to life and she knew it. It was time to throw caution to the wind and act on instinct. And it felt delicious.
His hand pressed gently on her back as he ushered her through the crowd and out the door. The biting cold wind hit her immediately and she fastened her coat up round her neck. He stood next to her, patiently waiting. ‘Give me a second,’ she said, pulling her mobile from her pocket. ‘I’m just going to send my friend a text to let her know I’ve left.’ She dabbed quickly on the keypad, her fingers rapidly going white with cold, before finally pressing ‘Send’. She lifted her hands to her mouth, blowing on them to try and revive them. In an instant she felt his warm hand encircle hers and she stuck the other hand deep in her pocket, pushing her phone away safely. A smile danced across her face as she pictured her friend receiving the text Left with the gorgeous man in black WOO HOO!
Lynn would be stunned. She hadn’t met the new, reckless Melissa. She was used to the sensible friend who made sure she got home safely at the end of the night. Another little wave of excitement ran through Melissa. This felt good.
‘Let’s go this way,’ Cooper said as he automatically turned towards the marina. She felt her heart quicken in her chest. The roads and pavements were glistening with frost that was starting to form on the cold winter’s night. She grasped his hand a little tighter. Her beautiful black high-heeled shoes were a joy to look at, but not so much of a joy to walk in. She teetered along precariously next to him, shooting him a smile and pretending to walk with confidence.
‘So, Missy,’ he said, ‘tell me a bit about yourself. Do you often leave pubs with strange men?’
‘Oh.’ She was caught off guard. She stopped walking abruptly. ‘Of course I don’t!’ The words came out more harshly than she’d expected. Did he think she was easy?
‘Calm down,’ he said quietly, moving his arm around her waist. ‘It’s all right, Missy. I kind of guessed this was all new to you.’
‘You did?’ Her wide eyes met his steady gaze. His deep eyes pulling her in even closer.
‘Yes, I did,’ he said assuredly. ‘Would it help if I told you I was new at all this too?’
‘You are?’ She could hardly believe it. Surely women were beating down his door with a stick?
He gave her a nod, pulling her a little closer. ‘Now relax. You’re safe with me. Tell me something unusual. What’s the one thing most people don’t know about you? Something that only your good friends would know.’
Her mind was spinning and her heart was beating frantically in her chest again. How did this man do this to her? How could one man cause her body to be all aquiver and turn her brain to mush? She’d expected him to ask her something mundane. Her befuddled brain blurted out the first answer that came into her head. ‘I’m a sci-fi freak.’
‘Wow!’ He stopped walking and turned to look at her under the yellow streetlight. Nothing could change the glow coming from those beguiling green eyes. He couldn’t hide the amusement on his face. ‘Really? Well, you’ve certainly surprised me.’
‘Why?’ She tried to look offended, before adding defensively, ‘I think they’re the most exciting films in the cinema. Give me anything with a laser gun and spacesuit and I’m sold. Take me to see a chick flick and you’ve had it.’
‘Mmm.’ He looked her up and down.
‘What?’
‘I’m just imagining you in one of those really short space dresses.’ He nodded approvingly. ‘I’m liking what I see.’
‘Get lost!’ She thumped him through his thick grey jacket. ‘Right, my turn. Are you the chick-flick type?’
She waited for his answer while silently scolding herself. She needed to get some more imagination if she wanted to win this game.
‘Westerns,’ he said decisively. ‘All that testosterone, horses and guns blazing. Any boy’s dream.’
A testosterone-loving man. She wondered how much she should read into that. ‘My turn this time.’ As they came to an icy puddle on the pavement, he wrapped his arm further around her waist and pulled her towards his hip.
She felt oddly comfortable tucked under his protective hold. She lifted her head as she heard some people pass by on the other side of the street. From over there they would look like a couple in love, wrapped around each other on a cold winter’s night. A couple of young women walked around them on the pavement, both women’s eyes automatically running up and down Cooper’s body with unhidden admiration. Melissa smiled. Look all you want, ladies, this man is with me. From this position she raised her head, her nose brushing against his cold cheek, and looked straight into his magnetic eyes. The smallest of gestures. The most intimate of gestures. She wanted this night to last forever. Her brain pulled itself into focus. It was time for another question. ‘What do you like to read?’
He nodded in recognition of the question, taking a few seconds to decide on his answer. He let out a big sigh. ‘Is this the point I’m supposed to tell you I don’t read much? Because I fear I’m about to reveal a childhood secret.’
Her face lit up with a bright smile. ‘Then I think I will too, so go ahead.’
‘I love to read. I always have done. So it’s absolutely got to be any of the old-fashioned detective novels. But I mean really old, long before everything became so scientific and crimes were solved with DNA and microscopic evidence. I always loved them as a child. Even now as an adult I still sometimes pick them up. I love the characters.’
She gave him a curious smile. ‘Okay, now I’m intrigued. What’s so good about the characters?’
‘Everything. Their intelligence. Their wit. Even their complications. Sometimes even their mistakes. I loved them all.’ She was staring at him again with those luminescent eyes. Her chestnut curls were waving gently in the wind. It was all he could do not to reach up and run his fingers through her tresses. Then his hand would be at the back of her head and he could pull her towards him…
Her face was shining. ‘For me it was the classics, particularly Little Women, which I still read on occasion. The copy I have is so tatty and dog-eared that some of the pages are about to fall out. I still cry every time I read it. It breaks my heart when Beth dies.’
He watched. She was so caught up in what she was saying her eyes were glistening with unshed tears. Something tugged at his heartstrings. Something almost primal. When was the last time he’d felt this protective towards a woman?
She caught the expression on his face and it stopped her as she was about to continue. She sensed the deep emotions that were smouldering inside him. But what were they? Was it a memory? Or was it something more primitive, like lust?
They’d reached the marina and were now standing next to the barrier, looking out over the array of million-pound boats, all costing more than Melissa would earn in a lifetime. His arm was still locked firmly around her waist.
His voice cut through the darkness. ‘Let’s go with the dream theme. What would be your dream job?’
Instantly her voice caught in her throat. Missy had her dream job. Being a midwife was the only job she had ever wanted to do, and would ever want to do. But for some reason she wasn’t inclined to tell him that. He’d been coy about work earlier. He didn’t want to
