The Taming of Xander Sterne(46)

                Okay, so he had read the signs wrong on Saturday evening, had realised almost immediately that he should have offered her comfort, with his arms and words, rather than kissing her. He was also aware he wasn’t feeling his best right now. His leg was still aching badly from all the extra activity on Saturday; the wedding, Daisy throwing herself at him, kissing Samantha. But he had never had a woman react towards him with such indifference as Samantha had been doing these past two days and nights.

                Maybe he was losing his touch?

                And maybe Samantha would just rather forget those kisses had ever happened?

                Wouldn’t that be a dent to his already bruised ego?

                ‘What?’ She turned to look at him blankly now, almost as if she had forgotten he was there for a moment, colour suffusing her cheeks as his words penetrated her thoughts. ‘Not in the least,’ she dismissed, her head now buried in the refrigerator. ‘I’d forgotten about it.’

                Her sudden blush seemed to indicate that it really had been the last thing on her mind.

                Oh, she hadn’t forgotten about it yesterday, had been very skittish towards him over breakfast, so much so that Xander had decided it would be better if the two of them avoided each other’s company for the rest of the day, especially in front of Daisy.

                But here and now? Yes, Xander could well believe that this Samantha had completely forgotten about the two of them kissing on Saturday night. The question was, what had happened since yesterday—since breakfast this morning, in fact—to cause Samantha to be so distracted that she wasn’t even defending herself? It was very unlike her.

                ‘Do you want ham or cheese for your sandwich?’ she asked distractedly now.

                ‘Both,’ Xander answered her just as dismissively. ‘Samantha?’

                ‘In that case, your lunch is ready,’ she announced briskly.

                Xander glanced down at the breakfast bar, his eyes narrowing as he saw that only one place had been laid. ‘Aren’t you eating too?’

                ‘I’m not hungry.’

                ‘You only had coffee for breakfast.’

                ‘Are you spying on me, too?’ She glared at him accusingly. ‘Because if you are, I advise you to stop. Right now!’ She was trembling with anger.

                ‘Whoa, Samantha.’ Xander reached out with both arms to grasp her about the waist as she would have turned and marched angrily from the room, his leg giving a protesting jolt of pain as he did so. Xander ignored that pain as he instead looked down searchingly into Samantha’s face; her eyes still sparkled with that earlier temper, her cheeks were flushed with anger, her mouth—her mouth...!

                Xander was breathing hard as he gazed down at that perfect, tempting bow, the bottom lip fuller than the top. These were the lips that had haunted him day and night these past two days. And right now those delicious lips were as red and plump as ripe berries, no doubt caused by that same flush of anger.

                Why was Samantha so angry? It seemed completely out of context to their conversation.

                ‘What did you mean when you said too?’ Xander asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. ‘Who else has been spying on you, Samantha?’ he prompted.

                Sam’s anger left her as quickly as it had arisen as she realised her mistake. Xander was just too intelligent, too astute, not to have noted and questioned her earlier comment. Or to add two and two together and not to come up with the right answer. If not now, then at some later time.