her breath away and his smile widened.
‘Alternatively, I could give it to the police, who are bound to want a statement.’
Flustered, she lifted a hand and scraped her dark hair out of her eyes. ‘The police…’
For a moment she’d seriously thought he’d been asking her out.
He was laughing at her now, but there was warmth and something else in his gaze.
‘You look about fourteen when you blush.’
She felt about fourteen.
‘So come on, gorgeous,’ he said easily, ‘tell me all. Name, rank and serial number.’
Gorgeous?
No one had ever called her gorgeous before.
She opened her mouth but no sound came out.
‘Look, it’s easy. Just copy me.’ He folded his arms across his broad chest, his eyes teasing her gently. ‘I’m Joel. I’m thirty-three years old, I’m single and when I grow up I want to be a doctor. I love people and animals and what I most want is world peace. There. How hard was that? Now it’s your turn.’
What should she say?
Hi, I’m Lucy and I used to be married, but I’m not any more because my husband was a total rat and he broke my heart.
Maybe not.
‘Come on, let’s introduce ourselves.’ His tone was persuasive and he stuck out his hand. She stared at it for a moment and then stretched out her own, immediately regretting the impulse as his warm, strong fingers closed over hers. His grip was as confident and powerful as the man himself, and she felt a flutter of panic. She couldn’t tell him her name. Acknowledging that he was exceptionally good-looking was one thing, but handing out names and phone numbers was completely different. It might lead to something she wasn’t ready to handle.
She might not have had much experience with men in her life, but she could see at a glance that he was way out of her league.
Jerking her hand away, she stooped to pick up her bag.
‘I’d better be going. The time of the accident was 12.30. That’s all I know. I didn’t see anything at all. Nothing. So I’d be no use to the police.’ Gabbling in her haste to get away from him, she fumbled in her pocket for her car keys, but his strong fingers closed over her arm, holding her trapped.
‘Slow down.’ His voice was incredibly gentle. ‘Why are you running away from me?’
Her breath was coming in gasps. ‘I’m not running.’
‘Liar.’
‘—I’m going to be late,’ she stammered, finally retrieving the keys and freeing herself from his grasp.
He reached out a hand and took the keys from her, unlocking the car and opening the door so that she could slip inside.
‘So why the big secret?’
She glanced at him warily. ‘Secret?’
A smile touched his mouth. A slow, sexy smile that made her heart stop and her breath catch in her throat.
‘Go on, give me a clue.’ Joel’s voice teased her senses. ‘Just the first letter? E for Esmerelda? L for Lucretia?’
‘L for Lucy.’ The minute she’d said it she could have bitten her tongue off. She’d had no intention of telling him, but the way he was looking at her made her feel—made her feel…
‘Lucy…’ He repeated her name slowly and thoughtfully, not even pretending to disguise his blatant interest in her. He wanted her and he wasn’t afraid to show it.
For one fleeting moment she wondered what it would be like to go out with a man like him and then she dismissed the thought quickly. It would be scary. There would be nothing safe or tame about him. He was one hundred per cent hot-blooded male and she had absolutely no experience of men like him. The strength of attraction between them was so powerful it warmed the freezing air around them.
‘May I have my keys?’ She reached out a hand, her cheeks burning as he held her gaze steadily for several seconds more before slowly handing them over.
‘Look…’ He hesitated, clearly searching for the right words. ‘I can see I’ve made you nervous, and I know that this isn’t exactly a conventional place to meet, but I’d really like to see you again.’
She felt as though someone had squeezed all the breath from her body. ‘I can’t.’
‘Why not?’ He shrugged his broad shoulders. ‘Don’t you believe in love at first sight?’
She looked at him, and her smile was filled with sadness and all the pain of the last twelve months.
‘I don’t believe in love at all,’ she said quietly, turning the key in the ignition and driving away from him before her hormones made her do something she knew she’d regret.
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