12 Days At Silver Bells House by Jennie Jones Page B

it’s still okay.’
    â€˜It’s still okay.’ Fine. It was okay. This was day four — he’d mostly missed her yesterday because she’d slept all day. Now he knew he had a full eight days ahead of him, he’d handle it. He wasn’t going to count the nights. He’d think about those another time. When she didn’t look so adorable in her pyjamas. When he’d quit imagining her out of her pyjamas.
    He took another slug of his beer, and downed nearly half the bottle.
    â€˜You know, in some ways, Jamie, being thrown together like this might be a bonus for both of us.’
    He narrowed his eyes. The bonus would be seeing her out of her…
    â€˜Come on,’ she said, swinging her glass his way and looking as though she’d taken his pause as a negative about what she’d said. ‘Really. We’re so different — perhaps we can learn from each other’s perspectives on life.’
    â€˜You have a perspective on life that I need to know about?’ he asked, topping his remark with a grin.
    She pulled a face. ‘Well, it’s not going to work if you’re not going to play.’ She frowned at him in a stuffy manner. ‘Thing is, you’ve got it all.’ She indicated the house with her raised glass. ‘I have to go without a few things before I can decide which things I want to pick up and run with.’
    â€˜Like what?’
    â€˜Don’t know yet. It’ll come to me. That’s what Grandy suggested I do. Chart it out. I think he might be reason I was drawn to town.’
    â€˜Really?’ Again, Jamie searched for the elusive reasons of why he’d chosen this town.
    â€˜He’s a wise barn owl.’
    â€˜Yes, he is.’ Jamie liked the old man. Reminded him of his own grandfather. And also of his father and the lengths James Knight had gone to protect his family from the elements of change. Which, of course, reminded Jamie of Megan.
    â€˜I don’t have it all,’ he told Kate. Although he had enough, and he’d have more, if Megan would let him call her and speak to her. But she wouldn’t, so what he had for now was a house he’d never imagined buying, an intention to settle down he’d never before desired and a beautiful fashion executive wearing bunny pyjamas he wanted to get her out of. Yeah. Right. All he needed now was for the cat to make an appearance and he’d be in the middle of home-sweet-homey-ness.
    â€˜So I’ve decided I’m going without it,’ she said.
    For the love of God, why did he immediately think sex? ‘Without what?’
    â€˜Arg!’ She flopped onto the Chesterfield and wiggled her toes.
    Jamie put his beer down and strode over to her. ‘How come you can wear killer heels and not have any problems, but walking in flats is killing you?’
    â€˜Lack of practice.’
    â€˜Here.’ He bent on one knee, took hold of her foot and pressed the pad of his thumb into the ball of her foot.
    â€˜Oh, Mr Knight Works,’ she said, her voice tumbling from softly satisfied to deep and sexy. ‘I’m going to let you do that because you have no idea how good it is.’
    Jamie knew caution at this moment would be his saviour but he couldn’t help himself to save himself. He pressed both of his thumb pads into the sole of her foot and waited for her to writhe.
    â€˜Oh, God, yes. That’s good. Don’t stop. Don’t stop.’ She slithered further down the sofa, her backside tucked into the cushion behind her. ‘This is definitely something I don’t want to go without.’
    Since he’d been without what he was thinking about for some time, he let her foot slide out of his hand and back to the floor. There was only so much self-inflicted torment a man could take.
    â€˜You stopped,’ she said, in an accusatory tone.
    â€˜More wine?’ he asked.
    ****
    â€˜So what shall we talk about?’