She lifted the toast towards her mouth. ‘Now I’m going to watch you eating that without getting beans all down the front of your white T-shirt.’
‘That sounds like a challenge.’
‘You bet it is.’
* * *
Things were beyond odd. He was beginning to like the pink teddy bear more and more—particularly now she was showing some added spark.
He could tell his mere presence annoyed her. Under normal circumstances he’d probably feel the same way. When Caleb had offered him somewhere to stay while his building work was done he’d been relieved. It wasn’t as if he didn’t have enough money to check into a hotel—he could have done that easily. But then he would have been constantly around people when what he really wanted was some peace and quiet in order to negotiate a deal with a troublesome sports star.
Even though Addison didn’t really approve of him, his days of being a bad boy were more or less over. He just didn’t have enough hours in the day any more.
He watched as Lara poked at her plate with a fork, trying to spear the baked beans individually.
‘Slippery little suckers,’ he said as he tried to hold his sandwich together. She glared at him as he took a bite. After a few seconds he spoke again. ‘Okay, you got me. I’ll admit it. It tastes great.’
She gave a hint of a smile. ‘It is pretty good.’
‘Better than chocolate and wine?’
‘Never.’
This girl was fun. Or she could be fun if she’d just let her guard down a little.
‘So, how did come to be working for Caleb and Addison?’
She sat back on her stool at little and sipped her coffee. ‘I met Addison through a mutual friend. She was looking for a nanny at short notice and I had just got back from Australia.’
‘What were you doing out there?’
She gave a little shrug. ‘I went to see the world but ended up only seeing Perth. I met someone when I got there and ended up working as a nanny for a family there for nearly ten months.’
‘Why did you come back?’
She rolled her eyes. ‘My visa was going to expire and I hadn’t met an Australian I could con into marrying me.’
The more she shot at him the more he liked her. ‘I don’t believe that for a second.’
She shook her head. ‘The guy I met, Josh, was English. Let’s just say I don’t have a good record with guys. If he’s a loser, I’m attracted to him. If he’s a cheat, I can’t spot it. If he’s bad for me in any way, shape or form I seem to fall for him hook, line and sinker.’
Now he was definitely curious. ‘You staying here—is this about a guy?’
She let out a sigh. ‘Let’s just say after today’s Sliding Doors moment it looks like I’m going my dream holiday on my own.’
‘Sliding Doors?’
‘Yes, as in the movie.’
‘Never seen it. What do you mean?’
‘You’ve never seen it?’ She shook her head. ‘Where have you been? The girl gets out of work early and runs to catch the tube. In one version she makes the train, in the other she doesn’t. In the version when she gets home early, she catches her boyfriend in bed with someone else.’
He sat back, bacon and beans forgotten. ‘And that happened to you?’ Maybe he should actually start watching these chick-flick movies.
She sighed again and nodded.
‘Ouch. Blooming fool. Who is he? Do you want me to go and sort him out?’
Her head shot up. She looked surprised. ‘Of course I don’t.’
He shook his head. ‘Oh, please. Don’t tell me you still love the guy?’
She leaned her head on her hands. ‘I’m not sure I ever really did. I just feel as if I’ve got “Mug” stamped across my forehead in big letters. I just shoved everything I could into a case and left.’
‘How long did you stay together?’
‘In London? Just the last six months. I met him when I went travelling to Australia and we rented the flat together when we came back.’ She toyed with her coffee cup. ‘Not that he actually paid any rent. He was...’ she lifted her fingers in the air ‘“...writing” apparently. I guess that wasn’t all he was doing.’
Reuben frowned. ‘And who was the other woman?’
She groaned. ‘The next-door neighbour. I couldn’t even punch her. She’s built like an Amazon and could probably squash me beneath one of her size-eight feet.’
He couldn’t help it. He let out a laugh.
She picked up the dishtowel and flicked it at him. ‘It’s not funny!’ His coffee cup tipped and few dark brown splashes splattered his white shirt.
He looked down. He’d been travelling for hours and was feeling grubby anyway. Perfect time to change.
He shook his head and started laughing as he undid the buttons. ‘Tell me there’s a washing machine around here somewhere?’ Every white kitchen door looked identical. He had no idea what lay behind any one of them.
Lara had started to laugh but it seemed to die somewhere in her throat. He looked up to see what was wrong. Her eyes were fixed firmly on his chest. It was an automatic reaction. He sucked in his abs—even though he had no need to. He hadn’t even thought twice about taking off his shirt. Maybe she was shyer than he’d thought?
‘Give me a second till I grab a T-shirt,’ he said quickly, walking back out and getting his bag from the hall. He rummaged around and grabbed a black T-shirt, pulling it over his head as he walked back in. ‘Now...’ he smiled ‘...where were we?’
Lara hadn’t moved. It was as if the words were stuck somewhere at the back of her throat. She gave a little shudder and fixed him with her eyes.
Her very blue eyes.
He hadn’t been paying enough attention.
He’d already noticed the hint of curves beneath her nightwear. While her blonde hair was currently piled on top of her head he could imagine it sitting in long waves past her shoulders.
He could also imagine her in a really sexy dress and heels.
He said the first thing that came into his head. ‘You didn’t have anyone else you could stay with?’
It was an innocent enough question. Trouble was, it made her insides curl up a little and made her feel a bit pathetic.
But he wasn’t finished. ‘Isn’t it a bit strange to come and stay with your boss?’
She should have stopped to think for a second. But thinking wasn’t really Lara’s style—particularly not when she’d just had a glimpse of mind-numbing abs. ‘I haven’t been in London that long. I originally came from Sheffield so all my friends are up there. And because of the job—looking after Tristan—I haven’t really had time to make any good friends since I got here.’ She bit the inside of her cheek. ‘To be honest, I’m not quite sure what I would have done if Addison had said I couldn’t stay.’
She could feel the rush of heat into her cheeks. She felt a bit embarrassed and was definitely squirming. This was rubbish. She wasn’t the person who had done anything wrong here. Not like Josh-gets-into-bed-with-the-wrong-woman or Reuben-breaks-into-houses-Tyler. It was time to turn the tables.
‘Reuben?’