Magenta Mine (Invertary 3)

Harry shook his head. Rachel’s issues were for Rachel to deal with.

He cocked his head at the shop behind them. Eye Spy was a security company run by ex-SAS member Lake Benson. It was no secret that Harry specialised in security programming, and Lake thought there might be some benefits in a working relationship. So far their meetings had gone well.

“You go in,” he told Rachel. “Tell Lake I’ll be in in a minute. I’m going to talk to Magenta.”

“Fine. I hope it goes better than the last three times you’ve tried.”

“Couldn’t be worse,” Harry mumbled as he walked over the street to Kirsty’s lingerie shop.

“Here he comes again,” Kirsty said from her spot at the window. The ex-model turned to Magenta, who was unpacking a new line in thongs at the back of the shop. “How about this time you let him talk to you instead of doing your best to scare him off?”

Magenta rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to talk to him. Just because we were friends when we were kids, doesn’t mean I owe him anything now.”

“That’s harsh. Even you can be more polite than that. I’ve seen it. I know it can happen.”

“I’m busy,” Magenta said. “Tell him to come back later.”

“You tell him. I can’t. It’s like kicking a puppy.”

Only if the puppy was over six feet tall, muscled in a lean way and had sexy silver eyes. Magenta clamped down on her thoughts. So Harry had grown up pretty. So what? She still didn’t want to deal with him. She heard the bell over the door and felt her body tense. Why the heck didn’t he go back to London, where he belonged?

“Hi, Magenta.” His deep voice seemed to rumble and vibrate throughout her body.

Taking a steadying breath, she turned towards him. “What can I do for you, Harry?”

She kept her face expressionless, and was grateful that she’d opted for her thigh-high platform boots this morning. She needed the extra height to stop from gazing up at him.

“I thought we could get together tonight. Eat. Talk about old times.” He wore a grey T-shirt with Einstein’s head on it, and Magenta wondered if Einstein would be proud that he adorned T-shirts and bobblehead dolls.

“Sorry, Harry, I’m busy.” She took a step back towards the box of thongs she’d been unpacking.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Kirsty scowling as she wagged a finger. Magenta ignored her.

“Tomorrow, then.” He thrust his hands into the pockets of his faded blue jeans. Magent

a knew he was worth a lot of money. It’d been the talk of the town that Harry had sold a program he’d developed to the UK government for millions. It almost made her smile to see he was still wearing his old, tatty jeans. Clothes were never something Harry had noticed as a kid. Not like the designer-clad sidekick he’d dragged to town with him. Everything about her screamed money and class. Magenta frowned at yet another reminder that she would never travel in the same circles as Harry.

“I’m busy for the foreseeable future,” she told him.

“Is there a way you can get un-busy?” His smile almost made her crumble. He somehow managed to pull off sexy and sweet at the same time.

“Harry,” she said on a sigh. “I don’t want to get together and rehash our childhood. I don’t want to get together full stop. I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but you just need to suck it up.”

Any other man would have tucked tail and run at such a blunt rejection. Not Harry. Bloody stupid man. Harry smiled and took a step towards her.

“Well, I would suck it up, if I believed you. But I don’t. So how about you clear some time in your busy schedule for me?”

“Not going to happen.” She swallowed hard and thrust a handful of pink underwear at him. “You might as well make yourself useful while you annoy me. Sort these into sizes.”

Harry looked down at the silky thongs then gave her a wicked smile. “See, this is why we need to spend time getting to know each other again.” He moved forwards, crowding her space. “You think handing me lingerie is going to make me turn red, stutter and run. But I keep telling you. I’ve grown up. I’m not the kid you knew.” He took another step towards her, making her breath hitch and her body vibrate at his nearness. “Lingerie doesn’t scare me, Magenta. Neither do you.” His voice was a low, sexy rumble that woke up her erogenous zones. “I like lingerie.” He held up a thong. “These would look good on you.”

Magenta sucked in a breath. “Time for you to go, Harry.” She was pleased that her voice sounded as sharp as usual.

He placed the underwear on the counter beside her. “I’m not giving up. You and I have unfinished business.”

With that, he turned and sauntered out of the shop. Magenta let out a long, slow breath.

“What is wrong with you?” Kirsty flicked her russet-coloured hair out of her eyes before glaring at Magenta. Kirsty had cut it after her accident years ago, but now she was letting it grow out. “You two used to be inseparable. Now you won’t even talk to the guy.”