Free Keeping Her Up All Night by Anna Cleary Page B

iris.
    He noticed her stiffen and the set of her delicate jaw firm slightly.
    She’d spotted him, then. As a spontaneous response, it was hardly flattering. More like a skewer through the guts. One way or another, he really needed to fix things with her.
    Amber’s heart thumped with the stress. What washe doing here? Invading her professional life? This was wrong. All wrong.
    An elderly major from the eighth floor was bending his ear while Guy lounged in his chair nodding, occasionally smiling. She could see him charming the old digger’s socks off. Smiling. Convincing the old boy there was nothing in the world as interesting as his reminiscences about the war.
    Guy looked around at her then and their eyes clashed. She saw his face stiffen for an instant, but that might have only been a shadow because it was gone in a trice. He just nodded coolly and went back to the war story as if she was no one of importance.
    Strangely, though, in spite of her cynicism, she had the strongest sensation his cool was a total sham. He was as aware of her as if there was no one else in the room.
    She knew it with absolute certainty. Because although the room was filling up, buzzing with people, groups chatting here and there, the usual throng gossiping by the desk, she felt gripped by exactly the same obsessive awareness herself.
    Heaven forgive her, but right at this moment no one else in the room existed. In fact, it wouldn’t have come as a surprise to her to learn that he’d engineered his way into the meeting specifically to pursue her. But why?
    Her tension increased. Had he thought she was playing some game with him this morning? Didn’t he understand she wanted nothing of him?
    She waited until a couple of people blocked his line of sight before sidling up to the table and reaching through a chink between bodies for a copy of the agenda.
    Before she could snatch one Guy’s hand was there first. His fingertips brushed hers, and it was like a couple of electric wires crossing. As his intense darkened eyes clashed with hers the breath was knocked from her lungs.She had a wild fleeting impression of showering sparks, sizzling air, walls shaking.
    He handed her the sheet. ‘Hello, Amber.’ His voice had that darker, quarry pit quality from the other night.
    ‘Oh. Hi … er … thanks.’
    She backed away, then scouted about for a chair, choosing an inconspicuous place near the exit, from where she could keep her eye on the desk without seeming to.
    She wasn’t shaking, was she? No. She just felt … a little … shaken up.
    She felt pretty sure the thudding going on in her chest was from adrenaline. But if he was hoping to succeed in seducing her again by intruding into every area of her life he was wasting his time. Nothing he said could make the way he’d treated her acceptable.
Nothing
.
    That was exactly the trap she’d fallen into with Miguel. Time and time again. He’d make her feel sorry for him, she’d forgive him, then he’d act like an even bigger jerk than before.
    Across the room she caught sight of Roger in a huddle with some of her arcade neighbours, including Marc and Di Delornay.
    Amber glanced again. Was there was something strange about them? They looked quite secretive. Conspiratorial, almost. Were they plotting something?
    Di looked over at that moment and crossed gazes with her, then muttered something out of the side of her mouth. Worryingly, the others all stopped talking. Some cast Amber covert glances, then the group broke up.
    Had they been talking about
her
? What about? Something to do with the shop?
    She tightened her hold on the agenda. Too bad. They could talk all they liked. She had nothing to apologise for, and right now more pressing issues to deal with. Despiteher edgy pulse, she threw them all a breezy wave and pretended to read.
    If he had to be here, it was a good thing Guy was taking the minutes, actually. Because it meant she could slip away before the meeting ended. Before he had a