‘Will you zip me up, please?’ Jane came to stand in front of Lauri. ‘Thanks,’ she said as Lauri obliged. ‘Are you feeling better today?’ she asked her aunt.
‘Much,’ Jane nodded. ‘Mr Blair seems to have got over his mood, although first thing this morning I thought it was going to be another of those days.’ She smiled. ‘His mood changed after his girl-friend called him.’
Steve’s eyes widened. ‘You actually spoke to Connie Mears?’ he sounde
d astounded.
Jane shook her head. ‘It would appear she’s been replaced.’ She sat down to wait for Robin. ‘This girl has an incredibly sexy voice.’
‘Who is she, another actress?’ Steve wanted to know.
His sister shrugged. ‘I have no idea. She just introduced herself as Lauren.’
Steve gave Lauri a sharp look, but luckily she managed to meet that searching look with a completely bland expression.
‘She must have arranged to meet him for lunch,’ Jane continued, ‘because he came back from lunch in a really good mood.’
‘What did I tell you about lunchtime sessions?’ Steve joked, having obviously dismissed the idea of this Lauren being his little niece Lauri.
‘Steve!’ Jane frowned at him. ‘I won’t have you talking about Mr Blair like that! In future I shall revert to not telling you anything about him.’ She stood up as the doorbell rang. ‘That will be Robin. I’ll see you both later.’
‘No wonder he let me off paying for his car,’ Steve said once he and Lauri were alone again. ‘She must be really something, his girl-friend.’
‘Yes.’ She pretended interest in the newspaper.
‘For a minute I thought it was you when Jane mentioned someone called Lauren.’
She forced a light laugh and made herself look at him. ‘Now is that likely? Besides, I would hardly describe my voice as sexy, would you?’
‘Maybe not to me, but then I have no idea how you would talk to a man you’re attracted to.’
‘Who says I’m attracted to Alex Blair?’ she asked sharply.
‘Alex?’ he questioned equally sharply.
Lauri blushed. ‘All right, Alexander Blair.’
‘But you called him Alex,’ Steve persisted with a frown.
‘Why not?’ She gave a casual shrug. ‘I’m sure his name gets shortened.’
‘Maybe. But I’ve never heard anyone do it—until now. Were you the Lauren who telephoned him?’ he asked suspiciously.
‘Don’t be ridiculous, Steve! You know that no one ever calls me Lauren. I’m always Lauri to my friends.’
‘Yes, but—’
She jumped up as the doorbell rang for the second time that evening. ‘That will be Daryl for me. And I thought you were going to Geoff’s,’ she prompted as she went to the door.
‘Is that a polite way of saying you want to be alone with him?’
She quirked an eyebrow. ‘What do you think?’ Thank goodness he seemed to have forgotten Alex—Alexander Blair for the moment. She would have to make sure she didn’t make that sort of slip again.
‘I hope you intend behaving yourself,’ Steve warned. ‘I wouldn’t want you to do anything stupid just because he’s leaving at the end of the week.’
‘Who is?’ Her thoughts had been miles away—with Alex Blair.
‘Daryl is,’ he said impatiently. ‘Your boy-friend, the person leaning heavily on the doorbell at this very moment.’