An Affair to Forget Read Online Free Page B

cravat tucked into the open shirt collar. “You were sleeping so soundly that I scarcely had the heart to wake you, but I have to leave soon for Wales and I don’t know when Mrs P plans to come back. I thought that you might not want her to find you here, in bed. She’s fairly used to finding girls in my bed, but not in this one.”
    “ Is that the time? Thank you, I’ll get up now.”
    “ Fine,” he said, then, “Did you sleep well?”
    “ Yes, thank you.”
    “ Good. You look as though you had a much more interesting night than I did,” Gareth said, then grinned as his eyes travelled down to her throat.
    Following his gaze, Morrin realised for the first time that all the tossing and turning she had endured before falling asleep had loosened the top buttons of his pyjama jacket. She caught the quilt in both fists, pulling it up to her throat.
    “ Get out of here!”
    The grin spread, and his eyes sparked green fire at her embarrassment. “On my way.” He nodded towards the bedside table. “I brought some tea. I find that women like little thoughtful touches like morning tea.” He began to leave, then turned. “By the way, you look delicious first thing in the morning, especially in someone else’s pyjamas. I don’t suppose any man’s had the chance to tell you that before.”
    “ Thousands!” She tossed the word at him, trying to match his poise. And knew as the door closed on a faint chuckle that she had failed miserably.
    She washed and dressed swiftly, not daring to take time to drink the tea in case he came back. Once she was wearing her blue sweater and pleated skirt again she felt a little safer. She brushed out her hair, which had been whipped into a tangle of curls during her restless night, and tied it back with her chiffon scarf then drank the tea, now lukewarm, before carrying the tray downstairs.
    A delicious aroma of bacon and coffee wafted through the house. As Morrin went into the kitchen the two dogs greeted her excitedly, then retired to the hearthrug on a sharp order from Gareth.
    The kitchen was a large room, complete with brand-new cooker, stone-flagged floor and a huge Welsh dresser bright with patterned crockery. The back door stood open to the soft autumn morning and the garden had a freshly scrubbed air after the previous night’s storm. A few wispy clouds were to be seen, high in the blue sky.
    “ There’s been a lot of storm damage,” Gareth said from the cooker. “One of the old trees at the bottom of the garden’s come down. It’s made a bit of a mess of Joe’s compost heap.”
    Joe, the part-time gardener who looked after the garden, was an expert on compost heaps and had lovingly built one up at the end of Gareth’s large garden.
    The table was already set for breakfast. Gareth dished up bacon and eggs, sat down and picked up a pile of letters. “You don’t mind if we go through the post while we eat, do you? I’ll have to head for Wales as soon as I can.”
    It was a relief to have something impersonal to talk about, and it meant that Morrin could slip back into the role of efficient secretary without any further delay. She cleared the table when they’d finished eating and stacked the plates by the sink.
    “ You don’t have to do that,” Gareth objected when she turned the tap on. “Mrs P can put them in the dishwasher later.”
    “ I’d rather get them out of the way,” she said, then coloured as he caught her meaning and laughed.
    “ Covering your tracks, are you? Don’t want Mrs P to know that we actually breakfasted together? My dear girl, she’s more broad-minded than you are.”
    Morrin dipped cups into the steaming water, her face bent over the sink. “I don’t want her to get the wrong idea.”
    “ You mean that you don’t want her to think that you’re just another of my floozies, is that it?” Suddenly the amusement was gone; a hard edge had crept into his voice.
    “ No…” she began to protest, then stopped as he swept on.
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