Shirley Valentine Goes to Vegas. Michelle Betham

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      That had thrown me. Somewhat. ‘I… I don’t know…’ Why didn’t I know?

       Just say yes, Lana. Just say yes!

      ‘I know we’ve only just met, but…’ He shrugged. ‘Does that really matter?’ He raised an eyebrow, his mouth twisting up into a slight smirk. How could anybody manage to make that look so incredibly sexy? And even though there was a part of me that wanted to scream, Do you know what? We might have only just met, but what the hell! Yes, I’ll go out with you! there was another part of me – remnants of the old, more reserved and cautious Lana, maybe – that was holding back. A part of me that was slightly wary of accepting his invitation.

      ‘No. It doesn’t really matter, but…’ That cautious part had won. ‘Look, I… I really should go and find my friends…’

      He pushed a hand through his hair, and I watched as his expression changed, his eyes dipping briefly before he looked back at me. ‘I’m sorry. I really didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable, in any way, it’s just that, when I saw you last night…’

      ‘You saw me last night?’ My voice appeared to have gone up an octave, and I gave a little cough in the hope it would return to normal next time I opened my mouth. ‘Where?’ Thankfully, it had.

      ‘In the bar, downstairs. You staying here?’

      I nodded, and then I suddenly realised where I’d seen him before – or, at least, where I thought I’d seen him before. ‘Were you with a group of bikers?’

      He smiled, and I kind of liked the way his eyes crinkled up at the edges when he did that. ‘You saw us?’

      ‘Yeah. Yeah, I saw you.’

      ‘You were with a tall, tattooed guy,’ Eddie went on. ‘Boyfriend?’

      ‘Brother,’ I corrected, pleased my voice appeared to be behaving itself now.

      ‘Do you have a boyfriend?’

      My eyes were fixed on his as I spoke, my voice still steady as a rock, despite my insides misbehaving in a way they hadn’t done in a long, long time. ‘Is that any of your business?’

      He laughed quietly, raking a hand through his hair. ‘There’s something about you, Lana.’

      I continued to stare at him, right at him. That weird feeling I’d experienced last night, as I’d left the bar – was that down to him?

      ‘You stood out, from everybody else in that room last night.I don’t know why, I just… My eyes, they went straight to you, the second I walked in. And that incredible sleeve tattoo you’ve got, that might’ve had something to do with it. That’s some pretty eye-catching ink there, darlin’.’

      I looked at my arm, absentmindedly running my hand up and down it.

      ‘You seem like the kind of woman I…’ He trailed off, his eyes dropping to the floor. ‘Anyway, seeing you here…’He raised his gaze, looking straight at me. ‘Do you believe in fate?’

      I narrowed my eyes slightly. ‘About as much as I believe in the tooth fairy.’ I wasn’t sure I’d meant that to sound quite as cynical as it had come out.

      He raised that eyebrow again, and I was beginning to wish he’d stop doing that because it was really messing with my head. ‘You’ve never believed in the tooth fairy?’

      I shrugged. ‘I was a cynical child.’

      ‘And…are you still cynical?’

      I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. He kind of made me want to smile. ‘Not as much.’

      He smiled too, and I found myself relaxing that little bit more, a strange yet comforting warmth flooding through me. I was actually starting to enjoy myself now.

      ‘That’s a shame. Because you don’t look like a cynical woman to me.’

      ‘And СКАЧАТЬ