Page 13 of No Going Back

Pink tinted her cheeks. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you for agreeing to join me.” He offered her the bouquet.

Her response was unexpected. Given that he’d matched the flowers to the colours of the ones in her office, he’d hoped for pleasure rather than shock. Strangely, her reaction reminded him of the kind that usually came with the exposure of a deep, dark secret. “Maddie?”

“I’m sorry. They’re beautiful, thank you. And my favourite colours, too. How did you know?”

Whatever had caused her unexpected reaction, she seemed to have recovered. She took the flowers from him and headed for the kitchen. Guy followed.

“I remembered seeing something similar in your office. Here, let me.”

She’d removed a crystal vase from one of the cupboards. Guy took it from her and filled it with water, then watched as she arranged the blooms to her satisfaction.

“Where would you like them?” He picked up the vase.

“Thank you. There’s a table in front of the window in the sitting room—they’d be perfect there.”

But not as perfect as you.

Guy carried the flowers to the designated spot. Maddie made a few minute adjustments to the positioning of the stems, then bent her head, and closed her eyes to inhale the scent.

“They’re wonderful.”

“I’m glad you like them. Are you ready to go?”

“I think so. I just need to collect my wrap from the bedroom.”

As she disappeared into the other room, Guy took the opportunity to assess his surroundings. Neat and tidy without being minimalist, feminine without being flowery, her apartments suited her, and were exactly what he would have expected.

“I can understand the convenience of living here, but why?” He offered Maddie his arm. “Isn’t it a little too convenient for the hotel’s management, having you on the doorstep, so to speak?”

She tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow. “Perhaps, but I like being here in case anything does go wrong with any of our events.”

“Does that happen often?”

“No, not often, but even with the best preparation in the world, unforeseen circumstances can lead to incidents you haven’t allowed for. When it does happen, we use whatever it is as a learning experience in the hope that it’ll improve our service. Do we need to call a taxi?”

“Not at all. I have a car waiting. Shall we?”

Together they retraced Guy’s route through the hotel. When they emerged from the building, Maddie gave him a puzzled look. He glanced in the direction of the Rolls-Royce, where the suited and booted driver was standing by the open rear door.

“You’re not serious? Guy, you didn’t have to go to all this trouble.”

She sounded almost horrified, which added to the mystery that was Maddie. Every interaction he had with her only attracted him more. Fortunately, her horror didn’t prevent her from accompanying him to the car and taking her place on the back seat.

“It’s no trouble. I like to make a good impression on a first date.”

“Yes, I remember.”

“Excuse me?” Her murmured words almost made it sound as if they’d been on a first date before, which wasn’t only ridiculous, it was impossible.

“From the last time I went on a first date. He tried so hard to impress me.”

That should have made sense, but Guy’s instincts sniffed hurried improvisation rather than truth in the words. Any suspicions he might have had, however, were crushed by his reaction to the concept of her dating another man. The mere thought made him want to snarl and growl and beat his chest, which was bloody uncivilised behaviour in a knight of the realm. And over a woman he’d only just met, to boot.

“And in case you’re wondering,” Maddie continued as she fastened her seatbelt, “my last first date was so long ago, I can only remember the edited highlights. It was also a last date.”

“Ah.” On the whole, fist-pumping wasn’t something he did on a regular basis—or any other basis, come to that. Just as well it remained a purely mental expression of satisfaction. “Where did he go wrong? So I know what not to do when I’m working on getting a second date with you.”