outline of his hard and muscled backside, outlined so perfectly in those fitted jeans.
‘Everything okay?’ He turned to look at her, eyebrows raised questioningly.
Andy gave a start as she realised she was still staring at Darius’s edible backside rather than serving the lunch, as she’d said she was going to do.
‘Fine.’ She nodded abruptly before forcing herself to turn away from that probing gaze and instead busying herself carving the meat and placing the food into the serving dishes.
The sooner Darius ate then, hopefully, the sooner he would leave again.
‘NOT ONLY BEAUTIFUL, but you also know how to cook!’ Darius looked appreciatively across the table at Miranda once they had finished what had turned out to be a very enjoyable meal.
And not just because the food had been every bit as good as it smelt.
No, once they had got over that initial tension, and had begun to eat their meal, the conversation had actually flowed quite naturally between them, and whether Miranda realised it or not Darius now knew the answer to at least some of the things he had been curious about earlier. Miranda’s favourite colour was red, her favourite food Italian, and she liked to read murder mysteries. And as that was Darius’s preference too, they had then had quite a lively discussion on the merits of certain authors as opposed to others.
‘A multi-tasker—that’s me,’ Miranda lightly brushed off the compliment as she stood up with the obvious intention of clearing away the dishes.
Darius put a restraining hand on the bareness of her arm. ‘Sit and finish your wine, and I’ll tidy these things away,’ he instructed as he stood up.
‘Helpful as well as handsome?’ she came back dryly.
Darius gave a slow smile. ‘Well, I’ll settle for handsome certainly.’
Miranda frowned as she obviously realised her teasing had backfired on her. ‘Don’t you usually have an army of minions to do this sort of thing for you?’ she teased as she slowly sat down and watched him clear the table.
‘Now, now, Miranda, let’s not spoil the day by arguing again,’ Darius drawled, before slowly stilling as he looked down at her through narrowed lids. ‘Or maybe that was your intention?’
Was that what Andy was trying to do? Put the distance back between them, by deliberately challenging him?
Maybe she was being contentious. Because she was feeling so defensive, after the last few hours had passed more pleasurably than she could ever have imagined. Darius had relaxed in a way Andy hadn’t believed he ever could, as they’d discussed books and theatre and art as they ate. No doubt the delicious red wine had also contributed to their becoming so relaxed in each other’s company.
But it wasn’t real, Andy reminded herself firmly.
Darius was...who he was. And she was who she was.
Outside this apartment, this moment in time, their lives were totally different.
Too different for them to have any reason to see each other again after today.
Even if Darius suggested it. Which Andy had no reason to suppose that he would.
‘Obviously it was.’ Darius sighed his frustration with her silence. ‘What have I done to make you distrust me so much—other than using blackmail to get you to go to the charity dinner with me?’ He grimaced.
‘Isn’t that enough?’ Andy gazed up at him crossly. ‘Darius, normal people don’t use blackmail to force someone into going out with them!’ she added as he looked down at her questioningly.
His mouth thinned. ‘You were being intransigent.’
She gasped. ‘And that gives you the right to use my brother-in-law’s job to blackmail me?’
A nerve pulsed in his tightly clenched jaw. ‘It gives me the right to use whatever means are necessary.’
‘No, Darius.’ Andy gave a slow shake of her head. ‘It really doesn’t.’
Darius eyed her impatiently. Obviously, whatever truce had existed between them while they ate was now over. ‘Why don’t you go and see if there’s a film on television we can watch together, while I clear away here?’
Miranda’s eyes widened. ‘You’re staying?’
It hadn’t been his original intention, no. The opposite, in fact. But somehow, this past couple of hours with Miranda had been more enjoyable, more real to him, than anything else had felt for a very long time. And Darius wasn’t willing to give that up just yet.
He shrugged. ‘I thought watching a film was part of the Sunday family ritual.’
She blinked. ‘You aren’t family.’
Darius gave an unconcerned grin. ‘We could always pretend that I am.’
‘No,’ she drawled. ‘We really couldn’t.’
He quirked a brow. ‘No?’
Andy’s eyes narrowed; anyone less like a member of her very normal family she simply couldn’t imagine. She was also a little thrown that Darius now intended staying on after lunch; she had felt sure that he wouldn’t want to, that a couple of hours of normal would be more than enough for him. ‘What do you usually do on a Sunday afternoon?’
He shrugged. ‘Work. Being wealthy isn’t all parties and holidays on private yachts, Miranda,’ he added as her eyes widened in surprise. ‘Of course it has its benefits, but Midas Enterprises owns and runs multinational companies all over the world, and we employ thousands of people. With all of that comes responsibility, to both those companies and their employees.’
‘Poor little rich boy?’
He grimaced at her derision. ‘Hard as it might be to believe...sometimes, yes.’
Actually, it wasn’t all that hard for Andy to believe at all; she had already realised that with great privilege came even greater responsibility. That no matter how nice it must be to be as rich as Darius and Xander Sterne so obviously were, to be able to buy what they wanted, and do whatever they wanted, that they couldn’t necessarily do it when they wanted. That they might be seen to play hard, but they also had to work hard, in order to run those companies they owned all over the world, and in turn continue to provide thousands of other people with their own livelihoods.
She stood up. ‘Then I suggest we leave clearing away the rest of this for now, and instead go to the park over the road and walk off lunch. We can choose a film to watch together when we get back. Does that sound a good plan to you?’
‘A walk in the park?’
Andy grinned as she heard the doubt in his voice. ‘I’m sure you’ve heard of it, Darius. You place one foot in front of the other and—’
‘I
