Love and Liability (Dating Mr Darcy - Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

was referring to the keychain, Ms James. Not the card.”
    Oh, what a mess. It just kept getting worse and worse. Forget the grapefruit juice, she needed straight vodka…or, truthfully, perhaps the vodka
was
the problem…
    “Look,” she said finally, “just put the keys in a Jiffy bag and mail them, okay? I’ve had a really bad day—” her voice wobbled ever so slightly, but she got it back under control “—and I don’t want to bother you any further.”
    “It’s no bother.” He paused. “The reason I’m calling is twofold. One is to apologize.”
    Holly took a steadying gulp of her vodka and…vodka. “Apologize? Whatever for? You were quite right, I wasn’t prepared, and, anyway, I write nothing but salacious dreck. That
was
what you called it, wasn’t it?”
    He had the grace to sound uncomfortable. “I suppose I did. But you have to admit,
BritTEEN
isn’t exactly
The Guardian
—”
    “But it isn’t meant to be!” Holly interrupted. “It’s entertainment. And what entertains teen girls are pop stars, and clothes, and the latest shades of lip gloss.” She took a gulp of her drink. “Maybe they’d be better served by articles on finance and — and educational stuff, but that isn’t the magazine’s focus. The focus is fashion. And make-up. And fun.”
    “And whether I condone sex on the first date?”
    Holly flushed. “I had to ask that,” she said defensively, “or I’d be sacked. Don’t worry, your answer won’t go in the article. It’s strictly off the record.”
    “I’m very glad to hear it.”
    “At any rate, I accept your apology.” She frowned. “What was your other reason for calling?”
    “I wondered if you’re free for dinner next week.”
    Holly held out her phone and stared at it in astonishment. Her first instinct was to say yes, of course she was free, and her second was to fling open the windows like Scrooge on Christmas Day and shout, “You, there, boy! Run and fetch me the biggest bottle of champagne you can find. Alex Barrington has just asked me out!”
    “You’re asking me out on a…date?” she asked cautiously.
    “Yes, a date,” he replied, and added, “wherein two people who like one another decide to go out together.”
    She saw herself sitting across from Alex in some fancy restaurant, holding her champagne glass out as he topped it up with Perrier-Jouët, and she could almost taste the tart-sweet raspberries he fed to her across a candlelit table…
    She bit her lip. If she said yes and Mick found out, he’d throw a four-colour, photo-op temper tantrum.
    On the other hand, why
not
go out with Alex? It wasn’t as if she and Mick were engaged, or anything. With his electric-blue mohawk and multiple tattoos, Mick was as well known for playing bass in Dominic’s band as he was for chasing women.
    Holly sighed. After the cock-up she’d made of her interview with Alex Barrington, not to mention that humiliating business with her bag, she couldn’t possibly go out with him. No matter how much she might want to.
    Plus, what would they talk about? His girlfriend’s thong?
    Her phone crackled in her ear. “Miss James? Are you there?”
    “Oh — yes, sorry. I don’t think I can,” she managed to reply. “I — I think I’m kind of busy next week.” Was she
insane
? Was she really refusing a dinner date with a gorgeous, sexy man, a man who looked like Henry Cavill and Hugh Dancy all rolled into one?
    Puzzlement coloured his voice. “I don’t understand. You think you’re busy next week, but you’re not sure?”
    “Oh, I’m busy,” she said quickly. “There’s no question of that.”
    “This doesn’t have anything to do with the thong, does it? As to that, I can explain—”
    “Please don’t.” Her words were clipped. “It’s none of my business, after all.”
    “But it’s not what you think.”
    “What I think doesn’t matter.”
    “Very well,” he said after a moment, “I’ll say goodbye, then. If you have any more