1. Chapter One #2
She indicated her small purse. “Sadly, I had to leave my axe at home tonight. Now, if you’re looking for the pen and credit card killer, I’m your gal.”
He held out his hand. “I didn’t get your name in all that noise. I’m Colin Marcham.”
She shook it. “Mabel Howard. I suppose I should be asking if you’re a murderer, too.”
He kept hold of her hand, his smile deepening. He had a dimple on his right cheek. “I’m English. Even if I was going to kill you, I’d have to ask very politely if it was all right with you before I did it.”
“Then I think we’ll both be safe for the ten minutes we’ll be together,” Mabel said demurely.
He held open the door, and they stepped onto the sidewalk. It was brutally hot despite the late hour, and the streetlights cast a yellow glow on the still-crowded sidewalk and street. She bumped into Colin as he tried to switch sides with her.
“Sorry, old habit.” He fell into step beside her. “My father always told me to walk on a lady’s right side so that if I needed to use my sword hand it would be free.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“I told him it was ridiculously old-fashioned, but I still find myself doing it.”
“You’re actually on my left.”
“That’s because I’m a left-handed swordsman and this is America.”
She found herself smiling at him with the feeling that she’d stumbled into a Hugh Grant movie and was just managing to keep up her end of the jaunty banter
“Rick said you’re a software developer.”
“Kind of.”
“That’s great.” He paused. “I have no idea what that actually entails.”
“I’m a computer nerd. A geek.”
“Like Bill Gates?”
“Yes, but without the billions of dollars.”
He glanced down at her. “And much prettier.”
“That wouldn’t be hard.”
They arrived at an intersection, and he casually reached for her hand. She didn’t stop him. His fingers were warm, and an unexpected tingling sensation shot up her arm.
“You’re holding my hand.” God, did that breathy voice belong to her?
“Yes, I am.” He sounded as if he was equally startled by what he’d done. “Is that okay?”
“I’m not five years old.”
“God, I hope not, or I wouldn’t be able to do this.” Still holding her gaze, he brought her fingers to his lips and briefly kissed them. “Now that felt great.”
“Is this a British thing? Kissing hands and charming the pants off complete strangers?” Mabel tried for a flirtatious tone, but she wasn’t quite sure she pulled it off because, hell, she wanted to know the answer more than she wanted her next breath.
One of his eyebrows rose. “I’m good, Mabel, but I doubt I can charm you out of your knickers with one kiss.”
“Pants, as in, trousers.” She mock-frowned at him. “I wasn’t talking about panties.”
“Ah. I did wonder, as you appear to be wearing a skirt.”
“With panties underneath,” she said firmly.
“I’m glad to hear it.”
Slightly flustered, she gestured to the left before rounding the next corner. His shoulder brushed hers as they took the tree-lined sidewalk sandwiched between the light rail and a shopping area.
“How much farther is your place from the hotel?” Colin asked.
“About another minute.”
He plucked at the T-shirt sticking to his enviably flat stomach. “I think I’d fry if I had to live in this heat all the time.”
“You prefer cloudy skies and rain?”
“You’ve been to England, I take it?”
“Only for three days when I was a senior in high school. We did Europe in two weeks.”
He snorted. “You ‘did’ Europe. That’s so American.” He paused. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I mean, wrong with being American. You’re just very efficient.”
She shrugged. “Seen one ruined castle, you’ve seen them all.”
“That’s true. We Brits still tend to think of ourselves as an empire rather than a small island.
We’re the ones with the delusions of grandeur.
” His steps slowed as they approached the hotel.
Turning to face her, he smiled. “Thank you so much for getting me safely to my door. All I have to do now is remember which room I’m in, and I’ll be good for the night. ”
“I’m glad I could help.” She looked up at him and then found she couldn’t look away.
He hesitated. “Mabel… Would you consider having a drink with me in the bar? I certainly owe you one. I’ll escort you safely home afterwards.”
She took a slow breath and inhaled the lemony scent of his aftershave. She had no idea what she was doing, but she knew that if she walked away from him right now, she would regret it. “I’d like that very much.”
They went through the lobby into the quieter of the two bars. There was an empty booth in the back, and Mabel slid onto the seat opposite Colin.
They smiled hesitantly at each other across the table.
“It’s very kind of you to put up with me.” Colin said. “Especially when I’m not at my best.”
“I hadn’t noticed.”
“I’ve been working long hours to get this building project together, and I’m absolutely knackered.” He groaned and shoved a hand through his hair. “I don’t think I’ve seen the sun for about a year. I’ve probably got rickets.”
“I know how that goes.” Mabel said. “I feel like I’ve been staring at my computer screen for ten years straight.”
“You don’t look old enough to have been working for ten years.”
She grinned at him. “I was a child prodigy.”
“Obviously.” He looked down at the bar menu. “Are you hungry?”
Mabel was always forgetting to eat, especially when she was involved in a big project, and the Grove assignment had almost consumed her alive. The pressure to succeed on time and on budget had been a nightmare.
They ordered and Mabel set the menus upright between the condiments and the small vase of fake flowers that graced the table.
“So, how do you know Rick?” Mabel asked.
“I was introduced to him by one of my clients,” Colin said. “He was interested in my designs for his friend’s vacation home up at Lake Tahoe, so he asked me to meet him at the bar this evening. Not that I could hear anything he tried to say to me, but at least we connected.”
“How much longer are you here for?” Mabel asked.
“Another three days. I was supposed to meet another potential client, but he bailed on me. Now I can revert to tourist mode.”
Their beers arrived and they clinked them together, toasting each other before ignoring the frosted glasses and drinking straight from the bottle.
Mabel took a deep breath. “I’ve got a couple of weeks off. I could show you around if you like.”
Colin put his beer down. “You’d do that?”
“Sure.” She shrugged. “I’ve hardly had much chance to do tourist stuff myself. As I said, I’m always working,”
He sighed “Ditto.”
“It sucks, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, it does.” His blue gaze fixed on her face. “I’ve spent the last five years trying to prove I can hold down a job and be a responsible adult. But sometimes I get tired of seeking approval I’m fairly certain will never come.”
“Family?” she said sympathetically.
“How did you guess? My father—” He broke off and smiled. “I don’t want to bore you with all that.”
“Don’t worry, I get it. I’m a total ‘approve of me, notice me’ addict myself.”
“Pathetic, isn’t it?”