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She could almost feel his voice skitter over her skin. That Irish accent was so sexy, so enchanting that one tiny Amazonian part of her wanted to drag him back to the bed right now, throw him down and just leap on board.
She wasn’t normally as uptight around other people as she was around Reuben.
She sucked in a breath and looked up at him. Those dark brown eyes were fixed on her face. The intensity was shocking. Thank goodness for the little twinkle that was still there.
‘You’d better,’ she said firmly, ‘or this is going to be a long two weeks for you on a hard floor.’
The edges of his lips turned upwards. His breath touched her skin. ‘Whatever you say, Lara.’
She nudged her shoulder into his chest and pushed past him. ‘Let’s get changed,’ she said quickly. ‘There’s a whole world out there and I don’t want to miss a second of it.’
And just like that she’d agreed to share her bed with a man she’d only known for two weeks.
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE SHIP GLIDED along the Grand Canal. It was one of the final cruise ships allowed along the Grand Canal before plans changed and they all had to moor outside the canal.
Reuben hadn’t expected any of this. Everything about this had been last minute for him and, to be honest, he’d been treating it all like a bit of a joke.
Yes. He needed a holiday. After four years with none at all he deserved one.
More importantly he needed some time away from his current business dealings before his partial eruptions turned into a full-blown Vesuvius version.
Lara’s face in the cabin had been a picture. He hadn’t even given any thought at all to the sleeping arrangements but it seemed she had and her plans had gone awry.
It was clear she didn’t realise just how cute and sexy she looked with that wrinkled nose and wide eyes.
So the wonder of Lara, coupled with the wonder of Venice, was doing strange things to him.
The thought of a short fling with Lara was growing more appealing by the second.
They stood on one side of the ship as they passed the Piazza San Marco, the Doge’s Palace and the campanile of San Giorgio Maggiore. The multicoloured buildings, some old and tired with peeling plasterwork, others still proud and pristine with arched windows, balconies and overflowing window boxes, kept them enthralled. There was something about Venice that couldn’t actually be captured in a photo or in a travel book. You had to actually be there to experience the colours, the sights, the noise.
It seemed that every holidaymaker on the cruise ship was standing on deck to watch their passage out to sea. The sun was beating down on them and after a few minutes Lara gave a little sigh and leaned against him, taking a sip of her cocktail. ‘This is just how I imagined it would be.’ Her voice sounded sad and without even thinking about it his hand slid around her waist and anchored her to him.
‘It’s gorgeous,’ he said quietly. ‘I never even gave this much thought. I knew that Venice was a group of islands but I didn’t realise quite how many. Or how different they all are.’
The ship had moved on, passing the island where Murano glass was made and moving past one with that was used mainly as a cemetery. He turned his head a little to face Lara. There was a tear gently rolling down her cheek.
‘Hey.’ Reuben caught her shoulders and turned her to face him. ‘What’s wrong? Isn’t this the trip of a lifetime? The one you always dreamed of?’
Was this because of him? His teasing earlier about the sleeping arrangements? Lara had always seemed able to play him at his own game, but maybe he’d just stepped too far.
She gave a little nod of her head. ‘It is. I know it is. It’s just...different from what I expected.’
‘How?’ Now he could feel his insides curling up.
She gave the tiniest shake of her head and sighed, wiping away another tear. ‘I expected to be really excited to be here. To love every minute. But the last few weeks and all the trouble with Josh have just...taken the gloss off things for me. I spent so much time thinking about where we would be going, what we would see.’
She gave the wryest smile he’d seen. ‘Now I’m standing here, watching Venice glide past, I’m just realising I’ve been dumped in the most horrible way. He wasn’t even sorry. He didn’t really care that I’d caught them. Then to throw away all my things, knowing how that would upset me, and that I wouldn’t be able to replace them.’ She gave her head a little shake.
‘I know it’s silly to get upset over an old book.’ She pressed her hand against her heart. ‘But it meant something to me. I guess things have just hit me all at once. I’ve been treated like I’m not good enough by a man who is lower than the belly of snake. It doesn’t really say that much for me, does it?’
There was an instant burn inside him. He recognised it well. Rage. Fury. The kind of feelings usually channelled into his business dealings. It helped when dealing with some of the volatile sports stars. Not the kind of rage he used in everyday life.
Not since that night with Caleb.
‘Garbage.’ He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards a set of steps, ushering her up towards one of the exclusive bars.
‘Where are we going?’
He pointed to one of the bar stools that gave a view out of the full-length glass windows and gestured to the barman, pointing to a bottle of pink champagne.
The barman didn’t hesitate. He produced two champagne glasses, an ice bucket and popped the cork quickly.
Reuben took the champagne and poured it into glasses, the froth and bubbles almost spilling over the edges of the glasses. ‘Here.’ He handed her one.
‘What are we doing?’ Her brow was furrowed.
‘We’re toasting the end of a bad relationship. We’re celebrating the fact that Josh didn’t manage to ruin your dream. We’re saying goodbye to feeling like rubbish and raising our glasses to a new future and a new adventure. No negative thoughts allowed. From here on, it’s fun, fun, fun.’
He clinked his glass against hers. He wasn’t usually so gung-ho. So nice really. But there it was again. That weird thing about being around Lara and her sad face doing strange things to his insides. He seemed to have a low threshold for her being down.
When he’d first met her two weeks ago she’d been fiery—and still quite angry. And even though she still joked with him it was almost as if uncertainty was taking her over. She’d obviously had too much time to think about all this—too much time to let her confidence falter.
He looked around. In his opinion Lara Callaway was the best-looking woman around here. And apart from being funny, she was quirky and she had a good heart. She had passion. She said she loved looking after Tristan and after a few false starts in life obviously thrived in the job she was
currently doing. Maybe if she’d been working the last two weeks she might have been too distracted to get down. Now he was feeling guilty for not being around much, contract negotiations and temperamental clients having filled up most of his days and evenings in London.
But the next two weeks would be entirely different. The next two weeks he’d be around her morning, noon and night. And where might that lead?
Maybe Lara would consider a fling? Some fun on the cruise? Because that’s all it could be. He wouldn’t be able to offer the Caleb and Addison lifestyle. The happy-ever-after and for ever. He wasn’t that kind of guy. He didn’t come from that kind of family. But two weeks to try and build a beautiful girl’s self-confidence? He could do that.
He shifted on his bar stool. That single thought had sent an imaginary cool breeze over his skin and blood rushing to places it shouldn’t. Strange how these things sneaked up on you.
Lara gave him a smile that almost made him sigh with relief. She clinked her glass against his. ‘You’re right. I know you’re right. This year is the end of all ratbag boyfriends. And the start of something new entirely.’ She tipped back her head to swallow some of the champagne.
He gulped. Her scent was drifting around him—the same scent she’d worn that day he’d kissed her in the café. And right now he had a prime view of that soft skin at the bottom of her neck...
What was wrong with him?
Reuben Tyler didn’t take time to fantasise about women. Normally, he didn’t have the time. Plus the fact he usually just acted on instinct. He could spot a flirtatious glance from a million miles away. All he usually had to do was decide whether to go with the flow or not. But Lara was entirely different.
Sure, there was buzz between them. Sure, her lips tasted like no others.
But most of all he’d actually got to know her a little. He knew what kind of coffee she liked. What kind of cake. He knew the type of wine she liked to drink and what kind of takeout food she enjoyed best. All of these superfluous things usually just passed him by. But living under the same roof as Lara for the last two weeks had kind of imprinted them on his brain in a way he couldn’t really understand.
