Your Room or Mine? by Charlotte Phillips Read Free Book Online Page A

something that actually gave a return on the effort she put in.
    As far as Joe was concerned, she was well out of it.
    Being with Oliver had made her feel capable of that, better about herself. Made her feel like the gourmet meal instead of the usual boring old shepherd’s pie. It had been the best fun she’d had in years.
    She looked at Suzy and Shauna’s expectant faces.
    â€˜Damn right I feel better for it,’ she said. ‘It was an ego boost.’
    It was also over with.
    She hadn’t even told Oliver Forbes her last name. She’d never see him again.
    She insisted to herself that was exactly what she wanted. There was no way in the real world she would want a man who thought nothing of having a one-night-stand with a woman he’d barely met. And let’s not forget Oliver might have a girlfriend in the real world outside last night’s bubble. Why the hell would she want to see him again? She may as well just call up Joe and invite him right back into her life.
    Toe-curlingly gorgeous it might have been, but the one stomach-flipping night would have to be enough. Men were off-limits for the foreseeable future unless they happened to be offering her a big fat lucrative gardening contract.

    ****

    Izzy pasted on another smile and shook yet another hand. Arabella and Gordon, her biggest clients to date, had been somehow landed through an advertisement she’d placed in the local paper and Izzy still couldn’t quite believe they’d accepted her quote, even now the work was done. Thrilled to show off their newly-finished garden, they had thrown a summer party and true to their word had invited her along. She just wished she didn’t feel quite so out of place. Perhaps if she’d worn her old jeans and work boots instead of the kitten heels and the silk tea dress that fluttered against her legs, she would have felt more like herself. She took a sip of champagne. It would all be worth it if she could pick up just one or two more contracts from this evening. Word of mouth was worth a hundred times more than newspaper ads. She’d put her heart and soul into this project and she was thrilled that Arabella and Gordon were so pleased with the result.
    â€˜And this is Gordon’s solicitor,’ Arabella said, tugging her by the arm as she struggled to digest all the new names and faces. She’d have to do some serious mingling after this if she was to make the most of the opportunity for new work, and nothing looked more unprofessional than getting someone’s name wrong.
    She turned, automatic bright smile pasted on her face, ready to meet as many people as Gordon and Arabella could throw at her, and her heart did an unbidden somersault as the smile gave way to stunned jaw-slackening.
    It was him.
    Last seen asleep in her bed as she made her quick exit from the Romantic Getaway suite. Six weeks had done a great job of convincing her he hadn’t been all that, so the sight of him now - dark hair, perfect strong jaw, lopsided smile - sent her mind into a mad tailspin. His dark suit was impeccably cut, his tie was loosened and his shirt unbuttoned at the neck. He was utterly, breathtakingly gorgeous. She realised her mouth was hanging open and closed it with a snap.
    â€˜Oliver Forbes,’ Arabella said. ‘This is Izzy Shaw, our amazing project manager. Genius she is, never know it to look at her but she can wield a spade like a navvy.’
    Warmth rose in Izzy’s cheeks. For Pete’s sake a more feminine introduction might have been nice.
    He shook her hand, her fingers enveloped in his, the touch of him sparking dizzying flashbacks of the last time his skin had been against hers. Inhibitions, shed so easily when she knew she’d never see him again, flooded over her in a wash of icy shyness.
    â€˜Shaw?’ he said, eyes fixed on hers, softly amused. Her face continued to burn.
    â€˜Isabella Shaw Garden Design’, she managed.
    Anonymity