way she did now.
The nervous smile she sent him intoxicated him even more.
‘I’d also like to buy my own plane ticket home.’
Now that was plain stupid. He wasn’t agreeing to that one. ‘Why would you want to do that?’ he asked, exasperated. ‘It’ll cost a fortune.’
The papers said she lived in a one-room apartment, and he had no idea how much shop girls earned, but she’d be flying to and from LA in first class. He wasn’t going to let her travel in economy.
‘I’ve got some savings. And it’s important to me,’ she said, but he detected a note of uncertainty.
‘And why is it so important?’ he asked, deciding to take advantage of the little chink in her armour. It was about time he started asserting his own agenda. He was in charge here, not her, and it was probably best she knew it. ‘I’ve already bought the return ticket, so you’d be wasting your money. We both would.’
It wasn’t the truth. He’d only instructed his PA to buy Juno a ticket out to LA. Which was quite an oversight now he thought about it. When was the last time he’d dated a woman without already having an exit strategy firmly in place?
It occurred to him at that precise moment she would also be the first woman he’d invited to his home. The house in Laguna Beach was his sanctuary and he hadn’t even let Gina stay there overnight, always insisting they sleep at her pad in the Hollywood Hills. He gave a mental shrug. It wasn’t significant. Hadn’t they just established this was strictly a two-week deal?
‘Well, I suppose if you’ve already paid for the ticket.’ She chewed on her bottom lip, still considering. ‘I guess that would be okay. I just wanted to make sure I had a ticket home.’
‘It’s all sorted,’ he said shortly, not sure why her persistence was beginning to irritate him. ‘Now if you’ve finished with the demands could you go get packed?’ He steered her towards the study door. ‘We’ve a plane to catch.’
And the sooner he got her on it, the happier he’d be.
Excitement, exhilaration and extreme terror all fought for supremacy as Juno rushed down the hallway to tell Daisy her news.
Her mind whirred as she concentrated on the details. She had to arrange cover for her position at the shop, then Daisy would have to help her pack. Daisy could help her select what to wear, so she didn’t look like some preposterous tomboy waif when she arrived in LA.
She was taking a huge chance, but it felt right. Because she’d been careful and cautious. She’d staked out her territory and knew exactly how much she was risking. And how much she wasn’t. Mac Brody was irresistible, a wicked temptation no woman should ever have to say no to. But if she was practical, if she kept focused, and if she didn’t let him walk all over her she knew she could handle this.
The good news was, she was going into this with her eyes wide open. With no delusions and no foolish, impossible dreams waiting to be fulfilled. She had her ticket home and two weeks from now she’d return to her real life with a new sense of purpose and a new sense of herself as a woman. She was curious about Mac and she was excited by the prospect of getting to know him better, but that didn’t mean she was going to start fooling herself into thinking he was the man of her dreams. Intimacy didn’t have to be a threat, as long as you didn’t let it overwhelm your common sense.
She grinned as she thought about the way she’d caught him out over the note. She’d never felt confident enough to flirt with a man before, but she’d almost been flirting with him.
Who knew it could be so empowering and so exciting? He certainly didn’t think she was a pushover any more.
The grin faded as she recalled the weight of his palm on the small of her back as he’d propelled her out of the room. And the way her heart had lurched into her throat when he’d demanded to know if she was coming with him to LA or not.
The bad news was, she had
The nervous smile she sent him intoxicated him even more.
‘I’d also like to buy my own plane ticket home.’
Now that was plain stupid. He wasn’t agreeing to that one. ‘Why would you want to do that?’ he asked, exasperated. ‘It’ll cost a fortune.’
The papers said she lived in a one-room apartment, and he had no idea how much shop girls earned, but she’d be flying to and from LA in first class. He wasn’t going to let her travel in economy.
‘I’ve got some savings. And it’s important to me,’ she said, but he detected a note of uncertainty.
‘And why is it so important?’ he asked, deciding to take advantage of the little chink in her armour. It was about time he started asserting his own agenda. He was in charge here, not her, and it was probably best she knew it. ‘I’ve already bought the return ticket, so you’d be wasting your money. We both would.’
It wasn’t the truth. He’d only instructed his PA to buy Juno a ticket out to LA. Which was quite an oversight now he thought about it. When was the last time he’d dated a woman without already having an exit strategy firmly in place?
It occurred to him at that precise moment she would also be the first woman he’d invited to his home. The house in Laguna Beach was his sanctuary and he hadn’t even let Gina stay there overnight, always insisting they sleep at her pad in the Hollywood Hills. He gave a mental shrug. It wasn’t significant. Hadn’t they just established this was strictly a two-week deal?
‘Well, I suppose if you’ve already paid for the ticket.’ She chewed on her bottom lip, still considering. ‘I guess that would be okay. I just wanted to make sure I had a ticket home.’
‘It’s all sorted,’ he said shortly, not sure why her persistence was beginning to irritate him. ‘Now if you’ve finished with the demands could you go get packed?’ He steered her towards the study door. ‘We’ve a plane to catch.’
And the sooner he got her on it, the happier he’d be.
Excitement, exhilaration and extreme terror all fought for supremacy as Juno rushed down the hallway to tell Daisy her news.
Her mind whirred as she concentrated on the details. She had to arrange cover for her position at the shop, then Daisy would have to help her pack. Daisy could help her select what to wear, so she didn’t look like some preposterous tomboy waif when she arrived in LA.
She was taking a huge chance, but it felt right. Because she’d been careful and cautious. She’d staked out her territory and knew exactly how much she was risking. And how much she wasn’t. Mac Brody was irresistible, a wicked temptation no woman should ever have to say no to. But if she was practical, if she kept focused, and if she didn’t let him walk all over her she knew she could handle this.
The good news was, she was going into this with her eyes wide open. With no delusions and no foolish, impossible dreams waiting to be fulfilled. She had her ticket home and two weeks from now she’d return to her real life with a new sense of purpose and a new sense of herself as a woman. She was curious about Mac and she was excited by the prospect of getting to know him better, but that didn’t mean she was going to start fooling herself into thinking he was the man of her dreams. Intimacy didn’t have to be a threat, as long as you didn’t let it overwhelm your common sense.
She grinned as she thought about the way she’d caught him out over the note. She’d never felt confident enough to flirt with a man before, but she’d almost been flirting with him.
Who knew it could be so empowering and so exciting? He certainly didn’t think she was a pushover any more.
The grin faded as she recalled the weight of his palm on the small of her back as he’d propelled her out of the room. And the way her heart had lurched into her throat when he’d demanded to know if she was coming with him to LA or not.
The bad news was, she had
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