‘Oh, dear.’ She smiled suddenly. ‘Actually it’s very delicious. How’re your prawns?’
‘As tasty as prawns in a lemon myrtle sauce can be,’ he answered with an approving nod. ‘You can never fault the food here.’
‘You eat here often, then?’ With other women? By himself? It was a top-class restaurant. Surely a bit out of his league?
‘Only when I’m trying to impress.’
‘You don’t have to impress me,’ she said with a quick smile. ‘It’s a pricey place, we can go Dutch if you like.’
He gave a disapproving wag of one finger. ‘Don’t insult me. I would never take out a girl if I couldn’t afford it. I’m not saying I’d do it every night, but…’ He let his words trail into silence.
‘I’m honoured, then,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’
Their dishes were whipped away and their main course placed in front of them. They had decided to share a seafood platter. Lara tried to concentrate on eating but was acutely aware of Bryce watching her. Ignoring him was impossible and when their fingers touched as they both went for the same oyster, she drew back swiftly, feeling as though a savage volt of electricity had zapped through her.
His eyes asked the questions not his voice. What’s the matter? What did I do?
‘That was silly of me,’ she said quickly. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘Why are you so nervous?’ There was a rough edge to his tone now, a frown darkening his brow. ‘Don’t you think I’ll keep my word?’
‘Of course.’ She grimaced and gave a weak smile.
‘But you’re not sure. You keep wondering whether you’ve made a mistake.’ He shook his head, mouth suddenly grim. ‘Maybe you have, maybe I made the mistake. We’ll call the whole thing off.’
‘No!’ Lara surprised herself by the quickness of her response. ‘I don’t want that. I could do with a friend.’
‘You have your aunt.’
‘Yes, but she’s family, there’s a difference.’
‘How?’
‘If I say too much to her it might get back to my mother and brothers. They don’t know all the ins and outs of my marital problems. Actually my mother thought the world of Roger. She couldn’t understand why I walked out on him. She did everything she could to try and persuade me to patch things up.’
‘You didn’t tell her the whole story?’
Lara shook her head. ‘No. She’d warned me about jumping so quickly into marriage. It’s what she did with my father. So I always pretended to be happy.’
‘So what excuse did you give her for the divorce?’
‘I just said I didn’t love him any more, that the magic had gone out of the marriage and I wanted out.’
‘And she believed that?’ He looked faintly sceptical. ‘OK, I’ll accept that you can’t talk to your aunt. But if you’re going to behave like a skittish kitten every time we accidentally touch, then I think we have a problem, too.’
‘It won’t happen again,’ she assured him, knowing that she sounded more confident than she felt. She wasn’t even sure why she was pleading for them to remain friends. It made no sense.
As they continued to eat Bryce talked about his childhood. He was an only child and envied Lara her four brothers. ‘My parents both worked and I was left to my own devices most of the time,’ he said. ‘I’m not saying they didn’t love me, but they were so taken up with their careers that they didn’t spare me much time. I was very lonely.’
‘Where are they now?’
‘Dad died two years ago. My mother’s remarried and moved to New Zealand. He’s an OK guy and she’s happy enough. How about your parents?’
Lara shrugged and pulled a wistful face. ‘My father walked out just after I was born. My mother brought us up on her own. She never found another man. My brothers are married now with families of their own.’
‘What did she think about you coming here? Did she want to come with you?’
‘She was pleased for me. Aunt Helen’s my godmother and has always regretted that she’s seen so little of me. But my mother’s afraid of flying. She’s happy with her grandchildren around her. They go and see her most days.’
‘Have you any children?’
Lara shook her head emphatically. ‘No, thank goodness.’
Roger had been definite about not wanting to start a family. ‘I can’t bear the thought of snivelling kids around me,’ he’d said.
‘You don’t want any?’ He looked at her long and hard, as if finding it difficult to understand.
‘Of course I do,’ she said quickly. ‘I’m just glad I didn’t have any with Roger. Because as sure as eggs are eggs he would have kept them from me once we divorced.’
‘It might have helped your marriage.’
‘Nothing could have helped that,’ she said fiercely. ‘It was the worst experience of my life. In fact it’s doubtful I’ll ever get married again.’
‘That’s a mistake. Not all men are like your ex.’
‘Maybe not, but I’m not prepared to take the risk. I shall get a new, better paid job when I go back to England. I shall buy my own place and answer to no one.’
A faint smile lifted the corners of his mouth. ‘What if you meet Mr Right? He’s out there for you somewhere, you know.’
‘Maybe,’ she shrugged. ‘I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. The way I feel at the moment men are at the bottom of my list of priorities.’
‘You’ve allowed me into your life,’ he pointed out.
Lara gave a wry smile. ‘Am I crazy, or what?’ Was he hinting that she couldn’t be as anti-men as she proclaimed? Was he hoping that their friendship would turn into something more? Had he tricked her?
‘You’re not crazy, Lara.’
His warm smile made her stomach muscles bunch. This was going to be so much more difficult than she’d first thought.
‘You’re a very lovely lady who’s gone through a hard time. And I’m going to do my best to restore your faith in mankind.’
‘It’ll take a lot of doing.’
‘I have the time.’
Lara began to feel uncomfortable. Best change the subject. ‘How did you meet my aunt? She thinks very highly of you.’
‘As I do of her. She’s
