Скачать книгу

also been the Alvin factor thrown into the mix. He might’ve been gone for three months by then but she’d lived with a deep dread he’d turn up and demand to see his daughter, or snatch her away. It hadn’t happened, but it wasn’t until the police had arrived on her doorstep two years ago to tell her that her husband had died as the result of a fight that she’d fully relaxed the crippling fear.

      ‘Jingle Bells’ blared again. ‘Nixon, did you forget you just rang me?’ she choked.

      ‘That’s better. You’re not crying.’

      How wrong could he be? ‘You rang because I sniffed a couple of times?’

      ‘Just checking. See you later.’ Gone.

      Leaving her smiling and pinching herself. What was going on here? Would this feeling of excitement crash and burn as her hormones settled back in their cave? Had post-birth hormones temporarily heightened her awareness of Nixon as a man; a hot man? She stared around the car park, up at the sky, over at the main school building. There were no answers waiting to drop on her. She’d have to play the waiting game, to see the hormonal rush through to its end and look at what was left afterwards.

      * * *

      Nixon sauntered up Emma’s path and raised his hand to knock but the door opened before he had a chance. Loud music spilled out. ‘You’re a rocker?’

      ‘I’ll turn it down.’ Emma lurched forward as if she was about to plant a kiss on his cheek, then as rapidly she pulled back, her face burning.

      His face untouched.

      ‘Emma?’ He followed her through the apartment to the small but neat lounge where she killed the volume.

      Her shoulders were tense, her neck stiff, and her hands now fists at her sides. ‘Sorry about that.’ She looked—fragile. Yes, definitely delicate. As if she didn’t know if she was coming or going. Not surprising. The birth must’ve caught up in full force. ‘I was trying to block out stuff.’

      ‘Baby crying next door stuff?’

      An abrupt nod. ‘I’m probably adding to the problem as Grace won’t be able to sleep. But I’m going up the walls and had to do something, and going for a run is not an option.’ Emma’s bottom lip quivered.

      Nixon wanted to hug her, to send that crying packing, but sensed a hug might make things worse. He swung the paper bag he held in one hand. ‘I got pastries from the French patisserie. That okay?’

      Her lips softened, a small smile creeping in. ‘I got some ciabatta from the bakery and ham from the superette. I thought we could sit on the deck.’ She stared around the room as if it were foreign to her.

      ‘Perfect.’ Hopefully it would be further away from the baby’s cries if they happened again. ‘Emma, look at me.’

      Her reluctance stabbed him in the chest. He shouldn’t have come. She didn’t want him here. But then she said, ‘Take no notice of me. I’m all mixed up.’ She drew a breath. ‘I’m glad you came. I need sane and sensible at the moment.’

      So he wasn’t about to be kicked out. He wasn’t sure he liked being labelled sane and sensible but if that was what she wanted then that was what she’d get. But as she headed into the kitchen his gaze scoped her body and that thick, wavy copper hair falling down her back, causing a pang of need to slide under his skin. Emma was beautiful. Alluring. What? Nixon tensed. What was that? Emma was captivating? Yes, she was, but he wasn’t going anywhere with this. He recognised that she was attractive, but he wasn’t admitting to wanting to follow through on that. Not likely. Oh, man, he was an expert in caution so what had gone wrong that his gut had tightened when he’d looked at his friend? Better get back on track with why he was here. ‘About coming back to work. Don’t rush it. We can cope.’ She really was exhausted and would need time to recuperate.

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEBLAEsAAD/4RgTRXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgABwESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUA AAABAAAAYgEbAAUAAAABAAAAagEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAcAAAAcgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAjodp AAQAAAABAAAApAAAANAALcbAAAAnEAAtxsAAACcQQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIENTMyBXaW5kb3dz ADIwMTc6MTA6MTEgMTc6NDI6NTcAAAAAA6ABAAMAAAABAAEAAKACAAQAAAABAAAGRqADAAQAAAAB AAAKKAAAAAAAAAAGAQMAAwAAAAEABgAAARoABQAAAAEAAAEeARsABQAAAAEAAAEmASgAAwAAAAEA AgAAAgEABAAAAAEAAAEuAgIABAAAAAEAABbdAAAAAAAAAEgAAAABAAAASAAAAAH/2P/gABBKRklG AAECAABIAEgAAP/tAAxBZG9iZV9DTQAB/+4ADkFkb2JlAGSAAAAAAf/bAIQADAgICAkIDAkJDBEL CgsRFQ8MDA8VGBMTFRMTGBEMDAwMDAwRDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAENCwsN Dg0QDg4QFA4ODhQUDg4ODhQRDAwMDAwREQwMDAwMDBEMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwM DAwM/8AAEQgAoABjAwEiAAIRAQMRAf/dAAQAB//EAT8AAAEFAQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAMAAQIEBQYH CAkKCwEAAQUBAQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAQACAwQFBgcICQoLEAABBAEDAgQCBQcGCAUDDDMBAAIRAwQh EjEFQVFhEyJxgTIGFJGhsUIjJBVSwWIzNHKC0UMHJZJT8OHxY3M1FqKygyZEk1RkRcKjdDYX0lXi ZfKzhMPTdePzRieUpIW0lcTU5PSltcXV5fVWZnaGlqa2xtbm9jdHV2d3h5ent8fX5/cRAAICAQIE BAMEBQYHBwYFNQEAAhEDITESBEFRYXEiEwUygZEUobFCI8FS0fAzJGLhcoKSQ1MVY3M08SUGFqKy gwcmNcLSRJNUoxdkRVU2dGXi8rOEw9N14/NGlKSFtJXE1OT0pbXF1eX1VmZ2hpamtsbW5vYnN0dX Z3eHl6e3x//aAAwDAQACEQMRAD8AJjWvPQsdjPpOaAFYwsu3p2Xi12kObedjh4FZ3TK73dOosa8k NHtb2RM2t2d1HCxqnH1C8F+3loHLk2cpjLjA+U3xKAHDJ67OpbZS4RyNFwrXZud1MY97y1lTiAAY XdZpuqoLKGG+8titjRJPm4/RY3+suVr+rPVKMkZmXl41LrHS6rc5zpP5oe1vpuf/AFEs8oR3IEq0 tdhEjdAkeDdyKWY7Qysz5qm7Ktx3m54L6qxuIE667Y9s/vK5k4WQ7c+t7bdo+i0+4k+2A36Ss/Uy L+p5XqVicWlsFw+i61x4n95tarQoyGvEG0dIHSi87muz7yCazseTseRJfI0ZUHxu/wCM+guVysO+ vJLXguhxDnAmJA+i0/n7P3l7fnZVFbAHWVMY3Roc5rR5Q10LgfrPQ+5rcprQ+uid7R2nSdv5zVYl KqDF7VxJeFZuxsuiyhzq7GSQ8aag+QXUvtbkYpyGiBY2QPB0ltg/zwsWvByc7Ia3Fq3uY0veZDWt aD9Kyx52s/dZ/pFf6c57cHIouY6q2u5zDW76TT+ew/1XJCr8WIg1dad/F9j6PjVUdLxq6WhjdjTA 8wrwB1lA6eIwaB/wbfyKynhYGGxJTSSTT//QbpWXiu6VTSXbLNsa+S0vq5htYXZwbvutJaHHwC5f FrfZi1tr1dGgHK7jELekdGoryo2sENYOS8/nPj913+DQ5jIMQiRrKWwThxnLY2AO6XqGTbTXOM7e BLXvbwbfzt3/ABf5i5bMvzPUa573guD4dOu1m2YP79k+9bLHtaygM3VgO9R/cBp+iHt/qudY9By3 Vsqa542lhdBidC9zNVnUDIyOsjvbpR9IEQKAefsy8kvipzvUG07geCPoN/s7lt9BzMi/Le62044M W2WsA97apjGe136N3q+//i96zKQ2/NtDABveGOcBpP0XbP8Aq1vZlWLgNpw2y51vtY1mr5I1fZ/I T64aobIsSu+qT9h9NyMizJc707bCX2tDmmZ9wPva5yq9Rpxq8W2ioRU5haGN1nT2rLFedh5FlX2g XQ79La928lo/Na/85VMvqwcx7SSGtMAeKmnKwK6LYRFm9LdH6sU019OrtBBNdxtypAg1Dexu5z2l rn7n+mxYrrPtN+RePo35Fj2SIOxrvQrc7+syncpdKc41Pe5sAOJaPiqNHU66776rwGsx7H1gt1cY cXtDKx9L6SWIniP2sfMRHBGjpf5PtuDlYxw6SLGxsGs+SMczEHNrB8wvFh1/MqyCxmtQBIb5FdB9 Wr8nLx33ZMSToPDVSynKIug1YxB0v8H0f7fhf6Zn3hJcl6fwSUfvy/dC/wBod3//0dP6r4+Ji9Eq zckNYDLmyCXHzWP1/rGRn2ObjOLfTeIntGlTGs/fdu9T+pWqOFk1XYIx3Vm62rSup1jmhzf5AaW7 tqqY2RZTlmprWYweSLNrdWt1

Скачать книгу