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‘You’re right,’ he agreed. He glanced around him, suddenly restless and out of sorts.
‘I know I am!’
‘It’s late. I should start thinking about heading back to London.’
‘You should.’
He hesitated, shifted, glanced at her, looked away and then pinned his dark eyes on her face.
‘You’re...okay?’
‘Why wouldn’t I be?’
‘You’re right. What happened just then...should never have happened.’
‘I hope the traffic back is okay.’ She smiled a glassy smile and fiddled with her hair, which had unravelled over the course of the evening.
Mateo made an effort not to let his eyes drift down to her mouth...or dwell for too long on those chestnut tendrils of hair that had escaped the little chain of thin plaits forming a crown from which her long, wavy hair cascaded past her shoulders. He certainly didn’t glance further down to the full breasts, more than a handful, or the slender waist curving out to rounded hips.
She was as cool as a cucumber while he...
Horny teenagersprang to mind. It was infuriating.
‘Why don’t you take next week off, Maude?’
‘Whatever for?’
‘Relax after the party. Surely you’re due some time off?’
‘Maybe next Monday,’ Maude agreed thoughtfully. ‘I can help Mum tidy up here and spend a bit of time with Amy. But I’ll be in from Tuesday. I have a meeting with Doug Smith about the project we’re working on at Canary Wharf.’
Back to business, Mateo thought, and it got on his nerves, because he was still in the grip of a physical response he had no time for. He tilted his head to one side and forced a grim smile.
‘Have fun tonight.’ He began to walk and she fell into step next to him.
‘I’ll do my best,’ she said politely. ‘Although, I quite fancy ditching it and going to bed instead.’
Mateo nearly groaned aloud at the image that suddenly flashed through his head.
‘No need to see me to my car, Maude.’
‘Okay.’ She stopped abruptly. ‘Safe drive back, Mateo. And thanks for this evening!’
Maude was held captive by the glitter in his eyes, the angled shadows of his handsome face.
That kiss still burnt her lips but it was something to be forgotten. They’d agreed.
She backed away then gave a small, stilted wave before spinning round on her heels and hurrying back to the house into which everyone had disappeared, no witnesses anywhere to their abrupt, detached parting.
The night air was still and humid, and for the life of her Maude couldn’t work out why it suddenly felt as though the fairy dust had been blown away.
Maybe, just maybe, her mother had a point and she should start to think about finding Mr Right after all...
CHAPTER THREE
MAUDESURFACEDTHEfollowing morning to urgent knocking on the bedroom door.
It took time for her brain to engage and even longer for her body to follow suit.
