She slapped a hand to her forehead. Of course! ‘I’ve got an idea,’ she said. ‘We could come off the motorway at Birmingham and stay the night at my house.’ Then she felt a fool for mentioning it, as she remembered something. ‘Oh, but you can’t – you’ve got work tomorrow.’
Ashton’s smile was more of a smirk. ‘Actually, I don’t. I arranged to have tomorrow off because I knew today would be a long day.’
Carla was touched that he’d gone to all that trouble. ‘I don’t know what to say.’
‘You don’t have to say anything. You’d do the same for me.’
She was surprised to realise that she would. ‘Does that mean you’re happy to break the journey at mine?’
‘I don’t see why not. I must admit, I wasn’t looking forward to driving back this afternoon. Anyway, I’ve never been to Birmingham.’
‘Do you want to go out on the town this evening?’ Carla hoped not. It was the last thing she was in the mood for.
‘What? Not on your life! I was hoping to see an urban fox.’
Carla might have known, and she rolled her eyes good-naturedly. ‘Pity you didn’t bring your camera.’
‘I know,’ he sighed. ‘I didn’t think I’d need it.’
‘I don’t think you’ll need it tonight, either. I’ve never seen a fox on my street.’
‘Have you looked for one?’
‘Not really.’
He gave her a ‘well, then,’ look.
She said, ‘Are you sure I can’t tempt you to go for a drink down my local?’
‘Oh, go on then, you’ve twisted my arm.’
‘Were you having me on about wanting to see a fox?
His face creased into a smile, his profile showing her one of his gorgeous dimples. ‘Only a bit. A pie and a pint will go down a treat.’
‘You’ve just eaten,’ she pointed out.
‘And I’ll want to eat again before I go to bed. My job means I’m on my feet for a lot of the day.’ He tapped his flat stomach. ‘I need the calories.’
Carla barely heard that last bit. She’d zeroed in on the word ‘bed’ and it abruptly struck her that she would be alone in the house with a man she found seriously attractive and a thoroughly nice guy. And he would be sleeping in the bedroom next to hers.
Maybe, given how fast her heart was beating at the thought and how dry her mouth had suddenly become, suggesting he stayed the night at her place wasn’t the best idea she’d ever had.
By the time they’d exited the motorway at Birmingham, Ashton was more than ready to ditch the car and stretch his legs. He wasn’t used to sitting in one position for this long, or being so sedentary, and his back was in half. To add to his woes, his neck was stiff, his shoulders were aching, and his eyes felt gritty from focusing so hard.
The return journey had been twice as bad, with even more traffic to contend with, and he’d seen more near misses in one day than he’d witnessed in a year in Thornbury.
Carla guided him through the unfamiliar one-way system, and when she finally instructed him to pull onto a driveway outside a semi-detached 1930s house in a leafy suburb, he sighed in relief.
Ashton got out of the car, groaning as his muscles protested, and looked around. ‘Is there a shop nearby?’ he asked,wishing he had suggested they push on, rather than agreeing to break the journey. He wasn’t exactly prepared for an overnight stay. ‘I need a toothbrush.’
Carla unlocked the front door, bending down to pick up a wad of post and giving him a view of her shapely behind. He swallowed and looked away.
‘There are new toothbrushes in the bathroom,’ she told him, flicking through the letters and flyers. She paused, and her face paled. Then she held up an envelope sporting a logo he recognised as belonging to a large insurance company. ‘It’s from work,’ she said. ‘And it sure as hell isn’t a renewal quote.’
He followed her inside, noting her automatic actions as she draped her bag over the newel post and kicked off her shoes in the hall. He wondered whether he should follow suit but became distracted by her cute bare feet with their apricot-painted toenails.
She tore the envelope open. ‘Would you like a cup of tea or coffee? Blast, there won’t be any fresh milk.’
