‘Your lips are blue. You’re freezing.’
All she could think about was how he could warm her up.
‘I’ll swim you back in.’
This was embarrassing. It was only a few metres but her body was acting as if she’d tried to swim the English channel in winter with only a banana for breakfast. Come to think of it, she hadn’t had breakfast. Or lunch.
‘OK.’
‘Put your arms and legs around me.’
‘Sorry?’
‘Come on, koala hold.’
‘You can’t swim with me like that.’
‘I can swim. Trust me.’ He took her hands and pulled her towards him. She had no option, had to cling to him like a little barnacle on a big rock. Oh, yeah, she just had to.
His body was warm even in the chilly water. The feeling of security in his strong arms was soporific, the pleasure in being carried by a fit male extreme.
I am pathetic. I am a pathetic excuse for a modern woman. I should be swimming myself. She relaxed against him completely and let her arms hold him close. The sensation was too nice not to indulge. Her eyes shut tight. Her body wasn’t cold any more.
‘Lucy, you can let go now.’
She opened her eyes to his dry amusement, suddenly aware she was barely under the water. A boy who looked about eight years old was standing in the water not far away. She really was pathetic. Reluctantly she looked up into his face. He stared at her, his mouth sort of smiling, but his eyes were like arrows piercing deep, searching. Talk about one-way traffic—hunting out her thoughts while refusing to reveal any of his own. She dropped her gaze, landing on his shoulders instead. Stupid, because they were very broad and she was very nearly clinging. She went to lower her legs but his hands tightened on her a fraction. She risked another look at his eyes. Gleaming gold flecks grew—bringing warmth to his usually reserved demeanour—and bringing heat to her belly.
The young boy hollered out to a friend. The moment shattered. She slipped from his arms and stumbled up the beach. Back on shore she shivered. Need made her bones ache. He handed her a towel and she sat with it cloaked tepee-style around her. She caught his frown.
‘I’m OK, just tired.’
‘You haven’t eaten.’ He rummaged in his bag and pulled out a banana. She giggled.
‘What’s so funny?’ He peeled the banana. ‘OK, it’s not much. Down that and we’ll go to the deli.’
They sat and waited for their order. He picked up a paper from the counter. He took the news section, offered her the glossy magazine.
‘Actually I’d prefer the world section.’
He looked curious.
‘Weirdest-stories-in-the-world section,’ she explained. ‘You know—SHARK EATS ELEPHANT, EIGHTY-NINE-YEAR-OLD WOMAN GIVES BIRTH.’
‘That’s not the world section, that’s tabloid.’ He handed it to her anyway. ‘I’ll have it back when you’re done.’
The silence was almost companionable. He sat in his long board shorts, sandals and nothing else. She wore a tee and her sarong tied round her middle. If she closed her eyes she could pretend they were on a beach on some remote Pacific island. Only they wouldn’t have a table separating them. She wouldn’t be avoiding eye contact. There wouldn’t be other people sitting too close and talking too loudly about what movie they should go to that night. He wouldn’t be so engrossed in the business section.
The pancakes with banana, bacon and maple syrup looked fantastic, but only a few bites into it she abandoned it—grumpily recognising her appetite was nothing like normal.
They wandered the few yards back to his flat. She’d pretended the silence was comfortable, but now it intensified to uneasy awareness. They said nothing as they climbed the stairs. Once in the apartment she headed straight to her room, showered and re-dressed. She headed to the lounge and out to the balcony. She sat and took in the view and pretended she couldn’t care less where he was right now or what he was doing.
He wasn’t interested. Nor was she.
She was a big fat liar.
She turned to see what he was doing. He stood at the table—currently scattered with paperwork from one end to the other. He must have showered because his hair was freshly damp. She tried not to think about his body naked under the jets but the sight of him in those jeans didn’t take the edge off. To her dismay he started loading the papers into a box.
‘You’re not staying in tonight?’ Why had she thought he would? Just because he’d made her take the night off—he hadn’t suggested a date or anything like it.
‘I have to work.’ He shuffled more paper. ‘I worked all morning and now I’ve had a break I need to get back into it. The case starts soon.’
‘You can’t work here?’ He’d worked here this morning, hadn’t he?
His hands stilled. ‘No. I can’t.’ His lips twisted. ‘I need to meet with my junior and go for as long as it takes.’ He clipped the lid on the box. ‘You stay home and watch a movie or something. I spoke to Sinead and she’s promised to have everything under control.’
‘I should go there tonight.’
‘You’ve been working too many long hours. I’m not risking your taking me to the Employment Tribunal for unreasonable working conditions. You need a day off.’ He walked out, shut the door and took her good mood with him.
She sat for a while, thought about food and decided against it. She headed indoors, switched on the TV and flicked through the channels—once through all of them, then again before switching it off. She checked out the bookcases again. Other than legal mumbo jumbo there was only a selection of modern classics, a few wine almanacs and a collection of crime novels. Typical. The last thing she liked to read. Where was the light relief?
She couldn’t stand it any more. She was so out of place here, with nothing in common for them. It screamed of Daniel. And all she wanted was Daniel. Being in his space like this was driving her insane.
She grabbed her light jacket, set of keys and headed for the door.
She stopped at the Malaysian restaurant near the pool and got a curry to take away. The spicy aroma tempted her listless appetite and she headed to the club with a spring in her step.
Sinead rolled her eyes as Lucy approached her on the door. ‘You’re supposed to be having a night off.’
‘I am. I’m going to sneak this into the back, then I’m going to have a game of pool and relax.’
‘Yeah, right, you’ll be back behind that bar before you can help yourself.’
Sinead was right. But, Lucy mentally argued, it was a particularly busy night. A film crew had wrapped and the club was the post-party destination point. The place heaved with beautiful people all wanting drinks right this instant. Corey and the other tenders pounced on Lucy as soon as they saw her. Lucy loved it. It felt great to be wanted. Fantastic to be needed.
She slugged back her food and, after a freshen-up, headed out to face the punters.
It was after eleven when she spotted Daniel. Her heart stopped, then accelerated alarmingly. He’d just entered with a couple of guys at his side. Lawyers-doing-casual. But it wasn’t them who caught her attention. It was the striking-looking brunette on the other side of him. She was tall—almost as tall as Sinead. Slim with perfectly formed corkscrew curls ringletting around her face. It made Lucy loathe her own unruly waves. The brunette wore a black top—close-fitting, showing off