Free An Innocent Affair by Kim Lawrence Page A

strung.’ She could detect a hint of criticism in his tone.
    â€˜I’m not a horse, and neither am I of a nervous disposition. I wasn’t expecting to walk into…’ Her eyes rested momentarily on the breadth of his shoulders, clad in the ankle-length waxed coat he wore. ‘An obelisk in my sitting room. You might have knocked.’
    â€˜I did, several times, but you must have been entranced by the music.’ The lines around his eyes deepened as a scornful expression flickered into his eyes. ‘Do you like that sort of thing?’ he asked as the soulful ballad continued to unfold to his unappreciative ears.
    Just as well I wasn’t setting a seduction scene, Hope thought with an ironic smile. ‘Actually, yes. What’s your style, Alex? Don’t tell me you’re an ageing head-banger?’ she mocked gently.
    â€˜I’m more classically inclined myself, and if I’m feeling romantic a nice slice of Puccini usually fits the bill. But in the context of our relationship I don’t suppose that’s relevant.’
    It wasn’t easy to break the hold of those challenging grey eyes. There was something menacingly attractive about his stare. ‘Very true, but it does surprise me you ever feel romantically inclined. You reduce everything down to its lowest common denominator.’ Was that honesty or just a fear of deeper involvement? The puzzle brought a small furrow to her smooth brow.
    â€˜And that offends you?’
    â€˜It’s irrelevant to me,’ she said grandly. ‘And if you don’t mind I’m quite capable of standing without assistance.’ She looked pointedly at his big hands. The usual thing happened and a wave of aching helplessness washed over her. She was ready for it and she hardlyeven swayed. ‘By the way, you’re steaming,’ she observed prosaically. She’d die of humiliation if he guessed how she was feeling.
    â€˜So I am.’ He let her go and began to shrug off the big coat from which the moisture was visibly evaporating before the roaring fire. He shook his head and a myriad of tiny droplets spun from his hair. Some landed on Hope’s skin—tiny, icy specks of moisture. ‘It’s snowing heavily.’
    â€˜Then it was stupid of you to come here,’ Hope pointed out. The farm was quite high up, and the weather was always worse here than down in the town.
    â€˜I said I’d come, so I have,’ he said, with a note of finality that she found extremely frustrating.
    â€˜Even though it’s totally unnecessary?’
    He flicked her an assessing look. ‘I’ll hang this in the hall to dry, shall I?’
    â€˜Why ask me?’ she called after him. ‘You seem to be quite at home.’
    He returned moments later. ‘Don’t look for hidden agendas, Hope,’ he said bluntly. ‘You made your position quite clear and I don’t have the inclination or energy for coercion. So you can stop looking at me as if I’m about to leap on you,’ he said drily.
    â€˜That’s a relief,’ she responded flippantly, to cover the disturbingly ambiguous feelings this statement inspired. So she only had her own base urges to worry about now. The thought gave her scant comfort.
    â€˜You do look tired.’ The lines of exhaustion that bracketed his mouth worried her. There was a grey tinge to his skin too, and the dark smudges beneath his eyes suggested that he hadn’t had enough sleep. ‘Sit down.’ Why did I say that? she wondered in an agony of self-recrimination. You should be showing him the door, not creating an atmosphere of welcome.
    Alex looked as if he wondered why too, but rather to his own surprise he followed her suggestion. ‘I had a meeting in Birmingham this morning and I had to make a detour on the way back. As usual, at the first sign of a snowflake the whole road system is grinding to a halt. It was one of those days