On the short drive home she drank in the stark outline of the fells, looming menacingly out of the dark, wondering whether Sean would have found his way.
He had.
The lights from her barn illuminated the powerful motorbike and the tall figure standing next to it, and she gave a short laugh. Of course, it had to be a motorbike. She should have guessed. Switching off the engine, she sat for a moment, dredging up the courage to leave her car. Horribly conscious of the way his leathers stretched lovingly across his wide shoulders and clung to the hard muscle of his thighs, she took a deep breath and stepped onto the gravel. Why did he have to be so devastatingly male? Why couldn’t he have been a puny wimp?
‘Hello, there.’ Sean turned from his assessment of the barn and flashed her a smile that made her stop in her tracks. Black made him look like a bandit—dark, handsome and very, very dangerous. Hadn’t he been clean-shaven in surgery earlier? So why was his hard jaw already blue with stubble? Obviously too many male hormones…
‘I’m sorry if I’m late,’ Ally babbled, averting her eyes and locking her car. Picking up her bag, she tucked it under her arm and scrunched over the gravel past her barn to the adjoining stable. ‘I was held up in surgery.’
‘No problem.’ He tucked his helmet under one arm and waited while she fumbled for the keys, which promptly fell from her shaking fingers and landed with a dull thud on the gravel. Brilliant! So much for being cool and in control. Cursing under her breath, she stooped to retrieve them, catching the gleam of amused satisfaction in his eyes. Blow the man! He knew exactly what effect he was having on her and he was enjoying every minute of it.
‘I expect you’ll find it too isolated here,’ she said crisply, ramming the key into the lock with more force than was necessary and pushing open the door quickly. She just couldn’t begin to think of the effect he would have on her if he moved in. She’d need spare sets of keys to start with, to make up for all the ones she was going to drop…
‘Still trying to put me off?’ Sean’s smile widened as he stepped in after her. ‘I hate to disappoint you, but there’s nothing I like more than isolation. I can’t think of a better position. Just the sheep as neighbours.’
If it was just the sheep it wouldn’t be a problem…
‘Well, they can be pretty noisy.’ Ally flicked on the lights and dropped her bag on the polished wooden floor, nerves making her brisk and formal. ‘It’s not very big—’
‘You’re a born salesman, Ally.’ There was a wry gleam in his eyes as he walked slowly round the living area, tipping his head back to stare up into the eaves and then glancing at the gallery. ‘What’s up there?’
‘The bedroom.’ Catching his eye, Ally gritted her teeth. It wasn’t going to work. It really, really wasn’t going to work. She doubted whether she could live comfortably in the same country as this man, let alone the same property.
‘I’ll take it.’
Her mouth opened to tell him that she’d changed her mind, that he couldn’t rent it, but her voice went on strike. She took a deep breath and tried again.
‘You haven’t seen the kitchen yet.’
‘Don’t tell me—no running water and rats in the cupboards?’ Sean chuckled and strolled over to the huge glass window which stretched up into the eaves. His legs planted slightly apart, he stared into the darkness. ‘This must be a view and a half. Which fells can you see in daylight?’
‘The Langdales,’ Ally muttered, averting her eyes from those powerful shoulders. He was standing directly in front of her and she was ridiculously aware of how close he was. Almost close enough to touch… She closed her eyes and cursed herself. She didn’t want to touch him. Not even with the aid of a long bargepole. He was trouble. ‘You get the same view from the bedroom.’
The minute she’d said it she could have bitten her tongue off.
Sean turned slowly and gave her a lazy smile which seriously compromised her heart rate. ‘I’m not generally that bothered about the view from the bedroom.’
Ally’s face coloured but she ignored the implication and walked briskly towards the kitchen. ‘The bathroom’s through there and this is the kitchen. It’s not big but it should have everything you need.’
Sean stepped in behind her and immediately she wished she’d just left him to find it himself. This kitchen wasn’t big enough for two people. At least not when one of them was Sean Nicholson.
‘This place is fantastic. Did you convert it yourself?’