‘Who mentioned sex? I just said you could stay. And it’s still only eight. It might clear up before bedtime.’
He held my gaze but I could see he was holding back a laugh. ‘Bedtime? Are we six?’
‘You are,’ I said. ‘Don’t be facetious. You know perfectly well what I meant by bedtime.’
‘I have no idea. Enlighten me.’
‘I meant later. Much later than it is now. Ten or eleven. Or midnight. I don’t know what time you go to bed.’ I moved my arm away from his.
He moved closer. ‘It depends who I’m with. I’d happily go to bed at six with you, Lucy. Would you like me to stay?’ His eyes darkened with desire.
I gave a little shrug, not wanting him to know how much I wanted him to stay.
‘Would you like to stay?’ I asked.
‘Very much.’ His gaze held mine.
‘There’s a second bedroom,’ I said.
‘Ah. I see. That’s great. Then I’ll stay.’ He gave a small smile. ‘In the second bedroom. If you’re sure that’s okay.’
‘I’m sure. I’d worry if you drove off in this weather. Or if you walked. You might be found frozen to death or something. Better to wait until morning once the gritters have been out.’
‘Yes,’ he said, his eyes twinkling mischievously and his mouth twitching into a smile once again. ‘Much better to wait until the morning.’
‘Would you like some wine?’ I walked around him to the fridge.
‘Hadn’t we established you’ve had more than enough already?’
I thumped my empty coffee cup onto the counter.
‘Are you telling me how much I should, or shouldn’t, drink?’
‘Nope. Absolutely not. Drink as much as you like. But none for me, thanks. Even if the gritters come out, it’ll still be icy tomorrow, so I need to take care.’
I opened the fridge. ‘We’ll be snowed in tomorrow, remember?’
‘Ah yes. Hmm. Perhaps I should go, after all.’
I slammed the fridge door shut. ‘Don’t you want to be snowed in with me?’
He turned to face me. ‘I can think of nothing I’d rather be than snowed in with you. But I’m not sure it would be wise.’
‘Why not?’ I folded my arms in front of my chest.
‘I hate to open recent wounds, but I’m pretty sure I told you how much I wanted you. Staying in the second bed for one night is going to be hard enough, but doing so for two, is going to be impossible.’
I leant on the counter and gave him my sexiest smile. ‘And I think I told you that I wanted you too. I’ll admit, I’d prefer something more than a holiday fling. I want to be in love, and be loved. I want a relationship, I’ll admit that. But, like you, I had the best sex of my life ten years ago, and, like you, I’d rather like to know if it would be that good again.’
‘So … what, exactly, are you saying?’
I shrugged, and moved around the counter, leaning back against it and crossing my legs at my ankles. I reached up and pulled out my chignon, shaking my head so that my hair swung loose around my shoulders, and then I licked my lips.
‘I’m saying, we’re both adults. If we can be honest with one another and tell each other exactly what we both want this week, then I see no reason why we couldn’t have a repeat of that wonderful week in July, ten years ago.’
He stiffened and sucked in a breath. ‘Are you being serious? There’s nothing I want more. I think I’ve made that abundantly clear. But you said you want a relationship. I can’t give you that, Lucy. I could pretend, but that wouldn’t be fair to either of us.’
I shook my head and twisted the knot-tie of my wrap dress around my finger.
