Falling for Mr. December (4 page)

‘It would make more sense,' Nick said, ‘if we got a takeaway and ate it at my place. Then neither of us would have to worry about leaving expensive work equipment unattended in the car.'

‘Why your place and not mine?'

He coughed. ‘Because I just won the coin toss.' He paused. ‘You can ring my sister and ask her to vouch for me, if you're worried about going to a stranger's flat.'

‘A stranger who's willing to put himself out of his comfort zone to help raise money for an oncology ward, and whose day job means he skewers the baddies in court and gets them sentenced for their crimes? I think I'll be safe enough with you,' Sammy said. Plus all her instincts were telling her that Nick was one of the good guys, and her instincts—except when it came to dating—were pretty good. ‘But I'll follow you in my car. That makes more sense than getting the Tube back here afterwards.'

‘You won't have to get the Tube back here. I'll give you a lift.'

‘So you're going to drive home, then back here, then home again? That doesn't make sense either.' She took her phone out of her bag. ‘Give me your address, just in case I get stuck in traffic and can't follow you over a junction or something, and end up having to use my satnav.' She tapped in the details as he dictated them. ‘Great. Let's go.'

‘Can I carry anything for you?' he asked.

She indicated his armful of boxes and carriers. ‘I think you've got enough of your own, and anyway I'm used to lugging this lot about.'

‘Fair enough.'

She took the notice off the court door, told the security team that it was fine to lock up, and packed all her equipment into her car. And all the time she was berating herself mentally. She must be crazy. Why hadn't she just done what she'd agreed with her other models and emailed him a choice of half a dozen photographs that she could go on to present to the calendar committee? Why was she letting him review the whole shoot with her?

The truth was because she wanted to spend more time with him. Because she was attracted to him.

But she also knew that her relationships were a disaster area. She had a three-date rule, because agreeing to more than that risked her having to tell the truth about her past—and in her experience men reacted badly to the information. Besides, she was pretty sure that Nick Kennedy was a total workaholic who wouldn't have time for a girlfriend—that was still the only reason she could think of why someone as gorgeous and good-hearted as him would be single—so it was better not to start anything. So she'd be sensible and professional when they looked at the photographs. They'd grab some food; and then she'd say a polite goodbye and never see him again.

Pity.

But, since Bryn, Sammy had learned to be sensible. It was the safest way.

And she was never getting her heart broken again.

CHAPTER THREE

A
S
HE
DROVE
back to his flat, Nick wondered if he'd just gone completely crazy. Why on earth had he invited Sammy Thompson back to his flat?

Then again, she'd had a fair point about not leaving expensive equipment unattended in a car. Horsehair wigs and silk barrister gowns weren't exactly cheap, either, and he wouldn't want to leave them in his car—just as she clearly hadn't wanted to leave her camera equipment in hers.

Out of the few dates he'd been on since the end of his marriage, he hadn't invited a single one of his girlfriends back to his flat. And he was far too sensible to invite a complete stranger back to his flat.

Yet that was exactly what he'd just done. Today was the first time he'd met Sammy. He knew practically nothing about her, other than that she was a photographer and she'd been commissioned to shoot the calendar by the Friends of the London Victoria.

Then again, he had good instincts—except perhaps where his ex-wife was concerned, he admitted wryly—and he'd liked Sammy immediately. She was business-like and capable, and she had a sense of humour that appealed to him.

And he was going to have to ignore the fact that she was utterly gorgeous. Slender yet with curves in all the right places, maybe six inches shorter than his own six foot one, and she was strong enough to carry heavy boxes of photographic equipment around without it seeming to bother her. Her bright blonde hair—which he was pretty sure was natural rather than dyed—was cut in a short pixie crop that framed her heart-shaped face, and her sea-green eyes were serious when she was working and teasing when something amused her.

Then there was her mouth. A perfect cupid's bow. A mouth that he'd wanted to trace with the tip of his finger before exploring it with his own mouth...

This was bad. He hadn't waxed poetic over anyone like this for years—maybe not since he was a teenager. So he'd better get it into his head that Sammy Thompson was simply the photographer who was working on the charity calendar, and he'd probably never see her again after today. Except maybe if the ward held some kind of launch event when the calendar went on sale and they both happened to attend it, and then they could just be polite to each other.

Be professional, he told himself. Treat her as if she's a client, or a colleague. Keep it business-like, choose the photographs, and then you can just let her walk out of your life and go back to what you normally do. Work, being there for Mandy and the boys, and more work. A perfectly balanced life.

* * *

Sammy was glad that she'd taken Nick's address and put the postcode into her satellite navigation system before they left the court's car park, because as she'd half expected she ended up losing him at a junction. Following the satnav's directions, she ended up driving through one of the prettiest tree-lined streets in Bloomsbury, where the five-storey town houses all had wrought iron railings, tall white-framed sash windows that would let huge amounts of light flood into the rooms, and window boxes full of bright, well-manicured geraniums. She could see Nick's car towards the end of the street, and thankfully there was a parking space on the road behind it. Nick himself was waiting for her by his car.

When she climbed out of her car, Nick handed her a parking permit to place inside her windscreen. ‘I'm sorry I lost you at that junction,' he said. ‘I did slow down, but I couldn't see you behind me.'

‘No worries,' Sammy said with a smile. ‘That's precisely why I took your address.'

‘Come in,' he said.

‘And you don't mind if I bring all my stuff in?'

‘That's fine.' He was still laden with his own cases, but even so he picked up the heaviest of her boxes and took it to the door of the Georgian house on the corner.

It was exactly the kind of building that made Sammy itch to get her camera out. The front door was painted black, with white columns and narrow bands of stucco either side to turn the entrance from a rectangle to a perfect square. Above the entrance was a filigree fanlight, the pattern within the arched window reminding her of a spider's web. The door knocker, handle and letterbox were all shiny brass, the front doorstep was scrubbed clean, and on either side of the step there was a bay tree in a black wooden planter, its stem perfectly straight and its leaves clipped into a neat ball.

Everything was discreet, tidy—and clearly wealthy without being ostentatious about it. It was a house that had been looked after properly.

Clearly her interest showed on her face, because Nick smiled. ‘You like the architecture?'

‘It's gorgeous,' she said. ‘I have to admit, architectural detail is one of my biggest weaknesses. Especially windows like that one.' She indicated the fanlight above the front door.

‘Come on up and I'll give you the guided tour.' And then he looked slightly shocked, as if he hadn't meant to say that.

Tough. He'd said it now, and Sammy wasn't going to pass up the chance to look round such a gorgeous building.

‘My flat's the ground floor and first storey,' he said.

‘Not the whole house?'

He smiled. ‘I live on my own, so I don't really need a whole town house. The flat gives me enough room for work, guests and entertaining.'

Though even a flat in a building like this—and in an area like this—would cost an eye-watering amount, Sammy thought. Especially a duplex flat. It would be way out of her own price range.

‘Let's base ourselves in the kitchen,' Nick said. ‘We can order some food, and then I'll show you round.'

‘Sounds good to me.'

Nick's kitchen was small, but perfectly equipped. It had clearly been fitted out by a designer and it was the kind of shabby chic that didn't come cheap, with distressed cream-painted doors and drawer fronts, light wood worktops and pale terracotta splash-backs and floor tiles. There was a terracotta pot of herbs on one of the windowsills, and an expensive Italian coffee-maker and matching kettle, both in cream enamel; apart from that, everything was tucked neatly away.

Either Nicholas Kennedy was a total neat freak, or he didn't actually use this room much himself, she thought.

She set her boxes on the floor next to the light wood table at one end of the kitchen and put her laptop on the table itself. ‘Is it OK to leave these here?'

‘Sure.' Nick opened a drawer and brought out a file. Sammy had to bite her lip to stop herself grinning when she realised that his takeaway menus were all filed neatly in punched plastic pockets. She'd bet they were in alphabetical order, too.

Clearly he didn't have a clutter drawer with menus and all sorts of bits and pieces stuffed into it, unlike everyone else she knew. He was a neat freak, then. But that didn't mean he was totally buttoned-up. After all, he'd agreed to do a naked photo shoot. Someone totally stuffy would've refused to do that.

‘Would you prefer Indian, Chinese, or Thai?' he asked.

‘I eat practically anything,' Sammy said, ‘except prawns. Fish, yes; crustaceans, no. Other than that, anything you like, as long as it's here as soon as possible.'

‘Because you're starving. Noted.' He gave her a slight smile. ‘How about a mix of Chinese dishes to share, then? And I promise, no prawns.'

‘That'd be lovely.'

‘Crispy duck?'

‘Love it. Thank you.'

She set up her laptop while he was ordering their meal.

‘They'll be here in forty minutes,' he said. ‘OK. I promised you a guided tour.'

Sammy didn't quite dare ask if she could bring her camera. ‘Lay on, Macduff,' she said with a smile.

‘Living room,' he said, showing her through the first door.

Like the hallway, it had a stripped pale wooden floor. There were two huge sash windows dressed with floor-length dark green curtains; the walls were painted dark red and there was an antique-looking glass chandelier hanging from the high ceiling. It looked more like the effort of a designer than personal choice, Sammy thought.

The sofas were all low, upholstered in dark green leather and looked comfortable, and there was a light-coloured wooden coffee table in the middle of the room, set on a green silk patterned rug. There was a black marble fireplace with a huge mirror above it, reflecting the chandelier and the state-of-the-art television and audio-visual centre. Between the two sash windows, there was an enormous clock with a white face and dark roman numerals. There were plenty of silver-framed photographs on the mantelpiece, which she assumed were of his family.

But what really grabbed her attention was the painting on the wall. It wasn't exactly out of place, but she would've expected the designer to choose a couple of period portraits or maybe some kind of still life, to go with the rest of the decor. This painting was a modern landscape of a bay at dusk where the sea, cliffs and sky blurred together in the mist. It was all tones of blue and grey and silver—really striking. ‘That's beautiful,' she said.

‘Yes. I liked it the moment I set eyes on it,' he said.

So this was his taste rather than his designer's? She liked it. A lot.

Just as she had a rather nasty feeling that she could like Nick Kennedy rather a lot, if she got the chance. He was more than easy on the eye, and she liked what she'd learned about him in the short time she'd known him.

He ushered her in to the next room. ‘My office.'

It was another room with dark red walls and stripped wood floors, but this time the curtains framing the two huge sash windows were cream voile and the patterned silk rug in the centre was dark red. The chandelier was wrought iron, and one wall was completely filled with books, most of which she guessed would be legal tomes. There was a desk against the opposite wall, teamed with what she recognised as a very expensive office chair—the kind she'd dreamed about owning but couldn't justify the price tag—and a state-of-the-art computer sat on his desk.

She could imagine him working here, with a bunch of papers spread out on the desk, his elbow resting on the table and his hand thrust through his hair while he made notes with a fountain pen. Because Nicholas Kennedy was definitely the kind of man who would use a posh pen rather than a disposable ballpoint.

‘Dining room,' Nick said, showing her the next room.

Like the other rooms, the dining room had stripped floors; but it was much lighter because the walls were painted cream rather than dark red. There was a huge mirror above the white marble fireplace, reflecting the light from the sash windows and the antique glass chandelier. A light-coloured wooden table that seated eight sat in the centre of the room, teamed with matching chairs upholstered in cream-and-beige striped silk, which in turn matched the floor-length curtains. The silk rug here was in tones of cream and beige. She loved the room; she could just imagine sitting on the window-seat with a book, sunning herself while she read.

And there was another striking piece of art on the wall—a close-up of a peacock with its tail spread, and it looked as if it was painted in acrylics. ‘The colours are glorious,' she said softly, enjoying the splash of orange among the turquoise, blues and greens. And it was so very different from the other picture; clearly Nick's taste was diverse.

But the artwork that really made her gasp was in his bedroom. The room was large, but for a change not painted dark red; it had blue and cream Regency striped wallpaper, floor-length navy curtains, stripped floors and a dark blue silk patterned rug to reflect the curtains.

She couldn't take her eyes off the black and white photograph that had been sliced vertically into three and framed in narrow black wood: a shot of the steel and glass roof of the Great Court at the British Museum. ‘That's one of my favourite places in London.' And she had quite a few shots of that roof in her own collection. ‘I adore that roof.'

‘Me, too,' he said. ‘It's the pattern and the light.'

‘Did you know that no two panes of glass in the roof are the same?' she asked.

‘No, but now you've said it, I'm going to have to look.'

‘There are more than three thousand of them,' she pointed out. ‘And the differences are tiny. It's only because of the undulations.' But the sudden light in his eyes now they were talking about art made her wonder. ‘Did you ever think about being an artist or an architect rather than a barrister?'

He smiled. ‘Absolutely not. I can barely draw a straight line with a pencil.' And then he changed the subject, making her wonder even more. ‘Given that I already know you're starving, can I make you a coffee and offer you some chocolate biscuits to tide you over until the takeaway arrives?'

‘That would be lovely. Thank you,' she said. ‘Your flat's beautiful. Though I wouldn't have put you down as someone who'd choose dark red walls.'

‘An interior designer organised most of the place for me just before I moved in,' he admitted. ‘Maybe my living room and office are a little dark.'

Just a tad, but she wasn't going to be rude about it. ‘“Strikingly masculine” is probably the official phrase,' she said with a smile.

He ushered her back to the kitchen. She sat at the table and opened the file of photographs on her laptop while he made the coffee; and then he brought over two mugs of coffee and a plate of really good chocolate biscuits.

‘Help yourself,' he said. ‘And don't be polite. You said you'd missed lunch.'

‘Thank you,' she said gratefully, and devoured two. ‘These are scrumptious.'

‘They're my sister's favourites,' he said. ‘I keep a stock in for her.'

Nick was the kind of man who paid attention to details and quietly acted on them, she thought. She'd just bet he had a stock of his nephews' favourite treats, too. And the coffee was better than that served in most upmarket cafés; though, given that posh coffee machine sitting on his kitchen worktop, it wasn't so surprising. If you had an expensive machine, it stood to reason that you'd use good coffee in it. ‘Would you like to see the photographs now?' she asked.