Good Girl or Gold-Digger? by Kate Hardy

until they were both breathless and their heads were spinning.
    His eyes darkened slightly; his gaze dropped to her mouth, and she knew he was thinking exactly the same thing.
    But Bill was in the office next to hers. There wasn’t a lock on her door. And it would involve way too many difficult explanations if someone walked in and found them wrapped in a clinch. They had to be sensible about this.
    She took a deep breath. ‘So have you come to a decision?’
    ‘About what?’
    She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘What we were discussing.’
    ‘The fairground? Not yet. I want to work through some figures and ideas.’
    Oh, for pity’s sake. He knew exactly what she was talking about. She lowered her voice. ‘Do I have to spell it out for you?’
    His eyes darkened still further and he moistened his lower lip. ‘The crazy stuff. Yeah, I’ve thought about it. And, no, I haven’t got a solution.’
    ‘I thought you were meant to be Mr Fixit?’
    ‘So did I,’ he said dryly. ‘Clearly today I’ve failed.’
    ‘We could try avoiding each other.’
    ‘That’s not going to work,’ he said.
    She knew he was right, and it annoyed her. ‘Do you have a better idea, then?’
    ‘Oh, I have an idea, all right.’ His eyes glittered. ‘But I’m not looking for a relationship. I can’t offer you something with a future. And, if anyone made the kind of suggestion that’s in my head to one of my sisters, I would insist on having a little chat with them.’
    She frowned. ‘Don’t you think your sisters are capable of dealing with things themselves?’
    ‘Yes. But I’m their brother.’
    ‘That’s sexist.’ And exactly how her brothers would react.
    ‘No. It’s called looking out for my sisters and making sure nobody takes advantage of them,’ he countered. ‘I was brought up to have good manners. And what I have in mind isn’t good manners.’
    A fling, she guessed. The same kind of deal he’d offered his other girlfriends.
    Except he wasn’t offering it to her, because she wasn’t like them. Wasn’t feminine enough.
    Why can’t you be like other girls? The words echoedin her head. From her parents, her brothers, her boyfriends. She was too independent, too different.
    It took every bit of willpower she possessed to drawl, ‘Whatever. I have work to do. Catch you later.’
    So much for trying to do the right thing and not hurt her, Felix thought ruefully. He’d managed to hurt her anyway. He’d seen it in her eyes.
    He replayed their conversation in his head, and he still couldn’t work it out. He’d tried to be honourable. What was wrong with that?
    He’d talk to her later, find out what he’d said and apologise for it. But brooding over things wasn’t going to sort out the paperwork or give him the information he needed to make suggestions about how to save the fairground.
    But it was still niggling at him even after a morning’s work on figures and several long conversations on his mobile phone. Time to declare a truce, he thought, and he dropped by the cafe to buy brownies before heading for the workshop.
    He couldn’t hear any singing as he walked into the workshop. Bill had said that was a bad sign. So he’d really upset her—but that hadn’t been his intention at all.
    Titan looked hopefully at the paper bag.
    ‘Not for you today, boy,’ Felix said, and scratched the cat behind the ears with his free hand. ‘Can you fish her out for me?’
    At the word ‘fish’, Titan gave a grumpy-sounding miaow, but did his usual duty.
    ‘Can I help you?’ Daisy said coolly when she emerged, keeping the engine between them.
    ‘Peace offering.’ He handed her the bag.
    She looked inside and raised an eyebrow. ‘Thank you.’
    ‘Look, Daisy, I didn’t intend to upset you this morning. I was trying not to insult you.’
    ‘Uh-huh.’
    He sighed. ‘I’m not a mind-reader, Boots. What did I say?’
    She lifted her chin. ‘Nothing.’
    ‘That’s what my sisters say when they’re seriously