Blind-Date Baby. Fiona Harper
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Название: Blind-Date Baby

Автор: Fiona Harper

Издательство: HarperCollins

Жанр: Современные любовные романы

Серия:

isbn: 9781408911679

isbn:

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      He blinked. What look?

      ‘It was a long time ago. I was barely more than a teenager when I got married and not much older when I found myself on my own again.’ She gave him a fierce look, one that dared him to feel sorry for her.

      ‘How did he die?’

      Grace went very quiet. Was he tasting his own shoe polish again?

      ‘Thank you for asking. Most people just…you know…change the subject.’ She tipped her chin up and looked straight at him. ‘Rob was a soldier. He was killed in the first Gulf War.’

      Noah nodded. ‘I served in Iraq myself.’

      She pressed her lips together and gave him a watery smile. He didn’t have the words to describe what happened next; he just felt a bolt of recognition joining them together in silent understanding. So many friends hadn’t made it home. And he’d seen so many wives fall apart. But here was Grace, not letting the world defeat her. She’d worked hard to bring her daughter up on her own. It couldn’t have been easy. And he’d bet she was a really good mother, one who had strived to be both mother and father to her daughter. If only every child were so lucky. He almost felt jealous of the absent Daisy.

      This was getting far too emotional for him, pulling on loose threads of things he’d firmly locked away in his subconscious. Grace wasn’t looking for the same kind of relationship he was. She didn’t want to get married and, if she did, she wanted magic. His instincts told him it was time to retreat and let them both breathe out.

      ‘Well, Grace…’ He swallowed the last of his espresso and stood up. ‘I think I’d better be going.’ He shrugged. ‘Can I call you a cab or give you a lift somewhere?’

      She shook her head. ‘No need. I am home. I live in the flat upstairs.’

      Well, he hadn’t been expecting that. It kind of left him with nowhere to go.

      ‘It’s been nice…’

      A small smile curved her lips. ‘Yes it has.’

      The words See you again some time? were ready on the tip of his tongue. He swallowed them. But once they were gone he had nothing else to say, so he walked to the door, aware of her following close behind him. When they reached it, she flicked a couple of catches and turned the handle, oddly silent.

      Before he crossed the threshold into the damp night he turned to look at her. ‘It was lovely to meet you, Grace.’

      ‘So you already said.’

      He took a step backwards beyond the shelter of the doorway and the rain hit him in multiple wet stabs. He shuddered. For an instant, rational thought hadn’t come into it—he was only aware of his body’s physical response to the drop in temperature, the cold water running down his skin.

      Grace stood in the doorway, in front of one of the angled panes of glass, her eyes large and round. All the laughter had left them now, but they were focused intently on him.

      ‘Bye, Noah,’ she said, and looked down at the floor.

      Suddenly, he was moving. He took two long steps until he was standing in front of her and, without stopping to explain or analyse, he placed a hand either side of her head on the window and leaned in close. Her lips parted and she sank back against the pane and jerkily took in some air.

      And then he kissed Grace the way he’d wanted to all evening.

      CHAPTER THREE

      GRACE clung to Noah for support. She had to. If she released the lapels of his jacket, she’d be in serious danger of sliding down the glass and landing in a heap at his feet.

      It had been quite a long time since she’d been kissed. Perhaps the memories were a little fuzzy, but she didn’t think she remembered it being this good. Every part of her seemed to be going gooey. And he wasn’t even using his hands. They were still pressed against the glass as he towered over her and it was merely the brushing, teasing, coaxing of his lips that was making her feel this way.

      She’d never been kissed like this before. Never.

      And with that thought an icy chill ran through her.

      Surely Rob’s kisses had excited her like this? He had to come top of her list. He was Daisy’s father, her soulmate, her grand passion. Anyone else would only ever be second place. But when she thought of him, she could remember youthful exuberance, raw need, but never this devastating skill that was threatening to…

      Her fingers unclenched and she laid her palms flat against Noah’s chest, intending to apply gentle pressure as a signal that she wanted him to stop. But she didn’t stop him. Noah chose that moment to run his tongue along her lip and she moaned gently, reached behind his neck with both hands and pulled him closer.

      When Noah’s hands finally moved off the window and started stroking the tingling skin of her neck, her cheeks, that little hollow at the base of her throat, she stopped thinking altogether. And she had no idea how long they’d been necking in the doorway like teenagers when he finally pulled away.

      She was shaking—literally quivering—as he stood there looking down at her with his pale eyes. His thumb was still tracing the line of her cheekbone. Just that alone made the skin behind her ears sizzle.

      This was so not what she’d been expecting on her first date. The chat rooms on Blinddatebrides.com that afternoon had been full of stories of nerdy guys and boring evenings, lots of jokes about kissing frogs. After getting her head around Daisy’s whole madcap plan, that was what she’d been anticipating. She’d been expecting to feel a sense of relief that the ordeal was over, to chalk it up to experience and carry on with her life. She certainly hadn’t been expecting to feel this.

      ‘Grace?’

      Even his whisper was sexy. Low and growly. She tried not to shiver more than she already was doing.

      ‘I’d really like to see you again.’

      Her body was telling her to yell yes, drag him back into the coffee shop and make use of one of those squashy sofas. And just that thought alone was enough to throw a bucket of cold water all over her. She didn’t do one-night stands, or necking in doorways. She did soulmates and love at first sight—with marriage and baby rapidly following. This wasn’t for her. Blinddatebrides.com wasn’t for her.

      She wriggled out of Noah’s arms and retreated behind the door, using it as a shield as she held it half-closed. ‘I’m sorry, Noah. I just don’t think that’s a good idea.’ And before she could talk herself out of it, she shut the door, flipped the catches and walked through the shop without looking back.

      Noah stared at Grace as she disappeared into the barely lit café. In the gloom, she became a dark grey blob, then, suddenly, the interior of The Coffee Bean was plunged into darkness.

      He just kept on staring, even though he was now staring at his own reflection in the glass. The one woman he’d found who’d really caught his interest had just given him the brush-off. He couldn’t remember the last time that had happened in the previous five years. The irony of it hit him so hard he started to chuckle.

      Aware that the СКАЧАТЬ