‘So I see.’ His lips twitched, and damn him, she could tell he was trying to hold back a smirk.
‘Yes.’ She lifted her chin. She didn’t care.
‘And are you having fun?’ he asked. There it was again, that little lopsided lift at one side of his mouth. Was he teasing her?
‘I plan to.’ She lifted her chin. ‘I’ve been stuck –’ she wasn’t going to explain about Chris ‘– in a … a situation I wasn’t very happy in and I’m just happy to be here. Looking forward to an adventure. Something different.’
‘I see,’ he said gravely. She was babbling again but there was something about him that made her feel all fizzy inside.
Amusement danced in his eyes as they focused on her and his smile was positively fiendish. He leaned back against one of the kitchen counters, lazily folding his arms. Her heart jumped into her throat and a flush of heat washed over her.
Would she ever get used to the sight of him? Hopefully regular exposure would stop her being reduced to a blithering idiot.
‘Notfunfun. Just, you know, just enjoying the moment.’Hattie, shut up, just shut up. Close your mouth and stop the words coming out.Suddenly she found herself unable to stop her gaze dropping to his lips and that movie-star square jaw. What would it be like to be kissed by him? Held against that broad chest, against the soft chambray of his shirt? Oh God, she’d got wedding fever. Too much time thinking about those happy brides and grooms … but then it was so long since she’d kissed anyone but Chris, and in the last few years that had felt nothing more than platonic. Her hormones had been in deep hibernation for longer than was good for them and suddenly they were fighting their way out with spring enthusiasm.
She bet Luc knew what he was doing when he kissed a woman. Suddenly she longed to be kissed again by someone who wasn’t worried that his mum might walk in at any second or that the lights weren’t dim enough. Someone who had sex with the lights on. During the day. Someone who couldn’t wait to rip her clothes off. Someone who would make her feel alive again.
‘Hattie?’
Oh, shit, he’d asked her a question and she had no idea what he’d just said. She was still staring at his lips. She might as well have been shouting,Come kiss me.
Before she could drop her gaze, his mouth curved into a smile. He was dazzling and it was like receiving a socking great punch to the heart. For the ninety-nine millionth time, she acknowledged he was flipping gorgeous.
‘Sorry, what did you say? she said, knocked off balance by this ridiculous crush.
‘I asked the date of the wedding and also if you needed anything?’
She wondered what he’d say if she said, ‘Hot, sweaty, mindless, meaningless sex.’
Instead, she managed to put that thought to the back of her mind.
She cleared her throat. ‘It’s on the twenty-fifth of July and the only thing I need right now is food.’
Concern filled his eyes, which for some reason was rather gratifying. ‘I’m sorry. I … didn’t think. I had breakfast with Alphonse this morning. I’m afraid Solange, the housekeeper, is about to go away for a week and I haven’t had a chance to go shopping yet.’
‘So where’s the best place to get some food?’
‘A hypermarket. That’s usually a good place to start.’ His eyes twinkled.
She waved a hand to excuse her vagueness, her tone a little prim. ‘I mean, would you be able to tell me where the nearest supermarket is.’
‘But of course. There’s an E. Leclerc in Hautvillers. A fifteen-minute drive away. I’m going to visit my aunt this morning, I could give you a lift if you’d like?’
She wrinkled her nose and rolled her shoulders, which still ached from yesterday’s marathon drive. ‘That’s very kind of you but I’m not sure I can face the thought of getting in a car again or doing a big shop. I only wanted a few things to start with.’ Plus she was worried that sitting in close proximity might reduce her to a jellied mess.
‘There’s a shop in the village, it has most things.’
‘Can I walk there?’
‘Hmm, it’s a bit of a walk. There’s a bicycle you can use. It belonged to my aunt, but Solange sometimes uses it, so it should be in working order.’
‘That would be great.’ The idea of cycling through the French countryside immediately appealed to her.
‘Would you like me to go and bring it round for you? I’ll check the tyres are okay.’
‘That’s very kind of you,’ she said.
‘No problem,’ he murmured in French, which even she could understand. Unfortunately, when he spoke in French, it was even sexier.
