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‘I’ve got an idea,’ he said, as he walked back through to the sitting room and picked up her half-empty bottle of wine and glass. ‘Let’s have a toast.’
‘A toast to what?’ She looked completely bewildered.
‘A toast to the fact we’ll need to share this house for the next two weeks.’
He poured some wine into her glass and handed it to her before she could object, then lifted the bottle up towards her. ‘To an interesting two weeks.’ He clinked the bottle to her glass before lifting it to his lips.
Her eyes never left his. ‘To an interesting two weeks,’ she repeated.
CHAPTER THREE
IT WAS THE weirdest feeling. Somewhere in the space up above her there was another body breathing in and out.
She’d bet Reuben wasn’t having trouble sleeping. At first she’d thought she was too hot and had discarded the thick onesie. After tonight she’d probably never wear it again. Then she’d realised she didn’t have PJs—and sleeping in the nude with a stranger in the house just wasn’t an option. So she’d done something she’d never even thought about before and crept along the corridor to Addison and Caleb’s room and rummaged through a few drawers until she’d found something suitable.
But it wasn’t entirely suitable. Addison’s sleeping apparel seemed to be short satin nighties—a whole variety of them. Even lying in bed she kept trying to tug it over her backside as it left her feeling strangely exposed. Or maybe that was just because Reuben was overhead.
She couldn’t help it. She’d done an online search on him. Who wouldn’t?
He seemed to be the darling of the acidic football critics. He’d brought two young, unknown Argentinian footballers to a Premiership team and had virtually saved it from bankruptcy. He’d negotiated a change of coach three times for his tennis player, which had helped him shoot up the rankings. He’d had seven baseball teams fighting over one of his players. And the dollar signs for his latest basketball signing made her eyes water.
Then there were the photos. Plenty with the latest sports star but she was more interested in the ones with a beauty by his side. Granted, the beauty was never the same twice. But all were considerably more glamorous than she was—even when she was wearing one of Addison’s satin nightdresses.
Eventually she heard noise downstairs. Had she slept at all? It didn’t feel like it. It felt as if she’d tossed and turned all night, her head full of dark-clothed strangers breaking into the house.
By the sound of it Reuben was banging through all the cupboards in the kitchen. Lara sighed and threw back the bedclothes. She sat up, the cooler morning hair hitting her barely covered skin. She glanced around. She wasn’t going to go downstairs dressed like this. She hesitated in the doorway, peering along the corridor before stealing down the corridor to Addison and Caleb’s bedroom again in search of a dressing gown.
She should have guessed. There was a perfect matching bright pink satin dressing gown to the nightdress she was wearing. Bright pink trimmed with purple lace. She didn’t even want to think what it had actually cost. She wrapped the dressing gown around her. That was much better. It covered all the parts of her it should, skimming just above her knees.
With a bit more confidence she opened the door to head towards the kitchen and almost barrelled straight into tea-bearing Reuben.
‘Oops, sorry.’
She jumped back as the tea sloshed onto the carpet.
Caleb’s eyes swept up and down her more exposed body. ‘Nice change,’ he said quickly. ‘So you don’t always dress as a teddy bear.’ He squinted behind her. ‘Is that Caleb’s room?’
Heat flushed into her cheeks. How did this guy do that to her? She bit her lip. ‘Caught. Just don’t tell. Let’s just say I didn’t bring a lot of nightwear with me.’
He looked as if he were going to say something but stopped and gave his head a shake. He held the tea out towards her. ‘I made you tea.’
She stared at the cup. ‘What are you up to?’
He gave her a smile. ‘What makes you think I’m up to something?’
‘It’s written all over your face.’
He sighed. ‘What are your plans for today?’
Her eyes dipped downwards to her pink-painted toes. She hadn’t realised it but they actually matched her nightdress and gown. Her toes curled. ‘I’m not actually sure.’
‘You would have been on holiday, right? What were you going to do?’
She bit the inside of her cheek and said nothing.
This time it was Reuben’s turn to blush as he realised her obvious change of plans. ‘Oh, right. You were planning on spending time with that numbnut that you called a boyfriend. That means you’re free for the next two weeks.’
Her head shot up. ‘What did you call him?’
Reuben shrugged. ‘A numbnut—which he obviously is. Does the guy think he’s some kind of superhero? How dare he cheat on you?’ His eyes narrowed. ‘Want to get thinking creatively? We could plot some hideous revenge.’
Her hands closed around the cup of tea. ‘Revenge means thinking about him—I’d rather not.’
Reuben nodded. ‘I have some work to do. Do you fancy coming with me?’ What was wrong with him? He had a mountain of work to get through. He knew there were six hundred emails in his inbox. But he had some other things to do. And he was feeling sorry for her. This time his eyes lingered on her curves and long bare legs.
‘I suppose I’d better register somewhere to try and find a new rental in London.’
‘Do you have the name of a reputable agency?’
She nodded. ‘The one I used the last time was great. I guess I’ll just register with them again.’ She sighed. ‘Once I’ve done that, I think I need to do a little shopping.’
‘Food or clothes?’ He’d already checked out the kitchen. After last night’s feast there was hardly anything left.
She sighed again. ‘Both, I suppose.’
‘Well, come and hang out with me for a while, then we can do some shopping.’
She looked at him suspiciously.
He lifted his hands. ‘What? It’s only fair I foot the bill for shopping. I ate all your food last night.’
She nodded. ‘Okay, then. Let me drink this tea and find some clothes.’
He gave a cheery nod and wandered back down the corridor. She watched his retreating back, but her eyes were drawn downwards. He was still wearing well-fitting jeans and a snug grey T-shirt.
Her two weeks of misery seemed to be looking up.
CHAPTER FOUR
HE MUST BE CRAZY. Why on earth had he invited Lara out for the day?
Sure, she was cute. Sure, they had to share a house for the next two weeks. But that didn’t mean he had to try and be her new best friend.
But there had been something about her. When she’d been telling him about her ex and the pain had been etched in her eyes. The guy was clearly a fool.
He’d cringed last night when she’d asked him why Addison didn’t like him. He tried his best not to think about that night at all. But Lara had seemed placated when he’d padded out his story with a little detail.
Too bad he’d left the biggest detail out.
Caleb had shrugged off what had happened between them. He knew how damaged Reuben had been by his parents’ relationship. But Addison had no idea. He still wasn’t Mr Popular with her.
She probably didn’t even know that Caleb had invited him to stay here.
He finished sending a few emails as Lara walked into the kitchen. She was wearing a pink sequined T-shirt, a pair of hip-hugging blue jeans, black heeled boots and a fitted bright pink raincoat.
Her hair was soft and shiny and hanging in waves around her shoulders. She walked across the kitchen, smiling, pulled a pink lipstick from her pocket and pa
inted it on her lips. ‘Reuben, what exactly did you plan today? I should remind you, I’m not exactly a sports fan.’
He laughed. ‘It will be fine, I promise. I need to visit one of the nearby football stadiums but I’ll be less than half an hour. Then we can sort out some food and anything else you need to buy.’
She gave a thoughtful nod. ‘I might have left some of my things behind.’
‘Things like what?’
She sighed. ‘My whole summer wardrobe. Just about everything I need to put in my case for my holiday is still at the flat. It’s ready to be picked up. It’s all sitting in another case.’
He blinked. ‘No problem. We’ll swing by later and you can collect it.’
