Minding Amy

Chapter Eight

Sebastian dropped his Land Rover down into first gear and drove slowly along the Holland Park Avenue where Quentin Edwards owned an apartment. It was a resident's parking area and a traffic warden was marching along the parked cars, checking their permits, right in front of the apartment block where Sebastian wanted to be. He swore under his breath but told himself to bide his time.

The Monday morning commuter traffic had long since gone and there was a parking space here and there. In a moment the warden would be around the corner and out of sight, which Sebastian estimated would give him a couple of hours before he came back around the block. Enough time to take advantage of the parking without getting a ticket.

He idled along the curb. While he waited, he wondered what Amy was doing. She hadn't said any more about her plans for the day when he'd dropped her at the tube station that morning. The most important thing had been securing their plans for meeting up and dinner and—of course—getting one last, luscious kiss from her, before she disappeared. He'd watched her go with a level of reluctance that surprised him. It had been too long since he'd been involved with anyone that was why, he told himself.

After he delivered the pool car back to the depot he went to his office to make sure everything was under control. Once he was up to date, he made some calls and did a bit of on-line research on Quentin Edwards' last known whereabouts. He had the bit between his teeth regarding the case, and a full-on debate was raging in his head as a result.

Why did he have to get involved? Couldn't he simply ignore someone else's investigation, just for once? He had enough trouble handing work over to his team of investigators because his guardian side was highly resistant to change. It was a pattern of behavior he did try to reign in, in order to stop from crowding his people while they worked. With Amy he was on even dodgier ground. It was only going to complicate his life. After all, what could he do if he did find out any information that might be useful to Amy? It wasn't as if he could meander up to her and tell her what he'd found out, when he was supposed to be sitting quietly in the background, keeping an eye on her safety. Nothing else. Nothing. And she was mighty independent. She wouldn't take kindly to interference.

But Sebastian's guardian side couldn't help thinking of her as his beautiful damsel in distress, nonetheless. She was far from being that, but he indulged himself in the fantasy because he liked to think she needed him in some way—in more than one way, in fact. He was fast becoming possessive about Ms. Amy Norton. When she'd spoken about the man she'd previously been involved with Sebastian had the urge to flatten the bastard. Where had that come from? He wasn't sure he'd ever had that kind of nonsensical reaction to talk of an ex before.

Another nagging voice joined the debate raging in his head. Why the sudden attachment? They'd only known each other a few days but already she'd taken up residence in his mind to the extent that she was never far from his thoughts. When he'd glanced at his daily funny on email he'd wanted to share it with her, but it was a PI joke from a stateside colleague. He would have to come clean about the true nature of his job before that kind of indulgence. Given her reaction when he tried to guide her investigation in Arundel, he didn't like to think what her reaction might be and, as a result, he didn't

linger on the possibilities for too long. Instead, he tried to concentrate on the task he'd set himself for the moment.

The traffic warden had finally gone and Sebastian pulled quickly into a nearby parking spot. He walked up to the impressive apartment block. It looked like the kind of place you'd expect to find a concierge watching over proceedings, and as he walked up the steps to the reception area, he was pleased to note that was indeed the case. That would simplify matters greatly.

* * * *

"Well, look at you." Janine declared, when Amy walked into the office. "I wasn't expecting to see you in here for another couple of days."

"It's a flying visit. I'm still in the middle of the Ghost Hunter thing. How are you?"

Janine beamed. "I'm good, very good, but tell me your news first. How did it go with the hunk?"

Amy dropped her bag on the table and sat down. She put her feet up on the desk and ruffled her hand through her hair, smiling. "Better than expected, much better. In fact, it was like a dream come true."

"You two got it together after all?"

Amy had spent a good part of Friday afternoon bemoaning to Janine the unlikely situation of being stuck with her mistaken blind date on a job. Janine had seen the funny side long before Amy. But now Amy was more than pleased with the course of events. She nodded.

"That explains the sexy glow," Janine commented, with a wink.

"Is it obvious?"

"You look as if you've been working off some stress and about time too." Janine arched an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, you're right, and it is good." Monday mornings in the office weren't usually about feeling this satisfied, Amy reflected. But then she hadn't usually spent the weekend with Sebastian. "He's gorgeous, fun to be around, he cooks, he can fix cars and…well, he's a fantastic lover."

"Sounds like he might be worth holding on to."

"It's a bit of fun," Amy added, quickly. "Nothing more." She shook her head at Janine, still smiling—despite the niggling urge she'd had to qualify what she was doing. It was like the previous afternoon, when they'd agreed to keep things light. It's what she wanted too. She had her career to think of.

"And the investigation?"

Amy's smile faded, although the lack of information failed to overshadow the fabulous weekend she'd had. "Not so good, nothing really useful regarding our missing ghost hunter, although I've got the makings of an excellent feature for the weekend-getaway column." She gave a wry laugh at the idea of it. "I'm going to have to go back to the TV studios and swallow my embarrassment about leaving Roger in the lurch."

She flipped open her diary, searching for the phone number of the studio. Jake had returned her call late the night before and had left her a message saying to contact him at the studios on Monday.

Janine continued to stare at her with a contemplative look. "You could head over there right now."

"What do you mean?" Amy replied, vaguely, while she was still hunting for the number.

"Because Roger won't be around."

Amy looked up from the diary. "Excellent news, but how do you know?"