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Suddenly she muttered, ‘I can’t do this,’ and dropped her knee to the floor. ‘I’m out,’ she cried. It came out as a squeak, and she cleared her throat before adding, ‘Ron won.’
She waited for him to straighten up so she could get out from underneath him, then she scrambled to her feet, pretending not to notice the hand he held out for her. If she touched him now, she might explode.
‘Fancy a nightcap?’ Kate asked, smirking.
‘Not for me, thanks,’ Ron said. ‘I think I’ll take a stroll before I turn in.’ His departure was so abrupt that Annabelle knew he wanted to be on his own.
Brett, however, didn’t take the hint. ‘Wait up,’ he called after him. ‘I’ll come with you. I could do with stretching my legs.’
Annabelle waited for Brett to dash out of the room before picking up her wine and taking a long swallow. ‘You did that on purpose,’ she said to Kate as she wiped her lips.
‘Yep. Fun, wasn’t it?’
‘Not for me, and I don’t think Ron appreciated it, either.’ Annabelle stalked onto the terrace and flung herself into a chair.
Peering into the darkness, she could see two figures striding along the pavement. Ron and Brett. They didn’t appear to be talking, but it was difficult to tell.
Kate packed away the game and joined her. ‘We saw you last night,’ she said, picking up her own glass and taking a mouthful.
‘I thought you might have. Is that what this evening has been about? I mean… Twister?Really?’
Kate smirked. ‘I saw the way you’ve been looking at him, and it’s obvious you fancy him.’
‘Ha! Did you and Brett have to keep dropping the word “fancy” into the conversation?’
‘Sorry. But it’s clear you fancy each other rotten, so we thought we’d help things along a bit.’
Annabelle tipped her head back and poured the rest of her drink down her throat. She couldn’t believe she was about to tell Kate this— ‘I kissed him. Last night, among the dunes.’
‘How romantic,’ Kate said dreamily.
‘Yeah, you would have thought.’ Her small laugh was sorrowful. ‘I would have let him take me there and then, sand and all, but he didn’t want me.’ She pulled a face. ‘He apologised and said he shouldn’t have kissed me.’
‘I see. But it doesn’t explain why he looks at you like he wants to throw you over his shoulder and run away with you.’
‘He does not look at me like that.’
‘Believe me, he does. You look at him the same way.’
‘And there I was, thinking I was doing a good job of hiding it. God, Kate, I’ve only been here four days. I don’tknowthe guy, yet I’m drooling over him like a flipping teenager.’
‘You don’t have to know someone to fancy them.’
‘There’s that word again.’ Annabelle snorted. ‘It’s a bit more than that – I really, really like him. A lot. How can that be? Four ruddy days. Four! I think I’m losing the plot.’
‘Love strikes at the oddest times.’
‘Flipping heck! You don’t think it’slove, do you?’ Annabelle snorted in disbelief.
‘I don’t know; you tell me.’
‘It can’t be. It’s lust. Sheer animal lust.’
Kate sniggered. ‘Yeah, I could tell. At one point, you almost had your nose in his—’
‘And who’s fault was that?’ Annabelle interjected hurriedly. She didn’t need any reminders, thank you. ‘You insisted we play the stupid game.’
Kate looked contrite. ‘Sorry. I thought it might help bring the two of you closer together. I didn’t expect him to storm off.’
