‘No?’ He stepped forward and her eyes widened, her lips parting on a ragged breath.
‘No.’ She gave a small shake of her head, the move sending a lock across her forehead and he itched to push it back. ‘I don’t date clients.’
‘Technically,’ he said, his voice gruff even to his own ears, ‘I’m not a client.’
‘You’re as good as.’
‘I disagree.’
‘Whether you disagree or not, I don’t care,’ she rushed out. ‘I’m not falling into this trap.’
His brow knitted together; she’d flummoxed him now. ‘Trap?’
She paled, her words seeming to surprise even her, and then she visibly recovered, her chin rising, to say, ‘The kind of trap where I let this get in the way of my business.’
He studied her face, her sincerity. ‘You sound like you’re speaking from experience.’ He didn’t like the idea one bit. Oh, the irony. ‘I take it you’ve not always been so averse to dating clients?’
She hesitated, her teeth worrying over her lower lip and teasing at his concentration. Was she going to evade giving him an answer? Or should he just kiss her and be done with the whole conversation? He was veering towards the latter when she spoke.
‘Not my clients, no, my ex-business partner...we...we were together.’
‘You dated Charles Eddison?’
She exhaled sharply. ‘We more than dated, we lived together for five years.’
Five years, Kristus!
He felt sick at the very idea.
And then she squinted up at him, her eyes suddenly
curious. ‘How did you know it was him? Do you know him?’
‘Not personally,’ he admitted, not liking the way her admission griped with his gut and keen to get back to more enjoyable conversation. But five years, Jesus. ‘I know enough of him, considering we looked at using his services initially.’
‘You looked at using him?’ She frowned. ‘Julia didn’t mention it.’
‘Why would she? She met him and took an instant dislike.’ Had he met the guy too, he was sure he would have felt the same, even more so now. ‘Someone on his team recommended you.’
‘They did?’ Her frown grew. ‘I had no idea.’
‘Well, now you do, can we move on?’
She didn’t acknowledge him; instead her eyes became distant, their sadness unmistakable. As was her vulnerability. No doubt Charles had done this to her. Left her like this.
‘When our relationship ended so did our business partnership, hence why I’m working from the ground up all over again.’ She dragged in a breath and straightened, her focus coming back as her confidence fell into place. ‘And hence why this just isn’t happening.’
He faltered, his brain telling him to agree, to move past the pull that was driving him to distraction.
She’s so not your type. She’s a bag of emotion. She’s not safe in your hands.
Instead he found himself saying, ‘You’re overthinking it. As much as Julia loves me, she’s already bought into your skills as an estate agent, as have I, for that matter. Nothing between us will sway her to go elsewhere.’
You idiot, why pursue her? She doesn’t fit with your no-strings rule. This woman goes in for attachment. Worse still, she’s been burned by it already and still suffering.
But then, if that’s the case, maybe she’s ready for the no-strings alternative.
Maybe she’s ready to become your type.