at the hotel too,’ he spoke briskly. ‘I saw you leave over an hour ago, when you didn’t come back I thought I ought to come and check that you were okay.’
‘Who asked you to be my watchdog?’ Kate snapped.
‘No one,’ he replied without rancour. ‘I just didn’t like the picture I’d conjured up of you a helpless crumpled heap at the bottom of the cliff.’
‘Well, you can see I’m fine, so I—–’
‘I’ll just see you back to the hotel, if you don’t mind.’
‘I do!’
‘Well, I’m going back myself anyway, so I might as well walk with you.’
‘I—–’ Kate began.
‘Are you here on holiday?’ he asked conversationally. ‘Only you don’t seem to be with anyone and—–’
‘Are you spying on me?’ she demanded furiously, turning to glare at him in the darkness, her eyes almost luminous, deep gold in her anger.
‘Yes.’
‘I—You—–’ She was speechless at his candidness.
‘I saw you arrive this morning and I’ve been watching you ever since. I can’t seem to do anything else,’ he added derisively.
Now she knew who he was, knew the face and body behind the voice. She had been aware of a man with laughing blue eyes watching her as she brought in her cases this morning, and again as she ate dinner this evening. The man had been seated across the room from her, also alone. He was good-looking if you liked rakish charm and a complete disregard for fashion and elegance. He was also the last person she wanted to talk to, his interest in her being obvious as his gaze never left her during dinner. In fact, it had been this that had hastened her departure from the dining-room this evening, her meal only half over.
‘How interesting,’ she said in a bored voice, relieved as she saw the lights of the hotel.
‘You don’t think so?’ he mocked.
‘No.’ She spoke with the same bluntness he did.
‘It was a man,’ he said with a sigh.
Kate came to a halt, looking up at him in the darkness. ‘What was?’ she queried warily.
‘The reason you’re spending time in a half empty hotel in mid-March.’
‘Oh, but it isn’t going to be half empty for long,’ she derided. ‘Apparently there’s some sort of conference starting at the end of the week; I have to vacate my room then.’
‘Good business management,’ he murmured appreciately. ‘I often wondered how these big hotels at seaside resorts survived through the winter.’
‘Well, now you know,’ she taunted as he held the door open for her, the lighted reception area showing she had been right about his identity; he was the man with the laughing blue eyes and the teasing smile that made the waitress blush as she served him his meal.
‘I certainly do.’ Again he seemed unaffected by her rudeness. ‘Would you like to join me in the bar for a drink?’
‘No, thank you.’ She pushed her long red hair away from her face, slightly wet from the damp air outside.
His mouth twisted. ‘It was a man, wasn’t it, the reason you’re hiding yourself here?’
‘I’m not hiding anywhere!’ she snapped.
‘No?’ he taunted.
‘No!’ Her eyes glowed her anger, there was a healthy colour to her cheeks from her walk on the beach.
‘Then have a drink with me.’ He thrust his hands into the back pockets of his denims, looking at her challengingly.
She was being goaded into accepting, she knew that, and yet something made her want to accept that challange, to show herself that she might have been hurt by one man but she was still capable of attracting another one. ‘I’ll have a glass of brandy, thank you,’ she accepted haughtily.
If he was surprised by her change of mind then he didn’t show it, seeing her seated at one of the plush booths before going up to the bar to get their drinks. Kate compared his attire to the formality of some of the other men in the room, and found him wanting, although he seemed unconcerned, carrying himself with a confidence that said to hell with convention.
‘Here we go.’ He put their two brandy glasses down on the table, sitting close to her in the booth. ‘Now tell me about yourself.’ He sat forward, his elbow on the table bringing him very close to her.
She avoided his gaze. ‘There’s nothing to tell.’
‘You come from London.’
‘So do you,’ she guessed in return. ‘So what are you doing here?’
‘It’s off-season—–’
‘And the rates are lower,’ she finished derisively.
‘There is that,’ he grinned. ‘Although I was going to say there were fewer people.’
‘Of course you were,’ she mocked.
‘Don’t you get tired carrying that around with you?’ He looked at her consideringly.
This time she was ready for him. ‘The scowl or the chip on my shoulder?’ she asked with sarcasm.
He began to smile, then he chuckled, and finally he laughed. ‘I like a woman with a quick mind.’
‘Only a quick mind?’ she heard herself asking, putting the glass of brandy down with a shaking hand as she realised the brandy on an empty stomach was starting to make her head swim. She hadn’t wanted her food earlier, and the glow spreading through her body reminded her of that fact. ‘I think perhaps I should go—–’
He stayed her with his hand on her arm. ‘Don’t,’ he said huskily. ‘Stay,’ he encouraged softly. ‘Tell me your name.’
Why shouldn’t she stay and talk to him? Brian certainly wouldn’t be pining away for her. Brian. She had tried not to think of him today, and she felt sure this handsome man with the devil in his eyes could help her to continue not to think of him.
She picked up her glass and drank some more of the brandy, feeling her recklessness grow with each mouthful. ‘My name is Kate,’ she told him throatily.
‘Just Kate?’ He raised dark brows.
‘Just Kate,’ she nodded, deciding there was no reason for him to know anything else about her.
He smiled. ‘Then I’m just Jared.’
‘That suits me. Would you like another drink?’ she offered after swallowing down the last of her brandy.
‘An independent woman, hmm?’
