Page 30 of One More Sleepless Night

‘It’s spacious,’ she murmured and wondered where his bedroom was. ‘Light. Airy.’

‘And remarkabl

y close to my office,’ he said dryly.

‘How handy.’

‘Isn’t it?’

And that seemed to be that for small talk, Nicky realised as she swung her gaze back to him and they lapsed into a tense little silence.

The seconds ticked by and Rafael just stood there looking at her with those penetrating green eyes and that unfathomable expression, barely moving a muscle, and she just stood there helplessly staring back, the tension inside her winding tighter and tighter as the heat flowing though her picked up speed and intensity.

As their gazes held the silence stretched, began to thicken and sizzle with electricity until it finally became unbearable and Nicky came to the conclusion that as he appeared to have no intention of doing anything to break it, she was going to have to.

‘So,’ she said, blinking to snap herself out of it and smiling brightly, ‘I guess you must be wondering what I’m doing here.’

One dark eyebrow lifted. ‘I can’t imagine it was solely to discuss the weather, the architectural features of my flat and my interest in plants,’ he said, sounding impressively bored.

‘You’d be right,’ Nicky answered, completely undeterred by his indifference because she was on a mission and nothing was going to sway her from it.

‘So?’

‘Well, firstly I just wanted to say that I thought you leaving without saying goodbye was rather on the rude side.’

He shrugged. ‘Like I said in my note, I had work. But you’re right. I apologise.’

‘Accepted. Secondly, I wanted to see if you were all right.’

This time both eyebrows shot up. ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’

‘When I last spoke to Gaby I rather got the feeling she’d like to do you some harm.’

Something flickered in the depths of his eyes but it was gone before she could identify it.

‘As you can see I’m perfectly fine. And while I appreciate your concern,’ he added, clearly not appreciating it at all, ‘a phone call would have done.’

‘True on both counts,’ she agreed with a brief nod. ‘But a phone call would certainly not have done for the main reason I’m here.’

‘Which is?’

Deciding that neither a subtle approach nor skirting around the issue would break through such determined lack of emotion, but that getting straight to the point might at least provoke some sort of reaction, Nicky took a deep breath. ‘Right,’ she said, pulling her shoulders back, straightening her spine and looking him straight in the eye. ‘Well. You see, the thing is, I’d like to give that kiss another try.’

*

When he’d looked through the spyhole and seen Nicky standing on his doorstep, smiling and waving, distorted but still lovely, Rafael had thought that someone somewhere really had it in for him. That he must have done something really terrible in a former life, because this was the second time she’d surprised him at a door and, while she might not have been armed with Don Quijote on this occasion, her impact had been no less devastating.

Which was why, feeling as if the whole sodding universe was conspiring against him, he’d been momentarily tempted to tiptoe back and hole up in his office in the hope that she’d give up and leave. However, given the not-particularly-subtle way he’d walked to the door, he’d realised that unfortunately that wasn’t an option so he’d had to brace himself and let her in.

To a man whose defences weren’t as indestructible as his now were, Nicky Sinclair, tanned, relaxed and smiling, wrapped in a dress that showed off her lovely curves and shod in high peep-toe wedges that added inches to her already willowy height, might have presented the ultimate temptation.

But not to him. Oh, no. Distance and time had given him ample opportunity to fortify his defences and they were now sky-high, unbreachable and as solid as rock, so he was immune.

If his detached approach felt like harder work than it should have done, it was merely that he’d been briefly thrown off balance by her unexpected appearance. And if he’d nearly dropped his glass when she’d mentioned trying the kiss again, well, that was simply surprise at her boldness, nothing more.

‘What kiss?’ he asked nonchalantly, aware she was waiting for some kind of response.

Nicky shot him a look that suggested she wasn’t convinced by his nonchalance one little bit, and arched an eyebrow. ‘The one you gave me that last Sunday. The one by the pool.’

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