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the usual staff outings he had attended in the past. For one thing, he and Rachel would be by themselves tonight and that was something that didn’t usually happen. Even when they had spent all that time planning the wedding, they hadn’t been on their own—Ross and Heather had been with them. This would be a whole new experience for them.
    He took a steadying breath as he stopped beside the reception desk, determined that he wasn’t going to let himself get carried away by the thought. ‘I’ll set the alarm and follow you out. We can go in my car, if you like. That way you can have a glass of wine with your meal without worrying about driving home.’
    ‘Thanks, but it’s easier if we take both our cars. It will save all the hassle in the morning of getting here.’
    It was on the tip of Matt’s tongue to tell her that he would give her a lift, but he sensed that would be overstepping the mark. ‘Fine. I’ll see you there, then.’
    He waited until she had left then switched the phone through to their on-call service and set the alarm. There was only his car left in the car park when he went outside and he hurried over to it, shivering as a blast of icy wind blew down from the hills. The temperature had dropped over the weekend and it looked as though they were in for a really cold spell. Still, it wouldn’t be long before he got to the restaurant and warmed up, he consoled himself.
    He started the engine, smiling at the thought of meeting Rachel there. Maybe it was only dinner with a colleague but it was good to know that he wouldn’t be spending the rest of the evening on his own. Was that her main attraction? he wondered suddenly. Was he so eager for her company because he was lonely?
    He tested out the theory and discovered that it did fit. However, deep down he knew it was more than that. Loneliness didn’t explain the way he had responded to her recently, did it?

CHAPTER FOUR
    R ACHEL could feel butterflies flitting around her stomach as she entered the restaurant. It wasn’t very busy with it being a Monday evening and she had no trouble getting a table. She told the waiter that she was expecting someone to join her and sat down to wait, trying to control the frantic fluttering inside her. It was just dinner with Matt, nothing more, nothing less, and definitely nothing to get worked up about.
    Matt arrived a few minutes later, looking big and imposing as he stopped to speak to the waiter. Rachel noticed several women glance his way and look a second time too as he made his way over to her. No wonder, she thought as he took off his coat and draped it over the back of a chair. He was an extremely handsome man and she wouldn’t blame any woman for finding him attractive.
    ‘This is nice.’ He looked around the restaurant with obvious pleasure. ‘It all looks very sleek and modern without being too stark and bare. Call me old-fashioned but I like a bit of clutter around the place.’
    ‘Me too, probably too much clutter,’ she agreed ruefully.
    ‘So you don’t go in for the minimalist look that Ross favours?’ Matt queried, loosening his tie. He undid the top button of his shirt as well and Rachel hurriedly averted her eyes when she felt those pesky butterflies start flapping even more wildly. She had seen Matt wearing a variety of outfits over the years they’d worked together, from the jeans he had worn on staff outings to the suits he preferred for work, so why was she reacting this way to a glimpse of bare tanned flesh?
    ‘No, it’s not my taste at all. As for Ross, well, he probably favours that style because it’s the complete opposite from what he grew up with.’
    Rachel hurriedly dismissed the question. They were there to have dinner, not so she could analyse how she felt about Matt. He was a colleague and a friend, and that was all she needed to know.
    ‘Really?’ Matt sat back in his chair, obviously keen to hear more, and she continued, finding it easier to talk about such a safe