Free The Accidental Mistress by Portia Da Costa Page A

now, at these speeds.’
    But what was in the other boxes?
    ‘I’ll make our tea, then,’ Lizzie said. Shelley was obviously settled, blissful in her own hog heaven. ‘I’ll bring it in here on a tray.’
    ‘Ooh, yes, please do that.’ Shelley’s grin widened. ‘And next time you see the golden god, ask him whether he needs a second girlfriend, will you? Or, alternatively, ask him what he’s sending us next. A home cinema would be nice, and a new bathroom suite with a hot tub … oh, and one of those big American fridges, if he can manage it.’
    ‘I’ll see what I can do,’ Lizzie said, though with no intention of doing so. She knew if she said as much as a word, there’d be workmen and more deliveries the next day.

6
Oceans of Time
    Lizzie sat cross-legged on the bed, in pyjama bottoms and a vest. Her little clock radio said it was eleven-thirty. So what time was that in New York?
    Shelley had been right about some of the gifts being tech. The screen of a glorious new laptop was glowing in front of Lizzie. It was huge, with a blindingly high spec, and all set up ready for her.
    She’d just received her very first email, and it had simply said:
    Hi, beautiful. See you on Skype later? John.
    Was now
later
?
    Back on the desktop, she eyed the Skype icon. It looked very small and innocent, but it made her nervous. Talking to John in person made her happy and excited; the prospect of a video call freaked her out, even if it was
him
.
    She clicked the link and saw just one contact. Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound. She waited while the system dialled or whatever it did, feeling impatient, and at the same time half hoping that he was still out at one of his meetings, and not available.
    An anonymous-looking icon popped into the window, and John’s slightly processed-sounding but unmistakable voice said, ‘Hello, gorgeous.’ An instant later, there he was; a little bit pixelated, but still handsome as the devil, and smiling just as wickedly.
    ‘Gorgeous indeed,’ he said, eyes a little lowered. Lizzie didn’t know much about video conferencing, but she knew enough to know that he was looking at her image, rather than the camera at the top of the screen.
    ‘Eek! Oh God, I should have put something nicer on!’ Her own image, down in the corner, showed her less than new vest … and her nipples clearly visible through the white cotton.
    ‘What you’ve got on looks plenty nice to me.’ John’s gaze flicked down again, and she guessed he was enlarging the window. She did the same.
    John had got ‘something nice’ on too, one of his subtle blue shirts, and a very dark grey waistcoat. His hair was wild and tousled as if he’d been running his fingers through it, and she could see what looked like a natural wood headboard behind him. It looked as if he was sitting on his bed in his hotel suite.
    ‘It’s not. This vest is ancient, and you can see my tits right through it.’
    ‘That’s exactly what I mean.’ His smile, across an ocean, and the ether, was dazzling, ‘So, how was your day, honey?’ he enquired, teasing.
    ‘Oh, all right. Rather busy. Probably boring by your standards, apart from this degenerate old pervert who keeps sending me things, in the hopes that he’ll get into my knickers the next time he sees me.’
    ‘Such deplorable behaviour. I don’t condone it.’ John winked.
    ‘He’s very crafty too. Some of the things he sends are things to share with my house-mates, and if I were to try and return them, they’d be very upset.’ She fixed him with a mock glare. ‘That shows extreme deviousness, don’t you think?’
    ‘To a certain extent, but what if he just wants you and your friends to have nice things? With no ulterior motive?’
    Gah, that made her feel even more guilty now. Because it
was
the real reason for the gifts. John was just a generous man, as plain and simple as that.
    ‘You’re probably right. I’m just being prissy.’ She gave him a quirk of a smile,