Free Three Minutes to Happiness by Sally Clements

“It wasn’t as though it was a date or anything, it was only dinner.”
    He looked as though he wanted to eat her up.
    “I think we both know we weren’t talking only about dinner.” He leaned close.
    Val wanted to step back, to put space between them. But she couldn’t move. “I don’t want to compromise our working situation. Nothing is more important to me than this assignment.”
    “Whether or not you get this contract is down to one thing only—your photographs. There’s nothing either of us can do to influence that. I promise no matter what happens between us, your photographs have as good a chance as any of winning.”
    Sharing a man. Taking what he had to offer, and accepting that he would see other women. She never thought she’d even consider it. But she was.
    “On a personal level I’d like to spend more time with you. To get to know you better.”
    A mental image of a roomful of women lounging around in filmy garments around a sunken pool, like a clichéd painting of a harem filled her mind. Was she going to be yet another woman to service Finn’s every need?
    Despite the attraction, she couldn’t. But she had to eat, didn’t she? “We could go to dinner.”
    For a moment she thought he would kiss her, but instead, he moved away. “Good. It’s a date. Right now, we should go.”
    *****
    For one crazy moment, the urge to press his mouth against hers had almost overwhelmed Finn. He’d breathed in her scent, fresh and lemony, and his body had tightened in response.
    This meeting, this day, was never supposed to be more than a chance to spend time with the woman who’d invaded his dreams so completely the thought of being with someone else was repugnant. But the moment she’d revealed that she’d called about dinner, and admitted her nerves, he’d had to push further.
    After they’d transferred the extra equipment she’d brought from her car to his, they set off for Merlin’s Grove, the home of John and Elizabeth Fitzgerald. It was difficult, thinking about work with her in such close proximity in the car, but Finn kept his hands on the wheel and his gaze on the road as he navigated the curves ahead. “The house is a new build, and the Fitzgeralds are an unusual couple, they’re rather eccentric,” he explained. “Ideally, they would have liked to buy a historic house, but none on the market appealed, so they commissioned something.”
    Val smoothed her skirt over her knees. “Do you design a particular style? What makes your buildings unique?” They were good questions, so he thought carefully before answering. “Both Connor and I have a similar vision when it comes to design. We believe homes should be powered by sustainable energy sources.”
    “So things like solar panels?”
    “Solar, wind, sustainable heating methods using heat pumps and wood pellet heating systems. With electricity and oil becoming ever more expensive we want to reduce the costs of living in our houses. Connor and I believe every house we design should be beautiful as well as functional. Many of our houses have been built in the countryside. The house that may be featured on Wonderful Houses is semi-circular and built into a hillside.”
    “That sounds amazing.”
    “Your home should be the one place where you can be yourself. An expression of your personality. So, no. I can’t say that I have a particular style of design, because in every case I work with my clients, and try to give them what they want in their home, rather than impose my ideas on them.”
    “I agree with that wholeheartedly. I share a flat with a friend, and it’s my refuge. I’ve done all the decoration.”
    “Chintz and leather?”
    “You have the leather right, but I guess I go for more homemade than chintz. I like patchwork.”
    Finn couldn’t imagine her sitting down with a load of tiny fabric squares, and said so. She smiled. “You’re right. I don’t make things. I collect. I started young. When I was five or six I had a