12 Men for Christmas by Phillipa Ashley

Author:Phillipa Ashley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2020-07-16T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

The knock on Emma’s door that bright Saturday morning was as she’d expected: overconfident and very loud. Not a good start to her date—no, she corrected herself—trial by combat with Will.

She’d had some restless nights over the past week, waking at odd hours, her stomach fluttering, wondering if she’d been right to take a chance on him and give him the benefit of the doubt. Stepping into the wolf’s lair was a risky move but the only way to find out what she needed to know. Could a man who seemed to have behaved so ruthlessly be ready to give more to her? She’d be safe, wouldn’t she? After all, he’d promised faithfully it would be strictly hands off. She had to hope that, on this occasion, Will Tennant was a man of his word and, more important, that she could keep her part of the bargain.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door to find him standing there, a gift-wrapped parcel under one arm.

“Hi there,” he said casually, bending down to brush her cheek with his lips. The resultant fizz went all the way down to her toes and straight back up through the middle. Not good—it was barely 11:00 a.m.

She saw him take in her floaty skirt and camisole top with a critical look.

“Well? Will I do? I assume we are going for lunch?” she said, and then she noticed the combat trousers, T-shirt, and inevitable boots. “Or maybe not…”

“We are going to lunch—and personally, it would suit me fine if you stayed just as you are. But I’m afraid you’re going to have to lose the skirt for now. The top can stay, though…as long as you bring something warm to put on over it.”

“You had better not be planning what I think you are,” she warned.

“If you mean climbing, then no, not today. But you will need these,” he added, offering her the package.

Taking it cautiously from his hands, she took in the sophisticated handmade paper and soft-wired ribbon. They made her think of only one thing: provocative underwear. Surely, it was beyond the realms of possibility he would have even dared…

“I hope this isn’t…”

“Call it a peace offering.”

She pulled apart the paper with trembling fingers and pulled out a pair of combat trousers. Trendy in a high-tech sort of way but undeniably practical. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Will, on the other hand, looked perfectly relaxed, stretched out on her chocolate leather sofa, a gleam of amusement playing in his eyes.

“Of course, you’ll need a rucksack too, and maps, maybe a survival bag…”

“Tell me you’re joking!”

“Nope. Deadly serious. You can come into one of the shops, and I’ll fix you up with everything you need”—he started ticking items off on his fingers—“compass, flashlight, whistle—”

“A whistle!”

“Oh yes. Essential, and what’s more, I’m going to make sure you know how to use them properly.” He grinned broadly at her. “So what do you think?” he asked, indicating the trousers dangling from her fingertips. She was holding them like a poisonous snake that might strike at any moment.

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