have fallen in love.’ He opened his mouth to protest, but before he could get a single syllable out, she shushed him. ‘For goodness’ sake, Nicholas! At least admit it to yourself if not to me.’
‘I am not in love with her!’ he snapped.
‘Whatever. You’ve developed feelings for a woman, and either she hasn’t reciprocated, or, knowing you, you’ve done everything in your power to ruin the relationship before it even had a chance of drawing breath.’
‘How can you suggest I have feelings for a woman who is adulterous, bigamous, and has a mouth the size of Mount Vesuvius?’ Wendy raised her eyebrows in scepticism.
‘And, I suppose, you have evidence to substantiate these rather slanderous claims? Or are you merely jumping to convenient conclusions?’ She looked at him hard for a moment before continuing.
‘The fact is, Nick, you’re not the sort of man to fall for a woman who is all superficiality with nothing beneath. The only women you’ve ever shown real interest in have been intelligent, sensitive and sensible women with their heads firmly on. Well, except for Monique. So what’s really going on here?’ Nicholas frowned, tempted to tell Wendy to leave him alone.
‘For starters, Monique occurred when I was very young and foolhardy,’ he snapped. Just hearing her name never failed to infuriate him. And it looked as if he could well be making the same mistakes again, a good fifteen years later! ‘Maybe I’m regressing,’ he muttered under his breath.
But could that be possible? Was Emily really all those things he thought her to be, or had he been jumping to conclusions. And why? Fifteen years is a long time, and he’d thought he’d banished Monique from his system years ago.
He’d obviously been wrong about Emily being a mother. And while he’d seen her embrace Mark Overington, there was the possibility it had been no more than a friendly gesture. She seemed genuinely pleased about Lisa’s pregnancy, and the two woman had seemed to be very close…
‘Well, she may not be adulterous and bigamous,’ he admitted. ‘But she’s obviously attached.’ Which didn’t explain the way she’d kissed him Tuesday evening. He may have been the one to initiate the kiss, but she hadn’t pushed him away, in fact, she’d embraced it with all of her being, leaving him so breathless and so wound up with desire that had the kiss continued a moment longer, he would have lost control completely, and whisked her home to his bed.
‘If you say so, Nick. Plenty of women have male friends who are just that: friends. Maybe you should think about that. And stop sabotaging your happiness at every chance you get. It’s self destructive and ultimately pointless.’ With that parting comment, Wendy returned to her office and Nicholas brooded over her words. He thought back to lunchtime, when she’d seen Emily and her blond friend. Had they looked like a couple? Or like friends? He shook his head savagely. He honestly hadn’t paid enough attention after coming to the immediate decision that the young man was Emily’s boyfriend.
Emily’s stomach twisted itself in knots as she attempted to eat her breakfast cereal. After taking a few pitiful mouthfuls she gave it up as a bad job. What was she going to say to Nicholas? How could she face him after Tuesday night? She only wished Mark hadn’t poked his nose in and volunteered Emily for the task of taking Nicholas house hunting.
‘Emily!’ Nicholas greeted her when she arrived in front of the real estate agent’s office where they’d agree to meet. Emily smiled in a futile attempt to diminish the warring butterflies in her stomach.
‘Hello Nicholas,’ she said in as pleasant and neutral voice as she could muster. ‘Been waiting long?’ She hated small-talk, but it was better than uncomfortable silences.
‘No. I only got here a couple of minutes ago. Shall we?’ She nodded, and he took her arm, escorting her into the building. She looked up
‘I am not in love with her!’ he snapped.
‘Whatever. You’ve developed feelings for a woman, and either she hasn’t reciprocated, or, knowing you, you’ve done everything in your power to ruin the relationship before it even had a chance of drawing breath.’
‘How can you suggest I have feelings for a woman who is adulterous, bigamous, and has a mouth the size of Mount Vesuvius?’ Wendy raised her eyebrows in scepticism.
‘And, I suppose, you have evidence to substantiate these rather slanderous claims? Or are you merely jumping to convenient conclusions?’ She looked at him hard for a moment before continuing.
‘The fact is, Nick, you’re not the sort of man to fall for a woman who is all superficiality with nothing beneath. The only women you’ve ever shown real interest in have been intelligent, sensitive and sensible women with their heads firmly on. Well, except for Monique. So what’s really going on here?’ Nicholas frowned, tempted to tell Wendy to leave him alone.
‘For starters, Monique occurred when I was very young and foolhardy,’ he snapped. Just hearing her name never failed to infuriate him. And it looked as if he could well be making the same mistakes again, a good fifteen years later! ‘Maybe I’m regressing,’ he muttered under his breath.
But could that be possible? Was Emily really all those things he thought her to be, or had he been jumping to conclusions. And why? Fifteen years is a long time, and he’d thought he’d banished Monique from his system years ago.
He’d obviously been wrong about Emily being a mother. And while he’d seen her embrace Mark Overington, there was the possibility it had been no more than a friendly gesture. She seemed genuinely pleased about Lisa’s pregnancy, and the two woman had seemed to be very close…
‘Well, she may not be adulterous and bigamous,’ he admitted. ‘But she’s obviously attached.’ Which didn’t explain the way she’d kissed him Tuesday evening. He may have been the one to initiate the kiss, but she hadn’t pushed him away, in fact, she’d embraced it with all of her being, leaving him so breathless and so wound up with desire that had the kiss continued a moment longer, he would have lost control completely, and whisked her home to his bed.
‘If you say so, Nick. Plenty of women have male friends who are just that: friends. Maybe you should think about that. And stop sabotaging your happiness at every chance you get. It’s self destructive and ultimately pointless.’ With that parting comment, Wendy returned to her office and Nicholas brooded over her words. He thought back to lunchtime, when she’d seen Emily and her blond friend. Had they looked like a couple? Or like friends? He shook his head savagely. He honestly hadn’t paid enough attention after coming to the immediate decision that the young man was Emily’s boyfriend.
Emily’s stomach twisted itself in knots as she attempted to eat her breakfast cereal. After taking a few pitiful mouthfuls she gave it up as a bad job. What was she going to say to Nicholas? How could she face him after Tuesday night? She only wished Mark hadn’t poked his nose in and volunteered Emily for the task of taking Nicholas house hunting.
‘Emily!’ Nicholas greeted her when she arrived in front of the real estate agent’s office where they’d agree to meet. Emily smiled in a futile attempt to diminish the warring butterflies in her stomach.
‘Hello Nicholas,’ she said in as pleasant and neutral voice as she could muster. ‘Been waiting long?’ She hated small-talk, but it was better than uncomfortable silences.
‘No. I only got here a couple of minutes ago. Shall we?’ She nodded, and he took her arm, escorting her into the building. She looked up
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