‘Make sure you do,’ she said. ‘And I want to hear all the naughty little details, if there are any. Which I sincerely hope there will be.’
‘Your chariot has arrived,’ Paul said with a gorgeous smile, after pulling up at the bus stop and opening his front window.
‘Thanks for this,’ I said, getting into the passenger seat while having a few naughty thoughts of my own. ‘No Berry?’
‘I thought I’d pick you up first, as you were waiting in the cold. She’s in the warm so we’ll get her now.’ He headed towards her flat. ‘And talking of cold, Berry said you’ve got problems with your heating.’
‘I have,’ I said, thinking that Paul could keep me warm if I played my cards right. ‘I’ve booked someone to sort it out, hopefully, but he can’t come until Tuesday.’
‘Tuesday? Well, I suppose December’s a busy month for plumbers. Heating breakdowns, burst pipes, and all that. Are you staying with your parents until it’s fixed?’
‘Yes. Much to Mum’s delight.’
Our eyes met and he smiled as if he could read my mind. Which maybe he could.
‘If that gets too much, there’s a spare room at my place.’
I almost choked. Had he just offered me his spare bedroom?
‘Oh! Erm. Thanks. That … that’s so kind.’
And oh, so tempting. Was it too late for me to say Mum said it wasn’t convenient for me to stay at their house?
‘And I have heating,’ he added with a wink.
Who needed heating when a gorgeous guy like Paul winked and smiled and made all the blood in my veins boil with pure lust and set all my senses on fire?
‘When can I move in?’
He looked at me again as we stopped at a set of traffic lights and I was sure steam must be coming out of my ears. Dear god, this man wassoooosexy.
‘Whenever you like,’ he replied his words dripping with honey.
Oh.
My.
God!
Was Paul saying what I thought he was saying?
The loud ring of his phone broke the spell … and the sexual tension. Which was just as well because if it hadn’t, I might’ve thrown myself onto his lap and had sex with him right then and there. Even if the traffic lights turned green.
But the name that flashed up on his dashboard display dampened my enthusiasm. It was his girlfriend. Or ex-girlfriend.
He hesitated for a moment and then rejected the call, throwing me an embarrassed and boyish sort of smile.
‘Nothing to say,’ he said, and then cleared his throat as the lights did change to green and he concentrated on turning right and avoiding the cyclist who didn’t seem sure where his bike should be.
‘Berry told me about last night,’ I said, when the cyclist was out of Paul’s way. ‘I’m sorry I was so drunk. And thank you for carrying me upstairs.’
He gave me another of those gorgeous smiles. ‘Anytime. I think you slept through the drama. But Berry’s filled you in today?’
‘Uh-huh. I’m sorry things went wrong between you.’
‘Are you?’ His eyes briefly scanned my face. ‘It’s been a long time coming. I should’ve ended it when…’ He gave another small cough. ‘A while ago. But I didn’t.’
‘Not something that can be sorted out?’
