I was tick, tick, ticking like a time bomb.
Tarzan kissed my cheek. “I don’t know about you but I want a drink so badly I can taste it. Something stronger than tonic water and lemon. Something dangerous.”#p#分页标题#e#
“Irn Bru it is then.”
He laughed and then looked pensive. “Now that I think of it I’m hardly the kind of friend Francesca would approve of, not with my past.”
“I couldn’t give a flying fu—funny bone,” I said. “You’re my ‘special friend’ and if Francesca disapproves she can go fu... Oh God!”
Tarzan’s eyes brimmed with mischief. “I’ll devise a twelve-step ‘Swearers Notorious’ plan for you. Oh how the angels will sing, my child.”
“You’ll get to sing with them if you don’t shut up.”
He teased me and I groaned. Giving up smoking wouldn’t be a problem. But swearing? That was a much harder ask. No matter what, I resolved to keep my promises to Francesca and convince her that I had changed.
Seven years was a long time to pay for my mistakes, but just like those starving cows in the Bible, the next seven years and all the years after I’d be getting fat on the largess of having Ryan in my life. He was going to know me, no matter what.
There was a hopeful spring in my step as we made our way from the heath, turning around for one last peek at Ryan before we disappeared from view.
Chapter Twelve
Channel A for Arrogance
Velma was flirting with James again.
I was heading back from the office kitchen when I heard his low chuckle and her light, admiring laugh. I let out an annoyed huff. The clunky office door was closed. Velma always shuts it when she comes in to flirt so she can keep James her prisoner.
Her thoughts, not mine.
How the hell was I supposed to balance a thick file, a chocolate biscuit on a napkin, a hot mug of tea and a box of ibuprofen while I grappled with the door? When I managed to get in, Greg was on the phone with his wife and Velma was perched on James’s desk. I slammed the file on a shelf, loudly, and cleared my throat. They paid me no notice.
“I love Spanish authors also,” Velma gushed. “So dramatic, so romantic...”
I set the mug down next to Velma’s hand and they continued to ignore me. Don Quijote de la Mancha would be James’s next read if he ever had time to hunt for a copy, and guess what? Velma could find him a hardback edition when she went to Australia for a family wedding.
I banged the box of pills next to the tea mug before I even knew what I was doing. Velma squeaked and James lifted a brow.
What the fu—crap was wrong with me?
Velma slid off the desk and threw James an unsexy smile that didn’t make her faux-violet eyes sparkle.
“I’ll pop by later in case you need anything,” she said, winking at me on her way past.
I watched Velma sway her hips to the door, my jaw so tight it hurt. Since when did she need to get James anything? I was his secretary, not Miss Sunshine. And when had she started copying my style and wearing sexy shoes? I whirled around, ready to make a snide comment and stopped. James was eyeing the ibuprofen and tea.
“You’ve been rubbing your forehead all morning,” I said defensively. “I thought you had a headache.”
“I think it just disappeared.”
Was he smiling at me? No, he had looked at the doorway before sparing me a glance. Velma’s simpering conversation must have cured his headache.
I snatched up the pills. “Then you won’t be needing these or the biscuit and brew I brought you.”
James looked expectant. Despite the delicious confections on our floor he prefers the Hobnobs I stash in the kitchen. He doesn’t know they belong to the woman he despises and I’m not telling him. Perverse, I know, but I get a strange kick out of watching him eat my food.#p#分页标题#e#
“Where’s the biscuit?”
“I had to eat it.”
His gaze dropped to my mouth. “Hence the crumbs.”
I probably smeared my lipstick wiping them away. “The tea survived,” I said, growing more annoyed by the second. “Assam mixed with Lady Grey from your Harrods stash, no sugar and two teaspoons of milk. I’ll take it back since you don’t want it.”
I made a move for the mug but James was faster, reaching his arm out so quickly our fingers touched. A tiny buzz sped up my arm and I yanked my hand back, pushing away the desire to touch him. He held out his palm and I stared at it.