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Slowly he stood to his full height. ‘I needed to clear my head.’ His voice was tight as a drum, body held rigidly taut. He was probably cringing just being in the same room with her.
‘How far did you go?’
‘Over the hills and back. Nearly twenty miles.’
She baulked. ‘Wow, that’s harsh medicine. I think I’ll clear my head with a cup of coffee, a piece of toast and a sit in the sun.’
He released a tiny glimpse of a smile. ‘Enjoy. I’ll catch you later.’
Later turned out to be a lot later, because apparently Nick needed to go into the London office today. And though it was Monday and probably to be expected, she couldn’t help thinking it had more to do with what had happened last night than his work.
She also couldn’t help wondering if Sally would be there. If they’d meet for lunch. If Nick would admit to her that he’d kissed another woman.
And if Sally would forgive him when he reassured her he’d stopped the kiss as soon as he’d realised who he was kissing.
It was after nine when Lizzie finally heard his car scrunching back down the driveway.
‘I’ve made us some chilli,’ she announced when he walked through the door. It had been therapy, of sorts. A few precious moments when she hadn’t thought of last night and how he’d fled from her.
‘Oh, um, thanks.’ He rubbed a hand over his weary face. ‘I’ll take a bowl up to the study. I’ve got a bit more stuff to finish.’
‘You wouldn’t be trying to avoid me by any chance, would you?’
Like a child caught in a lie, Nick skirted over her eyes, taking a great interest in the wall above her right shoulder. ‘I’ve just got a lot on, that’s all.’
‘Fine,’ Lizzie replied coolly. God, the man was exasperating when he wanted to be. ‘Take your meal to the study. Do your work. Put your head in the sand for a while longer. But after that you need to pull it out and come downstairs. We have to talk.’
He gave her a quick, bleak look before spooning chilli from the steaming pot into a dish and legging it up the stairs, two at a time. Lizzie turned back to the empty kitchen, ladled some chilli into a bowl for herself and sighed. Nick could run from her, but he wasn’t going to be able to hide for much longer. It hurt that he didn’t want her like she wanted him, but she wasn’t about to lose his friendship over it. Even if it did mean having to pin him down for a very awkward conversation.
* * *
Nick, cowardly custard that he was, sat huddled over his computer in his office, no longer pretending to work. He just couldn’t face her. Not yet. Not when his mind was still trying to figure out what to say. Oops, sorry I forgot we were only supposed to be friends. Yeah, that was real classy. Or how about the truth. I’ve been in love with you forever. Every time I see you, I want you more. I would die to make love to you all night long, until you’re convinced you’ll never want another man. Like she was going to want to hear that after the shocked way she’d looked at him when she’d pushed him away.
So, instead of going downstairs and talking to her, like a decent, honourable man, here he was, holed up in his study. Afraid to confront the woman he loved. Afraid to face up to what he’d done. Could he be more pathetic? Even he couldn’t invent any more work now, and his office smelt of stale chilli from the remnants of the bowl he’d finished over an hour ago. He needed a drink. A bloody large, alcoholic one. With any luck Lizzie had given up waiting for him and gone to bed.
Of course she hadn’t. Giving up wasn’t part of Lizzie’s vocabulary. She was the most determined person he’d ever met. It was what had brought her such world-renowned success. That and her breathtaking beauty. As he walked down the creaking stairs, she turned and looked him straight in the eye. That was another thing about her. She was direct and honest. Almost painfully so. Though he loved and admired that about her, right now he vehemently wished she was cowardly and evasive, like him.
‘Nick,’ she began as he reached the bottom of the stairs. ‘About what happened last night . . .’
‘I said I’m sorry.’ He winced at how defensive he sounded. ‘What more do you want me to say?’
‘There’s nothing to be sorry about,’ she replied crossly, looking at him with those stunning blue eyes of hers.
‘That’s not true. I took advantage of you. One minute you were having a nightmare, the next I’m all over you like a rash. That doesn’t score any nobility points in my book.’ He went to pour himself the drink he needed.
‘That’s not how I saw it. One minute we were enjoying a kiss, the next you couldn’t get away from me fast enough.’
‘What?’ She’d been enjoying it? Or was she just being kind? Letting him down gently?
‘Do you really think of me that way, Nick? Or were you imagining I was someone else?’
‘Hell, no. I mean, yes.’ He exhaled in frustration and moved towards the fireplace, clutching the whiskey as if his life depended on it.
‘Which one is it then? Yes or no?’
His head started to pound. ‘Both. No, I wasn’t imagining you were someone else. Yes, of course I think of you that way.’
Her eyes widened. ‘I always thought you saw me as a silly young girl. Your little sister.’
