A Marriage Has Been Arranged by Anne Weale

Author:Anne Weale
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2011-06-09T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

‘DO YOU consider yourself the female equivalent of a blue amaryllis?’ Pierce asked, his tone sardonic.

Holly’s colour deepened. ‘Far from it. Chiara might have been that, given different nurturing, but I’m nothing out of the ordinary. What I meant is that—’

Hearing footsteps crunching on gravel, she broke off. The driver had come back early, but he didn’t enter the house. She saw him pass the front door, going in the direction of the car.

‘I know what you meant,’ said Pierce. ‘I may not be a connoisseur but I’m quick on the uptake. You’re wrong about Chiara, you know. In botanical terms, she’s a rose, a climber, the kind with a short flowering season. As for you, except that you’re self-supporting, I’m not sure yet what you are.’

Surprisingly, his eyes, which she’d thought would be cold with displeasure at her far too outspoken criticism, were undeservedly friendly:

‘My label should tell you what I am,’ she said, on a note of contrition. ‘I’m afraid I’m sometimes as prickly as my namesake. I don’t usually flare up at clients, but sometimes you make it hard to remember that you are a client...or may be a client. If we haven’t much time left, I think we should go round again, on a more businesslike basis.’

‘There’s no rush. As I said on the phone, we can spend the night locally.’

Holly said, ‘I left Parson plenty of water, but I don’t have any near neighbours to come round and give him his supper and he’s probably already eaten all the extra food I left him.’

‘In that case, if we can’t get back, he’ll have to go out and catch himself a mouse or two,’ said Pierce. ‘Maybe you should have brought him with you. I did warn you about the weather.’

‘It doesn’t look like closing in at the moment. It’s as warm as September.’

‘As we came in for lunch, I noticed some cloud building up over to the west. But don’t worry. If I can get you back to Norfolk I will...even though a quiet dinner here at the pub would be a nice end to the day.’

For once Holly had no difficulty reading his mind. He was thinking of another agreeable way the day might end. Tuning into his thoughts started a flutter in the pit of her stomach. Why couldn’t she be like other women she knew? Although not as brazenly promiscuous as her stepsister, they didn’t hesitate to go to bed with men they fancied. They didn’t need to be in love to make love. It wasn’t a big deal to them in the way it was to her.

The fact that she was in love with Pierce didn’t make it easier. If anything it made it harder. How could she enjoy being in bed with him, knowing that numerous girls had shared the experience before her, and many more would succeed her? If he loved her, it wouldn’t matter about his past. That would be something that had happened before she’d known him.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.