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She reddened immediately. “Um…” Yes, please… “I’d better not…you go ahead while I take the dogs out for a pee.”
Milo, his eyes kind, nodded then gave a dramatic sigh. “My way is more romantic but whatever.”
When she got back, he was freshly showered and making fresh coffee. She went to shower, standing under the warm spray in relief. Even with only a couple of hours sleep, she felt amazing, invigorated, excited. Milo Shaw was….what was he? A nice surprise? As soon as she considered that, she knew that last night hadn’t been so unexpected…in fact, her instinct had been telling her he was someone significant from the first moment they saw each other.
Ori massaged shampoo through her hair fantasizing that his strong hands were moving over her wet body, caressing, loving. It had taken all of her self-control not to sleep with him last night. Call him upstairs. Ori frowned at herself and shut the water off, drying herself quickly and dressing with the spare clothes she always kept here for emergencies.
She was drying her hair with a towel as she went downstairs. A steaming cup of coffee was waiting for on the counter and she saw Milo, his back turned to her, flicking through a magazine.
When he turned and she saw what he was reading, her heart nearly failed. An old issue of Rolling Stone. Milo, grinning delightedly, held it up.
“I thought you looked familiar. You’re Astoria Vine.”
Ori stared at him in abject dismay, sure of one thing. I have to end this now.
It was time to say goodbye to Milo Shaw.
***
Milo was confused. Confused and hurt. Ori had completely shut him down, whisked the magazine from his hands and stood, quivering with something he couldn’t define. Anger? Fear?
“What? What is it?”
But she had just shook her head. “Please, Milo, you need to go now.”
“Ori..”
“Please.” And the way her voice had broken made his own heart thud with sadness.
Now, he sat in his office, he felt a jolt of irritation. What did she think he would do now that he knew who she was? She obviously didn’t want it to get out, which was fine by him, but the way her beautiful face had completely closed down…he picked up the phone. He’d snagged her number when she was in the shower, had even sent her a message while she was naked – man, the temptation – Next time, invite me in… He’d thought it a funny joke at the time.
The phone rang six times before she answered. “Ori?”
Silence. “I can’t talk, Milo, I’m sorry.”
“Now, wait…what the hell happened? We were having a good time then you just…” He sucked in a deep breath. Calm down. “Look, Ori…it makes no difference to me who you were, it’s who you are now that concerns me.”
Ori sighed. “Look, Milo, it’s just…with the business you’re in…I’ve managed to build a life here for me and Yasmin, a life where nobody interferes or pressures me to do things I don’t want to do.”
“Ori, what on earth makes you think any of that would happen? As far as I’m concerned, we’re just two people getting to know each other. Give us a chance, Ori. Trust me when I say no-one will be any the wiser.”
She was quiet for a long time. “I don’t know.”
Milo felt the sting of her hesitation but pressed on. “Look…let me bring you lunch at the shop and we can talk. No strings?”
Another long silence then “Okay.”
Milo sighed with relief. “I’ll be there at twelve.”
***
“You’re an idiot,” Yasmin shoved the last piece of leftover pizza in her mouth and glared at her sister. Ori glared back but inside she felt…she was an idiot. So what if Milo knew who she was? Did she really expect to meet someone who would never know? Truthfully, the thing that scared her was his job. Did she really know him well enough, trust him enough not to exploit her?
“He’s coming over later. We’ll talk but I’m not promising anything.”
Yasmin rolled her eyes. “Jeez. You need to get laid, sis, you’re way too uptight.”
“Thank you for the advice,” Ori pushed the thought of Milo’s skin against her own away. Complication. Very, very nice complication. “Look, Yas, just…don’t pressure me, okay?”
