Page 23 of Gold Digger
I let out a long breath and then bit my lip. “I think I’m just a bit confused.”
“Right,” he said, that firm tone back again. “I really don’t want any confusion, so I’ll spell it out again. I like you. I’m pretty much obsessed with you, actually. I think about you all the time. Your laugh, your dry sense of humour, your clumsiness, your eyes, your skin, the way I can tell if you think someone’s a dickhead without you ever having to say a word. How we can share a joke with just one raise of your eyebrow. That you’ve got a sweary rhyme to stop yourself punching people who annoy you and that you blushed when you sang it to me because you never swear. I just…” he smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “I justreallylike you.”
“Right, well, that’s nice,” I said weakly, and his sudden laughter made me flinch.
“Nice? Kill me now.”
“Ollie, I—” He gave my hand a squeeze at my use of his first name, and my chest tightened. “I’m just trying to get my head around this.” I pulled my hand from his and stood up to pace across the room. I needed some space between us to force my brain into a normal functioning state.
“I’m sorry, Lottie,” he said as he rose from the sofa, holding both his hands up in a calming gesture which did not have the desired effect. “I shouldn’t be rushing you. I mean, I’ve had a long while to come to terms with how I feel and what thepossible repercussions could be. It’s all a shock to you. I’m sure you’ve not been thinking about me in the same?—”
“You think I don’t think about you?” I asked, my voice incredulous as I crossed my arms over my chest defensively. “Holy guacamole, Ollie, you’ve got the wrong end of the stick there.” I let out a shaky laugh. “If you knew how much I…” I closed my eyes as embarrassment swept through me. But if Ollie could do this, then so could I. “Let’s just say I think obsession-wise I’d be giving you a run for your money. You’ve starred in all my fantasies for months.”
“I have?” he asked, a smug grin appearing as he took a few steps towards me. I held up my hand though, and he stopped with a frown.
“Butyou’refantasy material, Ollie. You have to see that. You’re gorgeous and funny, and kind to your mum, sisters and niece; you do endless charity work and you actually care about it. The way you wear a suit is beyond drool-worthy. You’re like the dream man. Not to mention, you are an actual duke. I’d be a disgrace to the sisterhood if I didn’t have a raging crush on you, and you know it.”
“Well,” he said, stalking closer, his frown having melted away and a small smile playing on his lips. “We wouldn’t want you to disgrace the sisterhood, would we?” Then he was right there, his smell all around me again, and all I could see were his ice-blue eyes. When he took me in his arms and hugged me to him, I rested my hands on his chest, and I knew I was a goner. “I want to hear more about these fantasies I’ve been starring in,” he said with a raised eyebrow, and I let out a shaky laugh as I relaxed against him.
“Is that all you got from everything I just said?”
“I think my brain shut off after that comment, to be honest.” He was staring at my mouth, his pupils so dilated that there was just a thin rim of blue visible, but as he started lowering hishead to mine, he froze and shut his eyes tightly. “Okay, no more kissing.”
“Okay,” I breathed, and his arms gave me a squeeze.
“I’m serious, Lottie. Serious about you. And I want to do this the right way. So, you’re going to go out on an official date with me before I let you have your way with me again.”
I laughed at that and rolled my eyes. “Ollie, I work for you. It’ll be weird.”
He shrugged. “Well, let’s see, shall we?”
“I need this job,” I said in a small voice.
“Don’t worry about it, Lottie. I’ll sort it.”
I didn’t know what Ollie “sorting it” involved, but I definitely should have asked. And I really should have taken the chance then and there to explain just how complicated my life actually was.
Chapter 11
This is priceless
Lottie
“Fraggle Rock!” I shrieked, dropping the cleaning spray and cloth I was carrying to clutch my chest.
“Hello,” Vicky said from one of the kitchen stools, staring at me with her head tilted to the side.
“Oh, you scared me,” I said, bending down to pick up my stuff. “I didn’t think anyone was here.”
Vicky shrugged. “We came back here from a meeting. Ollie is shouting at Felix in his office. I decided to wait out here.”
“Er… who’s Felix?”
“Ollie’s best friend.”
“Why is Ollie shouting at him?”
“He doesn’t want me working with Felix. He wants me to keep working for the Buckingham Estate.”
