Sugar and Spice by Angela Britnell

Author:Angela Britnell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: contemporary, fiction, romance
Publisher: Choc Lit
Published: 2014-03-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

Olivia toyed with her small, green salad and laid down her knife and fork. ‘You planned all this didn’t you?’

Patrick flinched under her sharp, green-eyed gaze. ‘What do you mean, sweetheart?’ He put on his best innocent American act.

‘You didn’t just happen to be at the gym this morning. I want the truth, now, or I’m leaving.’ Her eyes flicked over the narrow, diamond watch hanging on her slim wrist. ‘I’ll give you five minutes.’

He’d have to tell her enough to satisfy her curiosity without revealing everything. ‘You’re right. I was there on purpose to meet you.’

‘Why?’

Patrick flashed the famous smile that usually did the trick but the Englishwoman’s expression stayed cool and unreadable. ‘Because I think we can help each other out.’

‘I can’t possibly imagine how.’

Talk about icy. He’d never been attracted by the whole upper class Brit thing, but she needed to believe otherwise or he’d never get what he wanted. ‘I want to know more about your ex-husband and …’ he slid his hand halfway across the table, stopping just short of her fingers, ‘I kinda think you might care to hear more about Lily.’ The pulse in her neck throbbed and he knew that he’d hit the jackpot. ‘You want me to go first?’

‘If you like.’

Patrick rolled out most of Lily’s story, playing up her lowly origins, her lack of culinary training and blatantly lying about her lack of business skills.

‘She certainly doesn’t dress like a professional chef,’ Olivia observed, her lips turning up in a sneer.

‘It’s part of her image. I created the Luscious Lily persona and it’s been a huge hit. People are taken in by the sexy character and overlook the fact that she’s a very ordinary cook.’

‘She’s lucky you came along.’ Olivia rested her cool hand over his and gave him a sympathetic smile.

‘You wanna believe it.’ It was time to lay his cards on the table and see if she took the bait. ‘She’s trying to screw me over but two can play that game.’

‘How about three?’ Olivia murmured.

‘Maybe.’ Before they went any further he needed to be sure they were on the same page. ‘What’s in this for you?’

Her eyes narrowed in calculation. ‘Kenan let me down and it would give me great pleasure to pay him back. He had the potential to go far in the Army and in return I’d have been the perfect military wife. I knew exactly what was involved because I’d grown up with a father who had a career in the Army. After we married he turned boring, hated the social side of military life and expected me to follow suit.’

‘I can’t imagine you as the little wife stuck at home, darning his socks and having dinner on the table at six every evening,’ Patrick needled, pleased when she grimaced.

She took another sip of her water and gave him a sly half-smile. ‘Hardly.’

Patrick decided to take a stab and see what reaction he got. ‘I’m surprised you wanted to be tied down with a kid?’

‘These things happen.

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