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Her stepbrother was annoyed and made no attempt to hide his feelings. She was tempted to tell him to mind his own business when he began questioning her about Ari and demanding to know how long she had known him. Ducking his invasive questions as best she could, she remained pleasant, reminding herself that Liam was her stepbrother and that falling out with him would cause grief for her mother.
Liam was the reason why Cleo rarely went to Scotland to see her parent. Her stepbrother had announced within hours of first meeting Cleo after he left the army that she was the woman of his dreams. Sadly, he wasnotthe man of Cleo’s dreams. But he currently lived with his father and her mother and worked in the pub they ran, and avoiding Liam when she visited was impossible. Unluckily for her, nobody seemed to understand why she couldn’t date Liam and at least give him a chance. He was an attractive, decent enough guy, who worked hard and had no obvious bad habits, but Cleo didn’t find him remotely fanciable and for that reason she had refused to go out with him. Teased and ultimately criticised for her resistance to her stepbrother’s charms, Cleo had found it easier by far to avoid visiting her mother’s Scottish home. Sometimes, her stepfather and mother came down to London to see her and she always visited them for Christmas and birthdays. In truth, she resented Liam for coming, however unintentionally, between her and the mother she loved.
Now, keen to avoid any further controversy, she made suggestions about where Liam could stay in London and reluctantly agreed to meet him for a meal on the weekend that he arrived. The knowledge that she would have to put up with Liam’s flirtation, heavy-duty persuasion and criticisms purely to keep the family peace made her tense and anxious. Getting off to sleep was a challenge and at two in the morning she surrendered and got back out of bed to go downstairs and grab a snack from the well-stocked fridge.
Mrs Thomas lived in an apartment in the converted stables behind the house and was not disturbed by anyone getting up at night. Clad in shorty pyjamas because Ari’s house was always kept at a comfortable temperature, Cleo switched on the low lights in the kitchen and dived into the refrigerator, laying out eggs and broccoli and cheese, thinking hungrily of an omelette. Locating a suitable pan, she almost dropped it when she heard a sound from the door behind her and she whirled round, clutching the frying pan like a weapon.
Ari grinned at her and lounged in the doorway. ‘You could batter me to death with that,’ he remarked.
Her wrist aching from the weight of the pan, she set it down on the hob. ‘I didn’t know you were back.’
‘About an hour ago. My meetings finished early and I decided to move up my flight, even though it was late,’ Ari imparted smoothly, faded jeans clinging to his lean hips, the top button undone, his impressive brown torso as bare as his feet. ‘Are you cooking?’
‘I was about to make an omelette. Are you hungry?’
‘I wouldn’t say no to something to eat,’ Ari replied lightly. ‘How are you finding it here?’
‘How could I complain? I’ve never been so comfortable in my life,’ she told him truthfully. ‘You said that we had that interview with the authorities the day after tomorrow. Is there anything else I need to know?’
‘We have another meeting with Lucy tomorrow morning. I was hoping you would want to come to that as well.’
‘I wouldn’t miss it,’ Cleo said with an easy smile, striving not to be so conscious of his presence or of her own state of undress.
For goodness’ sake, they were adults, not feckless teenagers to whom an inch of bare flesh could be an incitement. She was wearing shorts and a loose tee, not a bikini. Why, then, was she alarmingly aware of his gaze on her slender thighs? He wasn’t staring. No, Ari was far too polite and controlled to betray himself like that. She chopped ingredients while stealing feverish glances at him where he sat at the island, one long leg braced on the floor, a powerful muscular thigh flexing below the worn denim that emphasised the bulge at his crotch. Her face burning scarlet, she dragged her attention from him and threw together the omelettes without further ado.
‘This is good,’ Ari remarked as he ate heartily, allowing himself only a brief glance in her direction because he was ridiculously aware of the curvy, highly feminine little body concealed by her pyjamas. The level of his awareness astounded him. He was accustomed to regular exposure to half-naked female bodies in clubs, on yachts, beaches and at parties. Wherever he went he met women who wore less clothing than she did, and he shouldn’t be susceptible to even the smallest show of Cleo’s body...but hewas. Cleo only had to move for her full breasts to shift beneath her top, pert nipples poking out beneath the cotton, and he was as mesmerised as a teenage boy.
‘It’s a quick, easy option. Your housekeeper is treating me like royalty. This is the first time I’ve cooked since I moved in.’
‘I’m glad you’re here. I have a party to attend on Saturday evening. It would seal our couple status if you appear with me in public. I’m not sure we can be very convincing without a public appearance or two.’
‘No can do. I’m meeting someone for dinner on Saturday night.’
Ari stiffened, a shard of outrage flaming through him, even though he knew that he was not entitled to that reaction. ‘You have a...date?’
‘Wrong word for it, althoughhe’llprobably treat it like a date,’ Cleo replied ruefully, her mouth tightening with resentment. ‘My stepbrother is down in London and, much though I’d prefer not to, I have to be friendly to keep the family happy.’
‘If he’s family, he can attend the party with us,’ Ari suggested.
Cleo cringed at the prospect. ‘No, that wouldn’t do. He might be rude to you. I told him that we were living together and he was furious. It’s none of his business but he pulls the big-brother act when it suits him and reserves the right to criticise. I don’t want a truckload of misinformation going back to my mother if I can avoid it.’
‘If you don’t like this guy, you shouldn’t have to spend time with him,’ Ari asserted.
‘I wish it were that simple, but I’ll use my living situation to put some more distance between me and Liam,’ Cleo confided. ‘If I talk about us like we’re a proper couple, it’ll put him off...hopefully.’
‘Or if he’s the average male, it might only make him try harder.’
‘I can handle Liam,’ Cleo said ruefully. ‘I just wish I didn’t have to and that the family would accept that I’m not interested in him.’
‘Why do your family want you to be together?’
‘Because he decided that he wants to be with me and the family approve. To be fair, other women find him fanciable.’
Reluctant amusement glimmered in Ari’s gorgeous eyes. ‘I may not come from your world, but at least you fan—’
Cleo leant across the gap between them and rested her fingers against his parted lips to silence the words she could see ready to tumble off his tongue. ‘Don’t you dare say that I fancy you!’
A slanting irreverent grin illuminated his darkly handsome features and he nipped at her lingering fingertip, making her jump. ‘Even if it’s true?’
