‘Okay, then, I’m starting the timer – now,’ she said, tapping on the screen of her phone.
Turning to face him and settling her body into a comfortable position, she fought back a ridiculous urge to giggle, knowing it would spoil the exercise before they’d even started, and took a breath, locking her eyes with his.
He nodded as if resigned to letting this happen and looked back at her with that shrewd, intelligent gaze of his.
Soli swallowed, suddenly acutely aware of every breath she took, every facial muscle she moved. It was intensely intimate, having him looking at her so thoroughly without a break, but she was determined not to look away.
All the hairs on her body stood up and a hot tingle rushed over her skin as the seconds ticked by slowly, but she still didn’t look away.
He really was an immensely attractive man, she mused as she gazed at his olive skin with its five o’clock shadow and his long, dark lashes that almost brushed his cheeks every time he blinked.
She became aware of some strange feeling building inside her, something that made her pulse jump in her throat, but before she had a chance to figure out exactly what it meant the timer went off, making them both jump.
‘Sorry, I didn’t realise I’d set the volume that high,’ she said, flustered and grabbing for the phone with fumbling fingers. Finally managing to turn it off, she turned back to him and shot him an apologetic grin.
‘Well, that was fun,’ she joked.
His mouth actually twitched up at the corner at that, which she considered a personal victory. Of sorts.
‘At least we’ll be able to describe each other’s faces to an outsider in detail now too,’ she said, acutely aware of a telltale wobble in her voice. ‘You know, I hadn’t realised your eyes had yellow flecks in them; I thought it was just a lighter shade of green. Oh, and how did you get the small scar by your lip? It’s so tiny I hadn’t noticed it till now.’
‘I fell off my bike here in the garden when I was eight,’ he said, lifting his hand to touch the scar she’d mentioned, almost absently. ‘Aunt Faith bought it for my birthday, and the front brakes were really fierce. I went right over the handlebars.’
‘Ouch!’ she said, with a grin.
‘Precisely,’ he agreed, his mouth twitching upwards again.
Yes, progress! It seemed the forced intimacy had opened something up a crack between them. She just needed to press her advantage now and get him talking to her some more.
‘Okay, then, now we’ve done that let’s move on to the questions. I’ll ask you some first, okay?’
He began to frown, but seemed to change his mind. ‘Sure. Fire away.’ Shuffling back against the sofa cushions, he crossed his arms in front of him and gave her his full attention.
Soli felt herself flush again under his gaze, but tried not to let it distract her.
‘What would be a perfect day for you?’ she asked as a starter question.
‘Hmm.’ He rubbed his hand over his jaw again, but in a thoughtful manner this time.
‘Well, I rarely get the chance for a lie-in, so I’d have one of those.’
Soli tried hard not to picture him lying naked and rumpled in bed. And failed.
‘Then I’d have a long, lazy breakfast and perhaps a walk across the heath. Maybe have a swim in the lake and a picnic lunch.’
From the faraway look in his eyes now, she got the impression he was actually enjoying thinking this up. The thought of it warmed her.
‘In the afternoon I’d go and play tennis then head out for a slap-up meal in town.’
‘Wow, that all sounds great,’ she said with a grin. ‘And when was the last time you spent a day doing things like that?’
This seemed to stump him. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever had a day like that. I’ve always been too busy with work or had other social engagements.’
‘Oh. What a shame.’
‘Yes, I guess it is,’ he said, shrugging his shoulder.
There was a small pause where neither of them said anything.
