Page 82 of Reckless Kiss

Jason sat back with a smirk. The only evidence she could see he could be unruly was his hair. Dirty blond and sticking up like it wouldn’t behave.

“You were the only blond in the childhood photos.”

Nodding, Jason made himself comfortable at the table in the corner of the restaurant. “Yes, I’m Jason. Can I have lunch with you? I promise this is a friendly get-together.”

“So friendly, you gate crashed. How did you find me?”

Feeling more relaxed now, that he had stated he wasn’t there to hand out bad news or behave like a male version of his aunt, Erica dropped her book into her bag.

“The gutter press. They snapped you coming in and uploaded it onto their website.”

“And you, by chance, were looking.”

Jason grinned, leaning forward with his arms resting on his thighs under the table. “I came back to London a few weeks ago. I wanted to know if you were still here when Archer said you did a Houdini act on him. Google alerts are fantastic. However, you’ve been holed up in your house.Beautiful place you have in Kensington, by the way. Very secure.”

A server handed Jason a menu and left them alone.

“Your brother ignored me for a week, wouldn’t speak to or look at me. He knew I had movie commitments, so it was hardly a disappearing act.”

“You told him you’d be gone for five days, then in your note, you said you’d be away for two weeks.”

“And he said he wouldn’t run out on me.”

Jason took a breath in and then exhaled through his nose. Sitting back and giving Erica his undivided attention, after making his choice from the menu, he stared her out.

He lost.

“My brother is methodical, doing things in order rather than multitasking. He couldn’t talk to you until he had talked to our aunt. Aunt Cynthia gave him the run-around claiming to be ill when she wasn’t. He gate crashed her morning tea and got his answers. Then he called us for advice. Finally, he came to your cottage to discuss everything, yet you’d gone.”

Erica chewed on those words, knowing they would be true. It wasn’t like she’d ignored Archer over the last ten days, but she had only answered questions he’d asked. There was no deviation, no small talk or sexy talk. Erica hadn’t dialled his number because she couldn’t bear to hear his voice. All she had in her head was his final words,forget it, on repeat.

“The risotto is lovely here, and so is the steak,” Erica said.

“You come here a lot?” Jason asked, picking up the menu.

Erica was grateful Jason didn’t push his point any further. She understood he was looking out for his bigbrother. She’d do the same if she had siblings. The conversation had grown too serious, and she was getting stressed.

“It’s one of my favourite places to eat,” Erica said.

“Mine too.”

“Are you a foodie?”

“I’m a chef. When I’m in London, I come here to eat and speak with the kitchen brigade.”

“Oh hell, don’t tell them that. It’ll freak Pedro out.”

“You know the head chef here?” Jason asked.

“Yeah, we go way back when he worked in another restaurant, and I was a struggling actress in the theatres. I’d pop into his place and eat late at night after the place closed, and all the staff would eat together. They were simpler times.”

“Archer is freaking out,” Jason said.

The change in subject jolted her from good memories. She thought talking about food would dissuade Jason from piling on the pressure.

“Why?”

“He’s planning a wedding with no idea if the bride is coming back.”

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