LITMIR.BIZ

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      He stepped closer and picked a pillow feather out of my hair. ‘Because despite the fact I’m a grumpy sod who reminds you of Mr Rochester, I’m not entirely devoid of the caring gene.’

      I looked up at him and laid my hand on his forearm, feeling the corded muscles and the tickle of hair against the softness of my palm. ‘I know you’re not. And like I said, Mr Rochester improves once Jane’s there to show him what’s what.’

      Michael’s eyes began to twinkle. I rolled my own.

      ‘Men,’ I said, walking away. ‘Come on. Tell me where you’ve hidden the Christmas decorations and we can start getting some up.’

      ‘Oh. Yes. Right. About that?’

      I looked back over my shoulder. ‘Oh dear. This doesn’t sound good.’

      ‘I don’t exactly have a lot of decorations.’

      I turned a little more. ‘When you say that you don’t have a lot, what exactly do you have?’

      ‘Nothing.’

      ‘Nothing?’

      He pulled his mouth to the side. ‘Nothing. I got the stuff for the outside when we got all the things for the dog as there was a garden centre next door to the pet shop. I found one ratty bit of tinsel in the attic, which I binned, but that’s it.’

      ‘Not to worry. Although, admittedly, it does make starting immediately a little more difficult.’

      Michael sat on the end of the bed, and Pilot, who had now wandered in came and flopped down on the floor beside him, his head resting on his master’s foot.

      ‘You’re really wishing you’d never taken this job, aren’t you?’ He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back.

      I looked at him and my answer surprised me. ‘Not for a moment.’ Despite everything, even down to seeing a beautiful woman wrapping her arms around his neck first thing this morning, I knew this was the truth: I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

      From the look on his face, it seemed I wasn’t the only one surprised.

      ‘I know. Shocker, huh?’ I walked back and sat next to him. ‘And if you’d asked me when I started if I’d ever be saying that, I’d have thought you’d been hitting the eggnog. But I have to say, despite you being the most annoying client I’ve ever had,’ he grinned at the tease, ‘this has actually turned into one of my most favourite jobs.’ I lifted my eyes and found Michael watching me.

      ‘Only one of them?’

      I dropped my glance, ostensibly to lean down and play with Pilot’s velvety ears, but also because the impact of Michael’s viridescent gaze still had the ability to disorientate me and my thoughts.

      ‘Don’t push it,’ I replied.

      His laugh surrounded me, the sound of it warming me from the inside. It made me happy to hear. Happy because I knew, just from our initial meeting, and from what Janey had told me over time, that laughing wasn’t something he’d done a lot of in the past few years. Seeing any client happier made me happy. But with Michael, it had a bigger impact. It went deeper than I was used to. Of course, this was just because I knew that his happiness had a knock-on effect of making my best friend happy, so it was bound to affect me more. Not to mention the fact that he had rescued Pilot and was giving him a wonderful life.

      ‘You can’t blame a guy for trying. So, what happens now? I guess I need to go shopping. Anywhere you recommend?’

      ‘John Lewis is always pretty good for decorations or Marks at Marble Arch. Liberty obviously always has gorgeous stuff but as you’ll be buying in bulk that might be pushing it a bit. Once you’ve got all the basics covered, you can always add to it if you see something special somewhere.’

      ‘Right,’ he said, pushing himself up off the bed. ‘I guess I’d better get on with it then.’

      ‘Would it be possible to put any less enthusiasm into that statement?’

      Michael rubbed the back of his neck. ‘That obvious, huh?’

      I did a quick sideways tilt of my head. ‘You might get away with it with some people but I’m an expert, remember?’

      ‘How could I forget? Talking of which, I guess I’ve mucked up the plan for today by not having supplies ready. I’ll pay you for your time, obviously. I’ve just had my head stuck in that pitch and then this thing with Selene came up that I’m really excited about. I guess I didn’t really think.’

      ‘Not a problem,’ I said, pasting on a smile. So, Selene was more than just a one-night stand then? It would seem that Michael O’Farrell really was moving on – in all directions. ‘I’m sure you can manage and if you can’t, then just shout and I can always pop round one evening to help you finish off.’

      ‘Yes, right. Sounds good.’

      ‘You sound about as thrilled at that prospect as of shopping,’ I said, looking up at him. ‘Or perhaps Selene could help? She’s clearly got great style.’

      ‘Yeah.’ He nodded distractedly. ‘I’ve been thinking about what you said about my bedroom needing some attention.’

      ‘Oh?’

      ‘I mean, if I’m going out for this stuff, maybe I should just go the whole hog and get anything I need for that too. At least the whole place is finished then.’

      ‘Sounds like a sensible plan. And it’ll be good for you to have somewhere that looks less…blah.’

      ‘“Blah”?’ He quirked an eyebrow at me.

      ‘Yes. Blah.’

      ‘You’re calling me “blah”?’

      ‘No,’ I said, standing and turning to smooth the edge of the bed where we’d been sitting. ‘I’m saying your bedroom should reflect who you are a little more. And whilst you’re a lot of things Michael O’Farrell, “blah” is definitely not one of them.’

      He frowned at me. ‘I think, if I dig deep enough, there might be a compliment in there somewhere.’

      I smiled and headed out of the room.

      Michael followed me. Then he stopped. ‘Wait a minute.’

      I turned.

      ‘Why on earth would I ask Selene to help me decorate my home? I mean, yes, you’re right, she does have great style and she loved the house, but I think asking a prospective client to pop round and stick up some tinsel might not be the professional action I could take.’

      I stared at him for a moment. ‘She’s a…Oh…I just thought that…And you said she…And you were both…’

      ‘Are you actually going to finish any of those sentences?’

      I thought for a moment. ‘Probably not.’

      He gave me a half-smile. ‘So you thought me and Selene were a thing?’

      ‘She’s very beautiful. And she was leaving your house early and looking very friendly. It was hard not to assume…’

      ‘She’s flying to New York this morning but wanted to pitch something to me before she went. I’ve known her and her father – and her husband – for years now and have done some work for them before. They have a project they’re proposing in Paris and I’m their first choice for architect. She wanted to talk to me about it before she jetted off, just to see if I was interested. It was just a business breakfast meeting, nothing more. She’s effusive in her attentions to people she likes, male and female. It’s just her way. But it wasn’t anything more than that.’

      ‘Oh. Well. That’s great then. I mean, about the possible Paris job, I mean. Not about you and her not being an item. Which is fine too. Obviously. I mean, it’d be fine if you were too, although, not technically,

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