Anything but Vanilla(26)

‘So you’re not Ria’s landlord.’

‘I sit on the board of trustees.’

‘Which no doubt philanthropically supports your plant-hunting expeditions?’

‘All plant hunters need a patron with deep pockets. They do reap the benefits from my finds.’

‘So, what do you get out of it, apart from mosquito bites?’ she asked.

‘The glory?’ he suggested. ‘The fun?’

Which pretty much told her everything she needed to know about Alexander West. She might have got the wrong end of the stick when it came to his relationship with Ria, but she’d had him nailed from the start.

‘If fun’s your thing,’ she said, grabbing the opportunity to score another point, ‘you should have been at the Christmas party WPG threw at the children’s hospice in Melchester last year. They booked Rosie and we decked her out as Santa’s sleigh, flying in from the North Pole with ices for everyone.’

‘With you as Santa’s Little Helper, no doubt.’

‘Actually I was the ice-cream fairy.’ There was no point in denying her involvement, there was photographic evidence on their blog. There was no reason why he would bother to look up Scoop!, but it paid to cover all contingencies. ‘My sister was pregnant at the time so she couldn’t fit into the costume.’

He grinned. ‘I’m sorry I missed it.’

‘Me, too. You wouldn’t be giving me so much grief about our competence. Meanwhile, time is short. Would you care to venture an opinion on whether this recipe needs more lime, or a little mint perhaps?’ she asked, clutching at straws as she tried to recall the exact taste of the ice cream they had sampled in Cassie’s kitchen. Work out what ‘magic’ ingredient Ria might have added when she’d prepared the tasting samples.

‘Neither.’

He took the spoon she was still holding, turned it over and pulled it through his lips, sucking off every last trace of ice in a deliberately provocative manner. Or maybe she was reading things into his actions that she wanted to be there.

No, no, no! What was she thinking?

She resisted the urge to fan herself as he leaned back against the sink, tapping the spoon against that seductive lower lip, and thought for a moment.

Provocation was the last thing she needed...

‘What it needs,’ he said, after what seemed like an age while she held her breath, ‘is a touch of cayenne pepper.’

‘Cayenne?’ The word came out in a rush of breath. She knew all about chocolate and chilli—she and Ria had been working on that for their next event—but no... ‘A cucumber sandwich is supposed to be cool. The epitome of English sangfroid.’

The very opposite of what she was feeling right now.

‘You asked. That’s my opinion.’ He tossed the spoon in the bin, clearly not bothered one way or the other whether she took his advice. ‘I imagine you’ve tried calling Ria?’

‘Yes, of course. It was the first thing I did. Her mobile is unavailable. I’m assuming she’s switched off to avoid being hounded by creditors.’

‘Is that what you’d do?’

‘Me? I’d never let things get to this point.’

‘Never say never.’

‘I don’t suppose you know of any other number she uses?’ she asked, refusing to rise to this new provocation. He had no way of knowing why she would never let that happen and she certainly wasn’t about to tell him. ‘I keep a separate phone for personal calls.’

‘You have that many?’

‘It’s just more professional,’ she replied, leaving the number of calls she received to his imagination. Although come to think of it Graeme didn’t seem to get it, either. He always called her on her business number, even when he had tickets for the hottest opera in town. Was that how he saw her? Even now? She wasn’t the only young entrepreneur he helped. But she was the only one he took to dinners, social functions. The damned opera.

Until today that hadn’t seemed important. On the contrary. It was the perfect partnership. He was the perfect date. Elegant, intelligent and undemanding. She appeared to be his. Well dressed, intelligent—and undemanding.

It had seemed perfect, but suddenly a vast, empty space yawned in the centre of their relationship. Would Graeme drop everything and travel halfway across the world if she needed him?

‘No one could ever accuse Ria of being professional.’ Alexander’s voice broke into her thoughts.