Page 23 of Marry Me…Maybe?
‘Theo. Good to see you again.’
She took a step forward and, putting a hand onto his arm, drew him outside to stand on the stone step with her.
‘I wanted to have a quick word before I go in and say hello to your mother,’ she said, looking up at him with wide, innocent-looking eyes.
His stomach swooped as he wondered what she was going to say. Was this going to be about what had happened in the wood? Stupidly, he’d hoped they could pretend it hadn’t happened and go on as they had before.
Before he’d taken things a step further than he should have.
But, of course, Emily wasn’t the type to ignore something. She was too upfront.
‘What is it?’ he asked with a frown, in an attempt to discourage the inevitable confrontation.
Clearly, she wasn’t going to be put off that easily, though, because she slid both hands up over his shoulders in a kind of loose but determined hug.
‘I wanted to say thank you for Sunday. I had fun.’
There was a mischievous glint in her eye now.
‘Surely after being so… er… close like that, I at least qualify for a quick hello kiss now?’
Dropping his gaze to her mouth, he stared at her full lips, which seemed to be coated in some kind of glossy lipstick, and had to steel himself not to pull her against him and kiss her hard.
‘Not with that gunk all over your mouth.’
He watched in stupefied awe as she stuck out her tongue and slowly ran it first over her top lip, then her bottom one, taking off the shine but leaving a glistening dampness in its wake.
‘Better?’ she asked in a low, husky voice that spoke straight to the enormous erection in his trousers.
He cleared his throat and tried to think of something bland and unsexy to kill his maddening reaction. ‘I thought I made it clear that Sunday was a one-off. Nothing like that is going to happen again. This is strictly a business arrangement, Emily.’
Her eyebrows rose in defiance. ‘You sounded almost regretful there for a moment,’ she said, giving him a languid smile. Keeping their gazes locked, she leaned slowly forward to kiss him gently on the cheek, close to his mouth but not quite touching it.
He let it happen, telling himself it would be rude to push her away.
Pulling back, she glanced around her, as if checking for something.
‘What’s wrong?’
She looked back at him and smiled. ‘Nothing. Nothing at all.’
Emily was pretty sure she’d given the photographer hidden in thebushes a good enough opportunity for a shot of the two of them looking all loved up.
She certainly hoped so, because it had almost killed her to act so unconcerned when Theo had rejected her again. She’d brazened it out with a smile, but her insides had sunk low with disappointment at his continued aloofness. It was as if the incident against the tree hadn’t happened.
She spent a rather tense dinner catching Theo alternately giving her frowns or intense stares, which didn’t exactly make for a relaxing atmosphere.
In retaliation she touched him as much as she could get away with – on his hand when he passed her the salt, on his thigh when his napkin slid off and she retrieved it for him. She even managed to sweep back a lock of hair which had fallen over his forehead while he was engaged in an involved conversation with his mother about the repair of the heating system in the house.
She thought he was going to stab her with his fork after she performed that one.
Finally, they retired to the drawing room and Theo poured them all drinks before taking the seat on the sofa next to her, his back ramrod-straight and his leg propped on his knee at an angle, so she couldn’t sit close to him.
After some beating around the bush, Emily finally managed to turn her conversation with Francesca round to Lula holding her wedding reception at the house again, but was frustrated when the countess still wouldn’t give her a firm commitment.
It was like getting blood out of an icicle.
An hour and one very involved and rather enjoyable conversation about the merits of imprinting young foals later, Emily yawned widely, unable to quell the reflex. She’d not slept well since Sunday and it was catching up with her.
