‘I just don’t know,’ Tallie said, peering wildly along the rail. ‘You choose for me.’
‘Hmm.’ Lorna gave her a shrewd once-over. ‘Do you want “Touch me not” or “Come and get me”?’
Tallie blushed more deeply. ‘Maybe somewhere in between,’ she hedged.
‘Wimp,’ Lorna said, not unkindly. She paused. ‘Tallie, you’re not nervous about this dinner date, are you?’
‘I think I could be,’ Tallie admitted. ‘Up to now, it’s all been pretty low-key, but I have a feeling that’s going to change. And I don’t know what to expect.’ She sighed. ‘Or what he’ll expect either.’
‘Well, being a man, he’ll undoubtedly be hoping,’ Lorna returned dryly. ‘Especially after dinner and a bottle of wine at Pierre Martin has cost him an arm and a leg. Presumably, he’s attractive.’
‘Very,’ Tallie said emphatically.
‘And you trust him?’
‘Absolutely.’
‘Then what are you waiting for?’ Lorna demanded robustly. ‘Just—go with the flow.’
She took a dark red dress from the wardrobe and Tallie’s eyes widened. ‘That’s fabulous.’
‘It’s a good simple style, not too low-cut, not too short.’ Lorna held it against her to demonstrate. ‘And the colour should be good for you as well. Stop you looking like your own ghost.’
She rummaged in the bottom of the wardrobe. ‘And there are shoes to match, plain and not too high. You don’t want to risk taking a nosedive, or spraining your ankle.’
That, Tallie thought, could be the least of my problems.
She wasn’t sure why she felt so edgy, she thought, as she got ready for her date the following evening. Up to now, she’d enjoyed the moments she’d spent in Justin’s arms, for heaven’s sake, and she was sure he was far too decent a man to apply undue pressure, or push her into something she wasn’t ready for.
But he’d been letting her go with more and more reluctance. Which seemed to indicate that he now wanted their relationship to be more than just friendly. And maybe she should stop worrying and regard the night ahead as simply a step on the way to falling in love with a man she liked.
But with some bruises of his own.
Or that was what Mark Benedict had said, anyway. And if they’d still been having even some rudimentary form of conversation, she might have asked him what he’d meant. But she wasn’t risking another snub, as he stalked past her on the way to heaven knew where.
Clearly, she thought, he didn’t like being in her debt, and regretted the impulse that had caused him to ask for her help. And any hint at a new understanding between them had relapsed once more into the silence of that first week. A silence she didn’t know how to break, and which was clearly intended to keep her at a distance.
Which was how matters between them still stood, and she’d probably been a fool to expect anything different.
‘Same roof—separate lives.’ That was what he’d said, and what he meant.
But the situation was less embarrassing than she’d feared, because most of the time he wasn’t around. He’d been off to Germany, Canada for three days, and Venezuela for four, and in between he’d been fitting in meetings all over Britain.
‘Doesn’t he ever slow down?’ she’d asked Penny, who’d turned up quite unexpectedly one evening during one of his longer absences, bringing a Chinese take-away—on the off- chance, she said cheerfully, that Tallie hadn’t eaten yet.
‘I only wish he would.’ Penny sighed. ‘He’s got a terrific team working for him, and he could delegate far more. For instance, there was no need for him to be caught up in that hideous African mess, but he knew there was trouble brewing and he didn’t want to risk anyone who had a wife and family.’
‘And now he’s going back there,’ Tallie said, half to herself.
‘He has a job to finish.’ Penny shrugged fatalistically. ‘That’s the way he is.’
And they’d turned to other topics.
Tallie had enjoyed seeing Penny again, but had backed off when further meetings were suggested. However, it wasn’t simply the lack of time or money that she’d used as her excuse, and which Penny had reluctantly accepted, which had made her demur, but more the suspicion that Mark might not approve of any burgeoning friendship between her and his cousin.
That it might impinge on his ‘separate lives’ ruling.
But I wish I’d asked her about Justin, she thought. Except that it might have revived unhappy memories about her own bruises.
She zipped herself into her dress, wondering doubtfully if it had been stupid to spend money on a new broderie anglais bra and briefs set from her favourite chain store.
But if—something was going to happen tonight, she would need all the confidence going, and some pretty lingerie could only boost her self-esteem.
She was on her way down the passage to the front door when Mark emerged from the study, stretching wearily. He paused, his gaze travelling over her, taking in the demure charm of the red dress with narrow-eyed speculation.
‘Ah,’ he said softly. ‘Big date tonight.’
An almost civil remark, thought Tallie furiously, and just when it was needed least. How very typical. And if she’d left five minutes earlier, she could have avoided him altogether.
She lifted her chin, saying coolly, ‘I am going out, yes.’ And tried to ignore how his glance seemed to be lingering on the way the dress clung to her small high breasts and the slender curve of her hips.
‘Then clearly I won’t bother to wait up,’ he murmured and sauntered off in the direction of the kitchen.
And Tallie made her escape, thankful he hadn’t hung around to watch her blushing.
Justin was already at the restaurant, and he stood, taking her hand and kissing her on the cheek as she joined him at their table.
‘You look lovely.’ His eyes were warm with admiration, and possibly more. ‘Is that a new dress?’
New to me anyway, she thought, basking in his appreciation. It will be all right, she told herself. Everything will be fine.
She looked about her with interest as she took her seat beside him on the cushioned bench against the wall. Most of the tables were occupied, and waiters moved between them with quiet efficiency. There was no canned music, just the hum of contented conversation, punctuated by the occasional pop of a cork.
She sat back with a sigh. ‘What a nice place this is.’
‘I came to the opening about a year ago,’ he said after a brief hesitation. ‘So I know the food is good.’ His mouth quirked. ‘After the meal you cooked for us that night, I felt nothing less would do.’
Tallie laughed, and after that everything became easier. It was fun to sit close to him and chat over a shared menu, which was short but crammed with delicious possibilities. Rather like the evening itself, she thought with sudden shyness.
Because Justin’s gentle flirting had a new and definite purpose since their last encounter, and it was exciting to realise that, for the first time in her life, she was being seriously propositioned.
She recognised, too, that before long she would need to make a decision, and therefore it would be better not to drink too much of the wonderful wine he’d picked to accompany the food, in case it clouded her judgement.
Or had her choice really been made from the moment she’d accepted tonight’s invitation? She couldn’t be sure.
For