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‘You can tell me how you manage to make life work for you on that front when I’m back down,’ he said drily, eyes still pinned to her face as he hovered by the door, on the verge of leaving but not managing to do so quite yet.
Celia broke the spell by turning away, telling him that she would make them some tea...there were some biscuits she’d spotted in one of the cupboards.
Only when he’d left the kitchen did she sag with relief. She made a pot of tea in a rush, every nerve in her body keyed up to hear him returning while she tried to think of what on earth he was going to do if the Internet remained down and the snow continued to layer everything in a blanket of white.
He still managed to surprise her when her back was turned as she searched through the cupboards for the biscuits. With no one in the place, there had been a shortage of fresh food easily compensated by freezers and larders bursting at the seams.
‘So...’ his lazy drawl had her spinning round to find him changed into a pair of faded jeans, tan loafers and a black tee shirt, for the massive house was incredibly warm, despite the conditions outside ‘...you were going to tell me how you busy yourself without the Internet...’
‘Was I? Tea? I found the biscuits...’
‘Sit and relax.’ He moved towards the kitchen counter, threw a glance over his shoulder. ‘How are things doing in your shop?’
‘I beg your pardon?’
‘You’ve been away...’ he brought the pot of tea to the table along with the biscuits ‘...for longer than anticipated. Do you have reliable people working with you who can pick up the slack?’
He angled a chair so that he was sitting close to her, their knees almost touching, relaxing back with one arm slung over the back of the chair, the other resting on the table as he idly played with his mug.
‘They’re very good.’ Celia cradled the mug with both hands. She was so alert to him sitting close to her that her nerves were all over the place as she tried to relax, telling him about her shop and what was going on in her absence while he listened in silence, head tilted to one side.
‘You haven’t stopped working while we’ve been here.’ She adroitly changed the subject because his focus was so intense. ‘Don’t you trust the people who work with you?’
‘They’re good but when it comes to the crux, the only person I trust for the big stuff is myself.’
‘Poor you if that means that you’re condemned never to have time off,’ she said lightly, eyes flicking to his serious, thoughtful face and just as quickly skittering away.
‘But I’m not the only one with a few trust issues, am I?’ Leandro murmured softly and Celia’s eyes shot back to his face with alarm.
‘I trust my colleagues one hundred per cent!’
‘That’s not what I’m talking about.’
‘Then I don’t know where you’re going with this.’ She jutted her chin at a defiant angle and her eyes widened in shock when he reached out and gently, absently and only for a few seconds touched the beating pulse at the base of her neck.
‘Your body is telling a different story.’
He sat back while Celia stared at him, dumbfounded. Where his finger had rested was on fire. The heat started at that small spot and radiated all the way through her, sparking a fire inside her that made her want to leap out of the chair and dive right back into the freezing cold outside.
‘Why are you so nervous when you’re around me? No.’ He held up one hand and half smiled. ‘When I surprised you outside, you jumped a mile...’
‘I wasn’t expecting you! You should have been working—’
‘And you’re skittish around me...are you going to deny it? To me, that could only mean one of two things.’
‘I don’t want to have this conversation with you, Leandro. I...it’s a pointless conversation and I don’t like you...speculating about me.’
‘Of course I’m going to speculate. We’re here together, “cooped up” as you put it. Speculation is a by-product of the circumstances.’
‘Not for me.’
‘Liar.’ He looked at her in silence just long enough for her to get the feeling that he was somehow seeing straight into her head, rummaging around and finding all those taboo thoughts that were whirling there.
Leandro noted every nuance of pink colour creeping into her cheeks. He registered the darkening of her eyes, the slight flare of her nostrils, and felt a surge of satisfaction that shocked him in its intensity.
How long had he had this urge to take her out of hiding? Had he even recognised his curiosity for what it was? Stronger than common sense? No, because he had never been this curious about anyone in his life before. What was it about her? Was it really just a case of curiosity being a natural by-product of their enforced isolation, as he had told her? He refused to contemplate the notion that somehow, without him realising it, she had managed to find a way to get under his skin. No woman was capable of doing that and many had tried over the years. He was inured against that and he liked it like that.
So this was...fun. More than that.
