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An hour ago she’d been watching one of her favourite eighties movies as she’d sipped wine and eaten her body weight in chocolates.
Now it felt as if the Terminator had just invaded her comfortable living space. Except this terminator had an Irish accent that was almost musical to her ears.
Not that Reuben Tyler looked like Arnie. And with his black jeans and leather jacket he was maybe a little too stylish for a burglar. She was trying not to stare. She was trying not to look at him at all. What on earth was she going to do?
‘So, do you always dress like a giant teddy bear?’ he said as he flicked through the channels.
‘What?’ She stared down at her favourite nightwear. Oh, no. In all the chaos she’d forgotten how she was dressed. Hardly a good look for a first meeting.
She scowled at him and stuck her hands on her hips. ‘Well, it wasn’t like I was expecting guests, was I?’
The corner of his mouth turned upwards. ‘Evidently.’
Okay, this guy could make her blood boil but was he a tiny bit hunky? She stole another glance. When he wasn’t angry, he might be described as quite handsome in a rugged sort of way. His dark hair was thick and a little dishevelled. His white T-shirt showed off his tan—doubtless from his stay in the US since it had rained solidly for the last month in London. No wonder she was keeping her pale flesh covered. But it was those eyes that could probably melt the hearts of the female population of the city. Dark brown, like coffee or chocolate—both were her vices.
She gave a little shudder. What on earth was she thinking? She didn’t know a single thing about this man.
‘You can’t possibly stay here. Addison told me I’d have the place to myself for the next few days.’ She folded her arms across her chest. She was grasping at straws but Addison really hadn’t mentioned a word about having to share the place with one of Caleb’s friends. Which most likely meant that Addison hadn’t known that Reuben would be here...
Darn it. There went the little shudder again. All of a sudden he wasn’t so much a dangerous intruder as a slightly intriguing handsome stranger. But sharing the house with someone she didn’t know still made her feel uncomfortable.
Reuben seemed completely uninterested in her comments. He grabbed a bar of chocolate from the table and started eating it. ‘I think you should be more worried about smashing up Caleb’s trophy. He was very proud of that.’
The trophy. Her eyes went to the floor. It was broken into three solid parts. No super-strength glue in the world could put it back together. She sagged down into one of the armchairs. ‘I’ve no idea what to do about that,’ she murmured.
Reuben sat up a little straighter. He gave his head a little shake and winced. ‘Do you have any painkillers?’
She nodded. ‘Come through to the kitchen. There are some in the cupboard.’
She flashed her hand over the light for the hall and it came on, flooding the entranceway with light. Reuben frowned and bent down. ‘What on earth is that? I couldn’t find the light switch when I came in.’
She walked past. ‘It’s one of Caleb’s new inventions. Light switches you don’t touch. Just the motion of your hand switches it on. Do you know that light switches and doorhandles are the biggest places that harbour germs?’
She couldn’t believe she was having a normal conversation with a guy she’d thought was breaking into the house. It was all so surreal. Maybe this was a dream? Maybe she’d drunk a little too much wine and fallen asleep in front of the TV? Because, truth be told, Reuben Tyler did look a little like a dream.
She stubbed her toe on the way into the kitchen. ‘Youch!’ She definitely wasn’t dreaming. That had hurt too much.
She waved her hand over the switch to turn the light on and walked to the cupboard on the far wall to retrieve the tablets. Reuben sat on one of the stools at the kitchen island and gave a little sigh.
She grabbed a glass and filled it with water. ‘Here you go.’ She hesitated then added, ‘I’m sorry about your head.’
He looked up at her through lazy, tired eyes. ‘Yeah, yeah. I’m sure I’ll get over it.’
He was looking at her with those chocolate eyes. The stare was so intense it almost felt as if it was burrowing through her thick pink onesie. It was definitely heading for the bin after this. His gaze made her feel uneasy and she started to ramble. ‘There are a few free bedrooms upstairs. I’m on the second floor so I’d appreciate it if you could sleep on one of the other floors. Maybe the third? Since Addison, Caleb and Tristan all sleep on the first floor.’
‘You’re pushing me into the servants’ quarters?’ His voice was a lazy drawl.
‘What? I am not.’
‘Yes, you are. Don’t you remember that in all these Georgian houses the servants stayed in the attics?’
‘Did they?’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘I wasn’t much of a history buff, more a geography girl myself.’ She waved her hand. ‘Anyway the rooms upstairs are lovely. The biggest one has an en-suite bathroom, I’m sure you’ll be comfortable there.’
He was still watching her, almost as if he was trying to size her up. But what alarmed her most was the fact there was a twinkle in his eye. He swallowed the painkillers and took a gulp of the water. ‘Maybe I’ll just crash on the sofa—next to your midnight feast. Were you actually going to eat all that?’
Colour heated her cheeks. She was about to be offended, but from the twinkle in his eye it was almost as if he was trying to bait her. She’d recovered enough from the shock of earlier to play him at his own game.
‘I was going to eat all that. And you owe me. Don’t think I didn’t notice that you swiped one of my favourite chocolate bars.’ She wagged her finger at him. ‘Touch anything else and I’ll give you more than a sore head.’
He surprised her. He threw back his head and laughed, just as his stomach growled loudly. He shrugged his shoulders. ‘What can I say? I’m starving.’ He stood up and started prowling around the kitchen, staring at the uniform white cupboards as if he didn’t know which to open first. ‘Is there anything to eat around here?’
Lara watched him for a few seconds. That was definitely a pair of well-fitting jeans. They hugged every inch of his thighs and backside, even though she could see the waist was a little loose. His white T-shirt was rumpled and there was tiny hint of curling dark hairs and flat abs. It was all she could do to tear her eyes away.
She sighed. ‘As I was a late arrival too and Addison had run down most of the fresh food, there’s only what I bought tonight.’ She opened the fridge. ‘I have bread, bacon and baked beans.’
He was smiling again and counted off on his fingers, ‘And wine, and chocolate, and crisps, and some kind of cake I didn’t even recognise.’
She smiled and shook her head. ‘Don’t even think about it—all of those are out of bounds.’
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He leaned against one of the cupboards. ‘Well, I’ve thought about it. I know how you can make it up to me.’
‘Make what up to you?’
‘The fact you assaulted me with one of Caleb’s trophies.’ He put his hand on his chin. ‘I’m thinking a bacon-and-baked-bean sandwich might just cut it.’
‘You don’t put bacon and baked beans in a sandwich.’ She shook her head in disgust. ‘Especially not at one in the morning.’
The glint remained in his eyes as they swept up and down her body and he lifted his hand to his head. ‘Ouch.’ He gave the back of his head an exaggerated rub. ‘I think one o’clock in the morning sounds a perfect time for a bacon-and-baked-bean sandwich. Hours past dinner and hours until breakfast.’
She pursed her lips. He was getting to her. He was definitely getting to her. She wasn’t quite sure if it was the guilt trip working or the rising tension she could feel in the air between them.
‘Fine.’ She turned around and flicked a few switches on the coffee machine. ‘What do you want to drink?’
He stared at the machine as his brow creased. She hid her smile. The first time she’d seen the coffee machine she had been bamboozled by it. It had taken a few attempts to finally get it right.
‘What does that do—make coffee or beam you up?’
‘Oh, if it could beam you up I’d press that button right away,’ she said smartly, as she walked back over to the fridge, pulled out the bacon and fired up the grill.
He folded his arms across his chest. He looked amused, maybe even intrigued by her sparky response. ‘So, now we’re getting to see the true you.’
‘As opposed to what?’
He laughed. ‘As opposed to the crazy ammunition-wielding giant pink teddy bear I met when I arrived.’
She glared at him as she put the bacon under the grill. ‘Let’s see.’ She counted off on her fingers. ‘You’ve ruined my night. It seems like you’re going to interrupt the two weeks of sanctuary I was expecting to have here. You’ve insulted my favourite nightwear. Scared me half to death. Stolen my chocolate and blackmailed me into making you something to eat.’ She folded her arms back at him. ‘Why, Reuben, you’re my favourite person in the world right now.’
