Burning with Passion

‘I used the same pretext you did. Sales, sales, sales. I told them I was too busy to deal with them today and to get back to me if and when they made up their minds.’

‘How did you know where to come?’

‘I saw you write down the address.’

Caitlin felt hopelessly mashed up inside. If she was only a convenience to him, why had he put himself out to follow her? Or was he simply prepared to put in some effort to save himself the inconvenience of finding another convenience?

‘What is this supposed to mean?’ she demanded.

‘It means that when you walked out of the office, Caitlin,’ he answered quietly, ‘I went cold all over!’

He hadn’t been burning for her at all. She’d got that wrong. Somehow she felt she was between the devil and the deep blue sea. Then she remembered she didn’t have time for either dancing or swimming in uncharted waters.

‘Did you really mean what you said to my father? About standing by me and giving me your support?’

‘It’s obvious you’re in the midst of some family crisis. I’ll help in any way I can.’

He had helped with her father, unwittingly perhaps, but it had been very timely. He could be of assistance in bringing her mother around to wanting the party more than she wanted to kill her husband. David, in this situation, was a wild card. The unexpected might bring forth responses that could not be drawn by more conventional means.

‘I’m not promising anything in return, David.’ She glared a sharp warning at him. ‘Particularly sex.’

‘The thought never crossed my mind.’

‘Liar!’

‘When it did cross my mind, I instantly discarded it.’

‘Why?’

‘I felt it was unworthy of you. There’s more to you than sex!’

Caitlin wanted a lot of reassurance on that point. ‘Give me a list, David,’ she demanded sceptically. ‘A long list.’

‘I can do it. If you come back to work for me, I’ll put it on the dictaphone and you can type it up. A really long list.’

The carrot, she thought. He’d probably make it all up between now and then. ‘No,’ she said firmly. She had been easy for him once. She wasn’t going to be easy for him again.

‘Give me a chance.’

‘You had a chance this morning. A number of them.’

‘Caitlin, I did have other things on my mind.’

‘So I noticed, David.’

‘I’ll make it up to you.’

‘How?’

‘Tomorrow I intend to take you with me and buy your St Valentine’s Day gift.’

‘In case it’s escaped your notice, David, it’s St Valentine’s Day today.’

‘I always intended to do it. After we’d finished with the German delegation,’ he hastily added.

And pigs might fly! ‘What did you intend to buy me?’ she enquired sweetly.

‘Whatever you wanted.’