The Accidental Mistress Read Online Free PDF Page B

sell the Waverley itself, but they’ve been thinking of expanding, and they’ve got a business plan for a club in town, something a bit metro and fetish, for punters who don’t want to drive all the way out here for events. It’s very savvily costed, and I think it could work out well with the Waverley’s recherché reputation behind it, so I’ve agreed to float them some capital.’ He cradled her cheek with his hand, thumb moving gently. ‘So you needn’t worry about the filthy plutocrat gobbling up the little guy. It’s just an investment by a sleeping partner.’
    ‘Well, I’m glad to hear that.’ She turned her face, and kissed his palm, loving the way his long, strangely dark lashes fluttered down as if the touch of her lips induced ecstasy. ‘But it still doesn’t solve the problem of me looking like a scruff-bag in their lovely dining room.’
    John took hold of both her hands in his, and then kissed their backs, one after the other. ‘Well, I thought of that. Keep your jeans … mainly because I want to imagine them snug and tight, pressed against your gorgeous rosy bottom, but you might find something amongst that lot to go with them.’ He nodded to one side.
    Standing by the wardrobe was a pile of large, shiny, very suspiciously gift-like carrier bags and boxes, in white and various colours, all fastened with ribbons. Hanging on the front of the wardrobe was a plain, but intriguing, white garment bag.
    ‘What are they?’ She knew what they were. Presents for her. Oh, he shouldn’t have. How many times did she have to tell him,
he
was enough!
    ‘Just a few little things I thought you’d like.’ He smiled, looking like that young boy again, who, this time, had savedup his pocket money to buy his sweetheart a treat.
    Lizzie smiled. How could she be ungracious? John was thoughtful. He didn’t expect anything for anything and, if he did, she’d have given him what he wanted anyway.
    ‘Ooh, lovely … it’s like Christmas in midsummer. You’re very kind. May I look?’
    ‘That’s what they’re for, doofus,’ he said with a laugh, kissing her hands again before releasing her.
    Lizzie carried everything to the bed, and spread it out. There was lingerie,
lots
of lingerie. Silk, satin, exquisite froths of delicate lace, but also some fresh, sweet items in white cotton, innocently styled and trimmed with cute embroidered motifs. It was typical of him not to go for all the most obvious looks. Some of it
was
very racy, and almost disturbingly abbreviated, but the fun knickers and bras and camisoles somehow pleased her the most. She picked out a set trimmed with tiny blue flowers.
    The garment bag revealed a loose, casually fitted over-shirt in heavy, almost liquid silk-satin. The base colour was midnight blue, but it had a shadow design that made her smile: 1950s motifs, jukeboxes, diner signs, rockabilly cars. Just the job for a casual dinner, worn over her jeans.
    John had chosen exactly the sort of shirt she’d have chosen for herself, if she’d had the money. Silk of that calibre wasn’t cheap, and though it wasn’t an obvious designer label, the workmanship was divine.
    The damned man could read her mind … even when she wasn’t actively thinking about things.
    ‘It’s gorgeous, John. I love it! But how did you choose it?’
    He sighed, as if revisiting some sorrow, some ennui. ‘I was in Dubai, for a deal. And I felt as if I had to get out of hotels and boardrooms for an hour. I didn’t know what to do withmyself and somehow I ended up rambling around a shopping complex in a daze. I took one look at that in a boutique window, and I knew it was “you”.’ He stroked a finger over the silk. ‘I was thinking of you … missing you … and knew you just had to have it.’
    Had he really thought about her that much when they’d been apart? He’d said so, earlier, but it was still hard to imagine someone like John wandering aimlessly around a mall, thinking only of her.
    ‘Thank