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‘But you’ve somewhere else you need to be,’ he completed smoothly

It would be overstating it to call the glint in his eyes annoyance, but…! She probably wasin his company a bit obvious

‘That’s very understanding of you, Mr O’Hagan’

‘Perhaps we could continue our discussion over lunch?’

Scarlet heard his voice through a faint buzz in her ears as she tried to contemplate what he’d just said

‘Lunch…?’ she parroted vaguely

Best to look on this as a reflex—her hor independently of her brain Hence the weakness in her legs, the warh her body and the painful spas her stomach He was an attractive man, end of story, no need to complicate it further

‘Bring your son, by all means’

‘Discussion?’ There seemed to be a ti ‘We weren’t having a discussion’ Her straight brows arranged theative line ‘Lunch!’

There’s no such thing as a free lunch!

‘Good God, no!’

His eyes widened fractionally, but other than that nothing in his manner revealed his reaction to her response It wasn’t that he was conceited, but a lifeti pursued and flattered by women had left Roman ill prepared to have an invitation of lunch rejected in an attitude of blatant revulsion

‘Well, I knohere to coo deflated’

Belatedly Scarlet recalled her promise to David She tried to soften her blunt reply

‘That is…it’s very kind of you to offer,’ she added, even though every instinct told her this was not a man predisposed to be kind

She just stopped herself lifting her hand, which would have drawn attention to her face, which felt as though it were on fire This was awithout a reason Which left the question, why had he asked her to lunch? Did he have some elaborate punishment in mind because she had answered back to him on the phone?

‘Like I said the flu epidemic has left us very short-staffed today’

‘But otherwise you’d have been delighted to come?’

In face of this sardonic observation it took all of Scarlet’s will-power to conceal her feelings behind a blank expression