Scarlet Wilson - Holiday With The Millionaire

The policeman looked at her. ‘Then perhaps you’d like to stay somewhere else? You did say you made this arrangement at short notice. Maybe there’s somewhere else you can stay?’

She cringed. ‘What? No.’ She was starting to look a bit panicked. But there was no way at this late stage that Reuben was going to ring around friends to find a bed for the night. He’d made this arrangement with Caleb and he was sticking to it—whether Ms Teddy Bear liked it or not.

The paramedic stood in front of Reuben. ‘Can you sit down for a second while I do some final checks?’

She couldn’t possibly know how grateful he was to sink down onto the comfortable overstuffed sofa. His stomach gave a little growl as he noticed all the sweet papers on the coffee table. The smell of chocolate and cheese and onion crisps was drifting in his direction. He didn’t care who it belonged to. As soon as he got rid of these folks he was eating the entire lot.

A paramedic made a few final notes and handed him a clipboard and pen. ‘Sign here.’

He scribbled his name and took the leaflet she proffered. She gave him a suspicious glance as she stood up. ‘If you have any of the symptoms on the card you must attend the nearest A and E.’ She gestured with her head. ‘It’s St David’s, about a mile in that direction.’

He gave her a nod. ‘Thanks.’

The policemen headed towards the door. ‘We’ll file a report but I take it things are settled now?’

Lara stood with her mouth gaping. She looked shell-shocked. ‘But—’

‘I’m sure everything will be fine,’ the other policeman cut in. ‘Goodnight, Ms Callaway, Mr Tyler,’ he said, as all four people filed out the front door.

Reuben stood again, waiting for them all to leave before finally closing the front door behind them. His legs felt heavy, but nowhere near as heavy as the thudding in his head.

He stalked back through to the sitting room, collapsed on the couch and tore open one of the chocolate bars, grabbing the TV remote.

Lara hadn’t moved. She was still rooted to the spot.

He grinned at her wickedly. ‘Well, then, I guess it’s just you and me.’

CHAPTER TWO

THIS COULDN’T BE HAPPENING.

An hour ago she’d been watching one of her favourite eighties movies as she’d sipped wine and eaten her body weight in chocolates.

Now it felt as if the Terminator had just invaded her comfortable living space. Except this terminator had an Irish accent that was almost musical to her ears.

Not that Reuben Tyler looked like Arnie. And with his black jeans and leather jacket he was maybe a little too stylish for a burglar. She was trying not to stare. She was trying not to look at him at all. What on earth was she going to do?

‘So, do you always dress like a giant teddy bear?’ he said as he flicked through the channels.

‘What?’ She stared down at her favourite nightwear. Oh, no. In all the chaos she’d forgotten how she was dressed. Hardly a good look for a first meeting.

She scowled at him and stuck her hands on her hips. ‘Well, it wasn’t like I was expecting guests, was I?’

The corner of his mouth turned upwards. ‘Evidently.’

Okay, this guy could make her blood boil but was he a tiny bit hunky? She stole another glance. When he wasn’t angry, he might be described as quite handsome in a rugged sort of way. His dark hair was thick and a little dishevelled. His white T-shirt showed off his tan—doubtless from his stay in the US since it had rained solidly for the last month in London. No wonder she was keeping her pale flesh covered. But it was those eyes that could probably melt the hearts of the female population of the city. Dark brown, like coffee or chocolate—both were her vices.

She gave a little shudder. What on earth was she thinking? She didn’t know a single thing about this man.

‘You can’t possibly stay here. Addison told me I’d have the place to myself for the next few days.’ She folded her arms across her chest. She was grasping at straws but Addison really hadn’t mentioned a word about having to share the place with one of Caleb’s friends. Which most likely meant that Addison hadn’t known that Reuben would be here...

Darn it. There went the little shudder again. All of a sudden he wasn’t so much a dangerous intruder as a slightly intriguing handsome stranger. But sharing the house with someone she didn’t know still made her feel uncomfortable.

Reuben seemed completely uninterested in her comments. He grabbed a bar of chocolate from the table and started eating it. ‘I think you should be more worried about smashing up Caleb’s trophy. He was very proud of that.’

The trophy. Her eyes went to the floor. It was broken into three solid parts. No super-strength glue in the world could put it back together. She sagged down into one of the armchairs. ‘I’ve no idea what to do about that,’ she murmured.

Reuben sat up a little straighter. He gave his head a little shake and winced. ‘Do you have any painkillers?’

She nodded. ‘Come through to the kitchen. There are some in the cupboard.’

She flashed her hand over the light for the hall and it came on, flooding the entranceway with light. Reuben frowned and bent down. ‘What on earth is that? I couldn’t find the light switch when I came in.’

She walked past. ‘It’s one of Caleb’s new inventions. Light switches you don’t touch. Just the motion of your hand switches it on. Do you know that light switches and doorhandles are the biggest places that harbour germs?’

She couldn’t believe she was having a normal conversation with a guy she’d thought was breaking into the house. It was all so surreal. Maybe this was a dream? Maybe she’d drunk a little too much wine and fallen asleep in front of the TV? Because, truth be told, Reuben Tyler did look a little like a dream.

She stubbed her toe on the way into the kitchen. ‘Youch!’ She definitely wasn’t dreaming. That had hurt too much.

She waved her hand over the switch to turn the light on and walked to the cupboard on the far wall to retrieve the tablets. Reuben sat on one of the stools at the kitchen island and gave a little sigh.

She grabbed a glass and filled it with water. ‘Here you go.’ She hesitated then added, ‘I’m sorry about your head.’

He looked up at her through lazy, tired eyes. ‘Yeah, yeah. I’m sure I’ll get over it.’

He was looking at her with those chocolate eyes. The stare was so intense it almost felt as if it was burrowing through her thick pink onesie. It was definitely heading for the bin after this. His gaze made her feel uneasy and she started to ramble. ‘There are a few free bedrooms upstairs. I’m on the second floor so I’d appreciate it if you could sleep on one of the other floors. Maybe the third? Since Addison, Caleb and Tristan all sleep on the first floor.’

‘You’re pushing me into the servants’ quarters?’ His voice was a lazy drawl.

‘What? I am not.’

‘Yes, you are. Don’t you remember that in all these Georgian houses the servants stayed in the attics?’

‘Did they?’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘I wasn’t much of a history buff, more a geography girl myself.’ She waved her hand. ‘Anyway the rooms upstairs are lovely. The biggest one has an en-suite bathroom, I’m sure you’ll be comfortable there.’

He was still watching her, almost as if he was trying to size her up. But what alarmed her most was the fact there was a twinkle in his eye. He swallowed the painkillers and took a gulp of the water. ‘Maybe I’ll just crash on the sofa—next to your midnight feast. Were you actually going to eat all that?’

Colour heated her cheeks. She was about to be offended, but from the twinkle in his eye it was almost as if he was trying to bait her. She’d recovered enough from the shock of earlier to play him at his own game.