Kate Hardy - A Date with the Ice Princess

Daddy’s girl.

Did he know ?

Had he made the connection with ‘Cinnamon Baby’, the little girl with ringlets who’d been the paparazzi’s darling, smiling for the cameras on her father’s shoulders? She really hoped not. Abigail didn’t use her first name any more, and it had been years since the paparazzi had followed her about. Even so, the times when her identity had been leaked in the past had made her paranoid about it happening again.

And there was no guile in Lewis’s face. Abigail had already leaped to a few wrong conclusions about him, and she knew she wasn’t being fair to him.

‘I suppose I am, a bit,’ she said.

‘Is your dad a doctor?’ he asked.

‘No. What about your parents?’

He shook his head, and for a moment she was sure she saw sadness in his eyes, though when she blinked it had gone. Maybe she’d imagined it.

Pudding turned out to be strawberries and very posh vanilla ice cream.

‘Do I take it you make your own ice cream?’ Abigail asked.

Lewis laughed. ‘No. There’s an Italian deli around the corner that sells the nicest ice cream in the world, so there’s no need to make my own—though I would love an ice-cream maker.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘But my girls say I already have far too many gadgets.’

‘Boys and their toys,’ she said lightly.

‘Cooking relaxes me.’ He grinned. ‘But I admit I like gadgets as well. As long as they’re useful, otherwise they’re just clutter and a waste of space.’

Abigail glanced at her watch and was surprised to discover how late it was. ‘I’d better get that taxi.’

‘Absolutely not. I’m driving you home. And I only had one glass of wine, so I’m under the limit.’

It was easier not to protest. Though, with the roof up, his car seemed much more intimate. Just the two of them in an enclosed space.

He insisted on seeing her to her door.

‘Would you like to come in for coffee?’ she asked.

He shook his head. ‘You’re on an early shift tomorrow, so it wouldn’t be fair. But thank you for the offer.’

‘Thank you for today, Lewis. I really enjoyed it.’

‘Me, too,’ he said.

And this was where she unlocked the door, closed it behind her and ended everything.

Except her mouth had other ideas.

‘Um, those concert tickets I bid for at the fundraiser. It’s on Friday night. It probably isn’t your thing, but if you’d like to, um, go with me, you’re very welcome.’

He looked at her and gave her a slow smile that made her toes curl. ‘Thank you. I’d like that very much.’

‘Not as a date,’ she added hastily, ‘just because I have a spare ticket.’ She didn’t want him thinking she was chasing him. Because she wasn’t.

Was she?

Right at that moment, she didn’t have a clue what she was doing. Lewis Gallagher rattled her composure, big time. And, if she was honest with herself, she’d been lonely since she’d started her new job. Lewis was the first of her colleagues who’d really made an effort with her, and part of her wanted to make the effort back.

‘As friends,’ he said. ‘That works for me. See you tomorrow, Abby.’ He touched her cheek briefly with the backs of his fingers. ‘Sleep well.’

Despite the fresh air and the exercise, Abigail didn’t think she would—because her skin was tingling where Lewis had touched her. And the knowledge that he could affect her like that totally threw her. ‘You, too. Goodnight,’ she mumbled, and fled into the safety of her flat.

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