‘Naturally.’
‘When someone said a bit too sceptically for my liking that he sounded too good to be true and it wound me up. So I thought I’d collar the next vaguely presentable man who walked in and ask him to help. Then you showed up, and I thought you’ll do.’
‘Charming,’ said Dan dryly, wondering whether he ought to be offended or impressed by her candour.
She shrugged. ‘Sorry.’
Settling on the latter, he said, ‘At least you’re honest.’ Which made a refreshing change when it came to the opposite sex.
‘Hardly,’ she said, giving him a wry smile. ‘I’ve just spent every one of the last ten minutes lying my head off. I don’t normally, but this evening I seem to have gone a bit off the rails. Hence the kiss,’ she added, and then a look of horror crossed her face and her gaze dropped to his left hand as a thought evidently crossed her mind. ‘God, you’re not married or anything, are you?’
‘No.’ Much to his mother’s continual and extremely vocal disappointment.
‘Girlfriend?’
‘Not at the moment,’ he said, just about managing to hold back the shudder that wanted to run through him at the thought.
She gave him a bright smile and let out a long breath. ‘Oh, that is a relief.’
‘Isn’t it?’ And not just for her. ‘Although if I’d had either I’m not sure they’d have been all that impressed at what just happened.’
‘No,’ she conceded. ‘But then you could always have told them I started it.’
He tilted his head and shot her a sceptical look. ‘Would you settle for that?’
She stared at him in surprise. ‘Why not? It’s the truth, isn’t it?’
‘When does that ever matter?’
‘You sound cynical.’
‘Just being realistic.’
‘Maybe you should get some new friends.’
‘Maybe I should.’
‘Anyway,’ she said, ‘if I trusted you, of course I’d believe you.’
She made it sound so simple. ‘Then you’re unlike virtually every woman I’ve ever met.’
Her smile faded. ‘I expect I am,’ she said with a resigned sigh.
‘Which is not necessarily a bad thing.’
‘If you say so,’ she muttered, sounding so thoroughly unconvinced and down that he had an unexpected urge to haul her back into his arms and tell her everything was going to be all right.
Failing to understand what was going on with that, Dan parked it and pulled himself together. ‘What would you have done if I had had a wife or girlfriend?’
‘I’m not sure,’ she said, thinking about it for a moment. ‘Slapped you to make it look like an argument and stormed out probably.’
He winced. ‘Ouch.’
‘Quite. So it’s lucky for both of us you don’t, isn’t it?’ She took a step towards him and looked up at him beseechingly, and as her scent wound through him his head briefly swam. ‘So what do you think?’ she asked softly. ‘Will you help me out and play the part of my besotted boyfriend for a bit or do I need to slink out and hope I don’t see any of that lot ever again?’
THREE
Absolutely no way was the answer that was hovering on the tip of Dan’s tongue as he looked down at Zoe and steeled himself to ignore the shimmering hope in her eyes. She might not be the kiss-and-tell girl he’d initially suspected her of being—and the story she’d subsequently spun him was too convoluted to be anything but the truth—but going along with her ridiculous proposition was still out of the question.