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‘No. It wasn’t closed. I just decided to take you to London myself. It’s no big deal. I came to the conclusion that I should head home to Primrose Hill anyway, so it’s not too far out of my way.’
‘You have a place in London too? I thought Jonathan told me you lived in Northumberland?’
‘I do. But when I’m working at the theatre it makes sense to stay in town. A play of mine has just completed a six-month run and will soon be on its way to Broadway, so I’ll be going back to Northumberland in the meantime to rest and continue working on my latest project. Whereabouts in Camden are you situated?’
Maya told him, with not a little sense of unreality in her voice. Her softly shaped dark brows drew together in genuine puzzlement.
‘I can’t believe I fell asleep like that. It must have been all that upset last night. I don’t think I slept a wink afterwards, to tell you the truth. But to fall asleep with someone I hardly even know driving me…that’s a first!’
Briefly Blaise turned his head to survey her. ‘I hope we can very soon rectify the fact that you hardly know me, Maya. It should be fairly obvious to you by now that I’d very much like to see you again?’
She fell silent for a moment. ‘You mean like on a date?’
Digesting this bombshell, twin feelings of surprise and apprehension flooded her.
‘Is that so shocking?’ Directing the MG into a long line of traffic heading towards Greenwich, Blaise smiled.
‘Not shocking, exactly…but I am surprised, yes.’
‘And are you pleased or not pleased about it? Maybe you’re seeing someone already?’ he fished.
It had been two years since Maya had been in a relationship. A relationship in which her trust in someone had been utterly violated. The memory was still liable to churn her guts from time to time whenever she thought about it.
‘I’m not seeing anyone else. But then I’m not really interested in dating at the moment. Particularly as I’ve probably just talked myself out of a job! There’s no guarantee that my agency will have another position for me straight away, and I might have to look round other places as well.’
‘Do you enjoy working for Faraday?’ Blaise’s voice was definitely disgruntled.
‘Not for him personally…but I have enjoyed working with my fellow colleagues and the job itself.’
‘Well, then, let’s not jump the gun here, shall we?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘There hasn’t been any mention of you being let go yet, has there?’
‘No, but—’
‘Then why don’t you cross that bridge when you come to it? Right now it’s all hypothetical. If you really want to keep your job then I’ll have a word with Faraday myself and tell him it was me that made you leave early. There shouldn’t be a problem. Although why you would want to work anywhere near the man is beyond me!’
‘It’s kind of you, but you don’t need to talk to him on my behalf. Besides…’ Maya shrugged awkwardly. ‘I left him a note telling him that I couldn’t work for him any longer after what happened, and if I take back what I said to try and ameliorate the situation then no doubt he’ll endeavour to make my life as miserable as possible as a punishment. No…it’s probably for the best that I leave. I wasn’t exactly ecstatic at being asked to work for a PR agency anyway.’
‘Why was that?’
‘I’m just not mad about celebrity culture, I suppose.’
‘Can’t say I blame you.’ Blaise grimaced a little. ‘But if you’re going to be free for a while then you’ll have time to make a date with me to go out to dinner…right?’
CHAPTER THREE
MAYA had directed Blaise to pull up in front of a slim four-storeyed house in a narrow side-street not far from Camden Lock. The area was a Mecca for locals and tourists, flocking to the outdoor and indoor markets selling an eclectic mix of crafts, jewellery, music, clothing and artefacts from all round the world. The soft late summer rain had long since ceased, and the sun had made a welcome reappearance. With the sports car’s top rolled down again it was easy to detect the exotic aromas of food, incense and the other myriad scents that permeated the air.
The surrounding pavements and roads were heaving with cars and people, and it had taken quite some time to negotiate the busy, packed streets to reach Maya’s address. But now they were there, and Blaise realised his stomach was clenched tight as a drum as he lifted her bags from the boot of the car, waiting expectantly—not to mention a little impatiently—for her to finally address the question of a dinner date. He could already tell by the vibes he was getting that she had no intention of inviting him in for a coffee or anything like that and, resigning himself to the fact, he had to irritably bite back his frustration.
‘Well…thanks so much for driving me all the way home. It was above and beyond the call of duty and very sweet of you.’
Sweet? Blaise almost choked on the ironic laughter that bubbled up inside him. Should he regard such a comment as a compliment, or as a sign that he’d definitely lost his touch? Smiling ruefully at the lovely brunette in front of him, he couldn’t help noticing the anxiety reflected in her mesmerising green gaze, and he was intensely curious as to the cause of it. Had some other jerk like Faraday messed around with her? Hurt her, perhaps? The knot in his stomach gripped even tighter.
‘It was my pleasure. Perhaps you’ll think about meeting up again some time soon?’ He was fishing in his wallet for a business card. ‘I’ll be in London at least until the end of next week. After that I’m returning to Hexham.’
‘Hexham?’
‘It’s a market town near where I live in Northumberland.’
She took the card he proffered and folded it in her hand without so much as a glance. ‘I will. I’ll definitely think about it.’
Would she? Contemplating that she might not was definitely a massive blow to Blaise’s pride. To practically be given the brush-off by a woman he’d made it more than clear that he liked was something that had never happened before, and was not an experience he was in a hurry to replicate.
‘Well…’ he shrugged his powerful shoulders with pretended good humour ‘…that’s all I can ask. Take care of yourself, and don’t worry about Faraday. You’ll have no problem finding another position—I’m sure of it. And if you do—give me a call and I’ll see what I can do.’ Lightly he clasped her arms, sensing her bewitching perfume sensually invading him. Then he kissed her continental style, on both cheeks, and moved away. ‘Goodbye, Maya.’
‘Goodbye. Drive safely.’
As he gunned the engine and roared away from the kerb, Blaise saw in his rearview mirror that she stood on the pavement, watching him. Grimly he clenched his jaw, ruthlessly brushing aside any doubt or imagined obstacles that might arise to prevent him seeing her. Of course he would see her again! Now that he knew where she lived, why the hell should he not?
For the first time since setting eyes on Blaise Walker that morning Maya finally felt as if she could breathe freely again. Never before had a man unsettled her and yet perversely commanded her attention quite as much. It seriously troubled her. No doubt if her friends found out he’d given her a lift home they’d think she was mad for not agreeing to a date! But then none of them had experienced what Maya had experienced in associating with people from similar privileged circumstances. People who were part of an elite, almost oppressive circle of wealth, fame and privilege that was a million light years from the kind of ordinary lives Maya and her friends lived…Wolves in sheep’s clothing, as her young teenage self had thought of them. All glitz on the outside but frighteningly shallow and cruel within.
She realised she was definitely apprehensive that Blaise could potentially turn out to be like that. No doubt her friends would be more
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