Page 31 of The First Deal

Juno’s gaze darted between us, fascination in her eyes as she waited for him to react. Then she was laughing as he puffed out his cheeks, blew out air, then did the most pathetic roar I had ever heard in my life.

“What the hell was that?” I asked, staring up at the smartly dressed businessman and feeling my stomach flip excitedly.

Shit.That wasn’t good. What if our chat didn’t go well? What if he didn’t open up? Would I want to keep seeing him if he wasn’t ready to show me his true self? How would I manage to walk away if just looking at him was enough to give me butterflies?

“My best dinosaur impression. I know, I know, it’s very impressive.” He winked at me, and my breath caught in my throat.

Juno spoke for me, filling the awkward silence. “Did I hear you offering to help clean up?”

“You did,” Shane confirmed. “Put me to work, Miss Bolton. The sooner we get this place closed, the sooner I can take Hannah away.”

“Take me away where?” I asked, finding my voice.

Shane slipped off his suit jacket, rolled up his sleeves, grabbed a damp cloth, and started to wipe down the closest table. “Yours, mine, wherever.”

“Brilliant,” Juno said, joining him and glaring at me in a ‘hurry up’ kind of way.

Between the three of us, it only took fifteen minutes to have everything wiped down, the dishwashers emptied, and the floor mopped. Juno took the till through to the office and called her goodbyes over her shoulder, dismissing me for the night.

Part of me wanted to stay and make sure that she got home okay, another part of me was desperate to run off with Shane and hear whatever he had come to say.

“She’ll be fine,” Shane promised, bending his elbow for me.

Out of habit, my hand slid through the gap, and I hooked my arm around his and headed out of the bar. “How can you be sure?”

“Because this fine gentleman is going to walk her home, aren’t you?” Shane said, looking over my head as we walked outside.

Turning, I found Hadley leaning up against the wall outside Kim’s. He nodded, then gave Shane a stern glare, as if he was silently threatening him, and I wondered if perhaps he had already done that verbally before Shane had come inside to find me.

“Thank you, Hadley,” I said, then paused, looking up at Shane. “If we go back to my place, you can’t judge me on how small it is.”

“I wouldn’t. Cariño, I understand that we live very different lives, and I know that what I have isa lotmore than most. But, if you’re not comfortable having me see your home, then we can drive up to London.”

I would’ve been more comfortable going to his, but it was late, and although I knew that Bo wouldn’t mind driving through the night, I didn’t want him to have to make multiple trips if things didn’t work out.

“Where will Bo stay?” I asked. “I have a studio flat, there’s barely going to be enough room for me and you.” If he stays.

“I booked him a room in a nearby hotel. If the room goes to waste because you send me home, so be it. But my driver will be comfortable for the night if I stay,” Shane explained.

That was good. I felt instantly better knowing that Bo wouldn’t be napping uncomfortably sprawled across the backseat of the Mercedes.

“Okay, let’s get going. I hope you like hills.” I grinned.

“I can get Bo to drive us to your place, he’s not checked in yet,” Shane said, but I shook my head.

“Tell him to go and relax.” I pulled him along the seafront. “If you collapse, I know CPR,” I added as an afterthought, making Shane bark a laugh.

“I’d like to think that you’d call an ambulance.”

I shrugged. Of course, I would, but he didn’t need to know that. Plus, I liked the playful moments between us, and as we walked, we talked as though nothing had happened. We slipped back into the easy flow of things. I was smiling, he was laughing, and when we reached my front door and I fumbled trying to find my keys, he was wrapping his arms around me from behind and nuzzling into the top of my head.

“Up you go.” I gestured to the stairs and laughed as Shane’s face fell. He had clearly thought that the hill that led from the beach to my flat was the worst part of coming back to my place. It wasn’t.

“No, after you,” he said, nudging me forward.

“I’ll go first, but only if you promise not to stare at my ass the whole way up.” I gave him a serious look.

He pouted, shaking his head. “I can’t promise that, Cariño. If I’m going to have a heart attack in the middle of your staircase, I’d quite like to do it with a decent view.”

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