After Hours.... Christy McKellen

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СКАЧАТЬ watched him stride away with a lump in her throat. Was he upset about the prospect of her moving out? She dismissed the notion immediately. No, he couldn’t be. He must be craving his space again by now. Even though she’d loved living there, she knew it was time to move out. Especially now that her feelings for him had twisted themselves into something new. Something dangerous.

      ‘That’s a good one you’ve got there—very sexy,’ Amber’s second cousin muttered into her ear, pulling back to waggle her eyebrows suggestively, only making the lump in Cara’s throat grow in size.

      Unable to speak, she gave the woman what she hoped looked like a gracious smile.

      ‘Hi, Cara.’

      The voice behind her made her jump in her seat and she swivelled round, only to find herself staring into the eyes of the woman she’d been trying to avoid since spotting her in the church earlier.

      Her meal rolled uncomfortably in her stomach.

      ‘Hi, Lucy.’

      Instead of the look of cool disdain Cara was expecting, she was surprised to see Lucy bite her lip, her expression wary.

      ‘How are you?’ Lucy asked falteringly, as if afraid to hear the answer.

      ‘Fine, thank you.’ Cara kept her voice deliberately neutral, just in case this was an opening gambit to get her to admit to something she really didn’t want to say.

      ‘Can I talk to you for a moment?’

      Cara swallowed her anxiety and gestured towards the chair Max had vacated, wondering what on earth this woman could have to say to her. Whatever it was, it was better to get it over with now so she didn’t spend the rest of the night looking over her shoulder. Straightening her back, she steeled herself to deal with anything she could throw at her.

      Lucy sat on the edge of the seat, as close as she could get to Cara without touching her, and laid her hands on her lap before taking a deep breath. ‘I wanted to come over and apologise as soon as I could so there wasn’t any kind of atmosphere between us today.’

      Cara stared at her. ‘I’m sorry? Did you say apologise?’

      Lucy crossed her legs, then uncrossed them again, her cheeks flooding with colour. ‘Yes... I’m really sorry about the way you were treated at LED. I feel awful about it. I let Michelle bully me into taking her side—because I knew she’d turn on me, too, if I stood up for you—and I was pathetic enough to let her. I want you to know that I didn’t do any of those awful things to you, but I didn’t stop it either.’ She shook her head and let out a low sigh. ‘I feel awful about it, Cara, truly.’

      At that moment Cara felt a pair of hands land lightly on her shoulders. Twisting her head round, she saw that Max had returned and was standing over her like some kind of dark guardian angel.

      ‘Everything okay, Cara?’ From the cool tone in his voice she suspected he’d be more than willing to step in and eject Lucy from her seat if she asked him to.

      ‘Fine, thanks, Max. This is Lucy. She came over to apologise for her unfriendliness at the last place I worked.’

      ‘Is that so?’

      Cara couldn’t see the expression on his face from that angle but, from the sound of his voice and the way Lucy seemed to shrink back in her chair, she guessed it wasn’t a very friendly one.

      Lucy cleared her throat awkwardly. ‘Yes, I feel dreadful about the whole thing. It was horrible working there. In fact, I left the week after you did. I couldn’t stand the smug look on Michelle’s face any more. Although—’ she leaned forward in a conspiratorial manner ‘—I heard from one of the other girls that she only lasted a month before he got rid of her. She couldn’t hack it, apparently.’ She snorted. ‘That’s karma in action, right there.’ Clearly feeling she’d said her piece, Lucy stood up so that Max could have his chair back and took a small step away from them. ‘Anyway, I’d better get back to my table; apparently there’s coffee on the way and I’m desperate for some. Those cocktails were evil, weren’t they?’

      ‘Why are you here today?’ Cara asked before she could turn and leave, intrigued by the coincidence.

      ‘I’m Jack’s—the groom’s—new PA.’

      Cara couldn’t help but laugh at life’s weird little twist. ‘Really?’

      ‘Yeah, he’s a great boss, really lovely to work for.’ She leant forward again and said in a quiet voice, ‘I don’t think Amber likes me very much, though; she didn’t seem very pleased to see me here.’

      ‘I wouldn’t take that too personally,’ Cara said, giving her a reassuring smile. ‘She’s an intensely protective person.’ She put a hand on Lucy’s arm. ‘Thanks for being brave enough to come over and apologise, Lucy; I really appreciate the gesture.’

      Lucy gave her one last smile, and Max a slightly terrified grimace, before retreating to her table.

      Max sat back down in his chair, giving her an impressed nod. ‘Nicely handled.’

      Warm pleasure coursed through her as she took in the look of approval in his eyes. Feeling a little flustered by it, she picked up her glass of wine to take a big gulp, but judged the tilt badly and some escaped from the side of the rim and dribbled down her chin. Before she had time to react, Max whipped his napkin under her jaw and caught the rogue droplets with it, stopping them from splashing onto her dress.

      ‘Smooth!’ she said, laughing in surprise.

      ‘I have moves,’ he replied, his eyes twinkling and his mouth twitching into a warm smile.

      A wave of heat engulfed her and her stomach did a full-on somersault.

      Oh, no, what was happening to her?

      Heart racing, she finally allowed the truth to filter through to her consciousness.

      It was, of course, the very last thing she needed to happen.

      She was falling in love with him.

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