Elusive as the Unicorn

‘Shall we just get this journey over with, Mr Gardener?’ she snapped impatiently.

‘Certainly, Miss Eden,’ he mocked. ‘I——What’s this?’ He frowned his puzzlement as she held out her car keys to him so that he could get in behind the wheel.

The passing over of the keys had been a completely automatic gesture on her part. ‘I’m sorry, I forgot you weren’t used to driving on our roads,’ she said ruefully, unlocking the car doors for them both.

‘I’ve driven myself in England many times,’ he shrugged off the statement, still frowning as he gingerly eased his bulk into the small white sports car.

The purchase of the car had been an adolescent weakness of hers that she hadn’t been able to resist once she had the money to indulge it. But it was obviously a completely unsuitable vehicle for a man of Adam Gardener’s stature; he looked most uncomfortable beside her as she climbed in behind the wheel, their elbows knocking together.

‘Do I take it from the offer that Paul usually drives your car for you when you’re together?’ Adam queried softly.

‘Yes, he——’ Eve broke off as she realised the incredulity behind his question. ‘There’s nothing wrong with a man wanting to do the driving.’ Her cheeks were flushed as she was once again put in the position of having to defend Paul.

‘Not if you’re a one hundred per cent male chauvinist, no,’ he acknowledged drily. ‘Tell me, does he ever let you behind the wheel of the BMW I noticed he was driving the other evening?’

She breathed in deeply. ‘I’m not used to driving a car of that size.’

‘Has he ever offered to let you try?’ Adam persisted.

She gave him an impatient glare. ‘Do you ever let women drive your car?’

‘Frequently,’ he drawled, pausing before adding softly, ‘I’ve always thought it says a lot about a couple’s—intimate relationship.’

‘Driving?’ she gasped.

‘Who does it.’ He nodded. ‘It’s a question of who is in control, and I’ve always believed——’

‘I don’t think I care to hear what you believe on the subject,’ she cut in tautly.

‘Possibly not,’ he conceded gently. ‘But just for the record, you could drive my car any time you wanted.’

There wasn’t a lot she could say to that! But the conversation had disturbed her so much, she crunched the gears in her agitation.

Adam arched mocking brows at her. ‘Maybe I should have done the driving, after all.’

After the double-edged conversation they had just had on the subject, never!

‘That won’t be necessary,’ she told him firmly, determined not to make another mistake in her driving during the short drive to his hotel.

She also didn’t speak. This man deliberately went out of his way to be rude to her. The suggestive latter part of the conversation aside, why on earth shouldn’t Paul be the one to do the driving when they went out together? Thousands of other men in the world did the same thing every day of their lives, and yet Adam Gardener had to make it seem as if it were yet another black mark against Paul. In his opinion.

She didn’t give a damn about his opinion!

‘The lady doth protest too much, methinks,’ popped unbidden into her mind.

Maybe she was being a little vehement about Adam Gardener and his outspoken views, but then, those views were of someone he didn’t even know. Her grandmother simply hadn’t brought her up to criticise someone she did know, let alone pass judgement on people she didn’t know. Maybe if she had, Eve could have dispatched Adam with a few well-chosen words the first time they had met!

She forced herself to relax at the thought, knowing that her efforts to use those ‘few well-chosen words’ this evening had so far failed, so why blame herself for something she couldn’t change?

‘Would you like to come into one of the lounges for a drink?’ he offered once she had halted her car, with some relief, outside his brightly illuminated hotel.

She gave him

an openly incredulous look. Prolong this nightmare; he had to be joking!

‘I guess not,’ he drawled with amusement. ‘I hope we meet again, Eve Eden. You don’t need to tell me you wish the opposite.’ He grinned unabashedly. ‘Maybe I would feel the same way if the roles were reversed,’ he conceded lightly.

Her mouth twisted derisively. ‘That isn’t ever likely to happen.’