her slip-up.
‘I never said dull…You just did. Interesting. Well, what repayment scheme does he have in mind?’ Theo asked, raising his eyebrows in a mixture of curiosity and cynicism.
‘Stop twisting my words. All I’m saying is that I’ve been offered a life belt if I think I need one. And if I mentioned the word dull it’s because that’s the picture you insist on conjuring up every time his name is mentioned! Never mind that you’ve met him for five seconds!’
She was waffling, he noticed, without actually enlightening him, which sharpened his curiosity still further.
‘Well?’ he pressed. ‘I’m very experienced in all matters relating to money so I’m immune to surprises in that particular quarter.’
‘You do blow your own trumpet, don’t you?’ Sophie said tartly. ‘Is there any area you would admit to not being good at?’
Writing, Theo considered, except of the most prosaic kind. ‘I’ve been clever at picking things up along the way.’ He spread his hands expansively, with an expression of don’t blame me if I’m good at everything.
That, of course, was what did it. Sophie, never one to see the benefit of taking someone down a few notches just to watch the expression on their face, could not resist the temptation to wipe that smirk off Theo’s face. The devil inside her made her nod in a knowing way, totally understanding the hideous disadvantages of just being brilliant at everything, with the possible exception of mending central heating devices in old cottages. Yes, being that sharp would make him immune to surprises.
‘Well, I’ll confess what the catch is, although I don’t think anyone would really call it a catch. As such.’ She paused for a few dramatic seconds. ‘Robert has proposed to me.’
‘Proposed what?’
‘Proposed that we get married!’ Sophie said through gritted teeth. Was the possibility of someone asking for her hand in marriage such a difficult concept to take on board?
‘You’re joking!’
‘No. No, I am not joking. You might think you know everything because you’re so clever at picking things up along the way, but you obviously don’t know women that well or you would know that they never joke about marriage proposals.’
For some reason, Theo was finding it hard to take in what Sophie had just said. Why, he had no idea. When he approached her revelation logically, he could see that, as solutions went, it didn’t get better. A man wanting to help his woman out of her financial mess because he loved her.
So what if he had been temporarily attracted to the woman? He almost laughed aloud at his crazy overreaction to her news! As if there weren’t a million other fish in the sea! True, he had imagined that the strangeness of his circumstances had been responsible for opening up a chink in his protective armour, but really, thinking about it, that wasn’t the case at all. The change of scenery had been a catalyst. He would never forget Elena—indeed there would never be another woman to match her—but his body was responding once again. It was a bitter truth he would have to swallow. He was still a man with needs that had to be met.
But this woman was not an integral part of that. He had thought that returning to London, getting back to his daily reality, would return him to the brooding workaholic that he had previously been, seeking out dangerous pursuits in an attempt to distract himself from his private pain. Now he considered the possibility of his life returning to some level of normality.
‘And…?’ he prompted. ‘Did you accept his kind offer? I suppose it would have been too much temptation to resist.’
Sophie hesitated, already regretting the impulse that had seen her confess something that should have been a private matter. ‘I’m thinking about it,’ she mumbled.
‘I had no idea your relationship with the man was so serious.’
Nor did I, Sophie thought, wondering how she could entice him away from the topic.
‘And all he wants is your hand in marriage?’ Theo quizzed, his brows knitted in a frown.
‘Amazing, isn’t it?’
Theo focused on Sophie’s face and registered the smug expression—just the sort of smug expression that could well and truly get under a man’s skin and try his patience to the limits.
‘Not really, when you think about it. As I said, an insecure kind of boy—your plight is probably the one thing guaranteed to make him feel like a man…’ Okay, so it was an arrogant, incendiary statement, but for some reason Theo was finding it distasteful to think of Sophie and that wet rag having any kind of relationship.
‘Thanks for the compliment!’
‘Probably one of those men who can’t wait for the whole family deal…Well, it sure beats the hell out of playing a field they don’t feel very comfortable in…’
‘Oh, and that’s what every woman fights shy of——a family man! Because we all want a rampant womaniser!’
‘I am usually right when it comes to reading people.’ Theo shrugged.
‘Oh, right. Yet another one of those handy talents you picked up along the way.’
‘Very handy,’ Theo agreed readily, enjoying the way she bristled as he ignored the sarcasm. ‘Life’s a lot easier if you can read people accurately and the way I read it is that his proposal might have set you thinking, but is it enough to overcome the fact that you don’t actually love the man? Because if you loved the guy you certainly wouldn’t tolerate me describing him as a wimp…’
‘Your opinion doesn’t matter to me, actually. And what’s love anyway?’ she scoffed. She had been encouraged to think that it was tumultuous and wonderful. Her parents had had one of those passionate, enduring romances and had misinformed her that she, too, would one day have the same. Well, as far as Sophie was concerned, she was still waiting. So far, she hadn’t even had a broken heart. No one had come close to being that meaningful a presence in her life. Which, she told herself, was obviously good. Who wanted a broken heart? On top of everything else at the moment, that would be absolutely the last straw.
And if there was no love, then why not see marriage as a business arrangement? Robert was proposing a business arrangement. He said that he was attracted to her, which she found extraordinary given the success with which he had managed to camouflage his feelings. She didn’t think he loved her, but he liked her well enough and was it so odd that he would see the whole business of marriage from the same jaded viewpoint as she did?
‘If love was that special, then how come the divorce rate is so high?’
Theo didn’t say anything. ‘Is this your way of talking yourself into marrying someone you don’t care about?’
‘This is my way of answering your question,’ Sophie muttered. ‘Anyway, if you’re such a fan of the whole Love thing, how come you’re not married?’ She would have bet her house that he felt the same way as she was stridently pretending to. He just looked too worldly wise to have a romantic bone in his body.
‘Oh, you have a point,’ Theo said coolly. ‘Why don’t you show me where your computer is and
