Page 42 of Strictly Business

She continued inside, while he retrieved his phone and called for a taxi. And then he went downstairs and waited on the footpath for the cab to arrive.

The night was indeed, as Julia had said, balmy. He drew a deep breath and caught a whiff of salt from the sea as well as perfume from a nearby garden, a very sweet, heady, floral fragrance. The deep breath didn’t calm him. In fact, he was astonished by how nervous he felt. By the way his heart was pumping anyone would think Alice Madigan was armed and dangerous.

But of course... she was armed... with a dangerously sensual femininity that had made him her captive slave.

This evening, however, when she opened her front door and saw Liam on her doorstep, all colour leached from her face.

‘Oh,’ was all she said and she clutched the door knob as if she needed its support.

‘Hello, Alice.’ He was alarmed by her apparent frailty. ‘I hope I haven’t got you out of bed.’

‘No, no.’

Despite her paleness, her beauty couldn’t be dimmed. Her dark hair was shining as if she’d just finished brushing it a thousand times and her deep red jeans and multi-toned T shirtoffset her pale skin perfectly. He wanted to feast his eyes on her. ‘I was very sorry to hear that you weren’t well.’

She nodded, but offered no explanation.

‘It’s nothing serious, I hope?’

‘No. Just a stomach virus.’ She gave a little shrug, but its effect was rather spoiled by the bleakness in her eyes that suggested she was troubled by much more than a stomach bug. ‘You must think I make a habit of leaving work early.’

‘Not at all.’ Liam stood on the step with his hands shoved deep in his pockets and she continued to cling to the door. ‘May I come in?’ he asked and then, reluctantly, ‘Or are you too tired?’

‘I – I’m rather tired.’

The tension between them was palpable. He couldn’t stand it. Taking a step closer, he reached out and touched her cheek. It was soft and warm beneath his fingers. ‘I’ve missed you so much, Alice.’

She turned her head away quickly, but not before he saw the movement of her throat as she swallowed and the sudden glitter of silver in her eyes. Were they tears? What was the matter? His heart rocked.

Standing stiffly, with his hand returned to his side, he struggled to think of something else to say. This stilted conversation was agony, but it was an agony that had to be prolonged. He couldn’t walk away till he knew what the matter was. ‘I hope my parcel arrived safely.’

‘Oh, yes. I meant to thank you.’ She looked up at him again. ‘I’ve never had any Venetian glass. It’s just gorgeous. I love it.’

‘You found a place for it among all your other green things?’

‘Yes.’ She cast a quick glance over her shoulder and he thought for a moment that she was going to invite him inside to see it, but obviously she dismissed that idea almost as quickly as it had come to her and she gave the door a little push as if she was keen to shut him out.

‘I assume everything went smoothly in the office while I was away.’ He was grasping at straws now.

One corner of her mouth tilted in a wry smile. ‘We actually managed quite well without you.’

Her deliberate taunt found its mark. He sighed. ‘I guess you’re angry because I didn’t make contact while I was away.’

She didn’t – just stood there looking upset.

‘I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch,’ he said. ‘It was a little crazy in Sydney.’

She dropped her gaze quickly. Her feet were bare and she rubbed one nervously against the other.

‘Is it something else? What is it, Alice? What’s the matter?’

Her mouth tugged out of shape and then a little sound that was suspiciously like a sob escaped. ‘Just about everything.’

Hearing that, Liam gave up waiting for an invitation. He pushed the door out of her grasp and stepped inside.

There wasn’t much room in the narrow hallway and in the confined space he was acutely aware of her proximity. The scent of lemon shampoo lingered about her and he wanted to ignore whatever was bothering her and to draw her close, to have her in his arms, with her warm sweet body rammed tight against him, to bury his face in her fragrant, silky hair.

But he continued walking down the hallway and turned into her living room, and she closed the front door and followed.

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