her, she really wasn’t sure she could cope right now with his apology. It had been such a strange day already. Not least because she had realised her deepening attraction towards Gideon had alreadyseverely battered the defences she usually kept about her emotions.
‘You have a smudge of oil beside your mouth,’ she said, deliberately changing the subject.
‘I do?’ Gideon instantly raised a hand and wiped the wrong cheek.
Why did people invariably do that? Joey wondered ruefully. ‘Wrong cheek.’
He quirked one brow. ‘Maybe you should just do it for me?’
Joey winced inwardly at the thought of touching him so intimately when she was already so completely aware of him. Maybe it would have been better if she hadn’t mentioned that smudge of oil at all!
‘I have some wipes in my handbag.’ She hurried to open the car door, and bent down to get the wipes from where she had placed her handbag on the passenger seat before attempting to change the wheel, sincerely hoping that the visible warmth in her cheeks would fade by the time she straightened.
‘Here.’ She held the wipe out to him.
‘It really would be easier if you did it for me,’ he insisted.
Not for Joey!
‘You’re a big boy now, Gideon, and perfectly capable of cleaning your own face,’ she muttered irritably, her nerves already frayed enough without the added possibility of touching him accidentally. ‘Use one of the side mirrors on my car,’ she suggested when he didn’t move.
Gideon could see Joey’s reflection in the mirror as she stood just behind him, and was very aware that not only had she refused to discuss the Newman case with him, but she had also dismissed his attempt at an apology.
Which didn’t bode well for them having to continue to work together for the next four weeks.
Gideon’s mouth tightened determinedly as he balled the damp wipe into his hand before turning back to face her. ‘Look, Joey, we seem to have got off to something of a shaky start—’ he began.
‘We did that a couple of months ago.’
‘And I have just tried to apologise for that,’ Gideon reminded her gently. ‘Why don’t we go somewhere and have a glass of wine together and discuss it further?’
Much as he might have thought he was acting for the best at the time, he knew that if the situations had been reversed he would have felt exactly the same resentment she did.
Joey didn’t want to ‘go somewhere’ and have
anything
with Gideon St Claire! Not if it meant she would be in danger of the physical attraction that had been growing between them throughout the day deepening even further.
Something had changed, she realised—shifted in their opinions of each other. And it was a shift Joey wasn’t altogether comfortable with. Verbally sparring with Gideon was one thing, feeling anything else for a man who totally rejected having any of the softer emotions in his life was something else completely.
Besides which, she wasn’t one hundred per cent sure his offer wasn’t because he felt sorry for her after her admission earlier of missing Stephanie.
‘I have plenty of friends I can share a glass of wine with if I feel in need of company, thank you, Gideon. In fact—’ she gave a pointed glance at her wristwatch ‘—I have a date this evening, so I really need to get going if I want to make it on time.’
Gideon’s mouth thinned. ‘With Jason Pickard?’
‘As it happens, yes. Do you have a problem with that?’ She met the darkness of his gaze head-on.
‘Not in the least,’ Gideon denied, obviously regretting whatever impulse had made him make the offer in the first place. ‘I hope the two of you have a nice evening.’
‘Oh, I’m sure that we will,’ Joey taunted. ‘Jason is wonderful company.’
When he wasn’t in a fluster, that was, because he and Trevor had had yet another argument—usually over the fact that Jason still hadn’t told his parents about the two of them!
‘No doubt,’ Gideon drawled, with a
‘You have a smudge of oil beside your mouth,’ she said, deliberately changing the subject.
‘I do?’ Gideon instantly raised a hand and wiped the wrong cheek.
Why did people invariably do that? Joey wondered ruefully. ‘Wrong cheek.’
He quirked one brow. ‘Maybe you should just do it for me?’
Joey winced inwardly at the thought of touching him so intimately when she was already so completely aware of him. Maybe it would have been better if she hadn’t mentioned that smudge of oil at all!
‘I have some wipes in my handbag.’ She hurried to open the car door, and bent down to get the wipes from where she had placed her handbag on the passenger seat before attempting to change the wheel, sincerely hoping that the visible warmth in her cheeks would fade by the time she straightened.
‘Here.’ She held the wipe out to him.
‘It really would be easier if you did it for me,’ he insisted.
Not for Joey!
‘You’re a big boy now, Gideon, and perfectly capable of cleaning your own face,’ she muttered irritably, her nerves already frayed enough without the added possibility of touching him accidentally. ‘Use one of the side mirrors on my car,’ she suggested when he didn’t move.
Gideon could see Joey’s reflection in the mirror as she stood just behind him, and was very aware that not only had she refused to discuss the Newman case with him, but she had also dismissed his attempt at an apology.
Which didn’t bode well for them having to continue to work together for the next four weeks.
Gideon’s mouth tightened determinedly as he balled the damp wipe into his hand before turning back to face her. ‘Look, Joey, we seem to have got off to something of a shaky start—’ he began.
‘We did that a couple of months ago.’
‘And I have just tried to apologise for that,’ Gideon reminded her gently. ‘Why don’t we go somewhere and have a glass of wine together and discuss it further?’
Much as he might have thought he was acting for the best at the time, he knew that if the situations had been reversed he would have felt exactly the same resentment she did.
Joey didn’t want to ‘go somewhere’ and have
anything
with Gideon St Claire! Not if it meant she would be in danger of the physical attraction that had been growing between them throughout the day deepening even further.
Something had changed, she realised—shifted in their opinions of each other. And it was a shift Joey wasn’t altogether comfortable with. Verbally sparring with Gideon was one thing, feeling anything else for a man who totally rejected having any of the softer emotions in his life was something else completely.
Besides which, she wasn’t one hundred per cent sure his offer wasn’t because he felt sorry for her after her admission earlier of missing Stephanie.
‘I have plenty of friends I can share a glass of wine with if I feel in need of company, thank you, Gideon. In fact—’ she gave a pointed glance at her wristwatch ‘—I have a date this evening, so I really need to get going if I want to make it on time.’
Gideon’s mouth thinned. ‘With Jason Pickard?’
‘As it happens, yes. Do you have a problem with that?’ She met the darkness of his gaze head-on.
‘Not in the least,’ Gideon denied, obviously regretting whatever impulse had made him make the offer in the first place. ‘I hope the two of you have a nice evening.’
‘Oh, I’m sure that we will,’ Joey taunted. ‘Jason is wonderful company.’
When he wasn’t in a fluster, that was, because he and Trevor had had yet another argument—usually over the fact that Jason still hadn’t told his parents about the two of them!
‘No doubt,’ Gideon drawled, with a
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