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She glanced down, and saw, mortified, that a slice of pepperoni was adhering to the front of her tee shirt.
Before she could remedy the situation, Adam reached out and took it, his fingers lingering for an instant on the swell of her breast before he popped the fragment of meat into his mouth and swallowed it.
‘Delicious,’ he said, grinning. ‘But then I can never resist—pepperoni.’
She was lost for words, aware only of the hot wave of colour sweeping up from her toes to her hairline.
‘God but you’re lovely,’ he said softly. ‘I’d almost forgotten girls could blush.’
He bent towards her and, flustered, she knew he was going to kiss her and couldn’t decide how she should react. But with his lips a breath away from hers, they heard Nicola returning and Adam, in one swift movement, reached for another slice of pizza and transferred himself to the other end of the sofa, his swift conspiratorial smile conveying reassurance and a promise.
‘Serafina’s car is coming up the drive,’ Nicola announced as she entered.
Adam grimaced again and got to his feet, hurriedly finishing the pizza. ‘Then I’d better postpone the beer until I’ve made my report.’
‘Report?’ Dana queried as she and Nicola took the empty cans and boxes to the kitchen.
Nicola nodded glumly. ‘Adam’s PR company’s in trouble and may have to be wound up. Clients are cutting back because of the recession. But there could be an opening for him at Belisandro Europe, so tonight’s dinner was basically a job interview.’
She sighed. ‘He’ll have to take it, but he’ll find it hard after being his own boss.’
Dana felt jolted. Poor Adam, she thought, if he has to end up taking orders from Zac Belisandro.
And the realisation that such a job would mean an even stronger connection between Mannion and the Belisandro family also preyed on her mind as she walked back to the flat to tell Aunt Joss that she’d had a lovely evening.
* * *
She was still not sure about the little white top. Each time she tried it on, it seemed to get smaller, skimming her breasts just above the nipples and finishing well short of her midriff, making it impossible to wear a bra.
But the sandals had taken most of her money, so this had been all she could afford. And it hadn’t looked nearly so revealing on the market stall.
She could imagine what Aunt Joss would say if she ever saw it, so she’d have to make sure that ‘if’ never became ‘when’.
And, anyway, it was Adam’s reaction that really mattered, she reminded herself defensively.
Since pizza night, he’d become a more frequent visitor at Mannion, where naturally there was business to discuss, but that was clearly not his sole motive and Dana had to be careful that her new glow did not become too obvious.
Adam was careful too, their meetings consisting of snatched moments. Murmured words. Brief kisses.
Which, she told herself, was enough when she had the promise of so much more.
She smiled secretly to herself, recalling how she’d asked him the previous night what he wanted for his birthday, and how he’d smiled at her before whispering, ‘Sweetheart, I think you already know.’
And tonight at the party, somehow he would arrange for them to be alone together. She had his word for that.
Contemplating such a step into the unknown was disturbing—even scary. But her ultimate goal was still clear, and if this was what it took...
Taking a deep breath, she removed the white top, placed it on a hanger with the green skirt and hid them both under one of her school dresses in the wardrobe.
And just in time too, because Aunt Joss was calling to her and Dana just had time to slip on her dressing gown before her door opened.
‘So there you are,’ her aunt exclaimed. ‘Why aren’t you dressed?’
‘I felt so hot and sticky, I decided to have a shower and wash my hair.’
‘Well, please be quick. The Vicar will be here in half an hour.’
‘Mr Reynolds? Why?’
‘His daughter and her husband are staying at the Vicarage, and they’re all coming to the party, but the babysitter has let them down at the last minute, so Mrs Latimer suggested you could step in and look after Tim and Molly.’
‘But I can’t.’
Her aunt’s eyes narrowed. ‘I hope you have no foolish ideas about attending the party yourself, because you can put that right out of your head. There is a strict guest list and if Nicola has invited you, it was wrong of her, and Mrs Latimer will not be pleased.’ She paused. ‘So, hurry and have your shower, and make yourself useful instead.’
