“On the coaster,” he muttered.
Instead of moving around him, she leaned across him to place the cup on the coaster to the right of his keyboard.
He gritted his teeth. Damn it, she was so close he could feel the static of their bodies pulling together, just as he’d felt it moments ago when she’d tried to feed her croissant to him.
“What are you working on?”
“The overnight reports of my clubs. I need to concentrate.”
“Okay.”
But she didn’t move away. No, his tormentor pushed his laptop back and lifted herself onto his desk. The skirt of her ugly dress rose above her knees. Her bare legs and pretty feet dangled close…too close…to his thighs.
He didn’t move his stare from the screen of his desktop. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to stop myself from being bored and so stop myself from annoying you.”
“Stop yourself from being bored on the sofa.”
“Agree to take me shopping, and I’ll go to the sofa.”
God, she was good. If Francesca weren’t his hostage, he’d employ her as a debt collector. She wouldn’t need to use menaces to recover any debt; simply sit with them for five minutes. They’d offer extra interest just to get rid of her.
He drank his coffee slowly and braced himself before meeting her stare. “I can’t take you shopping. You know that.But if you agree to spend the rest of your stay here sitting quietly whenever I’m working, I will let you choose whatever clothes you want from a store I have an account with, and have them delivered here today.”
He wouldn’t have believed the light on her face could become even brighter. “Whatever I like?”
“Whatever you like. Bring the other chair over and use my laptop so I can supervise you. I will give you thirty minutes to make your choices.”
“And can I take it all home when I’m released?”
“I’m hardly going to wear it, so yes.”
“Give me an hour to choose?”
“Thirty minutes.”
“Please? I’m hopeless at shopping, so will need to choose lots of things – don’t worry, most of it will be sent back, it’s just that everything looks so nice in the pictures, but when I put them on, they look wrong. Take this dress.” She plucked at its skirt. “It looked wonderful on the model, but makes me look like an old-fashioned English teacher.”
“Then why did you buy it?”
She shrugged. “I buy everything online. It was the best of a bad bunch.”
Gino closed his eyes a moment. There was no reason on earth his heart should feel a tug of tenderness towards her, and when he looked at her again, there was no reason on earth either that he should say, “Thirty minutes. Pick a selection of clothes in the style you would like to wear. When you make your selections, you’ll be prompted to add your height and other statistics. I will send it to the store’s senior stylist, and she will find clothes to fit your taste and fit you as you want them to fit.”
Her eyes widened. For once, there was no hint of teasing or mischief in them. Just apprehensive wonder. “Really? You would do that for me?”
It took more effort than he would have believed to keep his voice even. Even more effort to resist the inexplicable urge to capture a strand of her still-damp hair. “If it means I get to do my work in peace, then yes. Get the chair, Miss Marino. Your thirty minutes start now.”And for the love of God, get off my desk.
With a smile softer and lighter than all her other smiles, she slid her bare feet onto the floor.
While she dragged the chair over to his desk, he brought the website up for her.
“Can I ask something else of you?” she asked as she sat. Her chair was so close to his that it would take effort not to allow their arms to touch.
He swallowed to loosen his suddenly tight throat. “You can ask.”
“I’ve finished my book – could you order some more for me, please? It’s the only way to stop me getting bored while you work.”
