Snowbound: Miracle Marriage (Lakeside Mountain Rescue 8)

not make today the first time.’

‘Look, I feel really guilty, OK? I mean, this is where you work.’ Nervous under his steady gaze, she pulled the clips out of her hair, twisted it and pinned it up again. ‘And I can understand that you don’t want people gossiping about you. I’m really sorry I told her.’

‘In the interests of consistency, what exactly did you tell her?’

‘The truth, of course.’

Patrick studied her for a moment, a strange look in his eyes. ‘How much of the truth?’

‘Enough. I mean, I didn’t tell her absolutely everything—’ Hayley frowned, trying to remember exactly what she had said. ‘I definitely missed out the part where you thought I was pregnant and I skirted over the bit where you kissed me in the kitchen.’ Her face burned at the memory. ‘But I might have mentioned one or two things about that night in Chicago.’

His face was poker straight. ‘Did you tell her that you left your knickers on my bedroom floor?’

Hayley squirmed. ‘Maybe. Possibly. It might have been mentioned.’

The corner of his mouth flickered. ‘It sounds to me as though you’ve been the soul of discretion.’

‘You’re laughing at me again.’

‘I’m not laughing. Hayley you’re so sensitive—’

‘Because I know I keep saying the wrong things at the wrong time! I just can’t stop myself. My mouth is constantly getting me into trouble.’ She heard him draw in a breath and saw his gaze drop to her mouth and linger there as if he was thinking about…

And so was she.

She was thinking about nothing else. Sex, sex, sex. That was the only thing on her mind when she looked at Patrick.

Hayley jumped up and hurried over to the water cooler, wondering whether she could fit her burning body inside it. She’d made a decision that she wasn’t going to think about him in that way. And now she was doing it again. One look, and she was willing to forget all her promises to herself. Really, she needed to do something about herself. Something serious.

‘So you’re not mad with me, then?’ Keeping her tone light, she poured herself a glass of water that she didn’t want.

‘I’m not mad. But I did want to check exactly what you’ve told her so that we give her the same story.’ Patrick joined her at the water cooler and gently removed the cup from her hand, his fingers brushing against hers. ‘Do you mind if I drink that, given that you don’t want it?’

‘How do you know I don’t want it?’ Her voice was a squeak and his eyes gleamed with gentle mockery.

‘Because you’re easy to read.’ His eyes rested on hers for a moment and then he sighed. ‘I think perhaps it’s time I took you home.’

Hayley’s heart pounded like the drum in an orchestra.

He wanted to take her home? Oh, God, yes. Right now. She wanted to try out his enormous bed with the view over the forest. She wanted to see if he could repeat the magic he’d created that night in Chicago.

Staring up at him, her legs wobbled. His eyes were so blue, she thought dreamily—so blue it was like staring into the Caribbean ocean. Lost in a fantasy that involved herself and Patrick on a white sandy beach, it came as a shock when he frowned urgently.

‘Hayley? You need to decide. Is it yes or no? No one is going to judge you. I’ll take you if you want me to.’

She felt a thrill of shock at his unapologetically direct approach.

He wanted her that badly?

‘Gosh, Patrick, I—You make it really hard for a girl to stick with her decisions, I’ll give you that.’ But the fact that he was so desperate for her he just wanted to take her home right now sent excitement pouring through her body. Flustered, she tried to disengage her eyes from his. How was she supposed to think when he was staring down at her with unflinching concentration, as if she was the only thing in his world? ‘I mean it is flattering, obviously, that you feel this way. And I’m not pretending I’m not really tempted—I mean you know I am because I already left one pair of knickers in your room.’ She fiddled with her hair. ‘But the sensible side of me is saying that we ought to give this a bit more thought this time. I suppose what I’m saying is that frankly I’m surprised you even want to take me straight home given what happened last time. I mean, you didn’t contact me, I contacted you. And then you thought I was pregnant—’

He looked taken aback. ‘Hayley—’

‘I know, I know.’ She lifted a hand to silence him. ‘That was all a misunderstanding, but still I think it should remind us both that we have to think about this. Not jump in with both feet. Yes, there’s chemistry. I’m not denying that. But that doesn’t mean that we have to do something about it.’ Who was she kidding? If they didn’t do something about it soon she was going to go screaming mad. Her body was melting, her pelvis was on fire and all she wanted him to do was kiss her the way only he could kiss. ‘I’m just saying I think it might be a mistake. Not that I’m not flattered that you asked, of course—’

‘Hayley.’ His expression hovering somewhere between stunned and incredulous, Patrick ran his hand over his jaw. ‘I was asking whether you wanted to go home.’

‘I know, I heard you, and I still think that—’