Free Off the Record by Alison Rose Page A

She waved him to the oak table and chairs under the window where she usually ate alone these days. ‘Tea? Or would you prefer coffee?
    ‘Real coffee?’ He asked cautiously.
    She chuckled. ‘Yes. Kate exists on the stuff in London, so she insists on real coffee here too.’ She put the kettle on to boil and spooned coffee into a glass cafetière.
    ‘You know I met her?’
    ‘Yes, she rang me. She wrote a good article about you, don’t you think? Or am I just being biased? She’s my pride and joy.’
    ‘It was good. She had an interesting angle. She’s a talented writer, and a credit to you. I liked her a lot. After I’d gotten over the shock of thinking she was you, of course.’
    Alex turned from getting a couple of mugs out of the cupboard and leaned against the counter, regarding him thoughtfully. ‘It’s been long time since I looked like that, Johnson,’ she said softly. ‘Time doesn’t stand still.’
    He ran a hand through his hair, bringing her attention to his silver-shot locks. ‘Yeah, I know,’ he slanted a wry smile. ‘But I’m guessing you’d have the same reaction if you saw my son Paul.’
    ‘Really? Is he a lot like you?’
    ‘A regular chip off the old block.’
    She smiled. ‘It must be nice for you to work together.’ Alex brought the mugs to the table and poured the coffee before taking the chair next to him. She angled it so that she was facing him and sat down. Johnson glanced at the drinks, then slanted her a quizzical look.
    ‘What?’ she asked, then began to rise. ‘Oh, sorry! Do you take milk and sugar? I forgot to ask. I just assumed you still drink it black.’
    He put a hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her back into her seat. ‘You remembered how I like my coffee?’
    ‘It’s a gift,’ she shrugged. ‘Or a curse, I can’t work out which. I have an incredible memory for trivia. How people like their drinks, what the weather was like three weeks ago …’ She lost her train of thought as she realised that his hand was still warm on her shoulder.
    ‘That must be tough,’ he commiserated.
    ‘It’s awful,’ she responded, feeling his heat radiate through her body. ‘Doesn’t leave any room in my brain for …’
    ‘For?’ he asked, leaning closer.
    ‘Important stuff,’ she sighed, giving in to the urge to meet him halfway.
    It was a sweet kiss. A hello. An I’ve-missed-you kiss. Alex’s heart swelled. It had been so long since she’d been kissed with such sweetness. Not since she’d lost David … with a gasp she sat back, breaking contact. What on earth am I doing?
    Johnson opened his eyes slowly, not wanting to lose the moment. No one else tasted as good as Sandy. He’d spent most of his life searching for that taste. Now he’d found it – her – again. He wanted to pull her into his arms, but pushing through the joy he felt fear. He’d lost her once. Did he want to go through that again? He knew nothing about her life now, the person she was now, apart from the fact that she was widowed two years ago. Perhaps she was already committed to another man. Why the hell hadn’t he asked?
    Alex studied his face, so familiar, yet so different. For a moment she had been a teenager again, but that was an illusion. She knew that she ought to feel guilty about kissing him, but she just couldn’t. This was Johnson, her first love. Even though decades had passed, she couldn’t help but remember what a sweet boy he had been. But that didn’t mean she should lose her head over the man sitting at her table now.
    His blue gaze was filled with desire, regret, confusion, mirroring her own emotions. For a moment they just stared at each other. Then he broke eye contact and reached for his coffee and took a sip.
    ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘That was presumptuous of me.’
    Alex nodded. ‘It’s been a long time. We don’t know each other anymore. I suppose we were both curious.’
    He picked up his drink and took a cautious sip. ‘Good coffee,’