that it was a predicament, he was in no doubt. How on earth were you supposed to behave towards a woman with whom you had obviously spent the night in bed—a night you didn’t remember? An apology didn’t seem to exactly fit the bill!
‘It’s good coffee,’ he said inanely instead.
‘Thank you,’ she accepted warmly, putting her empty mug down. ‘I simply can’t tell you how wonderful it was to meet you last night, Fergus,’ she added a little shyly
It was…?
Personally, he wouldn’t have thought himself capable of giving of his best in the condition he had been in last night, but who was he to argue if she—?
Damn it, it wasn’t a question of arguing; he simply didn’t remember anything of being intimate with this woman the night before, and he could not pretend otherwise. But he could hardly tell her the truth, either, his conscience warned him softly. Not only would that be insensitive, it would be extremely insulting!
‘I’m glad,’ he answered noncommittally, absently playing with the dark silkiness of her hair as he wondered what to do next. ‘Er—did we—?’ He broke off as the strident noise of the doorbell ringing resounded through the house.
Someone was at the front door!
Obviously, you idiot, he instantly scorned himself. But who on earth could be calling on him at—nine-forty-five, the bedside clock showed—on a Sunday morning?
There seemed only one way to answer that question. But with the beautiful Chloe dressed in nothing but his shirt, Fergus was loath to get out of bed to go downstairs and answer the door. Maybe if he just lay here and ignored it, whoever it was would go away—
The doorbell rang again. Longer this time.
His caller wasn’t going to just go away!
Chloe stood up. ‘Shouldn’t you go and answer that?’ she prompted.
Of course he should. But it could be anybody: his mother, who was in town for the wedding yesterday, or one of the women he had taken out during the last couple of weeks. He could hardly introduce any of them to Chloe when he didn’t even know who she was himself!
‘Wait here,’ he warned as he straightened, sitting up to swing his legs to the floor.
Yep, he was naked, all right. And a quick look round the room told him his dressing gown was in the bathroom where he had left it yesterday morning.
It was stupid to feel in the least self-conscious as he walked to the bathroom to get his robe. And yet he did. This woman might know exactly what he looked like without his clothes on, but he didn’t remember her knowing. He obviously knew what she looked like without her clothes too, but he didn’t remember that, either!
‘I won’t be long,’ he assured her before leaving the bedroom, more relaxed now that he was at least wearing his robe.
What an awful situation. Who was Chloe? Where had she come from? More to the point, what was he going to do with her now…?
‘Brice…!’ he breathed hoarsely after opening the door and finding his cousin standing there on the doorstep grinning at him cheerfully.
‘Fergus,’ Brice greeted lightly. ‘Nice car.’ He turned to look appreciatively at a green sports car parked behind him in the driveway. ‘Anyone I know?’ Brice raised inquisitive brows.
Fergus stared at the car. He had never seen it before. For that reason alone he knew it had to belong to Chloe.
Well, at least that answered one of the questions that had been plaguing him since he’d woken up earlier and found her standing beside his bed; with a car like that she was unlikely to be someone who expected paying for whatever services she had provided last night!
‘Or do I mean, anyone I should like to know?’ Brice amended teasingly.
No doubt his cousin would be as knocked out by the way Chloe looked as Fergus was himself. But Fergus suddenly found that he didn’t like that idea at all.
‘What can I do for you, Brice?’ he asked briskly.
The other man shrugged. ‘Don’t you remember that we made an agreement yesterday to play golf today? You said you weren’t working today, so I’ve booked us in for a round at twelve o’clock,’ he explained.
Golf. He had made arrangements to play golf today?
How on earth could he do that, when Chloe was still upstairs in his bedroom? When he had to find out exactly what—
‘Good morning!’ Chloe greeted cheerfully at that moment from directly behind him.
Fergus closed his eyes briefly in a wince. He had been hoping to put Brice off before going back upstairs to talk to Chloe; that way he could have avoided having the two of them meet. Her sudden appearance behind him meant it was going to be impossible.
‘And a good morning to you too,’ Brice returned lightly, looking past Fergus to smile at Chloe.
Fergus turned slowly, dreading the moment; Chloe had looked enchanting in his shirt, sexy as hell, actually, but, dressed like that, it was also obvious that she must have spent the night here. He and Brice were close, yes, but that didn’t mean he wanted his cousin to see Chloe looking like that.
But he needn’t have worried—she was completely dressed! The white shirt had gone, a short, slinky black dress in its place, her legs silky in sheer tights, high-heeled shoes on her tiny feet. Her hair was no longer tousled but brushed in a shiny blue-black curtain down the length of her spine, and her face was almost bare of make-up, except for a red lipgloss. But there was no doubt in Fergus’s mind that she was the most exquisitely beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life!
She joined the two men at the door, her movements gracefully elegant. ‘Aren’t you going to introduce us, Fergus?’ She looked up at him expectantly.
Introduce her to Brice? Yes, he supposed he better had. It was just that for a moment there her beauty had actually taken his breath away!
He took in a ragged breath, his arm moving lightly about her shoulders as he drew her to his side. ‘Chloe, this is my cousin, Brice McAllister. Brice, this is Chloe—’ He came to an abrupt halt, looking down at her frowningly. He had no idea what her surname was!
‘Fox,’ Chloe provided laughingly as she easily read his confusion, holding out her hand to shake Brice’s. ‘Don’t mind Fergus, Brice; too much champagne!’ she quipped. ‘Now, if you’ll both excuse me?’ She included both men in the warmth of her gaze. ‘I overheard you two say you’re off to play golf, and I have an appointment myself at one o’clock. I obviously have to shower and change before then,’ she added with a self-derisive grimace at her evening dress.
Obviously, Fergus acknowledged tautly, already wondering who this one o’clock appointment was with. Besides, she couldn’t just disappear like this! When was he going to see her again? If at all?
Because suddenly Fergus found that he did want to see her again, very much so. It was very frustrating having this complete blank about their time together last night. He wanted to see her again, needed to see her—if only to have the chance to refresh his memory!
Chloe
