Free Irrepressible You by Georgina Penney Page A

hit her in the sternum. Inhaling sharply, she lost herself in the feeling for a few delicious seconds before drawing her hand away.
    He cocked an eyebrow. ‘Or maybe it’s my company you’re allergic to?’
    ‘No! Everything’s . . . fine. Marvellous.’
    ‘Well, it’s nice to know you think my company is marvellous, but we’re talking about the menu.’
    Amy let out an involuntary chuckle just as the waiter appeared with the wine. ‘The menu’s fine. You’re a pest.’
    Appearing faintly irritated at the intrusion, Ben didn’t bother going through the usual glass-swirling, cork-sniffing ritual that went with wine in a high-end restaurant. Instead, he tasted it impatiently, nodded, then turned back to Amy. ‘It’s not vinegar.’
    ‘Good to know,’ she said, thanking the waiter and taking a sip. It certainly wasn’t vinegar. Wow. Yum. She took another bigger sip, feeling the wine hit her empty stomach, untangling the giant knot of nerves there.
    The still hovering waiter asked if they were ready to order and Ben gave Amy an enquiring look.
    She longingly looked over the mouth-watering selection of seafood dishes on the menu before turning the page and locating the salad, thinking it would be the less financially crippling option.
    ‘Give us a moment.’ Ben politely gestured the waiter away and then narrowed his eyes. ‘You know, speaking of allergies earlier, I have one I should probably tell you about.’
    ‘Hmm?’ Amy looked at him, still distracted by the restaurant’s idea of a reasonable price for a bit of lettuce tossed in olive oil.
    Ben winced, his features screwing up comically. ‘Salad. I’m afraid if I see nothing but salad on a lady’s plate I get this twitch and experience the overwhelming urge to force-feed her red meat. You aren’t a vegetarian, are you? No? I hear the seafood here is fantastic.’
    ‘It looks it.’ Amy drew a bracing breath. ‘The grilled snapper does look wonderful.’
    ‘It does at that.’
    ‘Mind you, I am feeling stubborn.’ Amy pursed her lips. ‘It sounded like you were just telling me what I could and couldn’t eat.’
    Ben sighed. ‘No. Well, actually, yes but only to make sure you order something you’ll enjoy. It’s incredibly boring to see someone martyr themselves when there’s good food on offer. Have I offended you?’
    Amy feigned her best offended expression. ‘Horribly.’
    Ben theatrically smacked his forehead. ‘Damn. Well, would it help if I just made a blanket apology for the entire evening? I’m probably going to offend you at least another twenty times before dessert and I can’t even imagine what ridiculously stupid thing is going to come out of my mouth when I awkwardly suggest you come back to my place for sex later. I assure you that it will be hideously insulting. I apologise wholeheartedly in advance.’
    Amy slammed a hand over her mouth to muffle her surprised peal of laughter but was still loud enough that diners at surrounding tables paused in their conversations to see what all the fuss was about.
    ‘Does this mean you forgive me in advance?’
    ‘Maybe.’ Her lips twitched as she tried to hold back more laughter. ‘Alright.’
    ‘Good.’ Ben leaned back in his chair, idly swirling his wine around the glass. ‘Because now you’ve given me licence to misbehave later.’
    Amy raised her brows. ‘Who says I won’t be the one misbehaving?’
    ‘Oh? I hadn’t thought of that. Well, I’m a generally magnanimous kind of guy. Give it your best shot and I’ll try my utmost to forgive you.’ Ben held her gaze for what seemed like hours, his smile slowly transforming into something more serious.
    She turned her head and looked back out over the night-darkened sea. ‘You never did tell me what you do.’
    ‘No, I didn’t. We’ll come to that.’ He paused as the waiter returned. ‘Did you decide what you wanted to order? The salad? No? Oh good. I’ll have the steak.’
    Two hours and another half a bottle