Free Taming the Last St Claire by Carole Mortimer

Joey. Impulsively. Irrationally. Gideon was acting completely out of character, and he knew it. He had to pull himself together!
    He nodded. ‘I’m inclined to believe you—’
    ‘How kind of you,’ she shot back sarcastically.
    Gideon ignored her. ‘I’m also wondering,’ he continued, ‘whether this and the flat tyre on your own car on Monday night aren’t somehow connected.’
    Joey stilled. Initially she had been relieved to have the subject changed to something other than the embarrassment of the intimacies she had allowed Gideon, but with the mention of her own problem with her car, her attention became fully engaged on the subject.
    ‘What exactly are you suggesting?’
    Gideon shrugged. ‘Could you try very hard not to take it as yet another character defect on my part when I tell you that I don’t believe in coincidences?’
    Neither did Joey. And what were the chances of two people who worked in the same building and parked their car in the same car park finding both their cars had flat tyres within a couple of days of each other?
    ‘Has anyone else working here had a similar problem?’
    ‘Not that I’m aware of—and I can do without any comment from you on how unlikely it is, with the superior stick-up-my-backside attitude you say I have, that any of St Claire’s employees would bother to inform me if they
did
have a problem,’ Gideon warned as he saw the sceptical look that had entered those jade-green eyes at his first comment.
    He was aware that she had become popular with the other members of the staff over the past three days. His own secretary was full of praise for her, as was May Randall. It seemed that he was the only one who had a problem being around her on a daily basis.
    ‘Just accept that I would have heard if there was anything to hear.’
    ‘Okay.’ She shrugged. ‘Maybe it is just a coincidence, after all?’
    ‘I doubt it.’ Gideon grimaced. ‘Did the people at the garage give a reason for why your own tyre went flat when you took it in to be repaired yesterday morning?’
    ‘They didn’t bother to look,’ Joey revealed reluctantly. ‘I had all four tyres replaced after the mechanic took one look at them and decided that they wouldn’t pass a safety check—I’ve been busy, okay?’ she defended herself when Gideon raised disapproving brows. Could she help it if she was one of those drivers who knew absolutely nothing about the mechanics of her car and only required that it start when she turned the key in the ignition? ‘I doubt that there’s any way we can check, either. By now all four tyres have probably been consigned to a tyre graveyard.’
    ‘No doubt,’ Gideon agreed.
    Joey gave a puzzled shake of her head. ‘Why just sabotage the two of us, do you think?’
    ‘It’s only supposition so far—’
    ‘This isn’t a court of law, Gideon,’ she jeered gently. ‘I promise not to write down anything you say and use it in evidence against you!’
    ‘Very funny,’ he drawled dryly.
    Not really. But Joey was most comfortable around this man when she was mocking him for one reason or another—she certainly didn’t want to think any more just now about the way he had unbuttoned her blouse a few minutes ago and kissed her breasts with a skill and passion that had blown her away.
    ‘There’s plenty more where that came from,’ she murmured.
    ‘I’m sure there is.’ Gideon sighed. ‘But it isn’t exactly helping us to solve this puzzle, is it?’
    ‘Maybe it was just vandals.’ Joey shrugged. ‘Kids who are bored and looking for mischief? ‘
    ‘Maybe,’ he said, not looking particularly convinced. ‘But I think it should be looked into further before we totally dismiss it as such.’
    ‘And how do you suggest we do that?’
    Gideon’s gaze sharpened. ‘I wasn’t suggesting
we
do it at all.’
    Joey’s eyes widened. ‘I hope this isn’t going to be another case of the big strong man protecting the helpless little woman?’
    ‘Flattered