you saying that you needed to discuss you and me?’ he asked warily.
‘What do you think? Did it even cross your mind that I might be feeling a little low after you left so abruptly on Sunday? We were getting on so well—you even took me back to the street where you grew up and told me about your plan to renovate the houses instead of pulling them down. But then … then we came back here and you suddenly decided you had to leave. I haven’t discussed anything personal with Colette, but I was planning on telling her that I’d met someone that I—Anyway.’ She flushed and glanced down at the floor for a second. ‘That’s when the doorbell rang. You couldn’t have timed your arrival more perfectly if you’d tried.’
‘And what were you going to tell your friend, I wonder? That I took you back to my house, mercilessly seduced you, then took you home and hurriedly made my exit, never to be seen or heard of again?’
Drake tried and failed to keep the angry hurt from his tone. More than he hated the idea of having Layla discuss him with her friend, he abhorred the idea that she might believe he could indeed be so callous.
Her face fell. ‘I would never have described what happened between us like that. Did you honestly think that I would?’
‘Look … can I come in? Can’t you tell Colleen, or whatever her name is, that I’ve driven down from London especially to see you and I really need us to talk?’
The mere idea of Layla having to entertain her friend when he was near desperate to clear the air between them and tell her his feelings made Drake feel tense and impatient again.
In an aggrieved tone she answered, ‘If you’re in that much of a hurry to talk to me, why couldn’t you have rung me earlier in the week to let me know you were coming this evening? And, by the way, it’s Colette—not Colleen. She’s a good friend, and I don’t get to see her that often. I won’t risk offending her by asking her to leave just because you’ve suddenly decided you need to talk to me!’
‘Okay.’ Forcing down his deep disappointment, Drake lifted and dropped his shoulders resignedly. ‘I’ll just wait until she goes, then … if that’s all right with you, I mean?’
‘You’d better come in.’
Removing her hand from the doorframe, Layla stood back to allow him entry into the hall. As she went past him to shut the door he had to curl his hand into a fist to stop himself reaching out to touch the shining curtain of dark hair that fell onto her shoulders. Was it only a few short days ago that he’d had the incredible good fortune to do such a thing with impunity?
‘Let’s go upstairs. Colette was about to open the bottle of wine she brought with her. Perhaps you’d like a glass?’
‘I think I’ll decline. I want to keep a clear head this evening.’
‘I’ll just make you some coffee, then.’
‘That would be great … thanks.’
When his avid gaze fell into hers for a full uninterrupted second, the cascade of heat and hunger that assailed him almost made Drake stumble, and his heart thumped hard when he saw by her darkening pupils that Layla was fighting a similar battle.
‘I should have rung you,’ he confessed huskily, ‘but I wanted to get my head straight. I had a lot to think over. Can you forgive me?’
‘You’re here now, and that’s all that matters.’
Her gentle smile was like a wisp of ephemeral smoke—there one minute and gone the next. But, having seen it, he couldn’t help but feel reassured.
At the top of the stairs a pretty young woman with gently waving blonde hair, wearing a tan-coloured raincoat over a smart blouse and jeans, stood waiting for them.
‘You’re not leaving, Colette?’ Layla asked, startled.
‘Sweetheart, you don’t need me to hang around now. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I guessed when I heard a man’s voice that it must be the guy you were going to tell me about.’ She glanced up at Drake with a smile, ‘I’m Layla’s friend Colette.’ She reached out and shook his hand, adding, ‘And you are …?’
‘Drake.’ He didn’t hesitate to give his real name, because something in the girl’s frank blue eyes told him that she was fiercely loyal to Layla. ‘Drake Ashton.’
‘You’re the famous architect that’s helping to regenerate the town?’
He grimaced. ‘I’m just one of a group of professionals that’s been commissioned.’
The blonde’s eyes twinkled mischievously. ‘And are any of the other professionals as fit as you, Drake?’
‘Colette!’ Layla shook her head in disbelief at her friend’s daring.
‘Don’t worry, Drake, I’m only teasing. Layla knows I’m very happily married, and right now I’m going to head back home and suggest that my other half and I go out for a nice romantic meal somewhere. Why don’t the two of you open that bottle of wine I brought and enjoy it on me?’
Noticing that Layla was frowning, as though concerned that her friend felt under pressure to cut short her visit, Drake caught her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. ‘I promise that the next time you and Colette arrange a girls’ night in I won’t break up your evening by demanding you spend time with me instead.’
‘That’s settled, then. I’m going.’ The blonde gave him a satisfied conspiratorial wink.
‘And the bottle of wine is on me next time, Colette,’ he promised.
‘I’ll hold you to that. Just make sure the two of you have some fun tonight, won’t you? And there’s just one more thing, Drake …’
‘What’s that?’
‘Don’t break her heart. Trust me, you’re a very lucky man that she’s interested in you. I was beginning to wonder if she’d ever find someone she really liked.’
His eyes lit on Layla in a penetrating gaze. ‘Rest assured I don’t take her for granted.’
Tearing her glance from his, Layla stepped round him to give her friend an affectionate hug. ‘Thanks for coming over. I’ll give you a ring very soon, I promise.’
‘I’ll look forward to it. Bye, sweetie.’
As soon as she and Drake were alone again, Layla walked in silence back into the flat. It disturbed him that she appeared so ill at ease. Did she really have no idea how he felt? Following her into the kitchen, he glanced at the unopened bottle of wine standing on the counter. Standing beside it were two slim-stemmed glasses and a corkscrew.
‘I know I said I’d have coffee, but shall we break the ice by having a glass of wine?’ he suggested lightly, hunting for a way to help her relax.
‘Break the ice?’ Layla rounded on him with a disbelieving glare. ‘Has our relationship become so brittle since we last saw each other that we need an icebreaker to help us communicate? I for one would rather just get straight to the point.’
‘I
