Page 46 of Marry Me…Maybe?
She was staring at him with wide eyes. ‘You’d do that for me?’
‘Yes.’
‘Even after what I said to you last night?’
‘Yes.’ He didn’t look away, just kept his eyes locked with hers.
After a moment her gaze dropped to the floor and her shoulders drooped. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘Don’t be. You were right. But we don’t need to dwell on that right now. You have more important things to deal with. We’ll talk later.’
Dragging her gaze up, she raised an eyebrow. ‘Really? You mean you’ll actually talk to me?’
He almost reacted with a sharp retort until he saw the teasing in her eyes. Leaning on the doorframe, he gave her a pointed look. ‘Only if you let me in.’
After staring at him for a long moment, she finally gave him a curt nod of acceptance. ‘Okay. You can drive me. I’d probably be a danger on the roads today anyway.’ She took a step back so he could walk inside. ‘I’m going to get ready. Help yourself to some coffee if you want it,’ she said, gesturing towards what he assumed was the kitchen.
Swivelling on the spot, she disappeared up the stairs and he heard her shut the bedroom door behind her with a slam.
Going into the kitchen-diner, he poured himself a coffee and leaned against the counter while he drank it. The room was done out simply, with tasteful furnishings and just a little pizazz – like the purple velvet chaise longue that she had pushed up under the window. It was Emily all over.
Some alien feeling made him drag a tight breath into his lungs but he shoved it away, refusing to let anything get to him today. She needed him strong and steady, and he wasn’t about to let any chinks in his armour make him vulnerable.
She emerged from her bedroom ten minutes later in a tight black dress which showcased her amazing cleavage and curves. Clearly it was in defiance of her father – she’d mentioned he wasn’t exactly a fan of her overtly sexual image.
He attempted to keep his incongruous bodily reaction to thesight of her looking so incredibly sexy hidden by holding the magazine he’d been reading in front of his crotch, but she wasn’t fooled. Pulling the supplement out of his hands, she stared down at the tent in his trousers with a raised eyebrow.
‘Do we need to take care of that before we go?’ she asked, with a lilt of amusement in her voice.
He stared at her, shocked by how breezy she was being, how unaffected – until he realised that the hand she was holding the magazine with was shaking. Clearly, she was using the distraction of sex and humour to mask her real feelings.
As usual.
‘I’ll be fine,’ he said, reaching out and pulling her in for a hug.
After a moment’s resistance she sank into his arms and allowed him to rock her gently.
‘You’ll be fine too,’ he whispered into her hair, praying he was right and that the funeral wouldn’t be the trial of fire he was afraid it might turn into.
Grabbing her car keys, she led him out of the house to where her tiny car was parked and he folded his long legs awkwardly into the driving seat.
‘This car was definitely not designed for men of my height,’ he grumbled, pulling the seatbelt across his body and snapping it into the buckle.
She snorted and smiled at him. ‘Oh, I don’t know… I think you look cute all bunched up in my little car.’
He let out a snort of derision. ‘Cute, indeed.’
Her laughter rang in the tiny space as he pulled out into the heavy London traffic.
It took them an hour to drive just south of Guildford, where she told him she’d grown up badly, and where her father still lived with his partner, Betty.
They managed to find a parking space easily at the cemetery,and he pulled on the handbrake and killed the engine before turning to check on her.
Her face looked pale in the late-morning sunshine.
‘How are you holding up?’ he asked gently.
‘Fine. I’m fine.’ She nodded, as if trying to convince herself of the fact.
