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

flew out of the window in that one sentence and she heard Shauna’s voice in her head,
A no-strings-fling can only work if it’s anonymous.
Formal introduction now precluded any repeat performance then. Good thing really, because from the bone-melting way he was looking at her, an encore obviously wasn’t far from his mind. No chance of that now.
    If
you stick to the rules
, a voice in her mind whispered.
If
. She crushed it. That voice belonged to another Izzy, one with a whole different and dangerous agenda that she thought she’d left behind in that hotel room.
    â€˜Would you both like another drink?’ He didn’t wait for a reply, just left them to cross the terrace to the drinks table and glasses of champagne, already poured for the taking.
    â€˜Gorgeous, isn’t he,’ Arabella said, linking her arm through Izzy’s as they watched him. ‘And such a lovely guy. Close friend of Gordon’s, always happy to go the extra mile.’
    â€˜Really?’
    It felt odd, listening to such basic character details about him when she already knew him so intimately on a physical level.
    â€˜Wasted of course. Never has a girlfriend, confirmed bachelor. Tried to introduce him to a couple of my single friends but he never shows an interest. Gordon says he’s married to his work. But he’s just renovated a new property and he might be in the market for garden remodelling if you play your cards right, darling.’
    As Oliver made his way back and handed them each a glass, Arabella was mercifully oblivious that Izzy’s knees had turned to jelly and she was concentrating hard on not swaying in her kitten heels.
    â€˜You should have seen the building site that was here before she turned up,’ she told Oliver. ‘The whole project ran like clockwork and we couldn’t be more delighted. Do excuse me, both of you, lots more people arriving.’
    Izzy deliberately focused on Arabella’s back as she drifted away, freshening drinks and making small talk as she went. She felt his gaze upon her and held her champagne flute in a vice-grip to stop her fingers from shaking.
There was no wronged girlfriend
. No third person fallout to feel guilty about. Whatever their night together had been about for him, it wasn’t playing away. His motives were not the same as Joe’s. Guilt relinquished its grip on her and the memory of the deliciousness of their night together came crashing back to her, this time unfettered by it. Her mouth felt dust dry.
    â€˜I didn’t think I’d see you again,’ he said.
    She took a fortifying sip of champagne to wet her lips and distract her fluttering stomach.
    â€˜You weren’t meant to,’ she said. ‘That was the whole point of having ground rules.’
    â€˜Ah yes, the ground rules,’ he said, smiling. ‘Are they still in force? Should I make a quick exit stage left?’
    She shrugged noncommittally.
    â€˜You can if you want to. I’m sure Arabella would be happy to find some new people to introduce you to. I’ve seen so many faces I’m worn out with smiling. Not that I mind of course,’ she added quickly. ‘Free advertising like this doesn’t come along very often.’
    He glanced around him.
    â€˜I can’t imagine you need to talk yourself up. The garden pretty much speaks for itself. You really did this?’
    She looked up to see him gesturing around them at the manicured lawns and brightly coloured beds.
    â€˜No need to sound so surprised,’ she said. ‘I told you I was a gardener.’
    â€˜I didn’t realise it was on this kind of scale.’
    He probably thought she grew her own herbs and had a couple of window boxes. It wouldn’t be the first time. The term ‘gardener’ didn’t really communicate the years she’d spent developing her knowledge or the management skills needed to take a project like this from start to