Wedding Bell Wishes. Lynne Marshall

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СКАЧАТЬ against hers. ‘I’m not calling you a tart, Claire. We both have pasts. It’s the twenty-first century, not the nineteen-fifties. I’m thirty and you’re twenty-seven. I’d be more surprised if we were both still virgins.’ He traced the lacy edge of her bra with one fingertip. ‘Mmm. Cream lace. I like this. You have excellent taste in clothing, Ms Stewart.’

      ‘It’s oyster, not cream,’ she corrected.

      He grinned. ‘And you have the cheek to call me prissy.’

      ‘Details,’ she said. ‘You need to get them right.’

      ‘We’re in agreement there.’

      She coughed.

      ‘What?’ he asked.

      ‘I’m in my underwear. You can see that it matches, so I’ve done my half of the bargain. And right now, Mr Farrell, I have to say that you’re very much overdressed.’

      ‘So strip me, Claire,’ he said, opening his arms to give her full access to his clothes.

      It was an offer she wasn’t going to refuse.

      * * *

      Afterwards, curled in Sean’s arms, Claire turned her face so she could kiss his shoulder. ‘I’d better go.’

      ‘Not yet. This is comfortable.’ He held her closer. ‘Stay for a bit longer. I’ll drive you home.’

      So Sean the super-efficient businessman was a cuddler? Ah, bless, Claire thought. And, actually, she rather liked it. It made him that much more human. ‘OK,’ she said, and settled back against him.

      Funny how they didn’t really need to talk. Just being together was enough. It was peaceful. Something else she would never have believed about herself and Sean; but she liked just being with him. When he wasn’t being super-organised down to the last microsecond. And it seemed that he felt the same.

      So maybe, just maybe, this wasn’t all going to end in tears.

      When she finally got dressed and he drove her home, he parked outside her flat. ‘So. When are you free next?’ he asked.

      ‘Sunday?’ she suggested. ‘I have the shop on Saturday.’

      ‘Sunday works for me.’

      ‘You organised tonight, so I’ll organise Sunday,’ she said. ‘And that means doing things my way.’

      ‘Going with the flow.’ He looked slightly pained.

      ‘It means being spontaneous and having fun,’ she said. ‘I’ll pick you up at nine. And I won’t be late.’

      ‘No?’ he asked wryly.

      ‘No.’ She kissed him. ‘The first bit of tonight was, um, a bit much for me. But I loved dinner. I loved the London Eye and just being with you. Those kind of things works for me. It’s just...’ She shook her head. ‘Schedules are for work. And I keep my work and my personal life separate.’

      ‘Hmm,’ he said, and she knew he wasn’t convinced. But then he made the effort and said, ‘I enjoyed being with you.’

      But the fact she’d been late had really grated on him. He didn’t have to tell her that.

      He kissed her lightly. ‘I’ll walk you to your door.’

      ‘Sean, it’s half a dozen paces. I think I’m old enough to manage.’

      He spread his hands. ‘As you wish.’

      ‘I’m not pushing you away,’ she said softly. ‘But I don’t need protecting—the same as you don’t.’ She already had one overprotective male in her life, and that was more than enough for her. And it was half the reason why she’d always chosen free-spirited boyfriends who wouldn’t make a fuss over everything or smother her.

      Though maybe she’d gone too far the other way, because they’d all been disastrous.

      But could Sean compromise? Could they find some kind of middle ground between them? If not, then this was going to be just as much a disaster as her previous relationships.

      ‘Thank you for caring,’ she said, knowing that his heart was in the right place—he just went a bit too far, that was all. ‘I’ll see you Sunday.’

      ‘Spontaneous. Go with the flow.’

      ‘You’re learning. Carpe diem,’ she said with a smile, and kissed him. ‘Goodnight.’

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