Blind-Date Baby Read Online Free PDF Page A

off.
    ‘Do you want some?’ she asked, eyebrows raised, mouth slightly smudged with chocolate. Noah meant to shake his head, but it didn’t seem to want to move.
    ‘Uh-huh,’ he heard himself say.
    ‘It is rather divine,’ she said, her eyes doing her trademark sparkle.
    ‘Uh-huh.’
    Great. He’d won awards for his command of the English language and all he could do at present was grunt like acaveman. He watched as she carefully dipped the long spoon into her dessert and pulled out a bulging dollop of creamy chocolate mousse.
    As she fed him the mousse, she unconsciously licked her lips. Noah felt a kick of desire so hard it almost rocked him out of his chair. His voice was horribly hoarse when he opened his mouth to speak. ‘Grace…?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Um…’ Just like that, his brain emptied. Words circled round, but the ability to string them into coherent sentences had just vanished. He grabbed at a few of the nearest phrases in desperation. ‘Concerts!’ he blurted. ‘Do you like live music?’
    Grace’s face lit up. ‘I love live music!’
    It was only as his heart rate started to slow, pounding heavily in his temples, that he realised it had been racing for the last couple of minutes. He swallowed, which really wasn’t a good idea, because he tasted the chocolate mousse again and his pulse did a U-turn.
    ‘In fact, I was only at a concert a few days ago,’ Grace said, before turning her attention back to her dessert.
    ‘Really?’
    She nodded and swallowed. ‘I saw this great band up in London recently—The Hover Cats—have you heard of them?’
    He shook his head.
    ‘I don’t expect many of your colleagues share your passion, do they?’
    She looked puzzled. ‘Why not? I know jazz and easy listening are popular in cafés, but that’s not all we listen to. Aren’t you being just a little bit narrow-minded?’
    For the second time that evening, Noah felt as if he were under interrogation. ‘But I thought you said you were a—’
    ‘A barista,’ she said, folding her arms. ‘I work in The Coffee Bean further up the High Street.’
    If she’d jumped up on the table and started doing the cancan, Noah couldn’t have been more shocked. She had such potential. And all at once he was intrigued, as he often was when he met someone who defied his expectations. What had led her to make those choices? Grace had the personality and energy to do anything she wanted. His brain whirred off, analysing her as if she were a character in a book.
    She’d been sitting in silence as he’d absorbed the information, but now she flicked a glance at the door and started talking very fast. ‘Talking of coffee, I don’t really feel like having one—busman’s holiday and all that. Do you mind if we call it a night?’
    She reached for her handbag and started to push back her seat. For the first time all evening, the confidence, the pizzazz drained away. She glanced at him for a mere moment as she smoothed down her skirt and he saw a look of both hardness and vulnerability on her face.
    ‘Grace, I’m sorry. In no way do I—’ He reached for her hand. ‘Don’t go.’
    She shook her head. ‘You know what, Noah. This really isn’t going to work out. I think I should just leave.’ And, with that, she nimbly eased herself out of her chair and headed for the coat rack.
    Known for his command of the English language? Hah.
    Well, if Grace was leaving, so was he. He pulled his wallet out of his pocket, left more than enough twenty pound notes on the table to cover the bill and darted after her.
     
    Grace didn’t even remember putting her coat on. It was only as the chilly night air hit her face that her brain whirred into action. Without making a conscious decision, she turned right and hurried down Vinehurst High Street as fast as the stupid high heels she’d stolen out the bottom of Daisy’s wardrobe would let her.
    ‘Grace!’
    She bit the tip of her tongue between her teeth, shook her head and just