The House at the Bottom of the Hill Read Online Free PDF

drawing the fragrance inside in the hope it would stay all day.
    ‘Fancy a coffee?’ Daniel asked as he brushed past her, the coffee-bean smell overlaid with a lighter, summery fragrance of aftershave; a hint of sliced melon and sandalwood shavings. He pushed the door to the bar open and looked over his shoulder. ‘You must have noticed we’re the only two sane people in town. Let’s get together and talk about that.’
    Unfair. Just unfair. She’d get down on her knees for a real coffee. ‘No thanks.’ It had been fifteen days since she’d had a flat white.
    ‘Come on in and tell me your plans for the B&B.’
    She definitely wouldn’t be doing that. ‘I hope you’re not trying to chat me up.’ It came out snappy but he had no right being so tantalisingly masculine either.
    ‘I’m not making a pass,’ he said in a surprised tone. ‘You don’t interest me that way.’
    ‘You don’t interest me that way either.’ All she had to do now was inform her libido of this decision.
    ‘You think I hadn’t noticed? You’re not exactly Miss Forthcoming.’
    He said it with a smile but he made her sound like a fractious beauty pageant contestant, arguing with the judge because she hadn’t got the crown. She was already on the wrong side with the community, and now here she was getting offside with Hotshot. She knew he’d be trouble—just knew it from the start. How dare he make assumptions after such a brief acquaintance?
    ‘I don’t intend to argue with you, but you did ignore me for two weeks.’
    ‘Come on, Charlotte. I waved. And I apologised.’
    ‘And I don’t fall easily for smarm.’
    ‘Smarm?’ He stepped back. ‘Look, I asked if you’d like a coffee, not to marry me.’
    ‘What’s going on?’
    Charlotte started, turned to the man who had spoken and dropped the sack.
    ‘Careful.’ Ethan Granger stepped forwards and bent to catch it. ‘You okay?’
    The breath drained from her lungs. Ethan was a giant of a man. ‘Yes, I’m fine. Thank—thank you.’ Although she was desperate to look up at him again, she kept her gaze on his chest. She was so close she saw the way it rose and fell with each steady breath he took. Look up at him . Look at his face . Who does he look like ?
    She looked up, her breathing shallow with worry. Sandycoloured hair, a bit tousled. Piercing blue eyes that held a reflection of the smile on his firm mouth. A handsome giant. O’Donnell hadn’t been this tall, had he? Hard to tell, she’d only been six years old and most men were tall to a child. She pushed anxiety down and concentrated, with an almost greedy need, on every feature of this man’s face so she could evaluate it later— when she wasn’t so close to him.
    ‘Take it easy there, Charlotte,’ Daniel drawled.
    Charlotte jumped back—she’d forgotten he was there. She snapped her head his way, and met his frowning contemplation.
    Dan lowered his head and studied her. One minute she was behaving like a debutante fighting to be the first to shake the hand of the queen, and the next she was a bundle of nerves, as though she’d tripped on her dress in front of the crowd, her face drawn with tension, lips parted in surprise—or worry.
    When she’d laughed about the signage on the beauty place her face had bloomed with joy, her eyes sparkling with frank and open amusement. Lake-green eyes, the colour of still water at dawn, more vibrant because of her pale skin and hair colouring. A hell of a good-looking woman, and he’d caught her happiness for a second too. Hadn’t lasted long.
    ‘Nice to meet you at last,’ Ethan was saying. ‘You’ve met my wife, Sammy, but I’ve been a bit busy of late. I apologise for not having visited you sooner.’
    ‘Please don’t worry. Sammy was—Sammy was very kind.’
    Dan’s frown deepened. Charlotte was looking up at Ethan from beneath her lashes, studying him intensely, as though he were the newcomer in town.
    Ethan didn’t appear to notice. ‘Well, if