‘Okay.’ Forcing down his deep disappointment, Drake lifted and dropped his shoulders resignedly. ‘I’ll just wait until she goes, then … if that’s all right with you, I mean?’
‘You’d better come in.’
Removing her hand from the doorframe, Layla stood back to allow him entry into the hall. As she went past him to shut the door he had to curl his hand into a fist to stop himself reaching out to touch the shining curtain of dark hair that fell onto her shoulders. Was it only a few short days ago that he’d had the incredible good fortune to do such a thing with impunity?
‘Let’s go upstairs. Colette was about to open the bottle of wine she brought with her. Perhaps you’d like a glass?’
‘I think I’ll decline. I want to keep a clear head this evening.’
‘I’ll just make you some coffee, then.’
‘That would be great … thanks.’
When his avid gaze fell into hers for a full uninterrupted second, the cascade of heat and hunger that assailed him almost made Drake stumble, and his heart thumped hard when he saw by her darkening pupils that Layla was fighting a similar battle.
‘I should have rung you,’ he confessed huskily, ‘but I wanted to get my head straight. I had a lot to think over. Can you forgive me?’
‘You’re here now, and that’s all that matters.’
Her gentle smile was like a wisp of ephemeral smoke—there one minute and gone the next. But, having seen it, he couldn’t help but feel reassured.
At the top of the stairs a pretty young woman with gently waving blonde hair, wearing a tan-coloured raincoat over a smart blouse and jeans, stood waiting for them.
‘You’re not leaving, Colette?’ Layla asked, startled.
‘Sweetheart, you don’t need me to hang around now. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I guessed when I heard a man’s voice that it must be the guy you were going to tell me about.’ She glanced up at Drake with a smile, ‘I’m Layla’s friend Colette.’ She reached out and shook his hand, adding, ‘And you are …?’
‘Drake.’ He didn’t hesitate to give his real name, because something in the girl’s frank blue eyes told him that she was fiercely loyal to Layla. ‘Drake Ashton.’
‘You’re the famous architect that’s helping to regenerate the town?’
He grimaced. ‘I’m just one of a group of professionals that’s been commissioned.’
The blonde’s eyes twinkled mischievously. ‘And are any of the other professionals as fit as you, Drake?’
‘Colette!’ Layla shook her head in disbelief at her friend’s daring.
‘Don’t worry, Drake, I’m only teasing. Layla knows I’m very happily married, and right now I’m going to head back home and suggest that my other half and I go out for a nice romantic meal somewhere. Why don’t the two of you open that bottle of wine I brought and enjoy it on me?’
Noticing that Layla was frowning, as though concerned that her friend felt under pressure to cut short her visit, Drake caught her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. ‘I promise that the next time you and Colette arrange a girls’ night in I won’t break up your evening by demanding you spend time with me instead.’
‘That’s settled, then. I’m going.’ The blonde gave him a satisfied conspiratorial wink.
‘And the bottle of wine is on me next time, Colette,’ he promised.
‘I’ll hold you to that. Just make sure the two of you have some fun tonight, won’t you? And there’s just one more thing, Drake …’
‘What’s that?’
‘Don’t break her heart. Trust me, you’re a very lucky man that she’s interested in you. I was beginning to wonder if she’d ever find someone she really liked.’
His eyes lit on Layla in a penetrating gaze. ‘Rest assured I don’t take her for granted.’
Tearing her glance from his, Layla stepped round him to give her friend an affectionate hug. ‘Thanks for coming over. I’ll give you a ring very soon, I promise.’
‘I’ll look forward to it. Bye, sweetie.’
As soon as she and Drake were alone again, Layla walked in silence back into the flat. It disturbed him that she appeared so ill at ease. Did she really have no idea how he felt? Following her into the kitchen, he glanced at the unopened bottle of wine standing on the counter. Standing beside it were two slim-stemmed glasses and a corkscrew.
‘I know I said I’d have coffee, but shall we break the ice by having a glass of wine?’ he suggested lightly, hunting for a way to help her relax.
‘Break the ice?’ Layla rounded on him with a disbelieving glare. ‘Has our relationship become so brittle since we last saw each other that we need an icebreaker to help us communicate? I for one would rather just get straight to the point.’
‘I agree. Why don’t we do just that?’
‘You agree?’
Resisting the urge to smile, because she looked so damn adorable right then, Drake threw up his hands in a gesture of surrender. ‘I do. Why don’t you go first and tell me what you’ve been thinking?’
‘All right, then. I will.’ Folding her arms, she moved restlessly across the black and white tiled floor and back again. ‘Something happened when you dropped me back home on Sunday. You were going to stay for coffee, but then you suddenly changed your mind. Personally, I don’t believe your urgent departure had anything to do with work or having to return your phone messages. Something about being in my home made you uncomfortable. What was it, Drake? Did you suddenly fear I’d make some sort of demand on you that you didn’t want or perhaps didn’t feel ready to meet? Or maybe it was that you wished you hadn’t shown me where you’d grown up because it made you feel too vulnerable?’
Wincing, Drake pushed his fingers through his hair and nodded slowly. ‘I didn’t fear you making demands on me, Layla. But you’re right … I did have reservations about showing you my old home … at least the first time. The second time we went back I was less tense, because I wanted to tell you that I’d changed my mind about tearing the houses down … that I had decided to renovate instead. But when we came back here and I saw that you’d grown up in a much better part of town than I had … and in such a beautiful home … the home you share with a brother who clearly means the world to you and who clearly adores you too … I wondered what I could possibly offer you that would be an incentive for you to exchange all that simply to be with me?’
Sweeping her fringe back off her face, Layla knew her expression was genuinely stunned. ‘You seriously don’t know what you could offer me that would be an incentive to stay with you?’
His heartbeat accelerated, making it hard for him to articulate his feelings. He drew in a deep breath to steady himself. ‘Let’s look at the facts, shall we? You have a lovely home here—a home full of warm family memories that you understandably returned to when things turned sour for you in London. You’d probably never consider living in the city again, and even though I came back here to help with the town’s regeneration and improve it I’m sure you can understand why it’s not a place I would personally ever want to live in again.’
‘Going back to what you were saying before. Are you telling me that you want me to stay with you, Drake? I mean … as in living with you?’
His mouth drying, he moved across the room to stand in front of her. ‘Yes … that’s exactly what I’m saying, Layla.’
Her soft cheeks flushed rosily. ‘Why? Why do you want me to live with