A Night With Consequences Read Online Free PDF Page B

see whether we can remedy that while we’re here. Watching an opera being performed at La Scala is a serious sensation in itself.’
    Swift alarm stabbed at Kara’s chest. Attending a concert with Blake went far beyond anything that was reasonable and sane. ‘I doubt whether we’ll have time.’ And even if they had would she really want to go with him? Sit with him for two or three hours, or however long it lasted? This new-found awareness would fill her to such an extent that she would be unable to concentrate on what was going on on the stage. She put on her very best office voice. ‘You have a very full schedule, Mr Benedict. And even if you didn’t, I doubt you’d get tickets at this late stage. They must be sold out months in advance.’
    ‘Are you trying to get out of it?’
    ‘I am.’ There was no point in lying.
    Blake laughed at her honesty. ‘Tut-tut, Kara. Haveyou not realised yet that I always get my own way? And perhaps you could learn to call me Blake?’
    There was a whole world of difference between calling him Blake in her mind and saying it to his face. Maybe she was old-fashioned, but using his surname was what she needed more than anything right now. It held up the barrier. It prevented intimacy. It reminded her of who he was.
    Not that her body took heed of any barriers. The longer they were together the more aware of him she became. And the more uncomfortable she felt. It was such a foreign feeling that she wanted to turn and run in case he sensed it.
    Blake was a man of the world. He knew all about women. If he looked too deeply into her eyes he would be able to see how much he affected her. He would guess at the riot of emotions he had stirred. And he might play on it. Take advantage. Hammer away at her senses until she weakened.
    The thought of weakening, of allowing him to flirt and tease, maybe even go further, caused a fast, heart-thumping eruption of excitement, of actual physical need. She turned and began to walk away. Finally she was beginning to appreciate what all the other girls in the office talked about.
    ‘You do understand, Kara—’ his voice came closely over her shoulder ‘—that running away tells me more about you than if you had stayed and argued.’
    Blake knew that it was not going to be easy getting Kara Redman to relax in his company. For a few minutes earlier, when they had been window shopping, she had become animated, but as soon as he had suggested doingsomething that would throw them into close contact she had frozen.
    The question was, why? And how long was it going to take him to find out? Kara was the most private person he knew. Other women were always eager to talk about themselves, to show off, to preen like a peacock in front of him. Not so Kara. And the less she opened up the more intrigued he became, the more determined to prise open the shell of security she had wrapped around herself. There had to be a reason and he wanted to know what it was. Whether it really was because of her father or whether it was something else.
    ‘I am not running away.’
    He smiled at the hint of defiance in her voice. ‘Good, because I want you to relax. I want you to enjoy your time spent here. It’s not all about the conference, and since you’ve never been to Milan before I think you should see something more of the city than the inside of a hotel. In my humble opinion La Scala is the
pièce de résistance.
You cannot possibly leave without embracing a performance here. And I would be honoured to be the one to introduce you to the delights of live opera.’
    ‘It’s very kind of you Mr—er—Blake, but your diary is full.’
    ‘As you constantly remind me.’ He smiled as he spoke, sensing how difficult it had been for her to use his first name. ‘Nevertheless we will make time.’ He saw the apprehension in her blue eyes, and the way her teeth bit nervously on her lusciously plump bottom lip—something else he had never noticed before.
    He was tempted to