page5 (1/1)

Instead her long silky brown lashes screened her expressive gaze and she evaded his scrutiny It annoyed hi the fact that, in spite of the unforgiving brightness of the light, her skin retained the luminescent sheen of a pearl He wondered if she was that same pale-as-milk shade all over and almost smiled

‘Thank goodness…Jake…Freddy!’ Gwenna was anxiously looking back to see where the boys had got to and eager to focus her attention elsewhere

Two ginger heads popped out frorounds of the church

Angelo froze She had kids? He scanned her hand Her wedding finger was bare

‘Chase us, Gwenna!’ Freddy begged

‘Are you their nanny?’ Angelo enquired

Gwenna blinked in surprise at that unexpected question ‘No, I’ after the up without olden eyes held a light that hten Hurriedly she screened hirabbed up the basket of flowers that she had set down

‘Perhaps you could tell me how far Peveril House is froain, for any appeal for assistance was a sure path to her full attention She glanced across the green but there was no sign of the car he o down the fork behind the church, you’ll see a sign for the hotel,’ she told hielo drawled softly ‘The scenery is quite exquisite Will you dine with ht?’ Taken aback by that slance and soft pink warmed her cheeks ‘But I don’t know you…’ ‘Seize the opportunity,’ Angelo advised silkily

‘No…thank you, but I can’t’ ‘Why not?’ Other men invariably retreated at the first hint of refusal That bold demand for an explanation startled her ‘Well, er…’ ‘Boyfriend?’ Tongue-tied by discomfiture, Gwenna shook her head and wished she found it easier to tell lies ‘No, but…’ Her full, soft , she dipped her head and fell silent

She had turned down the only excuse that Angelo could have accepted Even then he would only have sought another angle of approach, for he had yet towhat he offered Fidelity, he had long since discovered, was usually negotiable The silence lingered He could not credit that, for the very first ti with a flat refusal

‘Excuse one yet another rebuff to the elo stood in h the church gate His gaze tracked her every move as he had a perverse need to know if she would look back; she did not

Breathless and taut, Gwenna secured the dog lead to the wooden bench that sat to one side of the arched wooden door and stepped gratefully into the cool dim interior of the old church Freddy and Jake chattered while she set about her task of arranging the flowers for the christening that was to take place the following

It was quite some time since anyone had asked her out; she met very few fresh faces She could not understand why she was so flustered Or why she had the most peculiar desire to creep back to the door to peer out and see if the handsoer was still there, which of course he wouldn’t be He would noell on the way to his incredibly posh hotel, which was probably hosting an international business conference or soht inflection on certain words that had suggested that English e Certainly loss and sophistication were scarcer than hen’s teeth, locally

What was the matter with her? Why was she even curious? She dashed i to her damp brow She didn’t date There was just no point when it couldn’t go anywhere She had learned the hard way that even when men said friendship was fine, they alanted more and more always involved sex But she didn’t want physical inti just as empty and alone when it was over

The taunts she had endured as she grew up had convinced her that old-fashioned values could provide a bulwark of protection from the worst mistakes She was painfully aware that her ownthose same principles

An ier’s lean bronzed face swam before Gwenna afresh, and the extraordinary iainst the fantastic syhter was reluctantly dragged from her So, she was feuy Not her type though He had been altogether too arrogant and slick to appeal to her She liked open, friendly hing green eyes, she reflected abstractedly, and she would be describing her likeness of the perfect man