stared. What exactly was he playing at?
She watched in surprise as he took one of her hands in his, no impulse kicked in to pull it away despite the sudden hot feeling in her stomach. He uncurled her fingers to see the palm and turned her hand to see her fingernails.
‘This doesn’t look like the hand of a heavyweight gardener,’ he said.
She took her hand away and held both of them up.
‘Yeah well, it’s amazing what a bit of hand cream can do. Sometimes at the end of a working day they look like shovels.’
‘So gym, spa treatments and swimming is a welcome break then. Is this something you do often?’
Because she really looked like a gym bunny. Not.
‘Not often. I’m treating myself.’
‘And you prefer to do that alone?’
Her self-consciousness about staying here alone resurfaced and she squashed it back down.
‘It wasn’t supposed to be a solitary thing,’ she said.
‘No?’
For a moment she considered fobbing him off, but she was used to being the subject of gossip now. Why bother making up some story for someone she didn’t know and didn’t care about?
‘I booked the room for a romantic night away with my boyfriend.’ She looked him boldly in the eye. Nothing to be embarrassed about. ‘This hotel offers themed breaks – dinner, spa, breakfast, one price and it’s all included. Ex-boyfriend now,’ she added, pasting on an I-couldn’t-care-less smile, to prove she was absolutely fine with that.
‘You came alone on your own romantic night away?’ He sounded amused. ‘You didn’t cancel?’
She couldn’t blame him. It did sound a bit insane spoken out loud. She squared her shoulders.
‘It seemed a shame to waste it,’ she said. ‘It was a non-refundable payment. So I figured I’d turn it into a Reinvention Break instead.’
She mumbled the last part and he leaned in close enough for her to see the tiny droplets of water that still clung to his skin and hair. A light frown touched his eyebrows.
‘Reinvention? Of what?’
She looked straight at him. He was a total stranger, what the hell did she care what he thought?
‘Of me,’ she said.
Oliver leaned back in his lounger as their coffee arrived, watching her, all obstinate bravado protesting that she didn’t care.
‘Odd choice of word, ‘reinvention’’, he said, when the waiter had gone. ‘Implies that you need to change. Which in turn implies that you’re somehow responsible for whatever went wrong.’
‘I’m not!’ she snapped.
He looked at her over his coffee cup.
‘Call it something else then. Not reinvention. I haven’t seen anything about you yet that I’d change.’
As he heard her light intake of breath and saw a touch of blush rise high on her cheekbones, he wondered when she’d last received a compliment. Long-term complacent relationship? A breeding ground for lack of appreciation. All he had to do was take advantage of that.
There was something very appealing about her at close quarters. Put aside for a moment the fact that she was pretty, albeit in a dishevelled outdoorsy sort of way. There was an air of defiance about her that he liked. Whatever the ex-boyfriend had done, she wasn’t sitting at home crying into her pillow was she? She’d kicked him into touch and had turned her romantic break into a treat. He couldn’t help but admire that fighting spirit.
‘How about I call it my Freedom Break instead then,’ she said. ‘Shopping and spa relaxation. Just what I need.’
‘Perfect,’ he said. ‘And tonight?’
He held her gaze intently with his own. She didn’t drop her eyes. Encouraging.
‘A luxury meal in the restaurant,’ she said.
‘Alone?’
‘I’m quite happy with my own company.’
‘Understandable.’ He paused, then added in another compliment. ‘I like it too.’ He paused to gauge the effect and when she smiled softly he zoomed in.
‘How about having dinner with me? The place is full of couples. We can keep each other company.’
There was a sudden loud clatter as she dropped her cup into the saucer from a height and then tried to cover up her mistake by fiddling with the spoon. He watched, enjoying putting her on edge.
‘Don’t you have some kind of other plans?’ she said, not looking up, furiously stirring the remains of her coffee.
He leaned back against the lounger and took a sip of his own drink.
‘Nope. Dinner alone for me too. And I’d much prefer your company to my own.’ He waited and then added in extra encouragement . ‘It would be my treat of course.’ He paused. ‘Unless you want some time alone to – you know – get over things.’
That finally seemed to galvanise her into action. The implication that she was here to lick her wounds, that she might spend the evening crying into her pillow and enjoying the martyrdom of sitting alone in the sumptuous restaurant among the loved-up couples.
She put her coffee cup down on the table, no clatter this time, and sat back taking in the surroundings. A pause this long was not a good sign. Win some, lose some. Not that he ever lost out on a dinner date, or more, when he put his mind to it. For some reason the thought of missing out on this one brought a disappointed stab in his chest. Must be the thought of being stuck here overnight with no entertainment when he should be settling into his newly-finished luxury pad.
Then she looked at him, a tiny smile playing about her full lips, and his heart turned over softly.
‘Dinner is thrown into my booking,’ she said. ‘It’s a package deal. Spa treatments, dinner, bed and breakfast. So maybe you’d like to have dinner with me?’
He stared at her, momentarily wrong-footed. Had she really just counter-offered him on dinner? There was a hint of challenge in her eyes that made his mouth leech of moisture, as if he’d sunk his teeth into one of the hotel’s fluffy towels.
‘Sod the thrown-in dinner,’ he said. ‘You’ll get the package-deal dinner menu, nothing worth having. Have dinner with me and choose what you like.’
****
Izzy pawed through the contents of her overnight bag and laid out the only possibility on the bed.
If she’d known she’d be having dinner with male model material, she would have packed something a bit more alluring than the maxi skirt, top and cardigan. She’d planned on eating early to
