished their coffee.
She’d had a burst of hope when there ’d been a knock on her door soon after they’d parted. She’d rushed to the door, pulled it open and found him standing there , a can of insect spray in his hand. H er h ope had faded fast. The pre-picnic-lunch Tom would have cracked a joke as he ’d handed her the can; the post-picnic-lunch Tom had made do with, ‘In case there are any problems. Good night.’
The day in Città di Castello had gone well and they’ d ordered everything Tom needed .
He’d seemed quite relaxed all day, and hadn’t even appeared to be the least bit put out when he’d learnt that the furniture would be delivered over a period of a couple of weeks – he’d just told Eduardo that he could get someone to stay in the house during that time if it made things easier for him. Nevertheless, he’d kept firmly to his side of an invisible wall all day .
This had been even more
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