Page 34 of Bedding his Innocent Mistress

And Ivy froze as her assistant strode into the office and placed a bunch of flowers down on Ivy’s desk.

“Who are they from?”

“I don’t know. Do you think I read your cards?”

Ivy flicked her a glance and shook her head. “Thank you.” She waited until Tahlia had left and then fumbled the card out. What the hell was Steve playing at? How dare he send her more flowers?

Lunch. 1pm. The Broken Fish. PS it’s Rafe.

She thought of the beautiful gastro pub with a smile playing on her lips.

Rafe hadn’t sent her lillies. He’d chosen tulips and daffodils. Spring in autumn. And she loved them. She breathed in their sweet fragrance with a sigh, then pulled out her phone. She swapped the camera around and clicked a photo of herself with the flowers in the background.

Love my flowers, she typed and sent the message before she could question the wisdom of encouraging this kind of sweet gesture.

Lunch?

She smiled and nodded. Sounds good.

Ten or so minutes went by, and then her phone pinged.

Sorry, are you waiting for a reply on that? I wouldn’t want to offend you.

She burst out laughing. I’ll cope. See you soon.

*

The restaurant was busy. The usual Friday crowd had piled in and she wandered around the bar once before seeing Rafe in a booth, his head bent over a newspaper. She froze, her breath catching in her throat. The sight of him like that, unobserved, was powerful.

And it did something very strange to her. She felt heat bloom through her at the same time her knees began to shake. Desire manifested in many ways and it was easy for Ivy to believe that it was desire alone that turned her completely to mush.

She took a step forward, her eyes stuck to him like glue, and perhaps he felt it, because he looked at her suddenly. Right at her. Through her. Digesting her emotions even as she struggled to process them herself.

“You look amazing,” he murmured as she slid into the seat opposite.

“Funny, I was just thinking the same thing.”

“Hell. Lunch seemed like a good idea but all I want to do now is throw you over my shoulder and drag you to my apartment.”

“Caveman or serial killer?”

His laugh made her stomach churn. “The former. And sex-addict, apparently.”

“I like that.” She crossed her legs beneath the table and the toe of her shoe rubbed against his calf. His eyes narrowed.

“Hungry?”

She nodded. “And still just a tiny bit hungover.”

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He lifted a dark brow. “Big night, then?”

“Lisette. She’s a bad influence.”

“Uh huh,” he grinned. “I could have told you that from the moment I met her.”

A waitress bustled over. “What can I get for you?”

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