One Night with Morelli(22)

                Eve, who had been standing like a small statue, her eyes trained straight ahead, while admiring his very nice ears, heard a whimper escape her lips and hastily turned it into a cough.

                ‘Secondary school,’ she finished faintly.

                ‘That cough sounds bad.’ Draco was happy to go along with the pretence for now, but was curious why it apparently bothered her so much that there was such a dramatic level of sexual chemistry between them. Unless… A furrow indented his brow as he realised that just because she had no partner here did not necessarily mean there wasn’t one somewhere in the background.

                The possibility she was unavailable dragged the corners of his mouth downwards in a brooding, dissatisfied curve.

                Her eyes slid away from his. ‘A tickle in my throat.’ It sounded less inflammatory than ‘a starburst in my belly’.

                ‘Relax,’ he ordered.

                Eve bit back a laugh.

                ‘You might as well tell me what they said, you know, because otherwise Josie will, and if my daughter has been traumatised I’d like to know up front.’

                ‘Traumatised!’ She was shocked by the suggestion and then it dawned on her that his interest arose from parental anxiety and not, as she had thought… Well, what did you think, Evie—that he found you fascinating? That he wanted to know what made you tick or just that he wanted to get in your pants?

                In your dreams. She sighed and then thought wryly that was probably the only way he’d ever appear in her bed! It was ridiculous to try and pretend that this man hadn’t awoken some dormant responses in her or that he wasn’t the domineering, controlling type that she was never going to get involved with. He might make an appearance in her fantasies but in real life—no way! He might make a lousy lover but at least he seemed to be a good and concerned father.

                ‘Your daugh… Josie wasn’t involved… I wasn’t involved in what just happened in here.’ Eve was horrified that he seemed to suspect that his daughter had witnessed some sort of slanging match. Or maybe even a brawl. ‘Really,’ she assured him earnestly. ‘They didn’t even know I was here and I didn’t know your daughter was here either. It was just a case of eavesdroppers hearing bad things about themselves… We didn’t get on at school either.’

                ‘They look a lot older than you…’

                He caught her look and added, ‘Josie pointed them out when she was dragging me in here. Why would their jealousy of you make you cry?’

                God, why didn’t Josie come and drag him out again—right now? Eve glanced at the doorway, willing the girl to appear, but it remained empty. She sighed again. The quickest way to get him out of here seemed to be to satisfy his curiosity and go three seconds without breaking down like some sort of neurotic basket case.

                ‘That had nothing to do with them. It was just a combination of champagne, jet lag and…’ She stopped, an arrested expression appearing on her face as she belatedly processed his comment. ‘They aren’t jealous.’ Spiteful and insensitive, granted… ‘Why would you think they were jealous of me?’

                He looked amused by the question. ‘Let me see. You are a success and you are beautiful and they are…’ His lips twisted into a grimace of contempt as he recalled the blonde with the unlikely orange tan who had thrust her chest in his face and written her number on his hand, embarrassing all those who had witnessed the action.

                Draco had not been embarrassed but he had been offended and annoyed.