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Classic Bestsellers from Josephine Cox: Bumper Collection
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‘On two conditions.’
‘And what might they be?’
‘Firstly, you apologise for what you did.’
Looking uncomfortable, he dropped his gaze to the floor. ‘I was carried away. I didn’t mean anything by it.’
‘That’s not an apology!’
‘All right! I’m sorry.’ He turned to his friend. ‘We’re both sorry.’
‘That’s right,’ Jack readily agreed. ‘We’re sorry about what happened. It ruined what seemed like the start of a good relationship.’
‘Now then! Is that enough for you?’ Roy asked Daisy.
‘Yes. Your apology is accepted.’
‘So we can be friends, can we?’
‘Not yet,’ Daisy reminded him. ‘I said there were two conditions.’
‘So, what’s the second?’
Daisy surprised them all with her quick smile and her bold answer. ‘Now that you’ve apologised, you can dance with me.’
‘DAISY!’ Drawing her aside, Amy was flabbergasted. ‘What the devil are you playing at?’
‘Look, Amy, if they want to make friends, why can’t we?’ Giving her glass of sarsaparilla to Amy, Daisy reasoned, ‘I think they’ve learned their lesson.’
‘Well, I don’t! That Roy fella is arrogant as ever.’
‘Don’t worry, lass,’ Daisy whispered. ‘I can handle him now.’
Amy couldn’t help but worry and said so.
Daisy wasn’t listening. ‘I’ve seen the other blokes on offer round here,’ she said, ‘and I wouldn’t give ’em house room.’
Just then the music struck up; Roy asked her if she wanted this dance, and like the devil-may-care creature she was, Daisy fell into his arms and quickly led him onto the dance floor.
‘Well, I never!’ In spite of a niggling worry in the back of her mind, Amy had to smile. ‘I can talk till I’m blue in the face, and she takes not one blind bit of notice.’
‘And what about you?’ Suddenly, Jack was standing before her, his warm gaze inviting. ‘Fancy a twirl on the dance floor, do you?’
‘No, thanks all the same.’ She had a feeling he was genuine in his apology but she felt embarrassed about the whole incident and didn’t want reminding.
Excusing herself, she walked the few paces to a nearby table where she set the drinks down.
He followed her. ‘Do you mind if I sit beside you?’
She was annoyed yet curious. ‘Sit where you like,’ she said, ‘but don’t think you’re forgiven for what you and your mate did.’ Best to face it out, pretend she hadn’t panicked.
He sat down. ‘Can I ask you summat?’
Taking a sip of her drink, Amy shrugged. ‘Ask away.’
‘Will you please tell me what I did wrong that night?’
‘What d’you mean?’
He explained, ‘Just now, you said I mustn’t think I’m forgiven for what me and my mate did. So. All I’m asking is, what exactly did I do that was so wrong?’
‘When he was attacking Daisy, I thought you went in to help him,’ she answered lamely. But even at the time she hadn’t been certain that was the way it had happened.
‘You’re wrong.’ He sounded sincere. ‘Like you, I saw what was happening and needed to put a stop to it. When I got between you it wasn’t to help Roy, believe me. It was your friend I was trying to help.’
‘If that’s the case, I’m sorry for what I did,’ she admitted reluctantly. She’d felt embarrassed about it long enough. It was time to make amends.
He gave a wry little laugh. ‘You’re a dangerous woman, though.’ He observed her slight build, the mop of brown hair and those bright blue eyes, and his heart turned over. ‘I would never have guessed you could throw like that,’ he said admiringly.
Amy smiled, aware that he was teasing her. ‘Neither did I.’ Under his intense scrutiny she felt neither embarrassed nor angry, but curiously warm inside.
‘You managed to put me out of action for three days,’ he told her, exaggerating so she knew he was laughing with her. ‘What’s more, I had to lie to my boss. If I’d told him what really happened, the men would have taunted me mercilessly.’
As he talked and smiled and looked back with amusement at what she’d done, Amy began to see a different, pleasant side to him. ‘I might have been a bit too quick in throwing that brick,’ she confessed. ‘But I really thought you were as bad as your friend.’
His smile was all-embracing. ‘You don’t think that now, do you?’
Amy shook her head. ‘I’ll admit, I’m beginning to see you in a different light.’
‘Is that good or bad?’
‘Good … I think.’ In fact she had thought about that night often, and each time she was increasingly certain she’d got it wrong where he was concerned.
‘So, will you dance with me?’ he asked, and Amy agreed.
In spite of Amy’s earlier worries, the whole evening was surprisingly enjoyable, and by the time they were preparing to leave, their relationship was developing fast.
As for Daisy, her attraction for Roy was strong as ever. ‘I’m as much to blame for what happened,’ she told Amy in the toilets. ‘I must have given him the idea that I wanted it every bit as much as he did.’
‘That’s no excuse for coming on like he did.’ Amy wasn’t happy that Daisy had forgiven him so easily. ‘If you ask me, there’s a darker side to him than meets the eye. I know I can’t tell you what to do, but I’m asking you to stay on your guard. Will you do that for me?’
Daisy groaned but promised all the same. ‘All right, mother hen,’ she quipped cheekily, ‘I’ll stay on my guard.’
Then she laughed her impulsive, hearty laugh, and Amy couldn’t help but laugh with her. ‘You’re incorrigible!’ Amy said, and Daisy told her she didn’t even know what the word meant.
When they returned to their table, Jack was at the bar getting more drinks, while Roy was impatiently pacing the floor. ‘At last!’ He threw out his arms in frustration. ‘Whatever it is you women do when you go to the toilets together, it seems to take you one hell of a long time! What do you do, anyway?’
‘That’s for us to know and you to find out!’ Daisy retorted.
Другие электронные книги автора Josephine Cox
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Удивительная книга. Как никогда актуальна сегодня. Язык и стиль автора настолько тонок, лёгок и изыскан, что легко поведёт читателя в мир героев, кото...
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