Читать книгу The Virgin Secretary's Impossible Boss - Кэрол Мортимер, Carole Mortimer - Страница 8

‘I THOUGHT you said it didn’t always snow in Scotland in February.’

‘Okay, so it turns out I was wrong.’ Linus scowled darkly as he sat behind the wheel of the Range Rover, trying to see the road ahead through the heavily falling snow.

They had set out from Hampshire very early that morning, stopping off somewhere near Manchester for lunch before continuing the drive. It was dark as the snow began to fall softly almost as soon as they drove over the border between England and Scotland, that snow becoming heavier the further they drove towards his aunt’s home near Ayr, on the west coast.

‘Perhaps you should have checked the weather forecast before we set out,’ he added impatiently.

‘I should have? You gave me the impression that you had everything about this trip under control,’ Andi murmured dryly, no more happy at the possibility of having to come to Scotland for weeks at a time than she had been yesterday when she’d first realized it was a possibility.

‘Unfortunately, even I can’t control the weather!’ It really was foul, Linus acknowledged grimly as it occurred to him he could see barely six feet in front. Their progress was becoming slower by the minute. ‘If it doesn’t let up soon, then we may have to look for somewhere else to stay for the night.’

He could feel Andi’s gaze on him as she gave him a sharp look.

‘Is it really that bad?’

‘You can see that for yourself.’ He nodded in the direction of the road ahead. The grass verge and the road were hardly distinguishable from each other now; the road itself was rapidly being covered in a treacherous layer of slippery snow.

Not that the Range Rover wasn’t up to dealing with it, but it was no good if Linus couldn’t see where he was going. The fact that he hadn’t seen any traffic coming down the road the other way for some time now told him that the way ahead was probably even worse than it was here.

‘I have no intention of sleeping in the Range Rover, so look out for somewhere we can stop for the night.’ Linus grimly kept his concentration on the road in front of them.

Andi turned her attention to looking through the falling snow for any sign of habitation, especially for the lights of an inn or a hotel where they could rest until the snow eased. She felt overwhelmingly guilty because she hadn’t checked the weather forecast and wasn’t more prepared. Feeling disgruntled with Linus over the possibility of having to live in Scotland for weeks at a time was really no excuse.

‘Over there!’ she suddenly cried, pointing to a light ahead of them on the left-hand side of the road. ‘It could be an inn, or—No, it’s just a street lamp.’ She grimaced her disappointment.

‘A street lamp has to mean habitation of some kind.’ Linus narrowed his gaze in the direction she had pointed. ‘Yes! A short way down that lane—at least, I hope it’s a lane.’ He frowned darkly as he turned the vehicle in the direction of the lights, the covering of snow obscuring everything but a flat blanket of white that he sincerely hoped had some sort of firm surface beneath. ‘It’s an inn,’ Linus added with satisfaction as he saw the sign, bearing a thistle and a stag, swinging in the gusting wind. He turned the Range Rover into what he hoped was the otherwise deserted car-park, easing the tension in his shoulders as he gently put on the brakes and brought the vehicle to a stop. ‘Not a very big inn, but it will have to do.’ He grimaced out of the window at the small, barely discernible building. ‘Feel like making a run for it?’ Ruefully, he turned to prompt Andi.

She grimaced. ‘Do we have any other choice?’

‘No—but I thought I would ask anyway,’ Linus baited her as he reached in the back of the vehicle to get their coats, handing Andi’s to her before pulling on his own. ‘Don’t get out until I come round for you,’ he advised firmly as he braced himself for opening the door and facing the freezing weather outside. ‘If I lose you in this, I might never find you again!’

Andi shivered as she felt the blast of ice-cold wind when Linus quickly opened the door and climbed out, before closing it again. The snow was falling so thickly now that she couldn’t even see him as he made his way round the vehicle to her side; she was only aware that he had done so when the door was wrenched open beside her.

It had only been a few seconds, but Linus was already covered in snow, his coat hidden beneath the icy flakes, the darkness of his hair bearing a frosting of the fluffy whiteness too. ‘Careful; it’s icy,’ he warned as Andi lowered her feet to the ground.

His warning came a little too late as her feet slipped from under her and she had to reach out quickly to grasp the front of Linus’s coat to stop herself from falling. ‘Sorry,’ she muttered between gritted teeth as she tried to steady herself. The wind and snow were so icy-cold that her face and jaw already felt frozen, her hair whipping about her face in wet tangles. ‘This is terrible!’ she attempted to shout above the roar of the wind, knowing Linus hadn’t heard her as he gave an irritated shake of his head, dislodging some of the snow in his hair so that it dripped down the grimness of his face and quickly melted against the heat of his skin.

Linus took a firm hold of her hand and turned to fight against the wind as they began to struggle towards the inn. The going was slow, and Andi was surprised at how far away it still looked when she glanced up, the icy wind beating against them so remorselessly that it seemed to deliberately hinder their progress. Almost as if it didn’t want them to reach the shelter and warmth the inn promised.

Andi couldn’t breathe properly through her nose, her throat burning when she attempted to breathe through her mouth instead. All the time the snow beat against her face, hard and painful as it stung against her flesh.

‘Damn it, we’re getting nowhere like this!’ She barely heard Linus’s impatient exclamation before it was carried away on the howling wind, so she was totally unprepared when Linus turned to swing her up into his arms and hold her close against his chest as he walked more determinedly towards the lights of the inn.

Andi’s arms were thrown about his neck as she burrowed her face against him to shelter from the icy-cold wind. Even the dampness of his coat was more comfortable than the burning in her throat as she tried to breathe through that frosty battering.

Incredible to think that, although it had been cold, the sun had actually been trying to shine when they’d left Hampshire earlier this morning; it was like being in another world.

What would happen to them if Linus couldn’t make it as far as the inn? Her arms tightened about Linus’s neck as she laced her frozen fingers tightly together. She should have thought to wear gloves. And a hat.

‘Almost there!’ Linus rasped grimly, obviously suffering as much as she was from the wind that was so cold it seemed to rip right through them. ‘Get the door,’ he prompted forcefully seconds later.

Andi raised her head and saw that they had actually reached the inn; light shone welcomingly through the small, frosted windows, and what looked like the warm glow of a fire too.

Her fingers were so cold, so numbed, that she had trouble unlacing them. The snow cracked on the sleeve of her coat and then fell away as she moved her arm towards the doorknob, fingers slipping at first before she managed to grasp and turn it. The two of them almost fell through the open doorway straight into what looked like the public bar.

Much to the incredulity of the landlord, as he gazed across at them with disbelieving eyes, his mouth having fallen open in surprise at anyone being out at all on an evening like this.

‘Shut the door behind us, would you?’ Linus instructed the other man grimly as he carried Andi over to where a fire burned warmly in the hearth in the otherwise deserted bar. He sat down, still holding Andi against him, as she seemed unable to release her clenched fingers from the shoulders of his jacket, her teeth chattering uncontrollably.

‘It’s okay, Andi,’ he murmured reassuringly. ‘We’re okay,’ he added with satisfaction as the warmth of the fire began to thaw his numbed face and hands.

The tingling sensation that ensued was almost as painful, but it was a welcome pain after the worry of the last few minutes. He really hadn’t been sure they were going to make it as far as the inn as the snowstorm had become a blizzard, visibility down to almost nil, each step becoming a triumph of survival.

Not that Linus intended telling Andi that. He knew from experience that Andi was a woman who usually remained calm in any situation; she had through the death of her father and fiancé, the selling of her family home to pay off her father’s debts and coming to work for him. But the way she still clung to him so tightly now showed she had definitely reached the end of her endurance.

Arousingly so, Linus realized as he looked down at her with narrowed green eyes. She looked so tiny in his arms, vulnerable, even, her hair plastered to her head and across her face in damp tendrils, her eyes huge as she raised her head to look at him. A man could willingly drown in those chocolate-brown depths, Linus realized with a sharp intake of breath; could lose his own will, his very soul, and not give a damn as long as Andi continued to look up at him with that warmth in her eyes.

He had never noticed before how long her lashes were, thick and dark, a beguiling contrast to the honeyblonde of her hair. Her lips were a deep pink, full and pouting, as if waiting to be kissed.

‘Get the other side of this, lad. And your good lady, too.’

Linus wrenched his gaze away from Andi to look at the landlord as he stood beside the armchair holding two glasses of amber liquid. Probably whisky, Linus acknowledged ruefully as he gratefully took one of the glasses and held the rim next to Andi’s lips. ‘Drink,’ he instructed firmly as she made no effort to do so.

Andi’s throat moved convulsively as she acknowledged that there was something in Linus’s eyes just now as he looked down at her, an awareness that only increased her own wariness about spending these four days alone with him in Scotland.

She obediently sipped the golden liquid, almost choking on the unaccustomed alcohol as the whisky slid down her throat to burst into a fiery warmth as it reached her stomach, warming her from the inside out. Thawing Andi enough for her to realize she was sitting on Linus’s thighs and still cradled in his arms.

She struggled to sit up, taking the glass of whisky from his hand as she stood up and moved sharply away from him, averting her face to stare into the fire as she sensed his questioning gaze following her movements.

What had happened just now?

She had looked up into Linus’s face and seen—what? Awareness, certainly. Desire, possibly. Almost as if Linus had been looking at her for the first time. And perhaps he had. Andi certainly bore little resemblance today to the prim no-nonsense PA she chose to present to him in the office. Her hair fell loosely about her shoulders; her denims and jumper were much more casual than anything she would ever wear to the office. She felt strangely vulnerable without the shield of her tailored business-suits and blouses. Especially if that change had also affected the way Linus viewed her.

She suddenly became aware of the conversation taking place between Linus and the landlord.

‘Get my wife to make up the room,’ the landlord murmured before hurrying away and disappearing through a door marked ‘private’ .

‘Do you want the good news or the bad news?’

There was a frown between Andi’s brows as she turned to look at Linus, her inability to think clearly telling her that she still hadn’t recovered from the freezing cold outside. Or perhaps that was the effect of the whisky. Or, more likely, being held in Linus’s arms a few minutes ago…

‘The bad news first, I suppose,’ she invited through lips that tingled painfully with renewed feeling.

Linus nodded. ‘The bad news is this is just a pub, not a hotel, so the landlord doesn’t normally rent out rooms for the night.’

Andi blinked. ‘And the good news…?’ she prompted warily.

He grimaced. ‘He does have a bedroom he can let us use for the night. It’s his daughter’s bedroom, but she’s away at university at the moment.’

Andi moistened dry lips. ‘A bedroom—singular…?’

‘Bedroom, singular,’ Linus confirmed, his eyes narrowed.

‘You aren’t suggesting the two of us share that bedroom?’ Andi frowned across the room at him, those chocolate-brown eyes gleaming with indignation.

Linus scowled darkly at Andi’s obvious dismay at the mere suggestion they might have to share a bedroom for the night. What the hell did she think he was going to do, ravish her as soon as they were alone in the bedroom together?

Not that it was an altogether unacceptable idea when Andi was looking so damned beautiful; Linus just didn’t like the obvious implication that he couldn’t keep his hands—or any other part of his anatomy!—to himself.

His gaze narrowed. ‘You would prefer that we go back out into the snow instead and try to look for somewhere that has two bedrooms available?’

‘No, of course not.’ She snapped her irritation. ‘But—it—you could always sleep down here,’ she added hopefully.

Apart from the armchair Linus was sitting in, there was only one other, and then bench seats and diningroom chairs placed about the empty tables.

He shook his head. ‘I prefer the comfort of a bed. I have no objections to you sleeping down here if that’s what you want to do,’ he added harshly as Andi’s frown deepened. ‘Of course, the landlord might think that a little strange, as he seems to have assumed that we’re a couple.’

‘Then you can just unassume him!’ The hand not holding the whisky glass clenched into a fist at Andi’s side. ‘I am not sharing a bedroom with you, Linus,’ she repeated firmly.

‘What is your problem, Andi?’ Linus barked impatiently.

‘I—you—we…’ Andi gave an incredulous shake of her head, totally panicked—aware of him as she was—at the thought of sharing a bedroom with Linus. ‘You’re my boss. I work for you!’

His eyes glittered mockingly. ‘And that precludes us sharing a bedroom?’

‘According to you, yes!’ she reminded him a little more desperately than she would have wished. ‘You don’t get involved with your female employees, remember?’

‘Sharing a bedroom doesn’t mean we’re involved.’

‘It doesn’t mean we’re uninvolved, either!’

Linus’s gaze moved over her in slow appraisal. ‘I’ll keep my hands to myself if you will.’

‘This is so—so ungentlemanly of you!’

Linus shrugged, unconcerned. ‘I don’t remember ever claiming to be a gentleman.’

‘Just as well!’ she breathed frustratedly. ‘You—’

‘We’ll talk about this later, Andi,’ Linus snapped, and turned questioningly to the landlord as he bustled back into the room.

‘The missus already had some broth simmering in the pot,’ the elderly man announced with satisfaction. ‘She’s put some bread in to bake to go with it while she goes upstairs to make the bed.’

It felt good to hear the faint Scottish burr in the other man’s voice, making Linus realize how much he missed his homeland and the warmth of its people.

Linus had left Scotland years ago, of course, having accepted that he could either remain a big fish in a small pond or become an even bigger fish in a much bigger pond by moving to London and investing his money in property there. He had never regretted making that move—how could he when it had made him his fortune? But just hearing the Scottish accent again reminded him that this was still his home.

‘How long do you expect this blizzard to last?’ Andi was the one to question the landlord tightly.

‘Och, this is no a blizzard,’ the elderly man assured her indulgently as he heard her English accent. ‘This is no but a bit of a flurry.’

Andi’s eyes widened. A bit of a flurry…God help them if it should turn into a blizzard!

‘Sassenach,’ Linus confided in the other man dryly.

Andi had absolutely no idea what that word meant, but she felt sure from the condescending smile that passed between the two men that it must be something derogatory. She gave Linus a censorious frown before turning back to the landlord. ‘How long is this flurry expected to last, then?’

‘No more than a couple of days,’ he said dismissively.

‘A couple of days?’ Andi echoed with dismay as visions of herself and Linus marooned here for two days—and nights—popped unbidden into her head.

‘A blizzard usually lasts a week or more.’ The landlord nodded, unconcerned.

‘How…reassuring,’ Andi murmured weakly as she dropped down into the armchair opposite Linus’s—a mockingly amused Linus if the taunting laughter in those pale, green eyes was anything to go by.

Andi could find nothing about this situation that was in the least amusing. How could she, when just the thought of sharing a bedroom with Linus made her feel weak at the knees? Especially so after the intimacy of his earlier remarks.

‘I’ll just go and check on your food,’ the landlord murmured nervously after shooting unhappy glances at Andi and Linus as their gazes remained locked in silent battle.

Andi sat forward in her chair once the two of them were alone. ‘Linus, you really can’t be serious about the two of us staying here and sharing a bedroom?’

Linus shrugged out of the warmth of his jacket before answering her. ‘I’m open to any other suggestions you might have. Viable ones,’ he added warningly as Andi would have spoken. He raised mocking brows as he settled back into his chair. ‘Just because I’m a man and you’re a woman does not mean I’m going to pounce on you as soon as we’re alone in a bedroom together!’

Her cheeks flushed. ‘I never imagined that it did.’

‘Perhaps you think you might be tempted to pounce on me?’

Her eyes narrowed. ‘Linus.’

‘Andi?’ he came back challengingly.

Once again Andi’s chaotic thoughts were brought to an abrupt halt as instead she eyed Linus uncertainly, the dangerous glitter of his gaze enough to tell her she would be unwise to pursue this particular subject at the moment.

The whole idea of her and Linus sharing a bedroom for the night was unwise…

She drew in a ragged breath. ‘This is all your fault.’

‘I’m hardly responsible for the weather, Andi.’ He gave an impatient shake of his head.

Her eyes darkened almost to black. ‘You’re responsible for my being in Scotland—that’s enough reason for me to blame you entirely for this mess!’

‘What mess?’ he bit out impatiently. ‘As the landlord has already said, this is nothing but a bit of a flurry. He shrugged. ‘A couple of days and we can be on our way.’

‘Just in time for your stupid rugby-match, I suppose? Twenty-two men trying to beat each other’s heads in.’

‘Thirty men—this is rugby, Andi, not football—and they aren’t trying to “beat each other’s heads in”.’ Linus’s mouth tightened. ‘The object of the game is to score tries by running with the ball and placing it over the line.’

‘Whenever I’ve accidentally caught a glimpse of a match on television—as I’m changing channels, of course—’

‘Oh, of course!’

She nodded. ‘There just seems to be a tangle of arms, legs and bodies thrashing about on the ground.’

‘That’s because the other object of the game is for the opposing team to stop their opponents from scoring those tries.’

Andi gave a disdainful snort. ‘I’m not convinced, Linus.’

‘I’m not trying to convince you!’ He stood up to pace impatiently. ‘You’re obviously a complete philistine when it comes to the magnificent game of rugby.’

‘Magnificent!’ She sniffed inelegantly. ‘I suppose you know all about it?’

He gave a cool nod. ‘As it happens, I do. I was record holder for the most tries and conversions scored my last year at school.’

‘That explains a lot.’

Linus’s gaze narrowed warningly. ‘Would you care to explain?’

‘No, I don’t think I will.’ Andi stood up in one fluid movement, relieved as she did so to find that her limbs had completely thawed out now. ‘“Sassenach”…?’ she prompted scathingly.

Linus gave a dismissive shrug. ‘Someone from England.’

Andi continued to look at him suspiciously for several seconds, sure there was more to that word than he was telling her; it had certainly sounded derogatory.

‘I’m going to ask the landlord if he has a bathroom where I can freshen up,’ she said abruptly. ‘If you’re serious about our staying here tonight.’

‘Oh, I am, Andi,’ he murmured huskily.

‘Then our bags are still outside in the Range Rover,’ she told him pointedly, her expression turning to one of quiet satisfaction as Linus’s face creased into a pained grimace. He turned to look out of the window and realized he would have to go back out into the still heavily falling snow to retrieve those bags. ‘Have fun!’ Andi added tauntingly as she went through the doorway marked ‘private’ .

Her smile faded, however, as soon as she was alone in the hallway, and she paused to lean back weakly against the wall.

She couldn’t share a bedroom with Linus tonight. Possibly tomorrow night too, if the weather didn’t let up. In fact, she trembled just at the thought of it.

Linus’s complete dismissal of the significance of the two of them sharing a bedroom wasn’t flattering, either.

Andi had been traumatized for months after her father and David had died. She hadn’t so much as looked at another man, let alone been attracted to one. But slowly that insidious awareness of Linus had crept into her battered emotions. How could any healthy, red-blooded woman work with him on a day-to-day basis and not be aware of the hard vitality of his body and the rugged handsomeness of his chiselled features?

Andi certainly couldn’t.

Which wasn’t going to help the situation at all when Andi found herself alone in a bedroom with Linus later this evening!