with a shrug. ‘I’m guessing that she might have been feeling a bit bored, but the minute Greg mentioned kids she took fright and started feeling trapped. The only thing she could think of doing was to escape, hence her appearance on my doorstep. At least there’s something tangible now to deal with, so you can relax. I’m sure they’ll both get to the bottom of their problems by the time I return to England, and once they’ve disappeared back to Scotland everything will return to normal. I won’t be arriving late to work and I’ll be as focused as I’ve always been.’
She stood up and brushed the backs of her thighs where tiny specks of sand had stuck from the chair. She did her best to ignore his dark eyes thoughtfully watching her.
‘So what are our plans for tomorrow? I know that your sisters leave with Tom and Patrick and the kids. I have no objection to working in the evening. You’ve been more than kind in letting me take so much time off to relax.’
‘Let’s not get back on that gratitude bandwagon,’ Ryan said irritably. His eyes skimmed over her, taking in her slender legs, slim waist and pert breasts barely contained underneath the vest. Her work suits did nothing to flatter her figure. The memory of her full mouth pressed against his flashed through his head and ignited a series of images that made him catch his breath sharply. ‘I haven’t seen you at the pool,’ he continued, standing up and swamping her with his potently masculine presence. Jamie instinctively took a small step backwards.
‘I … I’ve sat there with my book a bit.’
‘But not been tempted to get in the water. Don’t you swim?’
‘Yes.’ She
had
stuck on her black bikini on one occasion, but the thought of parading in a pool in a bikini withRyan—her boss—splashing around, having fun with the family, had been too much. She had promptly taken it off and replaced it with her summer shift. Much safer.
‘Then why the reticence? Did you feel shy with my noisy family all around?’
‘No. Of course not!’
‘Well, they’ll be gone by tomorrow evening, and things will be a lot quieter here. You can start enjoying the pool in peace and quiet.’
‘Maybe. I really should be getting in now.’
‘Wild imagination here, but I get the feeling you don’t like being alone with me. A guy could get offended.’
Jamie tensed. His lazy teasing was dangerously unsettling.
‘Correct me if I’m wrong, but I spent three hours alone with you today.’
‘Ah, but in the company of a flip chart, two computers and a range of stationery.’
‘I’m just doing my job! It’s what I’m paid to do and I’m going to head back now.’
Up the stone steps leading down to the pool, the path skirted the house, taking them across the sprawling gardens where palm trees fringed the edges, leaning towards the sea. Underneath, a huge variety of plants and shrubs were landscaped to provide a wild, untamed feel to the garden.
Jamie’s feet seemed to have wings. She was acutely conscious of Ryan behind her. She had never been very self-confident about her body. With Jessica as a sister, she had been too aware growing up of the physical differences between them. She was shorter, her figure so much less eye-catching. And she was wearing shorts!
Of their own accord, her thoughts flew back to the parade of models who had flitted in and out of Ryan’s life: blondes with legs to their armpits and hair to their waists.Unconscious comparisons sprang to mind, addling her, and maybe that was why she stumbled over the root of a tree projecting above-ground, walking so quickly, rigid as a plank of wood, arms protectively folded and her mind all over the place. It was a recipe for disaster on a dark night in unfamiliar surroundings.
She gave a soft gasp as her body made painful contact with the ground but before she could stagger to her feet she was being lifted up as though she weighed nothing.
Jamie shrieked. ‘Put me down! What are you
She stood up and brushed the backs of her thighs where tiny specks of sand had stuck from the chair. She did her best to ignore his dark eyes thoughtfully watching her.
‘So what are our plans for tomorrow? I know that your sisters leave with Tom and Patrick and the kids. I have no objection to working in the evening. You’ve been more than kind in letting me take so much time off to relax.’
‘Let’s not get back on that gratitude bandwagon,’ Ryan said irritably. His eyes skimmed over her, taking in her slender legs, slim waist and pert breasts barely contained underneath the vest. Her work suits did nothing to flatter her figure. The memory of her full mouth pressed against his flashed through his head and ignited a series of images that made him catch his breath sharply. ‘I haven’t seen you at the pool,’ he continued, standing up and swamping her with his potently masculine presence. Jamie instinctively took a small step backwards.
‘I … I’ve sat there with my book a bit.’
‘But not been tempted to get in the water. Don’t you swim?’
‘Yes.’ She
had
stuck on her black bikini on one occasion, but the thought of parading in a pool in a bikini withRyan—her boss—splashing around, having fun with the family, had been too much. She had promptly taken it off and replaced it with her summer shift. Much safer.
‘Then why the reticence? Did you feel shy with my noisy family all around?’
‘No. Of course not!’
‘Well, they’ll be gone by tomorrow evening, and things will be a lot quieter here. You can start enjoying the pool in peace and quiet.’
‘Maybe. I really should be getting in now.’
‘Wild imagination here, but I get the feeling you don’t like being alone with me. A guy could get offended.’
Jamie tensed. His lazy teasing was dangerously unsettling.
‘Correct me if I’m wrong, but I spent three hours alone with you today.’
‘Ah, but in the company of a flip chart, two computers and a range of stationery.’
‘I’m just doing my job! It’s what I’m paid to do and I’m going to head back now.’
Up the stone steps leading down to the pool, the path skirted the house, taking them across the sprawling gardens where palm trees fringed the edges, leaning towards the sea. Underneath, a huge variety of plants and shrubs were landscaped to provide a wild, untamed feel to the garden.
Jamie’s feet seemed to have wings. She was acutely conscious of Ryan behind her. She had never been very self-confident about her body. With Jessica as a sister, she had been too aware growing up of the physical differences between them. She was shorter, her figure so much less eye-catching. And she was wearing shorts!
Of their own accord, her thoughts flew back to the parade of models who had flitted in and out of Ryan’s life: blondes with legs to their armpits and hair to their waists.Unconscious comparisons sprang to mind, addling her, and maybe that was why she stumbled over the root of a tree projecting above-ground, walking so quickly, rigid as a plank of wood, arms protectively folded and her mind all over the place. It was a recipe for disaster on a dark night in unfamiliar surroundings.
She gave a soft gasp as her body made painful contact with the ground but before she could stagger to her feet she was being lifted up as though she weighed nothing.
Jamie shrieked. ‘Put me down! What are you
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