As his voice jerked her out of her perusal she glanced out of the window and saw they were just entering the town, an enchanting little maze of narrow streets, snug squares and brightly lit low-tiled shops, timelessly picturesque under the snow-filled white sky. ‘Sorry?’
‘The shops. Would you like me to come with you?’ he repeated patiently, easing the car along slowly in the nose-to-tail traffic, the packed pavements on either side of the narrow street threatening to thrust their burden of scurrying humans into their path at every turn.
‘Not if you’ve something else to do,’ she said quickly and then caught his sigh of exasperation as he drew into the ‘reserved’ space in a bulgingly full car park outside a large store.
‘Does that mean yes or no?’ he asked drily as he cut the ignition with a small sigh. ‘Translate for me.’
‘Well, I suppose I might get lost,’ she said carefully, and after one searing glance he stretched lazily before opening his door.
‘I’ve had sweeter offers but that will have to do,’ he said with heavy sarcasm as he walked round the car and opened her door. ‘I think I realised very early on in our acquaintance that as an ego-booster you were a non-starter.’
‘I wouldn’t have thought you of all people would need one,’ she said quickly as she climbed out of the car, his hand on her arm.
‘Oh, yes?’ he said mildly but with a faint narrowing of the cat-like eyes. ‘And why is that?’ He turned her to face him, tucking her collar up round her neck as though she were a child and kissing the tip of her nose with warm lips.
The unexpected tenderness took her completely by surprise and she stared at him stupidly for a moment, her violet eyes with their heavy fringe of lashes wide with confusion.
‘Why is that?’ he repeated softly, tilting her chin up to him with one finger and drawing her against him so that she was tight within the circle of his arm. ‘Tell me.’
‘You’re so...’ Her voice trailed away as he kissed the tip of her nose again. ‘Don’t do that, I’ve told you.’
‘You’ve told me a lot of things, angel-face,’ he said comfortably as he tucked her arm in his and led her towards the shop. ‘Whether I’m prepared to listen to them is another story, of course.’ She tried to wrench her arm from his but his grip tightened until she was forced to give in.
‘Mr Cade, how nice to see you, sir.’ They had only been in the hot perfumed atmosphere of the shop for sixty seconds when a smartly dressed little man in a pin-striped suit came hurrying over to Alex’s side, his jowls bobbing with delight. ‘We’ve kept your space in the car park free for the last few days, sir, in case you decided to shop with us. I hope it was available for you?’
‘Yes, it was clear, thank you.’ Alex smiled dismissively, and after a long curious look at Fabia the small man backed away carefully, his head still nodding ingratiatingly, in much the same way that the common herd left the presence of a king in days gone by.
‘What was all that about?’ Fabia asked, stopping to look up into Alex’s closed face. ‘Who’s that man?’
‘The manager of this store,’ Alex replied shortly. ‘Now shall we—?’
She ignored the proffered hand and remained where she was. ‘That space in the car park—is it kept specially for you, then, always?’
‘Yes.’ He looked down at her quietly. ‘It is.’
‘Why?’ She stared up at him, noticing as she did so, in a strangely detached sort of way, that he was head and shoulders above any other of the men milling round them in the crowded store, his tanned skin and tawny colouring accentuated by the lights overhead.
‘Because I own this building.’ A dry smile twisted his lips. ‘Another nail in my coffin?’
‘You own it?’ She glanced round the fabulously elegant store in amazement.
‘I own the whole block,’ he said slowly with a resigned expression on his face, ‘and I’m blowed if I know why I’m trying to keep it from you except that it places a few more bricks in place, doesn’t it?’
‘Bricks?’ This conversation was becoming more bizarre each moment.
‘Yes, bricks,’ he said shortly. ‘As in building, you know, like the ones you use so well in the construction of this wall to stop me getting inside that strange little head of yours.’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she said shakily. The hard golden glare was unnerving.
‘No?’ He smiled coldly. ‘I think you do. I think you know exactly what I mea
n, Fabia, and for the record—’
‘Alex, darling...’ As an overdressed, gushing matron of considerable years caught his arm Fabia made her escape.
‘I’ll be back here in ten minutes,’ she muttered shortly and, ignoring his call, dived into the mêlée quickly, avoiding his restraining hand with a turn of her body as she went. She fought her way over to a relatively clear space beside a massive Christmas tree and stood for a moment, more shaken than she cared to admit. What did he mean when he said things like that? It was almost as though he cared, really cared about her opinion of him. She shook herself. Stop it, she thought grimly, you’re trying to believe what you want to believe. Of course he’d like to get under your skin—for a time. Once you’d served your purpose it would be ‘bye bye, Fabia’ without a second thought. Wake up, girl!
Taking the lift up to the next floor, she wandered about for five minutes wondering what on earth she could buy a woman of eighty-seven who had everything she wanted and had for the last sixty-five years! The ten minutes were nearly up when she noticed a display of gaily worked tapestry blankets in a corner, and, remembering the heavy blanket wrapped round Isabella’s legs on their first meeting, she decided that would do. It was ridiculously expensive but she bought it anyway and was just standing waiting for the lift to take her down to the ground floor again when she spied a tiny hoop of silver key-rings on the cosmetics counter. Each one had a minute mirror attached to it, and as she stood looking at them she made up her mind. He would see the joke, wouldn’t he?