Harlequin Romance April 2015 Box Set (4 page)

She gaped at him. It made him scowl and shuffle back in his seat. ‘Well, you’re not.’

She snapped her mouth shut. She wiped her hands down the front of her shirt, which only proved to him how truly womanly she happened to be. The colour in her cheeks deepened as if she’d read that thought in his face.

‘There’s another reason I’m here,’ she blurted out.

The hurried confession and
the way her words tripped over themselves, the fact that she looked cute when flustered, all conspired to make him want to grin. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d smiled, let alone grinned. He resisted the urge now too. In the end, grinning... Well, it would just make things harder, in the same way the sunlight and the sea breeze did.

But he did take pity on her. ‘Another reason?’ he
prompted.

She moistened her lips. Like the rest of her they were generous, and full of promise.

‘Mac, one of the reasons I came out here was to ask if you would teach me to cook.’ She grimaced. ‘Well, if we’re being completely accurate, if you’d teach me to make a
macaron
tower.’

His every muscle froze. His nerve-endings started to scream. For a moment all he could see in his mind
was fire—all red and heat. A lump the size of a saucepan wedged in his throat. It took three goes to swallow it.

‘No.’ The word croaked out of him.

He closed his eyes to force air into protesting lungs and then opened them again, his skin growing slick with perspiration.

‘No.’ The single word came out cold and clear. ‘That’s out of the question. I don’t cook any more.’

‘But—’

‘Ever.’ He pinned her with his gaze and knew it must be pitiless when she shivered. ‘It’s absolutely out of the question.’

He rose.

‘Now if you don’t mind. I’m going to do a bit of work before I retire for the night. I’ll move my sleeping quarters to the end bedroom tomorrow.’

She seemed to gather herself. ‘I’ll clean it first thing.’

That reminded him that she meant to
do a grocery shop tomorrow too. ‘There’s housekeeping money in the tin on the mantel in the kitchen.’

‘Right.’

He hated the way she surveyed him. Turning his back, he left, forcing knees that trembled to carry him up the stairs and into his room. He lowered himself to the chair at his desk and dropped his head to his hands, did what he could to quieten the scream stretching through his
brain.

Teach Jo to cook?

Impossible.

His chest pounded in time with his temples. Blood surged in his ears, deafening him. He didn’t know how long it took for the pounding to slow, for his chest to unclench, and for his breathing to regain a more natural rhythm. It felt like a lifetime.

Eventually he lifted his head. He couldn’t teach her to cook. She’d saved his brother’s life
and he owed her, but he couldn’t teach her to cook.

He rose and went to the double glass doors. With the curtains pushed back they stood open to the moonlight. Below, starlight dappled navy water. He couldn’t teach her to cook, but he could do everything else she’d asked of him. He could ensure that Russ didn’t have one thing to worry about on Mac’s account.

One week of halfway human
behaviour? He could manage that.

He thought back to the way he’d just left the dining room and dragged a hand through his hair. She must think him a madman. Hauling in a breath, he rested his forehead against cool glass. He might not be able to help her on the cooking front, but could he help her in her search for a new vocation?

The sooner she found a new direction the sooner she’d
go, leaving him in peace again. A low, savage laugh scraped from his throat. He would never find peace. He didn’t deserve it. But he could have her gone. He’d settle for that.

* * *

Mac had been awake for over an hour before he heard Jo’s firm tread on the stairs. She moved past his door and on to the bedroom at the end. No doubt to clean it, as she’d promised. The need for caffeine
pounded through him. So far he’d resisted it—not ready to face Jo yet.

He blamed the light pouring in at the windows. It had disorientated him.

Liar.
It wasn’t the light but a particular woman he found disorientating.

He could bolt down to the kitchen now, while she was busy up here.

Yeah, like
that
would convince her to tell Russ all was fine and dandy. He flung the covers
back, pulled on a clean pair of jeans and a sweater, and stomped into the en-suite bathroom to splash water on his face. He stood by his bedroom door, counted to three, dragging in a breath on each count before opening it.

‘Morning, Jo,’ he called out. Amazingly his voice didn’t emerge all hoarse and croaky as he’d expected.

She appeared at the end of the hallway. ‘Good morning. Sleep
well?’

Surprisingly, he had. ‘Yeah, thanks.’ He remembered his manners. ‘And you?’

‘No.’

She didn’t add any further explanation. He took a step towards her, careful to keep the right side of his face to her. With all the curtains on this level now open there was a lot of light to contend with.

‘Is there something wrong with your room? The bed? The mattress?’

She laughed
and something inside him unhitched. ‘I never sleep well in a new place the first night. Plus, I did a lot of driving yesterday and that always makes me feel unsettled. I’ll sleep like a dream tonight.’

He rolled his shoulders. ‘How long did you drive for?’

‘Five hours.’

Five hours?
And she’d arrived to... His stomach churned. She’d arrived to his bitterness, resentment and utter
rudeness.

‘Mac, we need to talk about my duties.’

That snapped him to.

‘I mean, do you want me to make you a full cooked breakfast each morning? What about lunch?’

He noticed she didn’t give him any quarter as far as dinner went. ‘I’ll help myself for breakfast and lunch.’

‘Not a breakfast person, huh?’

He wasn’t. He opened his mouth. He closed it again and waited
for a lecture.

‘Me neither,’ she confessed. ‘Most important meal of the day, blah, blah, blah.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Just give me a coffee before I kill you.’

He laughed, but he was still careful to keep his good side to her. She hadn’t flinched at his scars last night or so far this morning. But he knew what they looked like. He could at least spare her when he could.

One thing
was for sure—she didn’t treat him like an invalid, and he was grateful for it.

‘There’s a pot of freshly brewed coffee on the hob.’

He didn’t need any further encouragement, and turned in the direction of the kitchen.

He swung back before he reached the stairs. ‘Jo?’

Her head appeared in the bedroom doorway again.

‘Don’t bust a gut trying to get the house shipshape all
at once, will you?’ He’d long since dismissed his army of hired help. ‘I’ve...uh...let it get away from me a bit.’ At her raised eyebrow he amended that to ‘A lot.’

She merely saluted him and went back to work. He made his way down to the kitchen, wondering if he’d passed the
don’t worry Russ
test so far this morning. He poured himself a coffee, took a sip and closed his eyes. Man, the woman
could make a fine brew.

* * *

Mac clocked the exact moment Jo returned from her shopping expedition.

His first instinct was to continue hiding out in his room. He stared at the half-written recipe on his computer screen and pushed to his feet. If he walked away and did something else for half an hour he might remember if he reduced the recipe’s required infusion by a third or a
quarter.

If he could just see it in the saucepan and smell it he’d have the answer in an instant and—

He cut the thought off with a curse and went to help Jo unpack the car. She’d only given him a week. He’d better make the most of it.

She glanced up when he strode out onto the veranda, and in the light of her grace and vigour he suddenly felt awkward and ungainly.

He scowled,
unable to dredge up a single piece of small talk. ‘I thought I’d help unpack the car.’

She pursed her lips and he realised he was still scowling. He did what he could to smooth his face out—the parts of his face he
could
smooth out.

‘You have any trouble finding the shops?’

Heck. Scintillating conversation.

‘None at all. You feeling okay, Mac?’

‘I’m fine.’ Striding to
the car, he seized as many bags as he could and stalked back into the house with them.

It took them two trips.

He wasn’t quite sure what to do after that, so he leant against the sink and pretended to drink a glass of water as he watched her unpack the groceries. There were the expected trays of meat—hamburger mince, sausages, steak and diced beef. And then there was the unexpected and
to be deplored—frozen pies and frozen pizza. Fish fingers, for heaven’s sake!

He flicked a disparaging finger at the boxes. What are those?’

‘I’m assuming you’re not asking the question literally?’

She’d donned one of those mock patient voices used on troublesome children and it set his teeth on edge. ‘Is this to punish me for refusing to teach you to cook?’

She turned from
stowing stuff in the freezer, hands on hips. ‘You told me you weren’t a fussy eater.’

‘This isn’t
food
. It’s processed pap!’

‘You’re free to refuse to eat anything I serve up.’

‘But if I do you’ll go running to Russ to tell tales?’

She grinned, and her relish both irked and amused him.

She lifted one hand. ‘Rock.’ She lifted the other. ‘Hard place.’

Which described
his situation perfectly.

She grinned again and his mouth watered. She seized a packet of frozen pies and waved them at him. ‘Pies, mash, peas and gravy is one of my all-time favourite, walk-over-hot-coals-to-get-it meals, and I’m not giving it up—not even for your high-falutin’ standards. And before you ask—no, I haven’t mastered the trick to pastry.’ She shook her head. ‘Life’s too short
to fuss with pastry. Or to stuff a mushroom.’

She was wrong. A perfect buttery pastry, light and delicate, was one of life’s adventures. And mushroom-stuffing shouldn’t be sneezed at. But why on earth would she ask him to teach her to cook if that was the way she felt?

‘And I’ll have you know that fish fingers on a fresh bun with a dollop of tartare sauce makes the best lunch.’

‘I will
never
eat fish fingers.’

‘All the more for me, then.’

He scowled at the pizza boxes.

‘Also,’ her lips twitched, ‘as far as I’m concerned, there’s no such thing as a bad slice of pizza.’

‘That’s ludicrous!’

‘Don’t be such a snob. Besides, all of this food is better than whatever it is you’ve been living on for the last heaven only knows how long. Which, as far as
I can tell, has been tinned baked beans, crackers and breakfast cereal.’

She had a point. It didn’t matter what he ate. In fact the more cardboard-like and tasteless the better. It had been his search for excellence and his ambition that had caused the fire that had almost claimed a young man’s life and—

His chest cramped. He reached out an unsteady hand and lowered himself into a chair
at the table. He had to remember what was important. He wanted to do all he could to set Russ’s mind at rest, but he couldn’t lose sight of what was important—and that was paying off his debts.

A warm hand on his shoulder brought him back to himself. ‘Mac, are you okay?’

He nodded.

‘Don’t lie to me. Do you need a doctor?’

‘No.’

‘Russell told me you were physically recovered.’

‘I am.’ He pulled in a breath. ‘It’s just that I don’t like talking about food or cooking.’

Realisation dawned in those sage-green eyes of hers. ‘Because it reminds you of the accident?’

It reminded him of all he’d had. And all he’d lost.

CHAPTER THREE

M
AC
TENSED
BENEATH
her touch and Jo snatched her hand back, suddenly and searingly aware that while Mac wasn’t in peak physical condition he was still a man. He still had broader shoulders than most men she knew, and beneath the thin cotton of his sweater his body pulsed hot and vibrant.

But at this moment he looked so bowed and defeated she wanted to wrap her
arms around him and tell him it would all be okay, that it would work itself out.

She grimaced. She could just imagine the way he’d flinch from her if she did. Besides, she didn’t know if it
would
be all right. She didn’t know if it would work itself out or not.

She moved away to the other side of the kitchen. ‘I can make you one promise, Mac.’

He glanced up.

‘I promise to
never feed you fish fingers.’

He didn’t laugh. He didn’t even smile. But something inside him unhitched a fraction and his colour started to return. ‘I suppose I should give thanks for small mercies.’

‘Absolutely. Have you had lunch yet?’

He shook his head.

She seized an apple from the newly replenished fruit bowl and tossed it to him.

This time she’d have sworn he’d laugh,
but he didn’t.

‘I can see I’m going to get nothing but the very best care while you’re here.’

‘Top-notch,’ she agreed. She grabbed her car keys from the bench. ‘I’m going to put The Beast in the garage.’

Mac didn’t say anything. He just bit into his apple.

The moment she was out of sight Jo’s shoulders sagged. If Mac looked like that—so sick and grey and full of despair—just
at the thought of the accident, at the thought of cooking...

She had no hope of getting him to give her cooking lessons. None at all. She twisted her fingers together. It was obvious now that it had been insensitive and unkind to have asked.

Why do you never think, Jo?

With a sigh, she started up her car and drove it around to the garage. It didn’t solve her problem. She needed
to make a
macaron
tower and she had just over two months to learn how to do it.

She pushed her shoulders back. Fine. She had a whole two months. She’d just teach herself. There’d be recipes online, and videos. What else was she going to do out here? Keeping house and cooking dinner would take—what?—three or four hours a day tops? Probably less once she had the house in order.

A
macaron
tower? How hard could it be?

‘Don’t say that,’ she murmured, leaping out of her car to lift the roller door to one of the garage’s two bays. The bay she’d chosen stood empty. Out of curiosity she lifted the second door too.

She had a French cookbook Great-Aunt Edith had given her. Maybe there was something in there—

Her thoughts slammed to a halt. She stood there, hands still attached
to the roller door, and gaped at the vision of loveliness that had appeared in front of her.

Eventually she lowered her hands, wiped them down the sides of her jeans. Oh. My. Word.

Oh.

Dear.

Lord.

The sky-blue classic eighties sports car was her very own fantasy car brought to life and it was all she could do to not drop to her knees and kiss it.

‘Oh, my God, you
are the most beautiful car ever,’ she whispered, daring to trail a finger across the bodywork as she completed a full circle around it, admiring the front curves, the fat spoiler, its gloss, its clean lines and its shape. What wouldn’t she do to test drive this car?

What wouldn’t she do just to sit in one!

She tried the driver’s door. Locked.

With a jump, she spun around and closed
the garage door. One needed to protect a piece of perfection like this from damaging elements. She parked The Beast in the bay beside the sleek machine.

Beauty and The Beast.

She cast one more longing look at Mac’s beautiful car before closing the second roller door and racing into the house. Mac was still in the kitchen—eating a sandwich now, rather than the apple.

He glanced up
when she clattered in. ‘I take it I’m allowed to help myself to the provisions?’

‘You have my dream car in your garage!’

‘Is that a yes?’

How could he be so cool? She gaped at him and then mentally kicked herself. She spread her arms wide. ‘Of course! You can help yourself to anything.’

He stared at her and his eyes darkened. He licked his lips and she had a sudden feeling
he wasn’t thinking about food, but an altogether different primal need. She pulled her arms back to her sides, heat flooding her veins.
Don’t be ridiculous.
Men like Mac didn’t find women like her attractive.

Mac turned away from her on his chair as if he’d just come to the same conclusion. She dragged a hand back through her hair to rub her nape.

‘You said something about my car?’

She swallowed back the request that he let her drive it—just once. She swallowed back asking him if he’d just let her sit in it. For all she knew that might be as insensitive as asking him to teach her to cook.

‘I... It’s beautiful.’

He glanced at her, raised an eyebrow, and she shrugged, unsure what to say, unsure what constituted a safe topic—because she never wanted to witness
that look of defeat and despair on his face again. So she shrugged again and filled the jug. She measured out tea leaves.

‘Feel free to take it for a spin any time you want.’

The jug wobbled precariously as she poured boiling water into the teapot.

Mac leapt up. ‘Don’t burn yourself!’

She concentrated on setting the jug back in its place. ‘I didn’t spill a drop.’ Her heart
thump-thumped. ‘I’m fine.’ She set the teapot and two mugs onto the table. ‘But I gotta tell you, Mac, you shouldn’t offer a girl her heart’s desire while she’s pouring out boiling water—and for future reference probably not while she’s wielding sharp implements either.’

She smiled as she said it. Mac didn’t smile back. He just stared at the jug with haunted eyes, the pulse in his throat
pounding.

She sat down as if nothing in the world was amiss. ‘Would you truly let me take your car out for a drive?’

He sat too. He wiped a hand down his face before lifting one negligent shoulder. ‘Sure.’ But he reached out to pour the tea before she could. ‘It could use a run. I turn it over a couple of times a week, but I don’t take it out.’

She gaped at him. ‘You’d let me drive
it? Just like that?’

That same slow lift of his shoulder. ‘Why not?’

It took an effort of will to drag her gaze from that broad sweep of corded muscle. ‘I...uh... What if I pranged it?’

‘The insurance would cover it. Jo, it’s just a car.’

‘No, it’s not. It’s...’ She reached out to try and pluck the appropriate description from the air. ‘It’s a gem, a jewel—a thing of beauty.
It’s—’

‘Just a car.’

‘A piece of precision German engineering.’

She almost asked how he could not want to drive it, but choked the question back at the last moment. That
would
be tactless. He’d been in the most dreadful accident, had suffered a long and painful recovery, and would bear the scars for the rest of his life. He’d been hounded by the media. She could see how fast cars
might have lost their appeal.

So why hadn’t he sold it?

She stared at him and pursed her lips. Maybe Mac hadn’t given up on life as completely as he thought.

He glared. ‘What?’

‘You wouldn’t consider selling it, would you?’

He blinked. ‘Could you afford it?’

‘I’ve been working in the Outback for the last eight years, making decent money but having very little to spend
it on.’

He scratched a hand through his hair. ‘But you’re not earning a decent wage now.’

She was earning enough to cover her needs.

He jabbed a finger at her. ‘And you may, in fact, be training for a new job shortly.’

‘I suppose it wouldn’t be the most practical of moves.’

He glared. ‘You can say that again.’

He didn’t want to sell it! She bit back a grin. There
was still some life in Mac after all.

He settled back in his seat with a
harrumph
. ‘But the offer stands. You can take it for a spin any time you want.’

‘Lord, don’t say that,’ she groaned, ‘or your house will never get cleaned.’

He laughed. It made his eyes dance, it softened his lips, and Jo couldn’t drag her gaze away. ‘You...uh...’ She moistened her lips. ‘You wouldn’t want
to come along for a spin?’

His face was immediately shuttered, closed, and she could have kicked herself. ‘Well, no, I guess not. You’re busy writing up your recipes and stuff.’

‘Speaking of which...’ He rose, evidently intent on getting back to work.

She surveyed his retreating back with a sinking heart.
Well done, Jo.

In the next moment he returned. He poured himself a second
cup of tea before unhitching a set of keys from the wall and setting them in front of her. ‘Ms Anderson, you brew a mighty fine pot of coffee and not a bad cup of tea. Reward yourself and take the car for a spin.’

She shook her head. ‘Not until I have your house looking spotless.’ It would be a nice treat to spur her on. ‘Maybe the day after tomorrow.’

He merely shrugged and left the
keys on the table.

* * *

After lunch, two days later, Jo made a pot of tea and poured a mug for both her and Mac. Mac reached across to rattle the keys to his car. For the last two days those keys had sat on the table, where they’d tempted, teased and cajoled Jo mercilessly. Neither she nor Mac had put them back on the hook

‘Does the house pass muster?’ he asked.

Yes, it did.
And so did the driveway since she’d found a pile of blue metal gravel out behind the garage. She’d used it to fill in the worst of the potholes along the driveway.

‘You can retract your offer any time,’ she told him.

‘I’m not going to retract the offer, Jo. Go take the car for a spin and enjoy yourself.’

He tossed her the keys. She stared down at them, and then at him. ‘I won’t
be gone long—maybe twenty or thirty minutes tops.’

He shrugged as if he didn’t care how long she’d be gone. ‘Just don’t get a speeding ticket,’ he tossed over his shoulder, before taking his mug and heading back upstairs to his mysterious work.

She wondered how on earth he could write recipes if he didn’t cook them first.

She wondered how he could bear not to take his beautiful
car out for a drive.

She drained her tea and then headed straight out to the garage. Would she even fit into the low-slung sports car? She planted her hands on her hips. If Mac did then she would too. She folded herself into it and sat for a long time, revelling in the moment and familiarising herself with the dashboard, the gears, the fact the indicator was on the left of the steering wheel
rather than the right.

She started it up and gave a purr of delight at the throaty sound of the turbo engine. Would the reality of driving this car live up to the fantasy?

She negotiated the driveway with ludicrous care. She had no intention of bringing this car back in anything but perfect condition. When she finally reached the open road she let out a yell of pure delight, relishing
the perfect handling, the smooth ride and the responsive power of the car. A body could get addicted to the sheer exhilaration!

After her first initial experimentation with the accelerator she made sure to stick to the speed limit. Instead of speed she savoured the way the car handled the twists and turns of these old country roads.

Oh, how could Mac stand to leave this amazing car in
his garage and not use it?

She explored the roads that branched off from Mac’s property, along with a couple of others that it seemed justifiable to explore, and discovered two tiny hamlets—Diamond Beach and Hallidays Point—both of which had tiny general stores if she needed to pop out for bread or milk. She also discovered more glorious coastal scenery.

Mac had certainly chosen a beautiful
part of the world for his exile. Odd, then, that he didn’t seem to spend much time appreciating it, that he’d taken such pains to shut it out from his sight.

It was grief, she supposed. Grief at having lost the life he’d had. There was no denying that until six months ago it had been a charmed life. Maybe when his grief had had time to abate he’d see a way forward again. Perhaps he’d realise
his old life wasn’t irrevocably lost to him forever.

Not if he refuses to cook.

She sighed, but a signpost pointing down another winding road had her slowing.
‘Dog Shelter’
. A grin built through her and on impulse she turned down the road.

Mac will freak!

So what?

It’s his house.

Nothing had been said about not being allowed a pet.

She turned into the signposted
driveway. She wasn’t the only person at the dog shelter. An elderly man emerged from the back of a small sedan as she pulled up beside it. A border collie leapt out behind him.

A woman dressed in overalls strode up from a nearby dog run. ‘Mr Cole? And I expect this is Bandit?’ She nodded to tell Jo she’d be with her shortly.

Mr Cole’s hand dropped to Bandit’s head and tears filled his
eyes. ‘It breaks my heart to leave him.’

Jo’s throat thickened.

The woman glanced at the younger couple who had remained in the car. ‘Your family can’t take him?’

He shook his head and Jo had a feeling that
won’t
rather than ‘can’t’ was the operative word on that.

‘Please find a good home for him. He’s such a good boy and has been such a good pal. If I wasn’t going into a nursing
home I’d...’

Jo couldn’t stand it any more. She leapt forward. ‘Oh, please let me take him. He’s beautiful and I promise to love him.’

And then she was on her knees in front of Bandit, who obligingly licked her face. As she ran her hands through his fur she realised what a spectacle she must look. She rose, aware of how much she towered over Mr Cole and Bandit—not to mention the dog
shelter lady.