jacket and stretched – the shape of her under a sort of lacy top left quite an impression. And when she moved around I could see a little bit up her skirt. I thought I should warn her about how she might appear when she drinks too much, like on the night of the wedding, and she called me pompous. Me!
I pretended I was going to throw her in the river and grabbed her, and then I kissed her instead.
From that moment it was obvious what was going to happen. We both felt it. I found a hotel on the outskirts of Oxford, and we hardly made it to the bed. It was overwhelming, quick and urgent.
Later, she seemed a bit shy about her gorgeous, curvy body and I took my time to seduce her, slowly, gently until she lost all her inhibitions. Exhaustingly satisfying. I was up for staying the night, but she said she had to get up really early the next day for the flower market in Covent Garden. So I drove her home, gave her a quick hug and that was it.
We didn't exchange phone numbers or make any further arrangements. She's not a young girl, probably in her late twenties. She must know the score – it was just a one off; a day out followed by a great afternoon of sex.
And if we happen to meet again, through Sam and Lucy or something, we'll just be polite and adult about it, maybe even friendly. And of course, the offer of the loan still stands.
She must realise that's how things are.
CHAPTER TEN
Leah was relieved that Emma had gone out when she arrived back from Oxford. She wanted some time to herself, to go over all the unexpected, exciting events that had happened. Her body was serenely, satisfyingly exhausted, but her mind was still in turmoil. It was all too much to take in. What a tremendous day! It all seemed unbelievable to her now.
The offer of a loan had come out of the blue, just when she was thinking that all he was going to do was to criticise her inexperience and the lack of a business plan for the shop. It was such a great opportunity, an amazing once in a lifetime chance. She was eager to speak to Charlie about it, and she knew he would know what to advise.
She’d suggest that they go out for a meal one evening, as soon as possible, away from the shop, and discuss the whole thing. There would be no interruptions, no telephone calls or customers coming through the door. They could talk everything over, and hopefully plan the future, with money to spend, for a change. She was almost sure he would tell her to take on the loan and agree to her taking on more responsibility. It made sense, and Charlie was a pretty smart guy as far as the business was concerned. They could definitely make it work together, it was such an unexpected opportunity.
But then her thoughts flipped around: the surprise day in Oxford, what a good choice for a day out. Of course the icing on the cake during the morning had been the fabulous punting! Something she had always wanted to do. She’d felt like a heroine from an Edwardian novel, imagining herself in a long dress and holding a frilly parasol, being punted down the river. James must have really given the day a lot of thought, with the picnic and everything. He certainly had hidden depths.
She’d expected lunch at a country pub, but nothing like the unexpected boating. He had seemed to relax a little after the picnic, becoming more approachable, and telling her about great times he he'd had when he was a student in Oxford: the parties, the pubs and bars, the crazy horsing around. It sounded as though he’d been part of a large group of popular students, all wealthy, with big family houses or estates in the country to visit at weekends, a far cry from Leah’s little student room at Sheffield.
She wondered if that was why she felt a bit intimidated by him. Was it the background, the privileged lifestyle, his obvious wealth and success? After all, Leah wasn’t used to moving in such circles.
Then, just when they were getting on so well, he'd
Learning to Kill: Stories