he was a very, very good one.
‘Do you really want to talk about work?’
His voice came from right behind me and I turned and saw that he was holding a bottle of champagne.
I was surprised. ‘You didn’t drink anything at lunchtime.’
‘I knew I’d be driving you home.’
I licked my lips. ‘What if I’d said no?’
‘I was in possession of evidence that suggested you wouldn’t.’ His response was sure and confident. The corners of his mouth flickered and he eased the cork out of the champagne like a pro. By now I was so jumpy and on edge that when it popped, I flinched.
‘I don’t see how a few words typed into a search engine could be used as evidence. Several people had access to that laptop, including yourself.’
He raised an eyebrow and poured me the sparkling liquid into a tall, thin-stemmed glass.
I didn’t want to be impressed, but I was.
Rosie and I only drank champagne if someone else bought it and we never drank out of glasses like these. It made it feel special. He made me feel special. I wondered what he’d thought of our apartment with its non-matching plates and table designed to seat half the number of people we’d squashed around it.
His home was all polished wood and soft leather.
‘What are we celebrating?’ I watched as the bubbles rose and wondered what it was about champagne that lifted the mood. ‘Christmas?’
‘You. Naked in my apartment.’
My tummy tightened. ‘I’m still dressed.’
His eyes met mine and he handed me a glass. ‘Not for long.’
My pulse was racing and I lifted my glass. ‘Merry Christmas.’
‘ Buon Natale! Salute! ’
Oh, God, Italian was a hot language.
We drank and the champagne fizzed in my mouth and spread through my veins. Or maybe it was the chemistry that was fizzing, but whatever it was I could feel it all the way through me. ‘The only Italian I know is Pizza Margherita . And you’re the first Italian man I’ve met.’
The corners of his mouth flickered. ‘I’m Sicilian.’
‘Like Al Pacino.’
‘Al Pacino was born in New York.’
Shut up, Hayley . ‘I’ll stop talking.’
‘Don’t,’ he breathed and he turned to put his champagne glass down on the low glass table. ‘ Don’t stop talking. I like it.’
‘You like it when I talk crap?’
‘You’re not talking crap. You’re just nervous.’ He removed my glass from my hand and I should have objected, not just because I was enjoying the champagne but because after Charlie I didn’t want any man telling me when I could or couldn’t drink.
‘Actually—’
‘I like it when you don’t censor what you say and do.’
Just when I was ready to punch him, he said something like that.
‘You didn’t look as if you liked it when my dress gave way.’
‘I didn’t want all those wedding guests having heart attacks. I didn’t think the hospital could cope with a major incident that close to Christmas.’
I was laughing and blushing at the same time because it was impossible to remember it without also remembering the moments we’d shared. ‘I still don’t know what happened.’
‘The inevitable happened.’
‘Not true. I’m not saying it hadn’t crossed my mind but not in a million years did I really think it would happen.’
He paused. ‘I wasn’t talking about the dress.’
‘Neither was I.’ I was eye level with his throat and I could see the dark stubble shadowing his jaw. I’d seen the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls, but I decided there weren’t many better views than this one. ‘I just didn’t ever see us together. I didn’t think you liked who I was.’
‘I didn’t like who you were when you were with Charlie, because that wasn’t the real you. You were constantly trying to rein yourself in.’ He stroked his finger over my jaw, studying me and I gulped, wondering how he knew so much.
‘Maybe you’re not going to like the real me.’
‘Hayley, I saw who you were the first time I met you. I spotted you across the room
‘Do you really want to talk about work?’
His voice came from right behind me and I turned and saw that he was holding a bottle of champagne.
I was surprised. ‘You didn’t drink anything at lunchtime.’
‘I knew I’d be driving you home.’
I licked my lips. ‘What if I’d said no?’
‘I was in possession of evidence that suggested you wouldn’t.’ His response was sure and confident. The corners of his mouth flickered and he eased the cork out of the champagne like a pro. By now I was so jumpy and on edge that when it popped, I flinched.
‘I don’t see how a few words typed into a search engine could be used as evidence. Several people had access to that laptop, including yourself.’
He raised an eyebrow and poured me the sparkling liquid into a tall, thin-stemmed glass.
I didn’t want to be impressed, but I was.
Rosie and I only drank champagne if someone else bought it and we never drank out of glasses like these. It made it feel special. He made me feel special. I wondered what he’d thought of our apartment with its non-matching plates and table designed to seat half the number of people we’d squashed around it.
His home was all polished wood and soft leather.
‘What are we celebrating?’ I watched as the bubbles rose and wondered what it was about champagne that lifted the mood. ‘Christmas?’
‘You. Naked in my apartment.’
My tummy tightened. ‘I’m still dressed.’
His eyes met mine and he handed me a glass. ‘Not for long.’
My pulse was racing and I lifted my glass. ‘Merry Christmas.’
‘ Buon Natale! Salute! ’
Oh, God, Italian was a hot language.
We drank and the champagne fizzed in my mouth and spread through my veins. Or maybe it was the chemistry that was fizzing, but whatever it was I could feel it all the way through me. ‘The only Italian I know is Pizza Margherita . And you’re the first Italian man I’ve met.’
The corners of his mouth flickered. ‘I’m Sicilian.’
‘Like Al Pacino.’
‘Al Pacino was born in New York.’
Shut up, Hayley . ‘I’ll stop talking.’
‘Don’t,’ he breathed and he turned to put his champagne glass down on the low glass table. ‘ Don’t stop talking. I like it.’
‘You like it when I talk crap?’
‘You’re not talking crap. You’re just nervous.’ He removed my glass from my hand and I should have objected, not just because I was enjoying the champagne but because after Charlie I didn’t want any man telling me when I could or couldn’t drink.
‘Actually—’
‘I like it when you don’t censor what you say and do.’
Just when I was ready to punch him, he said something like that.
‘You didn’t look as if you liked it when my dress gave way.’
‘I didn’t want all those wedding guests having heart attacks. I didn’t think the hospital could cope with a major incident that close to Christmas.’
I was laughing and blushing at the same time because it was impossible to remember it without also remembering the moments we’d shared. ‘I still don’t know what happened.’
‘The inevitable happened.’
‘Not true. I’m not saying it hadn’t crossed my mind but not in a million years did I really think it would happen.’
He paused. ‘I wasn’t talking about the dress.’
‘Neither was I.’ I was eye level with his throat and I could see the dark stubble shadowing his jaw. I’d seen the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls, but I decided there weren’t many better views than this one. ‘I just didn’t ever see us together. I didn’t think you liked who I was.’
‘I didn’t like who you were when you were with Charlie, because that wasn’t the real you. You were constantly trying to rein yourself in.’ He stroked his finger over my jaw, studying me and I gulped, wondering how he knew so much.
‘Maybe you’re not going to like the real me.’
‘Hayley, I saw who you were the first time I met you. I spotted you across the room
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