A Terrible Misunderstanding (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 6)

“Yes, he is her fiancé. Isn’t he dashing?” Edith piped up.

Clara watched in amazement as two streaks of colour appeared on Niall’s sharp cheekbones. She blinked because he was the very last person she could ever imagine would be embarrassed enough to blush, but he was, and he looked endearing.

“What?” Will lifted his brows in astonishment at his colleague. “You are engaged?”

Niall mentally cursed when he saw Will’s lips twitch. He knew he was never going to live this one down and suddenly felt as if everything in the world had suddenly turned against him. He wanted to leave but had at least half a dozen women blocking his way. That didn’t prevent him from giving the kitchen door a longing look, though, or being desperate to be outside again.

He positively takes up my entire kitchen, Clara mused, surprised by how much Niall’s presence in the kitchen seemed to make the room shrink to half its normal size.

Niall, oblivious to her thoughts, struggled to keep a hold of his patience. To his increasing annoyance, the woman called Audrey leaned around him and nudged the back door closed, effectively trapping Niall and Will inside the house. Niall looked at his colleague in panic and knew then that if they were to make an escape then they had to do it now, but Will was busy edging away from a rather determined Sissy.

“We have to go, ladies,” he announced firmly.

“What’s the rush? Surely, you will want to at least allow Clara to introduce you to us, won’t you? I mean, we are her closest friends,” Sissy chided.

“You can tell us all about yourself, so Clara doesn’t have to,” another of the ladies murmured as she too eyed him eagerly. “When is the wedding? Where did you ask for her hand?”

“How long have you known her?”

“Where did you meet?”

Niall glared at Clara and lifted his brows when her somewhat guilty gaze slid away.

“Rather than discuss this right now, I suggest we all go back into the parlour so everyone can warm themselves by the fire,” Flo announced, clapping her hands and calling everybody to attention.

Everybody hesitated for a fraction of a second, as if in preparation to object only to remember that this was Flo’s house. As the hostess she had every right to guide her guests to where she deemed it appropriate for them to sit. If she asked everyone to move to the parlour then to the parlour they all had to go – and they did. Eventually.

Will threw Niall another dark look. “We have to go,” he ground out.

“I know,” Niall hissed. He turned to run a dark look over the women. “Ladies, I have to go out there and deal with the man who tried to accost Clara.”

“Yes, what happened out there?” Sissy began. “I thought I heard a cat wailing or something.”

Niall snorted because he knew it had been Clara screaming, or trying to, while being buffeted by the wind.

Clara glared at him. “Let’s discuss everything when we are in the parlour.”

She was physically shaking as she followed the ladies into the parlour not least because she was filled with trepidation over what the next few minutes might hold for her. Niall seemed angry enough but to humiliate herself even further in front of the equally sinister looking friend of his was even worse.

“Are you all right?” Niall asked Clara gruffly when he realised that she was shaking.

He tried to tell himself that he asked because it was his job to make sure she was all right, but it was a lie.

Clara stared at him mutely before jerkily nodding at him.

“Go and get changed into dry clothing,” he suggested gently.

“But we don’t have any men’s clothing here for you to use,” Clara whispered miserably, well aware that he was soaked because of her but there was nothing she could do to ease his discomfort.

“I don’t need anything. My friend and I need to go,” Niall murmured, ostensibly for Clara’s ears alone.

He had, however, forgotten about just how acute a nosy woman’s hearing could be. When he looked up, Niall realised that all the women were listening to their hushed conversation. He mentally groaned at the intimacy of his position close to Clara, and their murmured voices, and realised then what impression he was inadvertently giving everyone.

Can this get any worse?

Despite their vehement protests, both Niall and Will found themselves being dragged into a room at the front of the house where they were then forced into chairs.

“What do we do?” Will murmured into his ear. “This is worse than being under interrogation.”