Frozen Heart, Melting Kiss. Ellie Darkins

      There was no faking that sort of sincerity, she thought, noting the way his voice was carefully controlled—presumably to stop it breaking. She might be angry. She was definitely angry. But that didn’t make her insensible to his feelings. Will was hurting.

      ‘I’d need you to make a real effort,’ she told him. ‘You need to decide right now whether you’re going to take this seriously. If not, I’ll pack your bags for you.’

      Will eyed her warily but she stopped herself from taking her words back, from apologising. Instead she waited. Waited to see what effect her words would have when she didn’t care what the listener thought of her. When she had nothing to lose.

      ‘I didn’t expect things to get so...personal, but from now on no half-measures,’ he said. ‘I will do this. Properly.’

      Apparently brutal honesty got her what she wanted.

      She watched him force a smile onto his face. She would have preferred to see a genuine one, but she liked that he was trying. And she thought that maybe there was still a chance that she could help him, as he’d asked.

      ‘Okay. We’ll try again. But you might want to lose the suit—change into something that doesn’t need dry cleaning,’ she added. If he was willing to try she would give him another chance. If nothing else it would be an interesting challenge to try and teach someone so different from her usual clients. At least that was what she could tell herself. It was nothing to do with the spark she felt between them; nothing to do with exploring this new-found bravado and honesty. Nothing to do with the way her body craved being close to his.

CHAPTER THREE

      THREE MINUTES LATER Will appeared in the doorway dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt.

      Definitely an improvement, Maya decided, her eyes lingering on the contours of his upper arms. She was determined to start afresh, to put all thoughts of their argument and her hurt aside. His hands were in his pockets, but his arms appeared stiff, belying his façade of calm. His jaw was tense, his mouth pulled into a hard line. But Maya forced herself to look away, to paint a smile on her own face and hope that soon she would see it reflected in his.

      ‘Ready to get started?’ she asked, in a sunny, breezy voice. She wondered whether her own attempt to cover up her feelings was any more successful than his.

      ‘Sure,’ Will replied, not quite keeping the apprehension out of his voice, but she appreciated the effort.

      Maya forced another smile and loaded cakes and biscuits onto a tray. ‘I thought we’d sit outside as it’s such a lovely day.’

      She headed out to the terrace, where the sunlight broke through the leaves of the trees, throwing mottled patches of light onto the tablecloth and making the sugar atop her biscuits glisten. She set the tray on the table, beside a pot of tea and bowls of fruit. Finally, with all her tools in place, she took a seat opposite Will.

      ‘Right, this is elevenses...’ She checked her watch. ‘Or near enough. You’ll probably be pleased to hear that this doesn’t involve actual cooking.’ She’d rehearsed the words in her head when he’d disappeared upstairs to change, but now she stopped, taking in the blank look in his eyes and realising she’d lost him already.

      ‘Elevenses?’

      ‘Elevenses. Tea and cake taken around eleven in the morning.’ She said. ‘The preserve of grandmothers everywhere.’

      ‘But you’re not a grandmother,’ Will pointed out, and she was surprised to see him relax a little, perhaps even a hint of amusement in his eyes as they met hers and wouldn’t look away.