The Boss Who Stole Her Heart. Jennifer Taylor
how warm they felt from being tucked against his body. ‘There’s no need for you to come, though,’ she said hurriedly, not sure she appreciated that idea. ‘I’m sure you must have more important things to do. I can sort myself out.’
‘It isn’t a problem. Anyway, there are a couple of things I need to show you—how to work the boiler and where to find the stopcock, things like that.’ He didn’t give her time to protest any more as he led the way from the surgery, taking the path round to the rear of the building. ‘The flat is completely self-contained,’ he continued over his shoulder. ‘Camille and I lived there when I took over the practice. We only moved out because of Nathan.’ He laughed. ‘We needed more space to fit in all his paraphernalia!’
‘Oh. I see.’ Ellie felt her heart sink. Although she knew it was silly, learning that Daniel was married and had a family was disappointing. She pushed that ridiculous thought to the back of her mind, determined that it wasn’t going to set down roots. ‘It must have been handy living on site, so to speak.’
‘Yes and no.’ Daniel paused so she could catch up with him. ‘It was great not having to drive miles each day to get to work but the downside was that I was always on call. Folk knew exactly where to find me, day and night.’
‘Mmm. I can see how that could be a problem,’ Ellie agreed, frowning.
‘You don’t need to worry about that,’ he said quickly. He put his hand on her arm and laughed. ‘We’ve managed to train our patients now. They phone the out-of-hours number rather than hammer on the front door these days.’
He patted her arm then moved away but it was a moment before Ellie followed him. She could feel her arm tingling from where his hand had rested on it and had to resist the urge to rub it. Daniel had reached a flight of steps leading to the upper floor of the building and he paused again to wait for her.
Ellie forced her feet to move in his direction but inside she could hear alarm bells ringing. She was already far too aware of Daniel, more aware of him, in fact, than she had been of anyone before, including Michael. Her attraction to her ex had developed over time; it definitely hadn’t been instantaneous as this had been. Was it the fact that she had suffered such a huge blow? she wondered. That being betrayed had left her vulnerable so that she had latched onto the first attractive man who had shown her any kindness?
Ellie wanted to believe it with a fervour that bordered on frenzy. Quite frankly, any explanation was better than thinking that this attraction she felt could develop into something more!
* * *
‘And this is the main bedroom. The bed’s new and so is the carpet. I decided to change them when I had the flat redecorated. The old ones were well past their use-by date.’
Daniel stepped back so that Eleanor could go ahead of him but she merely glanced into the room. Her eyes swept over the soft café-au-lait-coloured carpet and matching curtains and he found it impossible to decide if she liked what she saw or not. It had been the same with every room—a swift glance, a brief nod, and that had been it. Even though he knew it was ridiculous to feel even the tiniest bit miffed, he couldn’t help it.
‘So what do you think?’ he said, trying to mask his disappointment. She wasn’t to know how much effort he had expended getting the place ready for her. She had no idea that he had devoted a whole weekend just to choosing the colour for the walls or that buying new curtains had been such a nightmare—widths and lengths, patterned or plain—it had been like tiptoeing through a minefield! However, all the effort he’d expended wouldn’t be worth a brass farthing if she didn’t like it.
‘I don’t know what to say.’
She sank down onto the sofa and stared around the bright and airy living room. He’d chosen sheer curtains for in here—well, he hadn’t actually chosen them but had gone with what the sales assistant had advised—and he had been particularly pleased with the result. The view from the window was spectacular, the greens and mauves of the surrounding hills shown to advantage without heavy curtains to detract from it. But had he made an error of judgement? Would Eleanor have preferred something more substantial, more private?
‘Look, I understand if you want to change things,’ he said quickly. ‘Don’t think you have to live with what I’ve chosen...’
‘I love it. The walls, the curtains. Everything.’ She looked up and he could see tears shimmering in her eyes. ‘I never expected this, Daniel. Thank you so much. It’s perfect.’
‘I’m glad you like it.’ Daniel felt a lump come to his throat and had to swallow hard. He dredged up a rather rusty laugh. ‘I had a horrible feeling that you loathed the place when you didn’t say anything.’
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