A Very Happy Valentine by Elise Noble

Author:Elise Noble
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781912888764
Publisher: Undercover Publishing Limited

Ten

“Morning.” The bed dipped as Owen sat on the edge, and the delicious aroma of hot chocolate wafted in my direction. “How are you feeling?”

I didn’t remember much about the journey to Broxbourne. Owen had half carried me to his car after yet another detective asked me to go over last night’s events. Unfortunately, I’d made the mistake of mentioning the drug dealer next door, which had led to a hundred more questions from the police and a lot of frowning from Owen. I was never going back to that apartment again—he’d been very clear on that.

So now I was in his guest room, which was roughly the size of the entire flat I’d just left and came with an en-suite bathroom, a chaise longue, and a small balcony. I’d only caught a few glimpses of Owen’s home, but the parts I had seen were beautiful.

“I still can’t believe I’m here. That you’re here.”

“I considered climbing up a tree and in through the window the way I always used to, but then I decided the stairs were more civilised.”

“Do you remember the time you fell out of the tree?”

He rolled up his left sleeve. “I still have the scar.”

Except now the scar was covered by a tattoo that went from his wrist to his shoulder.

Jumping jackdaws, I’d never been a tattoo girl, but the sight of all that ink made my thighs clench. Owen looked like a cyborg. Skin peeled back to reveal gears and pistons, cables and springs.

“I designed it myself,” he explained. “Theoretically, the machinery would actually work.”

“I… Wow. I guess I never imagined you with a tattoo.”

“Me neither. It was my boss’s idea.”

“What kind of company do you work for?”

Owen chuckled. “Luke’s become a good friend over the years. There was an axe-throwing contest at his wife’s birthday party, and there might have been beer involved, so we ended up making a side bet.”

“Alcohol and axe-throwing?”

He pulled a face. “It seemed like a good idea at the time. Anyhow, the loser had to get a tattoo.”

“And he won?”

“Actually, his ex-girlfriend won overall. He only came nineteenth.”

“Let me get this straight… Your boss, who I’m assuming is an intelligent man, went axe-throwing with his current wife and his ex-girlfriend? Was he not afraid someone would die?”

“It was an amicable break-up.”

I must have looked dubious.

“Yes, I thought those were a myth too,” Owen said. “But it’s true, I swear. I went to the wedding, and his ex was a bridesmaid.”

Wow. I’d run into an ex at a wedding once, and after he suggested “a quick shag for old times’ sake,” I’d been forced to climb out of a bathroom window. Then I nearly broke my ankle fleeing across the golf course where the reception was being held. A golfer yelled at me for getting in the way, and I almost got run over by a caddy in a cart—hardly my finest hour.

I peered more closely at Owen’s arm. The tattoo was a work of art, and when I squinted, I could just make out the old half-inch scar hidden in the shadow of a gear wheel.

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.