Carole Mortimer was born in England, the youngest of three children. She began writing in 1978, and has now written over one hundred and forty books for Harlequin Mills & Boon®. Carole has six sons—Matthew, Joshua, Timothy, Michael, David and Peter. She says, ‘I’m happily married to Peter senior; we’re best friends as well as lovers, which is probably the best recipe for a successful relationship.’

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to meet eight male wonders of the world. From rich tycoons to royal playboys—they’re red-hot and ruthless!

International Billionaires coming in 2009

The Prince’s Waitress Wife by Sarah Morgan, February.

At the Argentinean Billionaire’s Bidding by India Grey, March.

The French Tycoon’s Pregnant Mistress by Abby Green, April.

The Ruthless Billionaire’s Virgin by Susan Stephens, May.

The Italian Count’s Defiant Bride by Catherine George, June.

The Sheikh’s Love-Child by Kate Hewitt, July.

Blackmailed into the Greek Tycoon’s Bed by Carol Marinelli, August.

The Virgin Secretary’s Impossible Boss by Carole Mortimer, September.

8 volumes in all to collect!

Dear Reader

As the mother of six boys (I have two stepsons as well as four sons of my own), I have obviously been to a lot of rugby matches over the years. In fact just this morning my youngest son has gone off with his school on a four-day rugby tour.

I love watching the game of rugby. I’m one of those mothers who stand on the sidelines screaming encouragement—no doubt to my sons’ great embarrassment.

So it has been especially fun to write about a hero and heroine with a rugby theme underlying their love story, partly set in the beautiful country of Scotland.

I hope you enjoy reading Andi and Linus’s story!

Carole Mortimer

THE VIRGIN SECRETARY’S IMPOSSIBLE BOSS

BY

CAROLE MORTIMER

MILLS & BOON® Pure reading pleasure™

www.millsandboon.co.uk

PROLOGUE

‘DO WE have a deal?’

Andi stared blankly across the drawing room at the man who had so recently stormed into her own life and her mother’s.

‘Come on, Andi,’ Linus Harrison prompted tersely as he paced impatiently. ‘It can’t be that difficult for you to realize that you have no real choice but to accept my offer.’

That was the problem. Andi knew she didn’t have a choice. And she didn’t like it one little bit.

Outwardly her expression and demeanour remained calm. Inwardly it was a different matter. What possible reason could this man have for offering her soon-to-be homeless mother somewhere to live in exchange for Andi taking on the job as his PA? A man like Linus Harrison—a man well-known for his ruthless business reputation, amongst other things—certainly couldn’t be making this offer out of the goodness of his heart. Andi wasn’t even sure that he had one of those! The hardness of those pale-green eyes set in a harshly sculptured face did nothing to contradict that belief.

Nothing about Linus Harrison, of Harrison Holdings plc, was in the least reassuring, Andi acknowledged as she felt an uncomfortable fluttering in the pit of her stomach just looking at him. He was well over six-feet tall, at least nine or ten inches taller than her own five-feet-four, with over-long, shaggy dark hair that he pushed impatiently from his brow whenever it tumbled forward. His face was as hard and chiselled as any sculpture. Those pale-green eyes. An arrogant slash of a nose above lips that looked as if they rarely smiled. A squarely carved jaw that more than hinted at his ruthless reputation. The tailored dark-grey suit only emphasized the width of his muscled shoulders and tapered waist above long, powerful legs. The whole package was imbued with a restless energy that was in itself overpowering.

Andi drew herself up to her full height of five feet six inches—in two-inch heels—none of her inner disquiet showing as she looked at Linus Harrison with calm brown eyes. ‘My name is Miss Buttonfield, or Andrea, if you prefer. Only my family and close friends are invited to use the familiarity of “Andi”.’ She raised challenging blonde brows.

Linus’s expression was mocking as his gaze swept over her admiringly. Andrea Buttonfield had class with a capital C!

She was nine years younger than his own thirty-five years. The top of her blonde head barely reached his chin. Her straight, shoulder-length hair was expertly styled, the fringe feathering lightly above huge eyes the colour of rich, dark chocolate. There were dark shadows beneath those beautiful eyes. Her cheeks were slightly hollow, her nose small and straight, and her mouth a perfect bow above a stubbornly pointed chin. Her cool, businesslike appearance was completed by a tailored black skirt and white silk blouse.

In the last three months this woman had been hit with one tragedy on top of another, and yet Linus could see only cool determination in those liquid brown eyes as she continued to look at him unblinkingly.

Linus gave a taunting inclination of his head. ‘In that case, I’ll settle for Andrea. For now,’ he drawled derisively. ‘I should warn you that I’m not a patient man, Andrea,’ he added harshly. ‘My offer is only open until five o’clock today.’

The slight widening of those brown eyes was her only outward response to his ultimatum.

He shrugged. ‘It’s the way I do business, Andrea.’

She shook her head. ‘I can’t possibly make such a life-changing decision in just a few hours.’

‘That will be your loss.’

A frown darkened her creamy brow. ‘Why the hurry?’

‘My present PA is leaving at the end of the month and I need a replacement before that happens.’ Linus moved to lower his long length into one of the goldbrocade armchairs that adorned the perfection of the spacious drawing-room.

As Linus already knew, every room in Tarrington Park was decorated and furnished in this same gracious, elegant style. It was a style that Linus wanted to keep when he took possession of Tarrington Park in several weeks’time and turned it into another of his luxury spahotels and conference centres. It was a style that Marjorie Buttonfield, Andi’s mother, had informed Linus was all her daughter’s own work.

Style—that was the word that applied to everything about Andrea Buttonfield. Not surprisingly. Andi had grown up on the Tarrington Park estate, the only child of Miles and Marjorie Buttonfield. Her childhood had been one of luxury and indulgence. Her private boarding-schools were the best in the country. Her English degree from Cambridge university was one of the highest attainable. Following university, Andrea had moved to live in London, becoming the PA of Gerald Wickham, head of Wickham International.

Yes, Andrea Buttonfield had style.

Linus’s own childhood and education was the complete opposite of Andi’s, and it was her style and class he had coveted from the moment he’d first met her eight weeks ago, when he’d come to look over Tarrington Park with the intention of buying it.

Andrea’s father had been killed in a car accident four weeks earlier, along with her fiancé, David Simmington-Browne. The following weeks had revealed that, not only was her father’s company bankrupt, but there were considerable debts too. Selling the family home had become the only solution to paying off those debts.

Linus had done his homework on Tarrington Park, Andrea and the recently widowed Marjorie Buttonfield. He knew selling the family home would leave the already grief-stricken Marjorie homeless and without any means of support other than the wage her daughter earnt as Wickham’s PA.

It was a chink in Andrea Buttonfield’s armour that Linus didn’t hesitate to use to his own advantage.

‘Think about it, Andrea.’ Linus smiled humourlessly. ‘As my PA, you’ll get an increase in wages. You and your mother get to move into the gate house, which as well as being rent-free has to be less traumatic for the both of you. You could continue to keep your horse at the stables here. As far as you’re concerned, it’s a winwin situation.’

Andi was already well aware of all the pluses of accepting Linus Harrison’s offer. It was the minuses that concerned her. She didn’t know Linus Harrison. She didn’t trust Linus Harrison. Most of all, she didn’t like Linus Harrison!

His well-earned reputation for ruthlessness in business didn’t give the impression that he ever did things impulsively, telling Andi that he must have given this offer a lot of thought before making it. ‘And what do you get out of it, Mr Harrison?’ she prompted shrewdly.

‘In Gerald Wickham’s opinion, the best PA in the western hemisphere!’ Those green eyes openly mocked her.

Andi’s own eyes widened incredulously. ‘You’ve already spoken to Gerald about me?’ That was how he knew that the money he was offering her was an increase…!

Linus Harrison shrugged wide shoulders. ‘I would hardly consider taking you on as my own PA without first talking to your previous employer.’

‘My current employer!’ Andi corrected with an impatient shake of her head as she glared at him. ‘You had absolutely no right to talk to Gerald.’

‘I had every right,’ Linus Harrison cut in coldly, those eyes hard. ‘I would no more consider employing someone because she looks the part than I would consider buying a car just because it has sleek lines!’

Her mouth thinned. ‘I’m not sure whether that was an insult or a compliment!’

‘It was a statement of fact,’ Linus rasped. ‘For all I knew, you could be lousy at your job and just sleeping with Gerald Wickham to keep it!’

It was a possibility that hadn’t found any favour in Linus’s eyes, and definitely detracted from that style and class Andrea Buttonfield possessed in spades. Admittedly, until three months ago Andrea had been engaged to Simmington-Browne. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t also sleeping with her boss. One meeting with Gerald Wickham had convinced Linus that the other man thought of Andrea in the way an indulgent uncle might a favourite niece, rather than an expensive mistress reserved for his physical pleasure.

Why that information should have mattered to Linus he had no idea. Admittedly, his own code of conduct concerning female employees dictated he not become personally involved with any of them, but he knew that a lot of men in his position didn’t feel the same way.

Andi didn’t know whether to be furious or just indignant at the familiarity of this man’s conversation. She decided that disdain probably suited the occasion better. ‘I presume Gerald satisfied your curiosity on that score?’

‘Totally,’ Linus Harrison confirmed.

Andi eyed him frustratedly. ‘I am more than happy with my present employment, Mr Harrison. My mother has been offered a cottage in the village to live in. And one of the local livery-stables has agreed to take my horse. So you see, Mr Harrison—’

‘As I said, I have no use for the gate house, so it would be rent-free. Your horse would also be stabled free of charge. Plus,’ he continued before Andi could interrupt, ‘do you really think that your mother’s already-delicate emotional health is up to moving into a cottage in the village where your family has long been considered the local gentry?’

Andi became very still. The car accident that had killed both Andi’s father and her fiancé had seemed an almost unbearable blow at the time; initially only the necessity to keep focused for her mother’s sake had held Andi’s own grief in check. The revelation only days later of the bankruptcy of her father’s company was a blow Andi certainly hadn’t been expecting.

Her mother hadn’t coped well; the loss of her husband of thirty years, quickly followed by the knowledge that she was shortly to lose her home as well, had left Marjorie balancing on a very precarious mental edge. One more blow and Andi knew her mother was likely to topple over into the precipice.

As it was, these last weeks had been a nightmare as Andi had tried to balance visits to her mother at the weekends and her demanding job in London as Gerald’s PA during the week. It was a strain that Andi knew was beginning to take its toll on her after three months, both emotionally and physically.

The truth of the matter was, her mother would be much happier if Andi moved back to live with her in Hampshire, especially if she was also allowed to stay in the gate house of Tarrington Park. Andi would feel happier knowing that her mother was comfortable. It was only the thought of becoming Linus Harrison’s PA that stopped Andi from jumping at the opportunity he was offering her.

That, and the fact that she simply didn’t like or trust him.

She felt distinctly uncomfortable in Linus Harrison’s presence. She already knew that this man didn’t just look like an iceberg but had the characteristic of one too.

Andi looked at him frostily. ‘I’m not sure I want to work for a man who uses another person’s weakness in order to get what he wants.’

He gave a mocking smile. ‘I don’t think it was part of the job description that you actually have to like me!’

‘Perhaps as well,’ Andi drawled derisively. ‘Could you tell me what that job description does entail?’

Linus gave a dismissive shrug. ‘Obviously, all the duties you have at the moment. Plus, once the work starts, we’ll be spending most of our time here for at least the next year working on the transformation of Tarrington Park into one of Harrison Holdings’ most prestigious hotels and conference centres. I’ll need to go up to my office in London occasionally, as well as giving a certain amount of time to visiting my other hotels. But for the main part I like to work on a handson basis, overseeing every detail of the building alterations myself.

‘Not that there should be too many of those, when this house already lends itself to what I have in mind. The décor is something I would like you to deal with. I usually hire a team in London, but you know this house better than anyone. Your input is going to be invaluable once it comes to furnishing and decorating the rooms in a style that complements its amenities. With your help, I hope, Andrea, Tarrington Park is going to become the most luxurious spa-hotel and conference centre in the country.’

Andi felt a fluttering of excitement as Linus Harrison outlined his plans for her childhood home. Of course she would have preferred that they didn’t have to sell Tarrington Park at all, that her mother could just be allowed to continue living here, but Andi knew after the last few months that that was impossible. With the sale of Tarrington Park they would be able to pay off her father’s debts, and, although Linus Harrison was possibly the last person Andi would ever have wanted to sell it to, his offer of employment meant she would at least be able to have a say in the alternations and the décor. Her mother would be able to remain on the estate too, albeit in the much smaller gate house rather than the manor-house itself.

Linus easily read the wavering resolve in Andi’s expression. ‘Admit it, Andrea—you’re tempted by the idea,’ he taunted.

Her eyes flashed darkly. ‘The idea maybe,’ she allowed waspishly. ‘The reality is a different matter. I’m really not sure I could work for you.’

His gaze narrowed. ‘Why the hell not? No, let me guess,’ he continued harshly. ‘Someone with your privileged background shudders at the mere idea of being employed by someone like me!’

She blinked. ‘Someone “like you”…?’

‘I’m sure you, like every other reader of tabloid newspapers, are aware of my background,’ Linus rasped knowingly.

The press had made much, over the years, of the fact that Linus had started out with nothing fifteen years ago but the sharpness of his brain and a determination to succeed. That, although he was a multi-millionaire now, he had started out as the only child of a single mother, brought up in the back streets of Glasgow, leaving school at the age of sixteen to work as a labourer on a building site.

Within four years he owned his own building company, buying run-down properties and turning them into hotels, each one more luxurious than the next. Until now, fifteen years later, Linus owned dozens of them all over the world.

Along the way he had lost his Glaswegian accent, learnt to wear Armani suits as if born to it, and had become as comfortable in the company of lords and ladies as he was with his own labourers.

Andrea Buttonfield looked confused by his accusatory tone. ‘Why should your background matter to me?’

Why indeed? Linus instantly berated himself for revealing even this much of a chink in his own armour. As far as Andrea Buttonfield was concerned, she had reason enough to dislike him simply because he was the upstart who intended to buy her family home and turn it into a profitable business-venture. For her, he could now see, the added knowledge that their backgrounds were so dissimilar simply didn’t come into the equation.

Some of the tension left his shoulders, although the restless anger remained. ‘I’ve decided I don’t want to wait for your decision after all, Andrea,’ Linus bit out impatiently. ‘What’s it to be? Take it or leave it.’

Andi wanted to leave it. Every instinct in her body told her to do exactly that. But just the thought of how her mother had changed these last three months—of the fragility of her emotional state, let alone her mental one—was enough to give Andi pause for thought.

Linus Harrison’s offer of employment would solve so many problems for her concerning her mother. Andi knew she would be a fool to turn down that offer just because being in the same room with Linus Harrison made her feel so uneasy.

She drew in a deeply controlled breath. ‘Okay; I accept your offer, Mr Harrison. But my contract says I have to give Gerald three months’ notice, not one,’ she added determinedly as she saw the brief triumph that blazed in those beautiful eyes.

Linus Harrison looked completely unperturbed. ‘I can live with that.’

Andi just hoped that she could live with the ramifications of her decision…

CHAPTER ONE

‘PACK your bags, Andi, we’re going to Scotland for a few days!’

Andi looked up, frowning, to where Linus stood in the doorway that separated their two offices on the top floor of Tarrington Park. She had already known he was here at his private apartments just down the hallway from their offices, having seen his car parked out on the forecourt when she’d arrived for work this morning. It was what he had said that caused her to react so sharply. ‘Scotland?’

‘Hmm.’ Linus strode further into the room to lean against the side of her desk. His dark hair was styled only slightly shorter than it had been a year ago; the pale green of his eyes was still as icily astute in the rugged handsomeness of his hard, chiselled features as he looked down at her. ‘Now that Tarrington Park has opened, I’m looking for another big project to work on. There’s a castle in Scotland I’m thinking of buying.’

Andi eyed him. ‘And you want me to go with you?’ He had never suggested taking her away on business with him before. He hadn’t suggested it now, either, Andi reminded herself derisively—Linus had told her they were going.

‘You are my PA,’ he reminded her.

Andi was well aware of what she was. Just as she was aware that during the last few months she had started to see Linus as more than just the demanding employer who would appear for a few chaotic days to check on progress at Tarrington Park, and then just as abruptly disappear back to his life and apartment in London.

Expecting Andi to accompany him to Scotland on business was a perfectly reasonable request for Linus to make of his PA. In fact, when Andi had worked for Gerald Wickham, she had gone away on business with him all the time. But Linus wasn’t Gerald…

Totally aware of Linus’s ruthless reputation when it came to women as well as business, Andi had been determined to keep him safely at arm’s length when she’d begun working for him a year ago. Not difficult to do when she still felt so emotionally numb following the deaths of David and her father.

But gradually—insidiously, it seemed—Andi had found herself looking forward to Linus’s whirlwind visits. She had become aware of the sexy seductiveness of Linus’s pale eyes; the wolfishness of his rare smile. She had come to appreciate the width of his shoulders and leanness of his muscled body as he strode forcefully through Tarrington Park issuing orders that he would expect to have carried out by his next visit.

Just as Andi was now totally and heatedly aware of his close proximity as he leant against the side of her desk.

Andi gave a self-disgusted grimace as she pulled her laptop towards her. ‘Which airport are we flying to?’ she prompted briskly, thankfully able to breathe a little easier as Linus stood up and moved away slightly.

‘I thought I might drive up in the Range Rover.’

‘Drive?’ Andi glanced out of the window at the bleakness of the winter sky. ‘Doesn’t it snow in Scotland in February?’

‘Stop being picky, Andi,’ Linus rasped dismissively. ‘Anyone would think you don’t want to go to Scotland with me.’

That was because she didn’t!

Just the thought of being alone in Scotland with Linus for several days, when she was now so physically aware of him, made her stomach-muscles clench and her pulse race.

He scowled down at her. ‘What is your problem, Andi? Do you have other plans for this weekend? A romantic tryst, perhaps?’ he added mockingly.

‘Of course not,’ she snapped.

Linus gave a taunting smile. ‘Of course not,’ he parroted derisively. ‘It’s been over a year since the saintly David Simmington-Browne died, so isn’t it time you started living again?’ Especially as her fiancé really hadn’t been that saintly, Linus acknowledged disgustedly. He had unfortunately found out far too many of the other man’s secrets in the last year. Secrets he knew Andi was totally unaware of…

His decision to make Andrea Buttonfield his on-site PA, and give her a free hand when it came to the interior of Tarrington Park, had been the best business move he’d ever made, Linus acknowledged ruefully. But the newly renovated hotel and conference centre had been open for a month now, managed very successfully by Michael Hall, and it was time to move on to something else. For both of them.

Andi had stiffened at Linus’s remark about David. ‘My private life is none of your concern.’ Her tone was frosty.

Linus gave a disgusted snort. ‘You don’t have a private life.’

‘Then it’s just as well you have enough of one for both of us, isn’t it?’ Andi gave him a scathing glance, knowing from the photographs that often appeared in the newspapers that Linus’s life in London involved evenings, if not nights, with the latest woman in his life. Women who rarely engaged his interest longer than a couple of months.

Linus raised mocking brows. ‘Jealous?’

Andi stiffened. ‘Certainly not!’ she gasped, even as she felt the heated colour enter her cheeks.

She wasn’t jealous of those women in Linus’s life. In fact, Andi found her own awareness of him totally confusing. David had been smoothly charming; suave and sophisticated. Linus possessed charm and sophistication when he chose to, but his attraction was raw. Sexual, sensuous, earthy…

She stood up abruptly. ‘What is there for me to feel jealous of?’ she scorned. ‘If those women are stupid enough to accept the little you want to give them, then that’s their problem. I can assure you that I have absolutely no interest in warming your bed!’ Andi regretted the words almost as soon as she had said them, realizing she might have said too much. Revealed too much.

Linus regarded Andi through narrowed lids, inwardly surprised by her vehemence. He only came to Tarrington Park every couple of months, but never during any of those visits had he seen the coolly distant Andi this rattled by anything; those gorgeous brown eyes were positively gleaming with her indignation, and bright spots of angry colour were on her usually pale cheeks.

His mouth hardened. ‘Maybe you should wait until you’re asked before saying no,’ he teased. ‘I was referring to your own lack of a love-life just now, Andi,’ he explained.

She blinked, her polite, businesslike mask falling back into place as she resumed her seat behind the desk. ‘I knew that,’ she dismissed sharply.

Linus continued to look at her for several long seconds, contemplating Andi’s completely defensive reaction.

Things had been a little tense between the two of them when they’d first begun working together, probably due to a certain amount of understandable resentment on Andi’s part at almost being bullied into working for him. But once Andi had accepted that Linus genuinely did want her complete input into the renovations to Tarrington Park—and that his long absences gave her a free rein when it came to the inner décor, the awkwardness between them had started to fade. Now, a year later, Linus totally appreciated that when it came to his business affairs Andi was quiet, efficient and everything that he could wish for in a PA.

Her reaction just now reminded him that she was also an extremely beautiful woman. The tailored suits and blouses she always wore could never hide the fact that she was shapely in all the right places, with long, sexy legs that went all the way up to her…

‘Linus?’

‘Sorry.’ He gave an impatient shake of his head as he brought his wandering thoughts back from considering just how sexily attractive his PA was. ‘We’ll start the drive up to Scotland tomorrow,’ he bit out abruptly as he straightened. ‘Besides viewing the castle near Edinburgh, there’s someone I need to visit.’

‘Edinburgh?’ Andi echoed. ‘Just a moment.’ She eyed him suspiciously. ‘Isn’t the Scottish rugby team playing against Wales over the weekend?’

‘I think that they are, yes,’ Linus confirmed lightly, his expression deliberately innocent.

‘You think that they are,’ Andi echoed knowingly.

She knew that Linus didn’t just like to play hard, but that his business success was due to the fact that he worked like a fiend too. But, no matter how wealthy he had become, or how busy he was, Linus had maintained his boyhood love for the game of rugby, and whenever possible he attended the games played by the Scottish team.

It was impossible to miss the fact that the Six Nations tournament was about to start this weekend, or that Scotland were due to play at home at Murrayfield, an area of Edinburgh, on Sunday. Too much of a coincidence in the circumstances.

‘You know that they are, Linus.’ Andi gave a derisive shake of her head. ‘In fact, I bet you have a ticket for the game.’ She raised mocking brows.

‘Actually, I have two tickets,’ he conceded dryly.

Andi’s eyes widened. ‘You’re expecting me to go to a rugby match with you too?’

He scowled. ‘Why not?’

For one thing, Andi had absolutely no interest in the game of rugby. For another, attending a rugby match with Linus certainly wasn’t in her job description.

Andi shrugged. ‘If you’re visiting friends and going to a rugby match I really don’t see why you need me with you in Scotland at all.’

Linus’s scowl darkened ominously. ‘This is the first time I’ve asked you to come away on business with me and you’re refusing?’

‘I didn’t say that.’ She shook her head slowly, aware of that dangerous glitter in Linus’s eyes.

‘That’s what it sounded like to me,’ he rasped tersely.

‘Then you must have misheard,’ Andi came back calmly.

Had he? Linus wondered, frowning. He and Andi had worked well together on the occasions he’d come to Tarrington Park, but on a personal level they had never got past the stage of his being allowed to call her ‘Andi’ , instead of the ‘Andrea’ she had initially insisted upon. A situation that Linus had thought suited them both, until Andi’s sharp response just now…

He frowned darkly. ‘Are you coming to Scotland with me or not?’

Andi gave a cool inclination of her head. ‘Of course I will accompany you, if that’s what you want.’

‘What I want from you, Andi, is your input on the castle near Edinburgh. You did a good job with Tarrington Park; I could use your help,’ he stated clearly. ‘Will Marjorie be okay left on her own for four days?’

‘She isn’t on her own any more since you employed Mrs Ferguson as our housekeeper,’ Andi reminded him waspishly.

Linus scowled impatiently. ‘Don’t tell me you’re still annoyed about that?’

Andi had been more than a little put out when, during one of his whirlwind visits to Tarrington Park six months ago, Linus had calmly informed her that he had hired a housekeeper for the gate house. Not that it didn’t make a lot of sense to have someone taking care of the house; Andi just didn’t like feeling any more in Linus’s debt than she already was.

Her mother’s health was much improved from a year ago. The scandal of bankruptcy that had been revealed following Miles’s death had died down eventually, allowing Marjorie to pull back from that emotional edge she had been teetering on—although her mother was still more delicate than Andi would have liked.

But her mother and Mrs Ferguson were of a similar age and got on very well together, meaning there was absolutely no need for Andi to be in the least concerned about leaving Marjorie for a few days. ‘I wasn’t annoyed,’ she assured Linus frostily. ‘I just wish you had consulted me before you did it, that’s all.’

‘If I had, you would only have said no; I decided not to put us both through that particular argument.’ He dismissed her with his usual arrogance. ‘I keep you pretty busy here, and the gate house is far too big for your mother to manage on her own.’

‘Don’t bother trying to explain, Linus.’ Andi sighed. ‘We both know that in my mother’s eyes you can do no wrong.’

He raised dark brows. ‘What can I say? Women of a certain age seem to like me.’

It had come as something of a surprise to Andi that Linus chose to visit her mother whenever he came to Tarrington Park. His manner towards Marjorie was always warm and considerate. The fact that he had watched his own mother struggle to bring him up alone perhaps answered some of his softer feelings towards her mother. Whatever Linus’s reasons, he seemed to have a genuine affection for Marjorie, and she was constantly singing his praises.

Andi’s mouth twisted. ‘The newspapers seem to think it’s women in general!’

‘Oh, give it a rest, Andi.’ He gave her an irritated frown. ‘You can’t deny that employing Mrs Ferguson has made things easier for Marjorie.’

‘I’m not denying anything.’ Andi gave him a considering look. ‘Is life always that easy for you—something isn’t quite right, so throw some money at it and fix it?’

Brought up at Tarrington Park, surrounded by the indulgent love of both her parents, Andi couldn’t even begin to imagine what life had been like for Linus as a child, or a teenager. There had been lots of love—initially from his mother, and then from his Aunt Mae after his mother’s death when he was fifteen. But there certainly hadn’t been any money to spend on ‘fixing’ anything. It was one of the perks of his now considerable wealth that Linus could buy anything he pleased; could do what he wanted when he wanted. And usually did…

Andi had never complained about the long hours she had to work to bring about the changes in Tarrington Park, but Linus had been aware on his brief visits that she worried about her mother being left on her own so much. It had been easy for Linus to solve that problem by hiring a housekeeper. The way Andi had reacted at the time, anyone would have thought he’d been trying to move into the gate house with her!

‘It’s not always about money, Andrea,’ he conceded dryly. ‘But nothing I seem to do or say stops you from being stubbornly argumentative.’

Colour heightened the hollows of her cheeks. ‘I’m independent, Linus, not stubborn. There is a difference, you know.’

His mouth thinned. ‘Could you afford to take on a housekeeper?’

‘You know that I couldn’t.’

‘Then stop complaining because I could! It seemed the right time, especially with the new development in Scotland.’

‘Linus, you aren’t actually expecting me to move to Edinburgh to oversee the renovations if you buy this castle, are you?’ Andi gasped as the idea occurred to her, her expression one of horrified disbelief at the prospect.

‘Of course I’m not expecting you to move to Scotland,’ Linus taunted. ‘Live there for several weeks at a time, maybe, but not actually move there.’ He looked at her challengingly.

Andi stared at him. ‘Is that the real reason you employed Mrs Ferguson?’

His mouth thinned. ‘What are you talking about?’

Andi grimaced. ‘You employed Mrs Ferguson because you knew that once Tarrington Park had opened my full-time presence would no longer be needed here.’

‘Did I?’ Linus’s voice was dangerously soft.

‘Of course!’

‘Andi, I have no idea what I’ve done to give you the impression that my every act is Machiavellian in nature.’

‘Why don’t we start with the fact that you bullied me into working for you?’

‘That can change any time you feel like resigning!’ Linus assured her icily.

Andi frowned at him. Their two gazes were locked in a battle of wills, her own accusing, Linus’s challenging.

Andi’s gaze was the first to drop. ‘Do you want me to book the hotel in Edinburgh for all three nights?’ she prompted stiffly.

‘We aren’t staying at a hotel any of the nights,’ Linus informed her tersely. ‘I’ve made my own arrangements,’ he added playfully as Andi raised questioning brows.

She shrugged. ‘I’ll need to know where we’re staying so that I can let my mother know where I am.’

He nodded abruptly, obviously still annoyed about her earlier accusation of duplicity. ‘We will be staying at my Aunt Mae’s, near Ayr, tomorrow night. Then I’ve arranged—’

‘At your Aunt Mae’s…?’ Andi repeated, with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Linus raised arrogant brows. ‘You have a problem with that?’

Not a problem, exactly. More a reservation. It was easy enough for Andi to keep her emotional distance from Linus on the visits he made to Tarrington Park, when she dealt with him only in a business capacity. Actually staying with him at the home of one of his relatives was far too intimate for comfort—Andi’s comfort.

She shook her head. ‘I’m sure your aunt won’t want one of your employees intruding on your visit.’

‘On the contrary,’ Linus drawled derisively, ‘She’s looking forward to meeting you.’

Andi’s eyes widened. ‘She is?’

‘Oh yes.’ He nodded mockingly. ‘She very much wants to meet the woman who has managed to put up with me for the last year.’

‘As your employee, you mean?’ Andi croaked.

‘Of course as my employee,’ Linus acknowledged tauntingly, those amazing eyes openly mocking. ‘The previous record for being my PA was only ten months.’

‘I didn’t know that…’ Andi’s voice tailed off. Admittedly Linus’s work schedule was as demanding as he was, the hours long, meaning that Andi’s hours often were too. But she couldn’t deny that she had found the last year completely absorbing, culminating in a strong feeling of satisfaction when Tarrington Park had finally opened as a hotel and conference centre, becoming almost an overnight success.

Linus shrugged. ‘I didn’t think it was important!’

‘Exactly what did you do to my predecessors?’ she questioned dryly.

‘Absolutely nothing,’ he bit out harshly.

‘Ah.’ Andi nodded slowly, her stomach muscles tightening. ‘I take it that was the problem?’

‘Apparently.’ He nodded tersely. ‘I don’t get involved with the women who work for me, Andi,’ he added abruptly.

Andi had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She wondered if she had somehow given away her increasing awareness of Linus as a dangerously attractive man. Maybe this was his way of warning her not even to contemplate any thoughts of an intimate relationship ever developing between the two of them.

‘Then it’s lucky for both of us that I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in pursuing a relationship with you out of the office!’ she came back coldly.

Linus wouldn’t have called it lucky, exactly; Andi really was an extraordinarily beautiful woman. But by making Andi his employee Linus had effectively put an end to the idea of anything of a personal nature ever developing between the two of them.

Although, he couldn’t deny that his interest had been piqued a few minutes ago when Andi had reacted so defensively to the mere suggestion of intimacy between the two of them—before she had insulted him concerning his employment of Mrs Ferguson.

‘Lucky for both of us,’ he rasped dismissively.

Andi nodded. ‘By the way, Linus,’ she added challengingly as he went to go through to the adjoining office. ‘Perhaps I should just mention that my maternal grandfather is Welsh.’

He winced. ‘Does that mean you’ll be cheering for Wales at the game on Sunday?’

Andi gave him a sunny smile. ‘It certainly does. They have a good record, I believe?’

Linus gave her a considering look. ‘You know more about the game than I thought,’ he finally murmured.

‘Not really.’ She grimaced. ‘I just remember all of my grandfather’s telephone calls when they win a game.’

‘Hmm.’ Linus frowned. ‘After ten years, it’s time for Scotland to win again.’

‘Or England. They’re playing Italy on Saturday, I believe?’ she added innocently.

He gave a low groan. ‘I can see we’re going to have fun this weekend.’

Andi wasn’t sure that ‘fun’ was how she viewed the prospect of the next four days, being alone in Scotland with Linus. Totally physically aware of him as she was, and warned off by Linus’s claim that he never became involved with female employees, those four days promised to be difficult in the extreme…

CHAPTER TWO

‘I THOUGHT you said it didn’t always snow in Scotland in February.’

‘Okay, so it turns out I was wrong.’ Linus scowled darkly as he sat behind the wheel of the Range Rover, trying to see the road ahead through the heavily falling snow.

They had set out from Hampshire very early that morning, stopping off somewhere near Manchester for lunch before continuing the drive. It was dark as the snow began to fall softly almost as soon as they drove over the border between England and Scotland, that snow becoming heavier the further they drove towards his aunt’s home near Ayr, on the west coast.

‘Perhaps you should have checked the weather forecast before we set out,’ he added impatiently.

‘I should have? You gave me the impression that you had everything about this trip under control,’ Andi murmured dryly, no more happy at the possibility of having to come to Scotland for weeks at a time than she had been yesterday when she’d first realized it was a possibility.

‘Unfortunately, even I can’t control the weather!’ It really was foul, Linus acknowledged grimly as it occurred to him he could see barely six feet in front. Their progress was becoming slower by the minute. ‘If it doesn’t let up soon, then we may have to look for somewhere else to stay for the night.’

He could feel Andi’s gaze on him as she gave him a sharp look.

‘Is it really that bad?’

‘You can see that for yourself.’ He nodded in the direction of the road ahead. The grass verge and the road were hardly distinguishable from each other now; the road itself was rapidly being covered in a treacherous layer of slippery snow.

Not that the Range Rover wasn’t up to dealing with it, but it was no good if Linus couldn’t see where he was going. The fact that he hadn’t seen any traffic coming down the road the other way for some time now told him that the way ahead was probably even worse than it was here.

‘I have no intention of sleeping in the Range Rover, so look out for somewhere we can stop for the night.’ Linus grimly kept his concentration on the road in front of them.

Andi turned her attention to looking through the falling snow for any sign of habitation, especially for the lights of an inn or a hotel where they could rest until the snow eased. She felt overwhelmingly guilty because she hadn’t checked the weather forecast and wasn’t more prepared. Feeling disgruntled with Linus over the possibility of having to live in Scotland for weeks at a time was really no excuse.

‘Over there!’ she suddenly cried, pointing to a light ahead of them on the left-hand side of the road. ‘It could be an inn, or—No, it’s just a street lamp.’ She grimaced her disappointment.

‘A street lamp has to mean habitation of some kind.’ Linus narrowed his gaze in the direction she had pointed. ‘Yes! A short way down that lane—at least, I hope it’s a lane.’ He frowned darkly as he turned the vehicle in the direction of the lights, the covering of snow obscuring everything but a flat blanket of white that he sincerely hoped had some sort of firm surface beneath. ‘It’s an inn,’ Linus added with satisfaction as he saw the sign, bearing a thistle and a stag, swinging in the gusting wind. He turned the Range Rover into what he hoped was the otherwise deserted car-park, easing the tension in his shoulders as he gently put on the brakes and brought the vehicle to a stop. ‘Not a very big inn, but it will have to do.’ He grimaced out of the window at the small, barely discernible building. ‘Feel like making a run for it?’ Ruefully, he turned to prompt Andi.

She grimaced. ‘Do we have any other choice?’

‘No—but I thought I would ask anyway,’ Linus baited her as he reached in the back of the vehicle to get their coats, handing Andi’s to her before pulling on his own. ‘Don’t get out until I come round for you,’ he advised firmly as he braced himself for opening the door and facing the freezing weather outside. ‘If I lose you in this, I might never find you again!’

Andi shivered as she felt the blast of ice-cold wind when Linus quickly opened the door and climbed out, before closing it again. The snow was falling so thickly now that she couldn’t even see him as he made his way round the vehicle to her side; she was only aware that he had done so when the door was wrenched open beside her.

It had only been a few seconds, but Linus was already covered in snow, his coat hidden beneath the icy flakes, the darkness of his hair bearing a frosting of the fluffy whiteness too. ‘Careful; it’s icy,’ he warned as Andi lowered her feet to the ground.

His warning came a little too late as her feet slipped from under her and she had to reach out quickly to grasp the front of Linus’s coat to stop herself from falling. ‘Sorry,’ she muttered between gritted teeth as she tried to steady herself. The wind and snow were so icy-cold that her face and jaw already felt frozen, her hair whipping about her face in wet tangles. ‘This is terrible!’ she attempted to shout above the roar of the wind, knowing Linus hadn’t heard her as he gave an irritated shake of his head, dislodging some of the snow in his hair so that it dripped down the grimness of his face and quickly melted against the heat of his skin.

Linus took a firm hold of her hand and turned to fight against the wind as they began to struggle towards the inn. The going was slow, and Andi was surprised at how far away it still looked when she glanced up, the icy wind beating against them so remorselessly that it seemed to deliberately hinder their progress. Almost as if it didn’t want them to reach the shelter and warmth the inn promised.

Andi couldn’t breathe properly through her nose, her throat burning when she attempted to breathe through her mouth instead. All the time the snow beat against her face, hard and painful as it stung against her flesh.

‘Damn it, we’re getting nowhere like this!’ She barely heard Linus’s impatient exclamation before it was carried away on the howling wind, so she was totally unprepared when Linus turned to swing her up into his arms and hold her close against his chest as he walked more determinedly towards the lights of the inn.

Andi’s arms were thrown about his neck as she burrowed her face against him to shelter from the icy-cold wind. Even the dampness of his coat was more comfortable than the burning in her throat as she tried to breathe through that frosty battering.

Incredible to think that, although it had been cold, the sun had actually been trying to shine when they’d left Hampshire earlier this morning; it was like being in another world.

What would happen to them if Linus couldn’t make it as far as the inn? Her arms tightened about Linus’s neck as she laced her frozen fingers tightly together. She should have thought to wear gloves. And a hat.

‘Almost there!’ Linus rasped grimly, obviously suffering as much as she was from the wind that was so cold it seemed to rip right through them. ‘Get the door,’ he prompted forcefully seconds later.

Andi raised her head and saw that they had actually reached the inn; light shone welcomingly through the small, frosted windows, and what looked like the warm glow of a fire too.

Her fingers were so cold, so numbed, that she had trouble unlacing them. The snow cracked on the sleeve of her coat and then fell away as she moved her arm towards the doorknob, fingers slipping at first before she managed to grasp and turn it. The two of them almost fell through the open doorway straight into what looked like the public bar.

Much to the incredulity of the landlord, as he gazed across at them with disbelieving eyes, his mouth having fallen open in surprise at anyone being out at all on an evening like this.

‘Shut the door behind us, would you?’ Linus instructed the other man grimly as he carried Andi over to where a fire burned warmly in the hearth in the otherwise deserted bar. He sat down, still holding Andi against him, as she seemed unable to release her clenched fingers from the shoulders of his jacket, her teeth chattering uncontrollably.

‘It’s okay, Andi,’ he murmured reassuringly. ‘We’re okay,’ he added with satisfaction as the warmth of the fire began to thaw his numbed face and hands.

The tingling sensation that ensued was almost as painful, but it was a welcome pain after the worry of the last few minutes. He really hadn’t been sure they were going to make it as far as the inn as the snowstorm had become a blizzard, visibility down to almost nil, each step becoming a triumph of survival.

Not that Linus intended telling Andi that. He knew from experience that Andi was a woman who usually remained calm in any situation; she had through the death of her father and fiancé, the selling of her family home to pay off her father’s debts and coming to work for him. But the way she still clung to him so tightly now showed she had definitely reached the end of her endurance.

Arousingly so, Linus realized as he looked down at her with narrowed green eyes. She looked so tiny in his arms, vulnerable, even, her hair plastered to her head and across her face in damp tendrils, her eyes huge as she raised her head to look at him. A man could willingly drown in those chocolate-brown depths, Linus realized with a sharp intake of breath; could lose his own will, his very soul, and not give a damn as long as Andi continued to look up at him with that warmth in her eyes.

He had never noticed before how long her lashes were, thick and dark, a beguiling contrast to the honeyblonde of her hair. Her lips were a deep pink, full and pouting, as if waiting to be kissed.

‘Get the other side of this, lad. And your good lady, too.’

Linus wrenched his gaze away from Andi to look at the landlord as he stood beside the armchair holding two glasses of amber liquid. Probably whisky, Linus acknowledged ruefully as he gratefully took one of the glasses and held the rim next to Andi’s lips. ‘Drink,’ he instructed firmly as she made no effort to do so.

Andi’s throat moved convulsively as she acknowledged that there was something in Linus’s eyes just now as he looked down at her, an awareness that only increased her own wariness about spending these four days alone with him in Scotland.

She obediently sipped the golden liquid, almost choking on the unaccustomed alcohol as the whisky slid down her throat to burst into a fiery warmth as it reached her stomach, warming her from the inside out. Thawing Andi enough for her to realize she was sitting on Linus’s thighs and still cradled in his arms.

She struggled to sit up, taking the glass of whisky from his hand as she stood up and moved sharply away from him, averting her face to stare into the fire as she sensed his questioning gaze following her movements.

What had happened just now?

She had looked up into Linus’s face and seen—what? Awareness, certainly. Desire, possibly. Almost as if Linus had been looking at her for the first time. And perhaps he had. Andi certainly bore little resemblance today to the prim no-nonsense PA she chose to present to him in the office. Her hair fell loosely about her shoulders; her denims and jumper were much more casual than anything she would ever wear to the office. She felt strangely vulnerable without the shield of her tailored business-suits and blouses. Especially if that change had also affected the way Linus viewed her.

She suddenly became aware of the conversation taking place between Linus and the landlord.

‘Get my wife to make up the room,’ the landlord murmured before hurrying away and disappearing through a door marked ‘private’ .

‘Do you want the good news or the bad news?’

There was a frown between Andi’s brows as she turned to look at Linus, her inability to think clearly telling her that she still hadn’t recovered from the freezing cold outside. Or perhaps that was the effect of the whisky. Or, more likely, being held in Linus’s arms a few minutes ago…

‘The bad news first, I suppose,’ she invited through lips that tingled painfully with renewed feeling.

Linus nodded. ‘The bad news is this is just a pub, not a hotel, so the landlord doesn’t normally rent out rooms for the night.’

Andi blinked. ‘And the good news…?’ she prompted warily.

He grimaced. ‘He does have a bedroom he can let us use for the night. It’s his daughter’s bedroom, but she’s away at university at the moment.’

Andi moistened dry lips. ‘A bedroom—singular…?’

‘Bedroom, singular,’ Linus confirmed, his eyes narrowed.

‘You aren’t suggesting the two of us share that bedroom?’ Andi frowned across the room at him, those chocolate-brown eyes gleaming with indignation.

Linus scowled darkly at Andi’s obvious dismay at the mere suggestion they might have to share a bedroom for the night. What the hell did she think he was going to do, ravish her as soon as they were alone in the bedroom together?

Not that it was an altogether unacceptable idea when Andi was looking so damned beautiful; Linus just didn’t like the obvious implication that he couldn’t keep his hands—or any other part of his anatomy!—to himself.

His gaze narrowed. ‘You would prefer that we go back out into the snow instead and try to look for somewhere that has two bedrooms available?’

‘No, of course not.’ She snapped her irritation. ‘But—it—you could always sleep down here,’ she added hopefully.

Apart from the armchair Linus was sitting in, there was only one other, and then bench seats and diningroom chairs placed about the empty tables.

He shook his head. ‘I prefer the comfort of a bed. I have no objections to you sleeping down here if that’s what you want to do,’ he added harshly as Andi’s frown deepened. ‘Of course, the landlord might think that a little strange, as he seems to have assumed that we’re a couple.’

‘Then you can just unassume him!’ The hand not holding the whisky glass clenched into a fist at Andi’s side. ‘I am not sharing a bedroom with you, Linus,’ she repeated firmly.

‘What is your problem, Andi?’ Linus barked impatiently.

‘I—you—we…’ Andi gave an incredulous shake of her head, totally panicked—aware of him as she was—at the thought of sharing a bedroom with Linus. ‘You’re my boss. I work for you!’

His eyes glittered mockingly. ‘And that precludes us sharing a bedroom?’

‘According to you, yes!’ she reminded him a little more desperately than she would have wished. ‘You don’t get involved with your female employees, remember?’

‘Sharing a bedroom doesn’t mean we’re involved.’

‘It doesn’t mean we’re uninvolved, either!’

Linus’s gaze moved over her in slow appraisal. ‘I’ll keep my hands to myself if you will.’

‘This is so—so ungentlemanly of you!’

Linus shrugged, unconcerned. ‘I don’t remember ever claiming to be a gentleman.’

‘Just as well!’ she breathed frustratedly. ‘You—’

‘We’ll talk about this later, Andi,’ Linus snapped, and turned questioningly to the landlord as he bustled back into the room.

‘The missus already had some broth simmering in the pot,’ the elderly man announced with satisfaction. ‘She’s put some bread in to bake to go with it while she goes upstairs to make the bed.’

It felt good to hear the faint Scottish burr in the other man’s voice, making Linus realize how much he missed his homeland and the warmth of its people.

Linus had left Scotland years ago, of course, having accepted that he could either remain a big fish in a small pond or become an even bigger fish in a much bigger pond by moving to London and investing his money in property there. He had never regretted making that move—how could he when it had made him his fortune? But just hearing the Scottish accent again reminded him that this was still his home.

‘How long do you expect this blizzard to last?’ Andi was the one to question the landlord tightly.

‘Och, this is no a blizzard,’ the elderly man assured her indulgently as he heard her English accent. ‘This is no but a bit of a flurry.’

Andi’s eyes widened. A bit of a flurry…God help them if it should turn into a blizzard!

‘Sassenach,’ Linus confided in the other man dryly.

Andi had absolutely no idea what that word meant, but she felt sure from the condescending smile that passed between the two men that it must be something derogatory. She gave Linus a censorious frown before turning back to the landlord. ‘How long is this flurry expected to last, then?’

‘No more than a couple of days,’ he said dismissively.

‘A couple of days?’ Andi echoed with dismay as visions of herself and Linus marooned here for two days—and nights—popped unbidden into her head.

‘A blizzard usually lasts a week or more.’ The landlord nodded, unconcerned.

‘How…reassuring,’ Andi murmured weakly as she dropped down into the armchair opposite Linus’s—a mockingly amused Linus if the taunting laughter in those pale, green eyes was anything to go by.

Andi could find nothing about this situation that was in the least amusing. How could she, when just the thought of sharing a bedroom with Linus made her feel weak at the knees? Especially so after the intimacy of his earlier remarks.

‘I’ll just go and check on your food,’ the landlord murmured nervously after shooting unhappy glances at Andi and Linus as their gazes remained locked in silent battle.

Andi sat forward in her chair once the two of them were alone. ‘Linus, you really can’t be serious about the two of us staying here and sharing a bedroom?’

Linus shrugged out of the warmth of his jacket before answering her. ‘I’m open to any other suggestions you might have. Viable ones,’ he added warningly as Andi would have spoken. He raised mocking brows as he settled back into his chair. ‘Just because I’m a man and you’re a woman does not mean I’m going to pounce on you as soon as we’re alone in a bedroom together!’

Her cheeks flushed. ‘I never imagined that it did.’

‘Perhaps you think you might be tempted to pounce on me?’

Her eyes narrowed. ‘Linus.’

‘Andi?’ he came back challengingly.

Once again Andi’s chaotic thoughts were brought to an abrupt halt as instead she eyed Linus uncertainly, the dangerous glitter of his gaze enough to tell her she would be unwise to pursue this particular subject at the moment.

The whole idea of her and Linus sharing a bedroom for the night was unwise…

She drew in a ragged breath. ‘This is all your fault.’

‘I’m hardly responsible for the weather, Andi.’ He gave an impatient shake of his head.

Her eyes darkened almost to black. ‘You’re responsible for my being in Scotland—that’s enough reason for me to blame you entirely for this mess!’

‘What mess?’ he bit out impatiently. ‘As the landlord has already said, this is nothing but a bit of a flurry. He shrugged. ‘A couple of days and we can be on our way.’

‘Just in time for your stupid rugby-match, I suppose? Twenty-two men trying to beat each other’s heads in.’

‘Thirty men—this is rugby, Andi, not football—and they aren’t trying to “beat each other’s heads in”.’ Linus’s mouth tightened. ‘The object of the game is to score tries by running with the ball and placing it over the line.’

‘Whenever I’ve accidentally caught a glimpse of a match on television—as I’m changing channels, of course—’

‘Oh, of course!’

She nodded. ‘There just seems to be a tangle of arms, legs and bodies thrashing about on the ground.’

‘That’s because the other object of the game is for the opposing team to stop their opponents from scoring those tries.’

Andi gave a disdainful snort. ‘I’m not convinced, Linus.’

‘I’m not trying to convince you!’ He stood up to pace impatiently. ‘You’re obviously a complete philistine when it comes to the magnificent game of rugby.’

‘Magnificent!’ She sniffed inelegantly. ‘I suppose you know all about it?’

He gave a cool nod. ‘As it happens, I do. I was record holder for the most tries and conversions scored my last year at school.’

‘That explains a lot.’

Linus’s gaze narrowed warningly. ‘Would you care to explain?’

‘No, I don’t think I will.’ Andi stood up in one fluid movement, relieved as she did so to find that her limbs had completely thawed out now. ‘“Sassenach”…?’ she prompted scathingly.

Linus gave a dismissive shrug. ‘Someone from England.’

Andi continued to look at him suspiciously for several seconds, sure there was more to that word than he was telling her; it had certainly sounded derogatory.

‘I’m going to ask the landlord if he has a bathroom where I can freshen up,’ she said abruptly. ‘If you’re serious about our staying here tonight.’

‘Oh, I am, Andi,’ he murmured huskily.

‘Then our bags are still outside in the Range Rover,’ she told him pointedly, her expression turning to one of quiet satisfaction as Linus’s face creased into a pained grimace. He turned to look out of the window and realized he would have to go back out into the still heavily falling snow to retrieve those bags. ‘Have fun!’ Andi added tauntingly as she went through the doorway marked ‘private’ .

Her smile faded, however, as soon as she was alone in the hallway, and she paused to lean back weakly against the wall.

She couldn’t share a bedroom with Linus tonight. Possibly tomorrow night too, if the weather didn’t let up. In fact, she trembled just at the thought of it.

Linus’s complete dismissal of the significance of the two of them sharing a bedroom wasn’t flattering, either.

Andi had been traumatized for months after her father and David had died. She hadn’t so much as looked at another man, let alone been attracted to one. But slowly that insidious awareness of Linus had crept into her battered emotions. How could any healthy, red-blooded woman work with him on a day-to-day basis and not be aware of the hard vitality of his body and the rugged handsomeness of his chiselled features?

Andi certainly couldn’t.

Which wasn’t going to help the situation at all when Andi found herself alone in a bedroom with Linus later this evening!

CHAPTER THREE

‘THERE’S only one bed!’

‘And your point is…?’ Linus came back dryly as he carried their bags into the small but comfortable bedroom that had been assigned to them for the night. A warming fire already burned in the small hearth; the only furniture in the room was a bed, a chair and a desk.

He had taken advantage of Andi’s absence to pull his jacket back on and go back outside for their bags. The snow was still falling as heavily, and the wind just as remorseless and icy cold. Linus had been relieved just to make it back to the inn.

‘You didn’t say anything about there being only one bed,’ Andi persisted, her cheeks flushed as she continued to stare at that bed.

Whether with temper or something else, Linus wasn’t sure.

‘Jim and Jennie have one daughter, hence there’s only one bed.’ He dropped their bags onto the carpeted floor, completely ignoring Andi’s pained wince as they landed with a thud.

Her gaze was accusing. ‘You knew there was only one bed?’

Linus shrugged. ‘I guessed that might be the case, yes. Stop being such a damned prude, Andi.’ He scowled as she continued to look at him wide-eyed.

The heated emotions Linus aroused in Andi were totally new to her, and all the more disturbing. Because, although Andi had been engaged to marry David, she had never been so completely physically aware of him as she was Linus. She was so aware of him that she trembled just at the thought of having to share that bed with him.

If Andi had learnt anything about Linus the last year, it was that he had absolutely no interest in a permanent relationship. That the moment any of the women who flitted in and out of his bed on a regular basis showed any signs of expecting a commitment from him, they were quietly and discreetly excluded from his life.

Linus had informed her only yesterday that such exclusion had also included any of his previous PAs who had shown an interest in a personal relationship with him.

‘Maybe you’re worried, sharing a bed, you might be driven mad with lust for me?’ Linus mocked softly.

‘Hardly,’ Andi snapped.

‘Then there’s no problem, is there?’ He dismissed her unconcerned.

Andi drew in a sharp breath. ‘Have you shared a bed with any woman in the last twenty years or so and not made love with her?’

‘Of course I—’ Linus broke off his instant rebuttal to give the question careful consideration instead. ‘No, I never have,’ he finally conceded. ‘But I’m sure there has to be a first time for everything.’

‘Does there?’

‘You know, you’re really starting to irritate me now, Andi,’ he rasped harshly. ‘Okay, so you’re beautiful and you have a fantastic body—especially in those tight denims and that body-hugging green sweater you’re currently wearing—but that doesn’t mean I’m going to attempt to make love to you the moment I have you alone in a bed!’

Andi’s thoughts were in turmoil. Linus thought she was beautiful and had a fantastic body…

The knowledge almost made her want to groan out loud. It certainly made her completely aware of the tight denims and body-hugging green sweater she was currently wearing.

‘Well, that’s really helped to clarify the situation,’ she muttered disgustedly. ‘I’ll sleep in the chair.’

Linus arched dark brows. ‘Trying to make me feel bad, Andi?’

‘Am I succeeding?’

‘No.’ He grimaced.

‘That’s what I thought.’ She gave a rueful nod.

Andi looked at him searchingly, noting as she did so the lines of tiredness beside his eyes and mouth. Those sculptured lips that had surely been designed to drive a woman wild…

Stop it, Andi, she instantly instructed herself firmly. Imagining what it would be like to be kissed by Linus, to feel his lips and hands on her body, really wasn’t helping this already fraught situation.

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