Anything but Vanilla(40)

There had been nothing bold about her response to his kiss. Her lips had trembled beneath his tongue, her response a melting sigh, rather than a bold welcome. He’d known enough women to recognise that she was not the ‘brief fling’ type and brief was the only kind he could offer. A relationship conducted by satellite was never going to work. He’d tried it and had the returned engagement ring and Dear John letter to prove it.

He’d done his best to turn the kiss into an insult, hoping to send her running, but she’d had too much to lose and now his head was filled with the image of a body a man could lose himself in, a wayward curl that would not lie down, a soft giggle that made him hard just thinking about it.

He balled the paper, tossed it into a bin and set off along the towpath, walking the long day at a desk out of his bones. Walking off the restless energy of a libido on the rampage. Already missing her quick smile, her eagerness, her passion.

How many times today had he come close to repeating that kiss?

In his head he’d taken her on Ria’s desk, against the freezer, his ice-cold lips against hot, hard nipples.

Maybe, he thought as he strode out in the gathering dusk, he’d misread the signals. Maybe if he went to Cranbrook Park tomorrow she’d repeat the invitation. Except that she didn’t expect him to turn up to lend a hand at the Jefferson event. He’d seen the exact moment when she’d got the message, taken a mental step back and let him off the hook with her graceful exit.

A wise fish would ignore the siren voice whispering ‘This one...’ in his ear and swim away while he had the chance and, kicking his shoes off, he plunged into the river.





NINE



A little ice cream is like a love affair—a sweet pleasure that lifts the spirit.

—from Rosie’s ‘Little Book of Ice Cream’

Sorrel transferred the ices to the chest freezer in the garage, shooed the dogs who rushed to meet her out into the garden and stepped into a kitchen filled with the smell of pastry burning.

‘Hello, darling? Busy day?’ Grandma asked as she turned from laying the kitchen table. ‘Where’s your friend?’

‘Friend?’ She checked the oven, turned down the temperature before the pie was incinerated and made a mental note to make an appointment to have her grandmother’s eyes tested. ‘Oh, you mean Alexander,’ she said. ‘He couldn’t make it, Gran. He sends his apologies.’

‘Alexander? Who’s Alexander?’

‘Graeme...’ She jumped at the sound of his voice, turning guiltily as he appeared from the hall. Which was ridiculous. She had nothing to feel guilty about. She hadn’t betrayed him. Only herself... ‘I didn’t see your car.’

‘It was such a pleasant evening I decided to walk over from the rectory.’

‘Really? It must be catching.’ He frowned and she quickly shook her head. ‘Nothing. Sorry...I didn’t expect to see you this evening. How is it going over there?’

‘Slowly. Perfection can’t be rushed.’

‘I suppose not.’ Was that why he was taking his time with her? Because she wasn’t yet perfect?

‘When I saw Basil in the village shop last week he asked if I’d take a look at his tax return so I thought I’d drop in and do it this evening. Kill two birds with one stone.’

‘Oh? Who’s the other bird?’

He frowned. ‘You seem a little edgy, Sorrel.’

‘Do I? It’s been a difficult day.’ Although not as difficult as it might have been thanks to Alexander. She forced a smile. ‘It’s very kind of you to help Basil.’

He shrugged. ‘It’s no trouble and I thought it would save you the bother of phoning me.’

‘Oh, yes. Of course.’ She’d put the opera so far in the back of her mind that she’d forgotten. ‘I haven’t had a chance to check the dates, yet.’

‘Well, you can do that now. And you wanted to talk about the ice-cream parlour?’

‘Isn’t that three birds?’ she said. And two of them appeared to be her. ‘Bang, bang, bang.’

He should have laughed. Alexander would have laughed. Graeme merely looked confused.

She shook her head. ‘Sorry. You’re right. I do, Graeme. I’m going to ask Ria if she’d be prepared to go into partnership with me. I’ve had this absolutely brilliant idea—’

‘Partnership? Are you mad?’ he said, cutting her off before she could elaborate.