Nora had no idea how either of them arrived at the other side of the street in one piece. It was a wonder they hadn’t been killed, or at the very least, injured.
Stumbling over the kerb, she almost face-planted the pavement.
‘What the hell are you playing at?’ an all-too familiar voice demanded, and Nora looked up to see Elijah’s angry and shocked blue eyes boring into hers.
Stunned, she stuttered, ‘I didn’t mean… He caught me…’
Elijah ignored her. Crouching down, he put his palms on either side of the dog’s head. ‘Are you okay, boy?’
Biscuit was fine. He was gazing lovingly at Elijah, his tail wagging nineteen to the dozen.
It wasNorawho wasn’t fine.
She was trembling, her knees felt weak, her heart was pounding so hard she feared she might pass out, and she was trying her best not to cry.
‘He could have been run over,’ Elijah scolded.
Anger surged through her, boiling away the threatened tears. ‘So could I,’ she shot back.
‘You should have had better control of him.’
‘I didn’t expect him to dart across the bloody road.’
‘Maybe you should have?’
A scathing retort leapt into her mind. And there it stayed. Elijah was right. Sheshouldhave been more prepared. It didn’t have to be Elijah who caught Biscuit’s attention next time; it could be another dog, or a cat, or a squirrel that he wanted to say hello to or chase.
Oh, hell, had she bitten off more than she could chew? Had she made the wrong decision? Although Biscuit had pulled on his lead before, he’d always responded to a firm ‘no’ and the pulling had stopped.
This, however, hadn’t been a pull. It had been a full-on, totally unexpectedlunge. And Nora hadn’t had a hope in hell of holding him back.
Telling herself she’d be better prepared from now on, she tugged on the lead to get Biscuit’s attention, and Elijah got to his feet.
‘Thank you for your concern,’ she said icily. ‘It won’t happen again.’
‘I hope not. You could have—’
She snarled, ‘Yes, thank you! I’m well aware of whatcouldhave happened sinceI’mthe one it nearly happened to. Good day to you.’ And with that she stalked off, shaken, but trying to muster her dignity.
And had shereallysaid, ‘Good day to you,’ like some elderly spinster from a nineteenth century BBC drama?
Without going to the salon and having lost her appetite for a walk, Nora slunk back home, her tail between her legs. To add insult to (almost) injury, Biscuit’s tail was waving like a flag in a stiff north-easterly, and he looked the happiest she’d seen him since she’d brought him home.
Elijah felt awful. He shouldn’t have reacted the way he had, but he’d nearly had a heart attack when he’d seen Biscuit drag Nora into the road. Admittedly, the traffic had been slow, but that was beside the point. She could have been killed. They both could.
Having a go at her had been his way of dealing with the sudden fear and his subsequent relief. Adrenalin had flooded his body, making his legs feel weak and his heart race. He’d also felt sick and shaken, but he shouldn’t have taken it out on her.
Then again, he was right in saying she should have had better control over the dog. Biscuit might look cute and fluffy, and he was incredibly gentle, but he didn’t know his own strength, and when he’d spied Elijah on the opposite pavement, he’d made a beeline for him.
Elijah stomped off home with mixed feelings. He was delighted to have seen Biscuit, but not under those circumstances. He was also delighted to have seen Nora, but ditto to the circumstances. Despite her shocked and rather hostile demeanour, she’d looked gorgeous. Having not seen herfor over a week (nine days, to be exact – not that he was counting), Elijah had drunk her in.
She’d lost a couple of pounds, he thought. That should please her. And she’d had her hair cut. Not by much, but enough to notice. Enough forhimto notice, because he’d committed the smallest details to memory. Like the dimple in her left cheek when she smiled, and her slightly wonky front tooth, and the way the short fine hairs curled at the base of her neck.
He should apologise. It was only right. He’d take her some cake; he’d been trialling another new recipe and—
On second thoughts, best not. He didn’t want her to think he only wanted her for her taste-testing ability.
Flowers!That was it.
