Girl Behind the Scandalous Reputation by Michelle Conder

Author:Michelle Conder [Conder, Michelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781408973950
Publisher: HarlequinUKLtd
Published: 2012-03-24T13:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

‘I ENJOYED the film,’ Tristan said, breaking the heavy silence between them. Lily didn’t look at him but continued to stare out of the window as his chauffeur drove them through the glistening London streets.

It was late, and after two hours of sitting beside Tristan in a darkened movie theatre she felt uptight and edgy. The awareness she had been trying to keep at bay by pretending to read that hateful play for most of the day had exploded the minute his lips had touched hers on the red carpet.

No doubt he’d felt sorry for her after her earlier disclosure, but that didn’t stop her from wanting him to touch her because he wanted to, not out of some misplaced duty to look out for her.

And she didn’t want to make polite small talk with him now. She just wanted to get to the safety of her room and go to bed. To sleep.

In hindsight she should have been more prepared for the intrusive questions of the U.K. press, and probably would have been if worry over her case and the tension between herself and Tristan wasn’t taking up so much head space.

Of course that brief kiss would be headline news in the papers tomorrow. Would be on the internet right now in this era of instantaneous news reports!

She knew she shouldn’t be angry about what he’d done. He’d only been trying to help. But her own response to his sensitivity both now and this morning, when he’d made a Scotland Yard detective wait two hours until she woke from an exhausted sleep, and yesterday when he’d eased her headache while she slept in the car, made it harder for her to keep ignoring her feelings for him.

Especially after his disclosure about his parents and the pain in his voice when he had referred to his mother. The knowledge that he’d been hurt as a child made Lily feel differently towards him. Made her want to soothe him. To find out what had been worse than his mother leaving. Feeling this way about him wasn’t clever. It could only lead to heartache—her own!

She sighed heavily and felt his gaze linger on her. She really didn’t want to have any reason to lessen the animosity between them. Without that it would be far too easy to fall back into her adolescent fantasy that he was her dream man. What she needed to remember was that deep down he was essentially a good person, but any solicitude he extended towards her didn’t automatically cancel out what he really thought of her.

‘No comment, Lily?’

And he was calling her Lily now, instead of Honey. Oh, she really didn’t want him being nice to her.

‘You shouldn’t have done that before,’ she berated him, letting her embarrassment and uncertainty at this whole situation between them take centre stage.

He glanced at her briefly. ‘Tell you I enjoyed your film?’

‘Divert attention away from that reporter on the red carpet by kissing me.’

His direct gaze made her nervous, so she focused on the darkened buildings as the big car sped along Finchley Road.

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