and then finally cleared his throat and dragged his gaze up to Nina’s. ‘It’s no trouble at all,’ he said hoarsely and Bryony resisted the temptation to scream with frustration.
Men were just so pathetic!
Boiling with anger, she said goodnight to David and Nina and followed Jack across the car park.
He unlocked the car and opened the door for her and she slid inside and yanked at the seat belt.
As Jack settled himself in the driver’s seat, she let rip.
‘David was my date! You had no right to interfere.’
Jack reversed out of his parking space. ‘I merely offered to take you home.’
‘You didn’t offer, Jack,’ she said caustically, ‘you insisted. David was taking me home and he was ready to argue until your Nina thrust her chest in his face.’
Jack grinned, maddeningly unperturbed by her outburst. ‘Impressive, isn’t she? I thought as I was taking you away from him, I ought to offer him something in compensation.’
‘So I suppose she was the booby prize?’ Bryony’s voice dripped sarcasm and Jack’s grin widened.
‘Booby prize.’ He repeated her words and chuckled with appreciation. ‘I admit I hadn’t thought of it in exactly those terms, but now you mention it…’
Bryony ground her teeth in frustration. ‘You are so hypocritical, do you know that? You have the nerve to criticise my black dress and then you go out with a girl who has a cleavage the size of the Grand Canyon and shows it off to the entire population. I didn’t notice you covering her up with a coat.’
Jack glanced across at her and in the semi-darkness she could see his eyes twinkling wickedly. ‘It would have had to be a big coat and it seemed a shame to deprive everyone of the view,’ he drawled, and she felt fury mix with a very different emotion.
Hurt.
When Nina wore a low-cut dress, Jack obviously thought she looked incredibly attractive. But when she wore one he thought she looked awful and tried to cover her up.
David had said that she looked nice but, thanks to Jack, David was now with Nina and was doubtless enjoying the view as much as all the other men in the restaurant.
And she was with a man who didn’t find her attractive and never would.
‘There are times when I hate you, Jack Rothwell,’ she muttered, and he gave a soft laugh.
‘I don’t know what you’re getting so worked up about, Blondie.’
For once his use of her nickname irritated her. ‘He was my date, Jack. My date. And you ruined it.’
To her utter humiliation she felt a lump starting in her throat. She wasn’t going to cry in front of Jack.
But fortunately Jack had his eyes fixed on the road. ‘How did I ruin it?’
‘You really need to ask that question?’ She stared at him incredulously. ‘I was spending the evening with a man and you suddenly dived in and insisted on taking me home. And I really don’t understand why.’
In the moonlight she saw the muscle in his jaw flicker. ‘The roads are icy. I didn’t want him driving you.’
Her jaw fell open. ‘You think you’re the only man who can drive on ice?’
‘No.’ His tone was calm. ‘But I’ve never seen David Armstrong drive on ice and until I do, he’s not driving you.’
‘Jack, you’re being ridiculous!’ She looked at him in exasperation. ‘And what about Nina? You were perfectly happy for him to drive Nina.’
‘Nina can look after herself.’
Bryony slumped back in her seat and gritted her teeth. ‘And I can’t?’
‘You know nothing about men.’
‘I thought we were talking about ice?’
‘Amongst other things.’
‘Oh, right. So we’re back to the fact that I haven’t dated anyone for ages. It doesn’t make me stupid, Jack.’
‘And it doesn’t make you experienced.’
‘Well, it’s obvious that I’m never going to get any experience while I’m living in the same town as you!’ She glared at him and he gave a shrug.
‘I don’t know why you’re making such a fuss. You had your date. You spent the evening together. Was it good, by the way?’
She opened her mouth to tell him that, no, it had not been good because she’d been staring at him all night, but she realised in time just how much that would reveal about her feelings and stopped herself.
‘It was fine,’ she lied, ‘but it hadn’t finished. I wanted him to take me home.’ And she’d wanted him to kiss her just to see whether it was possible for another man to take her mind off Jack.
‘You wanted him to take you home?’ There was a tense silence and she saw Jack’s fingers tighten on the wheel. ‘Why?’ His voice was suddenly harsh. ‘Or was that where the date was supposed to begin? Keen to make up for lost time, were you?’
His tone was frosty and she gave an exclamation of disgust. ‘And so what if it was? What I do with my life is none of your business. I don’t need you to look out for me, Jack.’
It was only when he stopped the car and switched off the engine that she realised that they were outside her home. The house was in darkness and suddenly she felt utterly depressed and lonely. Maybe Lizzie was right, she thought miserably. It would be great to walk into her house, knowing that someone was waiting for her. It would be great to have someone to hug her at night. She’d been without a man for almost all her life and suddenly she wanted someone special. Someone who cared whether she came home or not.
But so far her quest for a man had been a disaster.
And suddenly she just wanted to be on her own.
‘Well, thanks, Jack. Thanks for ruining my evening.’ She undid her seat belt and reached down to pick up her bag. ‘I would invite you in for coffee but, seeing as you think that’s a euphemism for sex, naturally I wouldn’t dream of it. And anyway I’m sure you’re dying to get back to Nina.’
‘Nina is just a friend.’
‘I really couldn’t care less, Jack,’ she lied, ‘because your love life isn’t any of my business, just as my love life is none of your business. A whole month has gone past since Lizzie sent her letter to Santa and so far I haven’t even managed to get a man to kiss me.’
‘You want a man to kiss you?’ Jack’s voice was a deep growl and without waiting for her answer he slid a hand round her head and brought his mouth down on hers with punishing force. His long fingers bit into her scalp and he lifted his other hand and curved it around her cheek, holding her face still for his kiss.
Utterly
