Page 2 of So That Happened
‘I’m Abigail’s business partner. Josie Marchpane,’ she said, aware her voice was somewhat squeakier than normal. She waited for a sign of recognition on his face. It didn’t come; he just stared back, assessing her. ‘Abi said I could stay here for a while…’ She tailed off as his expression grew darker.
‘Is that right?’ His tone was abrupt now, and unfriendly.
There was a heavy silence in the room as they looked at each other.
Silence?
Something was wrong.
The music had stopped playing. With horror, Josie suddenly realised that, in the shock of Connor’s appearance, she’d forgotten about the drink she’d thrown all over the bed… and her laptop.
Twisting round, she looked down to see the screen had gone black. When she tapped the space bar, then jabbed all the other buttons in panic, nothing happened.
It looked as if her laptop hadn’t agreed with being showered with juice, and had died in disgust.
‘No, no, no, no, no!’ All the work she’d done since she’d got here was on that machine. She’d stupidly assumed there would be an internet connection, or at least a decent mobile signal, so she could back her work up, but nope. That had been another surprise that Abi hadn’t warned her about. Deliberately. She was sure of it.
‘What’s wrong?’
Connor’s deep drawl broke into her consciousness. She’d almost forgotten him in her panic.
‘I just killed my computer with orange juice.’ It would have been funny if it wasn’t so absolutely devastating. Losing her laptop was tantamount to losing her right hand.
‘Orange juice?’ He nodded slowly. ‘So that’s what you’ve christened my bed with.’
Irritation got the better of her. How could he be concerned about the state of the bed when her laptop had kicked the bucket?
‘I’ve just lost three days’ worth of work.’
He appeared unfazed by her snippy tone. ‘Do you always work naked?’
The hairs on her arms stood up in response to his question and heat burned in her belly. Acutely aware now of her nakedness under the towel, she broke eye contact and looked around for her clothes. She’d have to walk past him to get to them. That meant skirting the end of the bed and passing within a foot of him. The thought made her uneasy and a little tick throbbed in her eye.
Rubbing a hand over her face, she tried to wipe away the befuddling mix of sensations. ‘I was in the shower and I had a thought.’ Her voice trembled and she cleared her throat to relieve the tightness.
He pinched his eyebrows in an approximation of bewildered understanding.
She sighed. ‘I’m writing a tender document for work and I was hit with inspiration. I didn’t want to forget it before I had a chance to write it down.’
‘I get it,’ he said, giving a bemused shake of his head.
Good God, he was getting under her skin.
‘Look, do you mind?’ She forced her shoulders back and tipped up her chin. ‘I’m not exactly prepared for socialising right now. Can we talk about this in the morning?’
Connor frowned. ‘Where am I supposed to sleep? You’ve taken the only bed.’
‘Try the sofa.’
The expression of disbelief on his face almost made her laugh.
‘I’ve been travelling for three months. I was looking forward to finally sleeping in my own bed.’
‘If I’d known you were coming, we could have worked something out,’ she retorted.
‘Worked something out?’ His eyes seemed to darken for a moment and the disturbing throb began again, deep inside her. She pulled the towel tighter, unnerved by her body’s reaction. It was disconcerting being half naked in front of a total stranger. Especially one as unsettling as Connor Preston.
‘Yes, like adults,’ she said, nerves making her tone snappy again. The heavy unease she’d been wrestling with for the last week stretched its tentacles. She blew out a steadying breath, counted to three. ‘Look, can we sleep on it tonight and work it out in the morning? I doubt you want to sleep in a damp, orange-soaked bed anyway, right?’ She cocked what she hoped would come across as a winning smile.
