Page 20 of The Perfect Gift

‘You look well on it,’ Frankie said, admiring his deeply tanned skin and well-honed physique. ‘What have you been doing?’

‘I have a PhD in marine biology so I’ve been working on a conservation and education vessel in the Caribbean.’

The declaration took her completely by surprise. When he’d said he’d gone travelling, Frankie had pictured him backpacking around the world, picking up a bit of bar work here and there.

Ed burst out laughing. ‘You don’t have to goggle at me like that! I know I haven’t shown much aptitude for critical thinking, but I do have a brain in here somewhere.’ He tapped a finger against his temple.

Frankie felt her cheeks heating. ‘Sorry.’

‘I guess I do look more like a beach bum than a scientist,’ he admitted, rubbing a hand through the longish hair dangling over his collar. ‘Getting a haircut is something else I need to sort out while I’m home.’

‘I like it,’ Frankie said, without thinking.

‘Yeah?’ Ed turned towards the dark panes of the kitchen window and studied his reflection for a moment. He brushed his fringe off his forehead and it immediately flopped back to almost cover his eyes. ‘Maybe I’ll just get this trimmed so I can see again.’ He turned back to her with a grin. ‘Midnight Black certainly suits me better than sex-pest red!’

Frankie frowned for a minute as she tried to figure out what he meant. Then she remembered the photo the girls had shown her that morning of Ed in nothing more than a towel around his waist and the orange-red stain in the back of his hair. Her cheeks heated and not only from embarrassment about the way she’d attacked him. ‘I’m really sorry about the spray.’

‘Didn’t we already cover the fact you’re not allowed to apologise for that? Anyway, I got some dye at the chemist so the hair’s not a problem.’ Ed held up his free hand to show his stained palm. ‘Unfortunately, I haven’t found anything that will remove this from my skin so I’ll have to hope that it fades soon.’

Don’t think about his skin. But it was too late and she was picturing his nearly naked body again. ‘I honestly didn’t think it would stain so badly,’ she muttered, hoping she was better at hiding her thoughts than he was. Frankie pressed her cold glass to her flaming cheek. Her heart began to pound as the lingering edges of too much adrenaline stirred again.

‘Hey, don’t start that again!’ Ed hurried towards her, clearly intent on comforting her, then ground to a halt as though his brain had caught up with his feet and warned him he was inside her comfort zone. She appreciated it when he took a step back. ‘I completely understand why you did what you did, Frankie. I’m not angry or upset about it. Well, I’m upset that I upset you, but that’s all.’

She nodded and tried to smile past the tension inside her. ‘I really am okay. The flowers were more of a shock than anything. And like I said already, it’s been a day of heightened emotions so it didn’t take much to tip me over the edge.’ The adrenaline spike faded and suddenly she was bone-tired. ‘Shall we go and sit down next door?’

Ed followed her through and took a seat in the armchair while she curled up in her corner of the sofa. Frankie pulled the throw over her lower body, suddenly conscious she was still in her pyjamas.

‘If I’m outstaying my welcome, you only have to say,’ he told her, edging forward in the chair as though he meant to stand again.

‘No, you’re fine.’ Frankie smiled at him. ‘You’re more than fine. I’d like you to stay a little bit longer if you don’t mind.’ She suddenly recalled what he’d said about needing to see his parents. ‘Unless I’m keeping you from your other plans?’

He shook his head. ‘I’m not in any rush for the bollocking my dad is going to give me.’

Frankie had only met Jago Penrose in passing but he hadn’t struck her as a man to be wary of. She’d been around enough men with tempers to have a sixth sense for it, even the ones who were all smiles in public and quick with a fist behind closed doors. ‘How angry is he going to be?’

‘Angry enough that he’ll scold me for at least two minutes before he gives me a hug and kiss,’ Ed replied with that ever-ready grin.

Relief spread through her and she let out a little laugh. ‘Oh, that bad, eh?’

‘Yeah, it’ll be brutal.’ He pulled out his phone and checked the screen then tucked it away again. ‘Honestly, I’ve got plenty of time.’ His expression grew serious. ‘Is there something I can do that will help you relax?’ Frankie barked out a laugh and Ed caught what he’d said at the same time. ‘Oh, shit, that is not what I meant at all, I would never!’

He looked so horrified that she might think he was trying something on that she couldn’t help but tease him. ‘Gee, thanks!’

His cheeks blazed as red as his palms. ‘I didn’t mean never! You’re absolutely gorgeous and any man would be punching so far above their weight being with you. I just meant that in these particular circumstances it wouldn’t be appropriate and it was the furthest thing from my mind…’

Frankie cackled. There was no other word to describe the noise that was coming out of her and now she’d started she couldn’t stop. Every time she looked at his flustered red face, she laughed a little harder until tears were streaming down her cheeks and her sides were aching. It wasn’t even that funny, but he’d inadvertently triggered exactly what she needed to release the pent-up emotions inside her. She pressed a heaving hand to her chest. ‘S-sorry.’

‘You carry on,’ Ed said, with a casual wave of his wine glass towards her. The embarrassed flush had faded and a small, amused smile played at the corner of his lips.

It took her a minute or so more to get herself back under some semblance of control but the laughter eventually subsided to a hiccup or two and then finally there was nothing other than a blissful emptiness inside her.

‘Feeling better?’ Ed asked her, his voice soft as though he didn’t want to disturb her.

‘Much.’ Frankie rolled her shoulders and let out a sigh at the lack of tension in her neck muscles. ‘Oh God, I needed that.’

‘Then I’m glad I came over.’ His lips quirked. ‘Though I wish I’d known about the roses thing.’

Frankie shook her head. He hadn’t done anything wrong and she hated that she’d turned his gesture of apology into something ugly. She owed him some kind of explanation. ‘The guy in the video had been stalking me for months.’