Mediterranean Mavericks: Greeks. Кейт Хьюит

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СКАЧАТЬ but she didn’t put up much of a fight when she found herself back in his car being driven to her house.

      ‘Go and sit. I’ll get you something to drink.’

      ‘I’m not thirsty.’ Rose finally surfaced from her thoughts and tried to shoot him her widest smile. ‘And look…’ She pointed at her smile. ‘Doesn’t this prove that I’m just fine?’

      ‘Lily will be back shortly. Do you want her to see you freaked out like this?’

      ‘I am not freaked out.’ She glared at him through the smile. It was so hard to do both and in the middle of trying she felt her lower lip wobble and she knew what was coming. Not even closing her eyes could squeeze back the tears, and then she felt his arms go around her and, worse, felt herself comforted by his strength as he enveloped her.

      Nick felt her melt against him and drew her as tightly to him as he could. He had never had the benefit of siblings and, yes, he had known, just as Lily had known, that Rose would be upset, but up close he was staggered by the power of her affection for her sister. He could actually feel her tears soaking into his shirt and she was sobbing, but quietly, as if ashamed at making so much noise.

      He felt in his trouser pocket and located a clean handkerchief, which he pressed against her cheek, and that seemed to staunch some of her tears although when she drew back he very nearly wanted to pull her against him again.

      His only experiences with weeping women had been at the end of a relationship and their tears had irritated him. What did one say to a woman at a time like this?

      ‘I’ll make sure you get the hankie back.’ Rose spared him the dilemma of finding the right words. She gave him a watery smile and he did the only thing he could think of doing. He wiped a stray tear from her face with his finger, which made her remember who he was and she stepped back a little further.

      ‘Thank you for the lift back.’ Rose gathered herself sufficiently to look him in the eye. She could see the sympathy there and felt a complete and utter fool because she knew what he must be thinking: that the loser of a sister was so thrown by the thought of being on her own that she had broken down and blubbed like a baby. ‘I’m glad that I’ve got that out of my system and, honestly, I really am happy for Lily and hope that she gets everything she deserves.’

      ‘I’m going to pour you something strong. Or would you prefer tea?’ He couldn’t remember the last time he had made a cup of tea.

      ‘I would prefer you to leave, actually.’

      ‘No.’

      ‘No?’ Some of her old fire returned and Nick felt quietly satisfied, although he still knew that he was going to stay with her. At least until she was back to her full vitriolic self, trying to shoot him down in flames. He was fast discovering a masochistic streak in him he had never known existed.

      ‘Go sit…’ He waved in the direction of the lounge. ‘I’ll be five minutes.’

      Less, in actual fact, as he decided to dispense with the tea-making and pour her a stiff drink instead. Much better for the nerves, he told himself.

      ‘It was just the shock of what you said,’ Rose greeted him defensively, half standing as he handed her the drink. ‘What’s this?’

      ‘An old family remedy for stressed nerves.’

      She sniffed the glass. ‘Called?’

      ‘Vodka and a touch of whatever juice I happened to find in the fridge.’ He sat on the sofa by her and watched as she took a tentative mouthful. ‘Lily is actually contemplating turning down Damien’s offer if you find it too upsetting having her leave,’ Nick said quietly.

      ‘That would be mad.’ Rose looked at him and sipped a little more. ‘I can’t believe that you’ve been on the scene less than a month and our lives are being turned upside down.’

      ‘I wondered when you would get around to blaming me,’ Nick said coolly.

      Rose, remembering how she had felt holding onto him and sobbing, cast him a baleful look. ‘I wasn’t blaming you. I was just making a passing remark.’ She had felt weak and helpless and protected and vulnerable, all things she had thought she had left behind when their parents had died and Tony and Flora had taken them in. For that alone, she felt resentful.

      ‘Ever thought that sometimes life is richer when you step out of your comfort zone?’

      ‘No,’ Rose said bluntly. ‘There was quite a bit of stepping out of comfort zones when I was young and I don’t remember any of it making my life feel any richer.’

      ‘Your aunt and uncle…’

      ‘Wandering the highways and byways. You try facing changes every six months and then tell me how great it is stepping out of comfort zones.’

      ‘But Lily may have something of the adventurer in her…’

      Rose heard the affection in his voice and, yes, she could see why he felt protective towards her sister. Most people did. She had gentle, girlish, winning ways. For the first time in her life she felt a stab of pure, uncharitable jealousy, which made her draw her breath in sharply.

      ‘Yes, you’re right, she does,’ Rose said coolly. ‘And I don’t.’ Which made her a bore in his eyes because the women who peopled his life, the women he was drawn to, weren’t boring worker bees like her, they were the bright, sparkly, adventurous fireflies that flitted from light to light. ‘Now—’ she stood up ‘—I really would rather you weren’t here when Lily gets home. I want to have a talk with her in private and you needn’t worry that I’m going to do anything that might make her change her mind. I’m happy for her.’

      Nick reluctantly rose to his feet. He had glimpsed through a little window of vulnerability and, strangely for him, because vulnerability wasn’t a character trait he found attractive in a woman, he wanted to see a bit more, but Rose was already walking towards the door, just the pinkness round her eyes to account for her crying jag.

      ‘I don’t expect I’ll be seeing much of you again,’ she told him politely as he slipped on his coat and felt in the pockets, out of habit, for the keys to his apartment.

      ‘Why do you say that?’

      ‘Because I imagine Lily will leave sooner rather than later. You didn’t specify a time, but I guess cutting edge movie producers don’t sit around tapping their feet waiting for their plots to go cold.’

      ‘No, I guess they don’t.’

      ‘So I may not get a chance to tell you that I’d rather you don’t breathe a word to Lily about my…my…’

      ‘Crying? Breaking down?’

      ‘My little loss of self-control.’ Rose stuck her chin up and met his eyes without blinking.

      She was positively shuffling him towards the front door and she pulled it wide open before he could do the sensible thing and lean against it. Because suddenly and inexplicably, he didn’t want to go. Not just yet. But there was no choice.

      ‘I won’t tell her. You have my word.’

      Rose nodded and, without saying a СКАЧАТЬ