old are you, Alice?’ Suddenly it was important he find out.
‘Twenty-three next week.’ She turned away and poured milk into one of the coffees. ‘How old are you?’
Relief filled him. With her unguarded behaviour he’d wondered if perhaps she was far younger. ‘Thirty-one.’ A lifetime apart from her in experience, but, he realised in shock, that didn’t dim his interest. His burgeoning interest. His trousers were too tight as he sat down opposite her.
‘You look older.’ She tilted her head as she surveyed him. ‘Except when you smile. I like your smile. You should smile more often.’ Carefully she put the milk jug down on the table.
Adoni’s lips twitched. Had he really preferred candour?
The answer was a definite yes.
‘I thought you liked my...er...dark, brooding looks.’
‘Oh, I do.’ She stopped abruptly, her mouth sagging a little as if she realised what she’d said, then she focused on the mug of coffee, cautiously taking a sip. ‘But your smile makes you look less like some bossy Greek god.’
‘Ares?’
She nodded emphatically. ‘Yes.’ She paused. ‘Or the one who threw thunderbolts.’
‘Zeus?’ Was he really so fearsome? Adoni preferred to think of himself as controlled and focused, a man who didn’t suffer fools in business or gold-diggers in his personal life.
‘That’s the one.’ Her brow furrowed. ‘Except they always show him with a beard and you don’t have one.’
Adoni suppressed a smile. ‘I could grow one.’
‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘That would be a waste. You’ve got a nice chin. Maybe a bit on the obstinate side but very nice.’ She took another sip of coffee and smiled vaguely.
‘Thank you. So do you.’ It was a little pointed perhaps but just the right counterpoint for that lush mouth he found himself staring at.
Adoni leaned in and grabbed his mug, gulping hot coffee. When he lowered it, she was staring, her mouth slightly open and her breathing quick.
‘Is everything all right?’ He told himself he was behaving impeccably, pretending he didn’t recognise her response for what it was—feminine interest. An answering interest quickened his pulse as he took in her delicate features and slim body.
‘Fine. You just look so...’
Maybe she was sobering up, for she thought better of finishing her comment.
‘So...?’ Adoni didn’t fish for compliments but he found himself wondering what she’d been about to say.
Dark lashes veiled her eyes as she took another sip of coffee. ‘Nice. You look nice.’
He’d bet his last dollar that wasn’t what she’d been going to say. ‘You do too.’
‘There’s no need to lie.’ She lifted her head, viewing him from under regally arched eyebrows. ‘I look dreadful. Why Emily chose this colour I don’t know. Honestly, it’s the colour of baby poo.’
Adoni laughed. She was right; it was reminiscent of a rather nasty stain. ‘It’s fair to say it’s not a good match for your colouring.’
‘That’s what I said, but it was too late to change it. Too late even to alter the fit.’ Her mouth turned down in a sulky pout Adoni found far too seductive.
‘At least it’s only for one night.’
She nodded. ‘That’s what I keep telling myself. It’s a day of firsts.’
‘Firsts?’
Another nod. ‘Absolutely. First time wearing yellow, for one thing. Never again.’ She shuddered. ‘First time in London. First time as a bridesmaid. I thought it would be a lot more fun but the other bridesmaids kept tittering and gossiping amongst themselves. And the groomsmen...’
‘Not your type?’
She shrugged hugely and one pillowy puffed sleeve slid off her shoulder. ‘I don’t really know. But I think not.’ She lifted her legs and tucked them under her then wriggled back on the sofa.
There shouldn’t have been anything remotely seductive about the action yet Adoni found himself fixated on that luscious little shimmy of hips and breasts.
‘You don’t know?’ His voice sounded unfamiliar.
She shook her head. ‘I need to research more.’ She blinked back at him and smiled. ‘I have some firsts.’ She looked down at her dress and scowled. ‘But there are a lot of nevers too.’
‘Nevers?’ Adoni’s English was excellent but he’d never heard of that before.
‘Absolutely.’ She lifted one finger. ‘Never had luck with the opposite sex.’ Then a second finger. ‘Never had a kiss that blew my socks off.’ Her gaze narrowed. ‘You look like a man who could blow a girl’s socks off with a kiss.’
Adoni choked on his coffee. ‘Is that a proposition?’ He was torn between amusement and a dark, fast-running channel of temptation.
Devoid of that tacky lipstick, Alice Trehearn had the most alluring mouth he’d ever seen. He swallowed hard and reminded himself this was the drink talking.
‘As if a man like you would kiss a girl like me.’ She leaned her head back against the sofa, her eyelids drooping. She lapsed into silence and he wondered if she was falling asleep.
‘Never driven a car either.’ She sighed. ‘I bet you have a lovely car.’
‘Yes, I do.’ And there was no way he was letting this inebriated woman near it, despite her eager smile. ‘But I’m not letting you drive it.’
She looked so ridiculously disappointed, her mouth turning down at the edges, that he almost wished he could bring back that sunny smile of hers and the twinkle in her fine eyes.
‘Is there anything else on your never list?’
Alice opened her mouth then closed it again. A flush of pink rose to her cheeks. Instantly his interest piqued.
‘Alice?’
She shook her head. ‘It’s nothing.’ She leaned forward, reached for her coffee and, seeing the mug empty, sank back.
‘You might as well tell me what it is you haven’t done. I promise to keep it to myself.’
Was he really so curious about her?
To his surprise, Adoni discovered he was.
She fidgeted. ‘I’m doing all the talking. Shouldn’t you tell me something?’ Just as if she hadn’t barged uninvited into his private suite. Yet Adoni hadn’t enjoyed a woman’s conversation so much in a long time.
What did that
