Free Mr. (Not Quite) Perfect by Jessica Hart

delicious meal.’
    ‘Well, I hope Darcy likes a roast, because that’s all I can do.’
    ‘Better make it a nut roast. She’s a vegetarian.’
    Max stared at her in consternation. ‘A vegetarian? You didn’t tell me that!’
    ‘I didn’t want to bamboozle you with too much information at once.’
    ‘You mean you knew I’d back out,’ he grumbled.
    ‘Come on, Max, you make it sound like she eats babies! They’re only vegetables. I’m sure you can manage something. It doesn’t have to be complicated, but you do need to cook it yourself. Libby’s got a cookbook with some good recipes in it.’
    Glad of an excuse to get away from the oddly strained atmosphere in the sitting room, Allegra pushed the last piece of pizza into her mouth and jumped up. Licking her fingers, she went into the kitchen and came back bearing the recipe book.
    ‘Goat’s cheese ravioli...that sounds nice,’ she said as she flicked through the pages. ‘Roasted vegetable tart...leek risotto...there’s loads in here you could try.’
    She handed the recipe book to Max, who looked through it without enthusiasm. ‘Emma used to do all the cooking,’ he said.
    ‘Maybe she would have liked it if you’d done more,’ said Allegra.
    ‘Emma loves cooking,’ he said defensively.
    ‘I’m sure she does, but that doesn’t mean that she wouldn’t have appreciated it if you took a turn occasionally. You know, this is exactly the kind of thing you should get out of this exercise,’ Allegra went on, warming to her theme. She was feeling more herself again, thank goodness. ‘You’ve got a real chance here to learn how to please her. To show her that you’ve changed, that you’re prepared to make an effort for her. I don’t think you should give up.’
    Max eyed her suspiciously. ‘You seem very keen for me to get back together with Emma.’
    ‘I’m keen for you to be happy,’ she corrected him. ‘And you seemed happy when you were with her.’ It was true. Not to mention that she had been happier when he had been with Emma. There had been none of this uneasy awareness then. Max had just been someone to come across at the occasional family party—his family, not hers, naturally; Flick wasn’t big on jolly get-togethers—to share a quick, spiky exchange for old times’ sake and forget about until the next time.
    It wasn’t that Max had been dull, but his life was so far removed from Allegra’s that she had never really looked at him until that awkward evening when something had clicked in the air, as surely as a bolt sliding into place. She’d been able to convince herself that that had been an aberration, especially when he’d met Emma, but now...it was making her nervous. She shouldn’t be feeling jittery around Max. She shouldn’t be noticing his mouth or his hands or the fact that beneath that shirt he wore was a lean, muscled body. It was all wrong.
    The sooner he got back together with Emma the better. Then everything could go back to normal.
    And clearly Max thought the same.
    ‘I was happy with her,’ he remembered. ‘We had so much in common. We were friends! I still can’t believe she’d give up everything she had for some guy she’d only known a few weeks.’
    ‘It won’t last,’ Allegra said confidently.
    ‘I didn’t realise you were a great expert on passion!’
    She forgave him the snide comment. Emma was still a very sore point, that much was clear.
    ‘I’ve done my share of falling passionately in love, only to wake up one day and think: what am I doing?’ she told him. ‘Trust me, Emma will do the same, and you need to be there when she does. You need to show her that you’ve listened to what she said and that you’re prepared to do whatever it takes to get her back.’
    ‘Don’t tell me: you’re writing the Glitz agony column this month?’
    ‘You may mock,’ said Allegra with dignity, ‘but it’s good advice. If you really want Emma back, you should start paying attention and, in the