Page 18 of A Matter of Time
“It was a mistake and I’m quite tired.” Richard gazed at her, all emotion absent from his face.
“Okay,” Angelina responded doubtfully, confused by his sudden rejection.
“You’re sitting on my bed,” he pointed out, nodding at the sofa.
“Oh! I’m sorry.” She rose, and shivered as she left the warmth of his body behind. “Good night.” Angelina fled in embarrassment, questioning what exactly had just happened.
Richard, you are such an idiot! You’ve hurt her, you callous fool!He couldn’t believe his own lack of control. He’d kissed her and it had been glorious, but it wasn’t something he should have done, or could allow himself to do ever again.She deserves so much better than you!The overwhelming heat generated in her presence began to cool. Richard stood and collected the pillow and blankets, wrapping himself up on the sofa despite knowing sleep would not come easily this night.
He tossed and turned, angry with himself. But why, for heaven’s sake? He was a man, not a saint, and she was an alluringly beautiful woman. Whoever thought to name her Angelina had known exactly what they were about, because she was an angel indeed. He knew he would consider himself blessed to have someone like her in his life, but in his heart, Richard knew that he was anything but blessed. Cursed was more likely. He calmed himself with thoughts of home. Yes. He’d return home and find a wife to love, but when he pictured this wife of his future, all he could see was Angelina. He finally fell asleep thinking of silky black hair and soft azure eyes.
The next morning dawned with the same rainy gloom of the previous day. The sound of the rain was comforting in its familiarity and Richard arose from his makeshift bed, barefoot and bare chested, to head for the kitchen. He thought he’d try his hand at making coffee. How hard could it be? He’d seen Nick make it and Angelina was proficient too. He’d watched them both carefully and he thought he’d be able to recreate the same result. It would be a nice surprise for them when they awoke.
He found the coffee and the pot. He searched through the cabinet for the papers that the coffee would sit in and eventually found them, right where the coffee had been. He followed all the steps in the order he remembered and was quite pleased with himself when coffee began pouring into the pot beneath. The smell of it permeated the room and wafted down the hallway, as was evidenced by both Nick and Angelina opening their doors simultaneously and stumbling groggily down the hall.
“Ye made coffee?” Nick asked.
“Yes. Why do you look so surprised?” Richard questioned with a proud smile.
Nick shrugged and grabbed cups for the three of them, while Angelina made her way to the refrigerator and grabbed the cream. Richard had already set the sugar out on the counter. He cast his gaze in Angelina’s direction, hoping she’d been able to sleep after his shameful exhibition last night. First chance he got, he would explain himself. With that thought in mind, Richard felt much better. He smiled warmly at her and she turned her back to him.
“It’s still raining,” she observed. “The practice space is going to be flooded again.”
“Aye. ’Twill be,” Nick concurred. He took a sip of the coffee and his facial expression was almost comical, as he made a show of swallowing the bitter brew.
“Is the coffee not good?” Richard asked, wondering where he had gone wrong.
“Nick, don’t tease him. It’s not nice,” Angelina said. “It’s fine Richard. A little strong, but for your first attempt, very good.” She continued to avoid eye contact with him.
“Thank you,” Richard answered. He couldn’t believe that while she was obviously upset with him, she still stood up for him, despite the fact that the coffee was almost undrinkable. She really was an angel.
“Why don’t you two go and sit down and I’ll see what I can whip up for breakfast. Do you have eggs, Nick?” she asked.
Nick shrugged. “Have a look in the fridge. And make another pot of coffee, if you would. While yer at it, would yepleaseshow Richard the correct way to do it?”
Richard stared daggers at his friend and Nick chuckled. “Why do ye look at me like that? Ye ken ye need to know how to make proper coffee.” He turned his back on them both and went to sit in the large comfortable chair near the fireplace.
Richard followed Angelina into the kitchen, suffering the distinct impression she wished him to be as far away from her as possible. “Angelina, I’d like to speak with you later, if I might.”
“You can speak to me now,” she responded sharply.
“Alone. I’d explain my actions last night to you.”
“No need to explain. I got the message loud and clear.” She busied herself searching through the refrigerator and pulling out eggs and breakfast sausage. Her silent disapproval continued as she pulled pans from the cabinets, all the while making quite the clatter as she thumped them down on the counter.
“Angelina, please…”
“Oh, right. I was supposed to teach you how to make coffee.” She proceeded to throw away his efforts, starting over again, and Richard watched carefully as she explained the process. When she was done, she cocked her head to one side. “Got it?”
“Yes. I believe so.”
“Good. You can join Nick. I don’t need any help.”
“I’ll go, as long as you promise you’ll allow me to speak with you later.” He wasn’t going to budge from the kitchen until she agreed.
Angelina appeared as if she would argue with him, but instead, she relented. “Okay, okay, I’ll listen. I promise. Now go.” She made a shooing motion with her hands and somewhat relieved, Richard left her and joined Nick by the fire.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Angelina busied herself with preparing breakfast. Thank goodness he’d left her alone! It had been difficult, but somehow she’d managed to keep her eyes off his chiseled abs and strong, hard chest. She was feeling vulnerable and that was not okay. She hadn’t been vulnerable where a man was concerned in forever, so this had to stop –now! She was perfectly capable of detaching herself emotionally from a man. Granted, it wasn’t usually after one single extremely hot kiss, but he obviously wasn’t interested and so she would live with that. She was friends with Nick, but she wasn’t sure she could be friends with Richard. They’d have to keep their interactions on a purely professional level.What on earth does he want to talk to me about?
