Anything but Vanilla(47)

‘You’ve got it totally wrong,’ she declared. ‘This dress is pistachio praline.’

He shook his head. ‘Pistachio has more yellow in it and mint,’ he continued, before she could argue, ‘has more blue. That dress is definitely cucumber. Trust me. I’m a doctor.’

‘Are you?’ Stupid question. Of course he was. One who was intimately acquainted with plant life and undoubtedly knew what he was talking about. ‘Then, I’m afraid, Dr West, you’re a little over-qualified for this job,’ she said, her own eyes straight ahead. ‘You do know I wasn’t expecting you to turn up today?’

‘Basil thought you were.’

Basil thought nothing of the sort... ‘I’m afraid you’ve been put upon by a past master in the art.’

‘I don’t do “put upon”.’

Confused, she looked up at him. ‘Then why are you here?’

‘Because this mess is my fault, because you promised me home cooking—’

‘Oh, right!’ Well, that was all right, then. Guilt and food. She could handle that and she let out a shaky little breath, ignoring the tug of disappointment that flooded through her.

‘And because I couldn’t stay away.’

For a moment their gazes locked in a silent exchange that surged through her body. Hot, powerful, unstoppable as a lava flow, it left her aching with hunger for this stranger who had erupted into her life.

She wanted this. Wanted him...

‘Sorrel...’ It took a moment for her to realise that Coffee Mocha Cream was speaking to her. ‘I’m sorry to interrupt,’ she said, blushing, not quite meeting her eye, ‘but I think it’s time we started.’

‘Yes... Yes, of course...’ She was too shaken to think of the girl’s name. ‘Jane...’ It was Jane. ‘Thank you.’

Alexander, as if knowing her legs were all over the place, casually took her arm as they headed up the hill towards the conservatory, supporting her until she could sit at one of the small tables, pull herself together. She had to write his name on a badge...

It didn’t help that he sat in the chair beside her, his knee nudging against hers beneath the table, the froth of skirt between them no barrier to dizzying connection.

‘Tell me what you need me to do,’ he said, taking the pen from her useless fingers and doing it himself.

‘I can’t think...’ He looked up, a slight frown creasing his forehead, and she realised that he was talking about the event. ‘It would really help if you moved your knee...’ Then, not quite able to believe she’d said that, ‘I’m sorry...’ She wasn’t entirely sure what she was apologising for. Her inability to spell his name, or for being so completely lost in lust that she had forgotten the time, or for exposing her feelings so blatantly that she’d made Jane blush. ‘I don’t... It’s not...’

‘Breathe,’ he murmured, fastening the badge to his shirt pocket. Shifting his knee a fraction, easing the pressure. Leaving only the heat... ‘In and out. It helps—’

He was right. Remembering to breathe helped a lot. That, and the fact that he’d fastened the badge on upside down, proving that she wasn’t the only one struggling to focus.

‘What does Basil do, exactly?’ he asked.

‘Exactly?’ That was it. Think about her uncle in his stripey blazer, making the women feel special... No, making everyone feel special. She took a breath. Okay. She could do this. ‘Basil is a bit of a showman. He acts as a maître d’ at this kind of event, keeping an eye on what’s in demand and what isn’t.’ She managed a casual little shrug. ‘Well, you’ve met him...’

‘Yes,’ he said, wryly. ‘I’m sorry you’ve been lumbered with me.’

‘I don’t do “lumbered”,’ she said, and was rewarded with a smile. It should have made things worse, but, oddly, it didn’t. It wasn’t that kind of smile. It was a reassuring, we-can-handle-this smile. ‘You’ll be fine, Alexander.’ More than fine... ‘It’s little and often with ices, as you can imagine. The trick is to keep the circulation going, make sure there’s always something being offered and whisking away anything before it begins to lose its crispness.’ She managed a wry smile of her own. ‘There’s nothing that ruins a celebrity’s day like ice cream dripping on her designer dress.’

‘Ria’s accounts are beginning to look more attractive by the minute.’