Page 11 of New Year, New Guy
‘Youkept regaling my dear sister with stories about your long-lost best friend,’ Laura chipped in. ‘Of course sweet, kind-hearted Polly thought you’d be thrilled to see Hunter again.’
‘What about me?’ Emily frowned, obviously unsure about her own welcome.
‘Oh, you’ll be a brilliant surprise,’ Johnny assured her.
‘I think it’s time we were going.’
He jumped on Laura’s suggestion. ‘Sure is. We’ll see you both at the party on Saturday.’ Hunter sprang up, tossed his coat over his arm and whisked her out of the pub. ‘The weather’s still crappy. Let’s skip the tea shop for today and head back to your beige palace.’
‘My house?’
‘Sorry, beige palace was a tad cruel,’ he conceded. ‘I’m takin’ a wild guess it’s question answerin’ time.’ Depending how honest he decided to be, Hunter might find himself kicked out on the street.
Chapter Seven
Beige palace? The man had a nerve. According to her estate agent magnolia was the perfect neutral colour for increasing the resale value. Laura massaged shampoo into her scalp until it tingled and gave her hair a quick rinse. She ought to spend the money and buy an electric shower or replace her immersion heater with one that lasted more than a meagre five minutes before tailing off to cold.
Had a good day with the hunk?
She hadn’t replied to Polly’s teasing text yet. They were about as close as sisters could be despite their differences, ormaybebecause of them. Laura was career-focused, undomesticated and had little tolerance for weakness. Soft-hearted Polly taught in a nursery school and could be a spokesperson for the latest Danish hygge craze with her romantic nature, unwavering belief in the innate goodness of people and deep love of home comforts.
‘Are you nearly done in there?’ Hunter’s gravelly drawl dragged her back to reality.
‘I won’t be long.’ She tugged on an old black fleece top and grey joggers, completing the seductive outfit with another of Polly’s Christmas gifts: fluffy red socks with flapping red reindeer noses to match her much maligned hat. ‘There you go it’s all yours.’ A whoosh of heat zoomed up her face as Hunter strolled across the narrow hall, shirtless and swinging a towel in his hand.
‘All right if I go in now or are you good to ogle a bit longer?’
If his grin spread any wider he could double for the Cheshire Cat. ‘Could you possibly be any vainer?’ Laura stiffened and stepped away. She had made a terrible fool of herself over one man and didn’t plan on repeating the experience.
* * *
He hadn’t stirred her up on purposebut whatever flicker of attraction lingered between them needed to be nipped in the bud anyway, so this worked. ‘I’ll go and have that shower before I catch pneumonia. Why don’t you put the kettle on? Doesn’t that usually work miracles?’ Laura’s raised eyebrows said that wouldn’t do the trick this time. ‘See you downstairs.’
Why did she make him so reckless? He put it down to the drift of warm roses surrounding her, the soft golden brown hair framing her face and the way her gaze travelled over him while the tip of her pink tongue traced the outline of her generous mouth.
Long, cold shower time.
Hunter didn’t hurry to get dressed, and when he reached the kitchen door Laura’s raised voice stopped him in his tracks. When everything went quiet he dared to tap on the door.
‘It’s safe to come in. I won’t bite your head off.’
‘Did someone rile you up?’
‘You could say that.’
‘Want to talk about it?’
‘No.’ Laura snapped. ‘You’ll have to make do with instant coffee. I can’t be bothered to wait around.’ She sloshed boiling water into two mugs and gave them a vicious stir.
‘I’ll drink tea if it’s easier and I could take mine upstairs and leave you to it.’
Laura waved around her mobile phone. ‘That was my boss. He’s stressed out because there’s a nasty stomach bug doing the rounds, which means more patients and an equivalent staff shortage. He begged me to cut short my holiday but if I agree Polly will have my guts for garters.’
Her bizarre turn of phrase made him smile.
‘It’s not funny.’
‘Yeah, it is. Guts for garters?’
