Old Desires/A Stranger's Kiss (2-in-1 edition) Read Free Page A

her forehead.
    ‘Will I do?’ she asked finally, masking the slow burn of anger beneath the cool tones of her voice.
    ‘Perfectly,’ he replied, with a slight, knowing twist to his mouth, taking her bag and heading for the car. He opened the door for her then climbed in beside her and once again subjected her to the scrutiny of a pair of steely eyes. ‘You’ve obviously taken a great deal of trouble with your appearance, Wasted on me, of course, but Mary’s friends will no doubt appreciate your efforts.’
    Holly could hardly believe her ears. ‘How dare you speak to me like that?’ sheexclaimed, turning to open the door, determined that whatever happened she was not going to spend the next few hours cooped up with this man. ‘You are quite insufferable.’
    The click of the central-locking system forestalled her and she turned on him to protest, but one look at the severe lines of his face warned her that there would be no point and she refrained from telling him exactly what she thought of him. The journey was going to be unpleasant enough.
    He smiled slightly in appreciation of her restraint. ‘I’m sorry, Miss Carpenter, I’m afraid for the moment you’ll just have to suffer.’
    ‘Why?’ she demanded.
    ‘I suggest that you address that question to your conscience,’ he replied tersely. He glanced over his shoulder and pulled away from the kerb, apparently expecting no answer and getting none.
    Holly was completely mystified by his attitude to her but, since he had made it quite plain that he was not going to offer an explanation, contented herself with keeping her eyes on the passing countryside and pretended that he wasn’t there.
    But it was difficult. All the time she was edgily aware of the brooding presence beside her and she found herself pondering on the coldness of his manner towards her. No one, in all her twenty-three years, had ever spoken to her as he had. She wanted to grab his shoulders and shake him, demand an answer. Despite her buttoned-down fury she almost smiled at the thought of making any kind of impression on the hard, square shoulders filling the well-padded seat of the Rolls.
    And anyway, he was right about her appearance. She had dressed for a funeral, perhaps wanting to impress him with her sincerity. Some hopes! His own appearance was far more casual than her own: dark trousers, an open-necked shirt and a russet cashmere sweater that lent a little of its warmth to his eyes. No doubt he was a great deal more comfortable than she was in her close-fitting coat. She was tempted to remove her hat, but a certain stubborn pride made her cling to it.
    As if sensing her inspection he glanced at her, staring down his long, straight nose, and their eyes met. A slight frown creased his forehead as if she had momentarily jolted that imperious assurance, then he turned back to the road, his hard profile telling her nothing. And that suited her down to the ground. She had no desire to know anything about the man and would be catching the train home.
    She still didn’t quite understand the impulse that was taking her to Ashbrooke. She had lain awake half the night, determined that she wouldn’t go anywhere with Joshua Kent — then found herself wondering if he would simply pick her up and carry her off. She wouldn’t have put it past him.
    She had approached her head of department confident that the imminent end of term would make taking time off impossible. But Harvey had been primed and couldn’t have been more sympathetic.
    ‘Mr Kent telephoned this afternoon. He said you were under the impression that it would be impossible for you to take time off to go to your cousin’s funeral.’ He’d tutted. ‘I thought you knew me better than that, Holly. Of course you must go, and don’t worry about rushing back for the last couple of days of term. I’m sure there will be all sorts of things you need to do. We’ll see you at the beginning of the summer. Give my regards to Florence.’