Bargain in Bronze by Natalie Anderson Page B

turned on in her life.
    “Nor have I,” he said.
    “Is that an invitation or an observation?” she asked huskily.
    He thrust ever so slightly against her. “Would you like to have dinner with me?”
    “I’m not sure there’ll be anything open.” Time had flown past midnight.
    Amusement lit his eyes. “It’s London. There’s always something open. We can go to the Greek place down the road,” he murmured. “But you look tired and hungry and possibly not up for crowds.”
    That was true. She smiled suddenly. “We can always have some muesli.”
    He mock shuddered. “I can’t get past the school porridge experience.”
    “You need to widen your experience.” She firmly pushed him away. To her disappointment he didn’t resist. She pulled out a couple of bowls from a cupboard and tried to calm her body. But it was too late—far too late.
    “Muesli is not an adequate meal replacement,” he said watching her ladle some into the bowls.
    “Why don’t you stop fighting it and just give it a go?” She poured some milk on top.
    His head whipped up, an amused gleam brightening his eyes. His smile widened. “You should take your own advice.” He lifted his spoon and took a giant mouthful.
    Libby gripped her bowl, trying to cool her searing lust. She could contain this, right?
    He munched and swallowed. Stopped. He looked up and gave her an accusing glare. “It’s good.”
    “You’re surprised? Don’t you trust your brother’s taste?” Smiling, she had a mouthful of muesli herself.
    “It’s been questionable in the past,” he said dryly.
    “You’ve not tried it when you have bags of it up there?”
    “Tom guards it like a goblin does his gold.” He loaded another massive mouthful.
    She laughed. “It must be interesting having an athlete like that in the family.”
    He nodded and swallowed. “It makes life interesting.”
    “Your parents would have been very proud.”
    “They would have.” He shot her a look over his bowl. “I thought you said you didn’t Google me.”
    “I didn’t.” She rolled her eyes as she chewed.
    “But you know.”
    His intensity liquefied her defenses. “Everybody knows the story of Tom Barnes,” she said honestly. “He had cancer as a child. His parents were killed in a car crash and his half-brother—you—raised him and his sister. Tom went on to train and has soared through the rowing ranks to claim champion status. All he needs to cap it now is Olympic glory.”
    Jack grimaced. “They’ve used him as a PR front, but all it’s done is add more pressure at his end.”
    She could only imagine. “There was always going to be huge pressure anyway,” she pointed out. But his concern touched her. “You’re still the protective brother.”
    “It’s a hard habit to break.” He acknowledged. “I don’t want him to burn out or go off the deep end again.” He eyed her. “You know about that too?”
    She carefully washed out her bowl. “That he had his heart broken by his first serious girlfriend and went a bit wild on the party scene?”
    “Mmmm.” Jack munched as he nodded.
    Libby rinsed the other utensils and mixing bowl she’d used. “Do you think he’s vulnerable to doing that again?” Tom had seemed pretty single-minded to her.
    He thought about it. “Maybe not. He nearly lost it all, and that gave him a wake-up call.”
    “And now he has you to keep all the vixen temptresses away from him…” Her voice trailed off as he stepped behind her, slowly reaching past to put his bowl beneath the running tap. She could feel him pressing against her back— all of him.
    “That really was good,” he admitted in a soft whisper that tickled her ear—and tormented her nerves.
    “Worth giving it a shot,” she agreed, her throat so dry it was a wonder the words were audible.
    She turned off the tap and took the bowl from his hand and stacked it with the others. She’d been right about the muesli. But maybe Jack was right too. She’d only be here