'Well, you're not that great as a conductor,' she joked. 'A bit slow off the mark, if you ask me. From now on carry some tickets in your pocket.'
'Maybe I'll do that.' His eyes held hers and her smile slowly faded, her whole body responding to the expression in his eyes.
And then suddenly the expression was gone and he straightened and checked his watch. 'Nearly time for us to call it a day.'
'Yes.' Her voice was croaky and she cleared her throat. 'Have you had anything at all to eat yet?'
'Of course not.' He gave a wry smile. 'Have you?'
She shook her head. 'Not since breakfast. A few of them are going for a pizza,' she told him, trying to keep her voice casual. 'Are you going?'
He shook his head and strolled towards the door. 'I'm off home.'
Ellie watched him go, trying to breathe slowly and calm her pulse rate.
When she was near him she felt excited, euphoric—alive. But when he left the room it was as if the whole world had gone dark.
What was happening to her?
'So who's corning across the road for dinner?'
There was a loud chorus of assent from everyone except Ellie, who shook her head and picked up her coat.
She'd made up her mind what she was going to do, and it didn't involve pizza.
'Not me. I promised I'd look in on Lindsay.' She hadn't planned to do so, but it seemed a useful excuse and it was certainly better than saying that she wanted to see Ben.
She needed to be near him.
Was this what love felt like?
Still baffled by the strange feelings that were tumbling around inside her, she stopped briefly at Lindsay's house. She cuddled Storm, somehow managed to avoid all her cousin's awkward questions and then drove home via the supermarket. As she pulled up outside the cabins she noticed with a frown that Ben's was in darkness.
Had he gone out after all?
Remembering the chilly reception he'd given her when she'd cooked his breakfast, she hesitated before rapping lightly on his door, her fingers tightening on the carrier bag of food she'd picked up.
As the door opened she dived straight into the speech she'd prepared, not giving him time to protest.
'I came to invite you to supper. And I know you'll be angry but you haven't eaten all day and neither have I and it isn't good for us to go without food and don't say no because it's just supper,' she said, blurting the words out so quickly that he didn't have time to interrupt. 'You have to eat and I've bought us something so you don't have to bother. I can cook it at your place or mine. It doesn't matter which.'
He leaned his broad shoulders against the door-frame and a ghost of a smile flickered across his handsome face.
'Take a breath before you pass out.'
Ellie's eyes twinkled in response. 'I was afraid that if I paused for breath you'd say no.'
He looked at her quizzically. 'What happened to the pizza trip?'
She licked her lips, 'I decided not to go.'
'Why?'
Suddenly his gaze seemed unusually penetrating and she dropped her eyes and rubbed her toe on the ground. 'Because I'd rather be with you.'
She heard the sharp intake of his breath.
'Ellie, what is going on here?' His voice was gentle and she looked up and blushed slightly as she met his eyes.