English Girl in New York

by Scarlet Wilson

  Dan stared at the receiver in his hand. ‘She never even told me if she contacted social services,’ he murmured.

  ‘Probably too busy.’ He jumped at the quiet voice in his ear. He should have realised she’d stepped closer to him. The wave of wild flowers seemed like her trademark scent.

  He held his breath. Did she realise she was standing so close? Was there something, somewhere that kept pulling them closer together? Because it sure felt like it.

  Her gaze dropped to the floor and he was sorry, because he liked when she was so close he could see the other little flecks of colour in her cornflower-blue eyes. Tiny little fragments of green that you could only see up close. She tugged at the bottom of her sweater, obviously feeling a little self-conscious.

  ‘I heard a little of that,’ she said. ‘Shall I move his crib over to the window?’

  He nodded and she moved swiftly, pulling all the blinds up completely and drowning the room in the reflected brilliant white light from outside. He flinched, his hand on Abraham’s back. ‘Wow. Well, if that can’t beat a bit of jaundice I don’t know what will.’

  She turned around and shot him a killer smile.

  His reactions were automatic. Abraham was put down in the brightly lit crib and Dan found himself standing right at her side.

  He was obviously going stir-crazy. Being trapped in his apartment with a beautiful lady was playing havoc with his senses. He was going to have to try and find some other way to distract himself.

  All his usual self-control was flying out the window around Carrie McKenzie and he had no idea why.

  She was hiding something from him. And who could blame her? They hardly knew each other. He couldn’t expect her to tell him her every dark secret.

  But Dan’s instincts were good. Probably due to his experiences as a child. Experiences that had affected his ability to form real, trusting relationships with women.

  So why was it that the first time he ever really wanted to get to know someone, he picked the one woman who was clearly hiding something? Was he crazy?

  He had to do something—anything—to distract himself from all this. ‘Any plans today, Carrie?’

  She folded her arms across her chest. ‘Apart from strapping on my jet pack to fly across New York, get to work, put in a ten-hour day, find some groceries and clothes for a stranded baby, no, nothing at all.’ She was shaking her head, staring out at the five-foot-deep snow. She was obviously as stir-crazy as he was.

  He waved his pink cast at her. ‘Well, I’m going to go swimming. Then I’m going to strap on my skis—can’t waste good snow like this—and finally I’m going to ship Shana over here to check out Abraham and make sure he’s okay.’ He gave her a little smile. ‘And if she could bring some beers, sodas and a fresh pizza, that would be great.’

  Carrie leaned against the window and sighed. ‘What are we going to do all day?’

  ‘If we can’t play our imaginary games?’

  Carrie counted off on her fingers. ‘We could have a soapathon. You know, watch all the soaps that you haven’t for years. Watch them all day.’ Her brow wrinkled. ‘I don’t really know the names of any of the soaps in America. Are they any good?’

  He shook his head. ‘Next idea.’

  She looked around. ‘We could reorganise. Everyone needs a spring clean. It could be the perfect time.’

  ‘Get your hands off my stuff, McKenzie,’ he growled at her. ‘Anyway, haven’t you already realised there’s nothing in my cupboards to reorganise?’

  She laughed. ‘Okay. I didn’t think you’d go for that one.

  ‘Do you have games? Board games? I could challenge you.’ She could obviously see him racking his brain. ‘Chess?’ She was getting desperate.

  ‘I might have some board games. But they will be years old. Some are probably originals.’

  He walked over to a cupboard and went down on his hands and knees, crawling right inside. She heard some groans as some sports-kit bags, rackets and balls shot past her ankles. ‘Need some help in there?’

  There was a little cloud of dust followed by a coughing fit and Dan crawled out with a pile of games in his hands. He held them out towards her. ‘How about these?’

  She carried them over to the table. ‘Wow. You were right—some of these are originals.’ And even better than being originals, they all showed visible signs of wear and tear. It was obvious that these games had been used and loved at some point in their history. ‘I think these would be perfect.’

  He appeared at her side, a big smudge across his cheek. ‘What does the winner get?’

  She couldn’t help it. Her fingers reached up to wipe the smudge from his cheek. He froze, then caught her hand in his before she could pull it away. ‘What does the winner of this games tournament get?’

  His words were quiet this time, the jokey aspect removed, and she could sense the feeling hanging in the air between them.

  A whole variety of answers sprang to mind; some of them would make her hair curl and save her hours at the hairdressers.

  Then a safe option shot into her mind. ‘Can you bake?’

  ‘What?’ He looked stunned. He’d obviously had something else in mind.

  ‘I said can you bake?’

  ‘I suppose so. My grandmother baked all the time. But it’s been years since I’ve tried anything like that. Anyhow, you’ve seen my cupboards. Old Mother Hubbard had nothing on me. I don’t have any ingredients.’

  ‘But I do. There—it’s settled. The loser has to make the winner a cake. Just what we need on a day like this.’

  ‘You’d trust me to make you a cake?’

  ‘I love cake. I’d trust anyone to make me a cake.’ She held out her hand. ‘Do we have a deal?’

  He hesitated for just a second, before his competitive edge took over. ‘I’m a chocolate cake kind of guy. You better get your apron out.’

  * * *

  The waft of baking filled the whole apartment. It had been years since the place had smelled like this. It only made him miss his grandmother more.

  Apple pie. That had been the thing she’d baked most frequently. And it was the smell he most associated with his grandmother. Freshly baked juicy apples bubbling under the surface of the golden pie, topped with a sprinkling of sugar. Bliss.

  Now the smell was a little different. The timer on the oven buzzed. He hadn’t even known that his oven had a timer, let alone how to use it. But Carrie had insisted it was essential to bake the perfect cake.

  Or cakes as it had turned out.

  The game marathon had resulted in a dead heat.

  And now his kitchen was filled with the smells of chocolate cake and carrot cake. He pulled the door open as a waft of heat flooded out from the oven. The chocolate cake that Carrie had baked for him looked spectacular. His carrot cake? Not so much. A little charred on top. But nothing that the mound of frosting she’d made him prepare couldn’t hide.

  He lifted both out and watched as she tipped them onto a wire rack to cool—yet another thing she’d brought down from her apartment upstairs. Along with the mixing bowls, spatulas, ingredients and cake tins. She probably had more of her possessions currently in his apartment than her own.

  Baking was definitely her thing. She seemed relaxed, she seemed happy and she liked it. Even Abraham seemed to be more chilled out. Two feeds, lots of wind and no crying fits. Finally things were starting to settle.

  ‘We need to let the cakes cool before we ice them. So let’s give them a minute.’ She pulled out some plates from the cupboard, then shook her head and went back to look for more.

  ‘What’s wrong with my plates’?

  ‘Nothing.’ Her voice was muffled as she crouched in one of his kitchen cupboards. ‘But cake-eating is an art form. You have to have better plates than those. Aha.’
She pulled herself back out of the cupboard with something in her hand. ‘These are much better.’

  She stood up and put the fine bone china plates on the countertop. White with tiny red flowers painted on them. Another remnant of his grandmother. She’d used them for eating cake, too—probably why they were now hidden in the depths of his cupboards.

  The lights flickered around them.

  ‘Uh-oh,’ murmured Carrie. ‘That’s the third time that’s happened now.’

  Dan walked over next to her. ‘This could be a problem.’

  She turned to face him. ‘Why?’

  ‘Because I don’t have any candles.’

  She looked at him in mock horror and held up her hands. ‘You don’t? What kind of emergency guy are you? Aren’t you cops supposed to be prepared for anything?’

  He didn’t move, just kept his eyes fixed on her face. ‘Not everything.’ His voice was quiet, barely a whisper. There was no mistaking the alternative meaning.

  She looked up at him. He was only inches from her face, inches from her lips. The lights flickered again, so he moved a little closer, his hand resting on her hip.

  She didn’t move. Not an inch. Her tongue came out slowly and ran along her lips, as if, without even realising it, she was preparing them for kissing.

  She could feel the pull. She could feel the same draw that he felt. He wasn’t wrong about this—he could tell.

  It had been there all day and they had been dancing around the edges of it. But now it wasn’t hiding any more. It was right there in front of them.

  His fingers pressed into her hip, pulling her pelvis a little closer to his, giving her every opportunity to object—to resist.

  But she didn’t.

  He leaned forward. ‘Carrie McKenzie, I’m going to kiss you now.’ His voice was low, trying to entice her to edge forward to hear it.

  But she didn’t do that.

  She did something totally unexpected. She lifted her hands and wrapped them around his neck. ‘It’s about time,’ she whispered as she rose up on her toes to meet his lips.

  Honey. She tasted of honey. Was there honey in the chocolate cake she’d just baked? At least that was what it felt like. The kiss started out shy—tentative. He didn’t want her to feel forced. He didn’t want her to feel as if she couldn’t say no. He just prayed she wouldn’t.

  Her fingers wound up across his shorn hairline as the kiss deepened. As her tongue teased with his. Then she let out a little sigh that almost undid him completely.

  He should pull back. He should let her out of his arms to give her time to think about this. There was still so much about Carrie McKenzie he didn’t know.

  But right now he didn’t want to. Letting her go was the last thing he wanted to do right now. Not when she seemed to be matching him move for move.

  And in an instant everything was black.

  * * *

  They jumped apart, then instantly moved back together again, bashing noses.

  ‘Oops.’ Carrie started to giggle as she rubbed her nose. ‘I guess that will be the power cut, then.’

  ‘I guess it is. Do you have any candles?’

  ‘Yeah, I have some upstairs in my apartment. Not the emergency kind. More the bathroom kind.’

  ‘What’s a bathroom kind of candle?’

  ‘The scented kind. The kind you light around your bath.’

  He shook his head. ‘I guess I’ll take your word for it. We’ll need something.’

  ‘I’ll go up and get them.’

  He slipped his hand into hers. ‘Let me come with you.’

  ‘What about the baby?’ She glanced over in the direction of the silent crib.

  ‘Leave the door open. We’ll only be a few minutes. He’s sleeping. Nothing’s going to happen.’

  He liked holding her hand. It felt right inside his. It fitted.

  They stumbled towards the door, leaving it wide open, and stepped out into the hallway. There was no light in the hall at all. No street lights shining in. No gentle glow underneath the opposite door. It was weird. He couldn’t remember the last time there had been a power cut—probably why he didn’t have any candles. He reached out for the banister and started up the stairs, giving her a gentle tug behind him.

  They reached her door and she glanced in the direction of Mrs Van Dyke’s apartment. ‘Do you think we should check on her?’

  ‘Maybe. Do you have any extra candles she could have?’

  She let out a little laugh. ‘Oh, I have a whole year’s supply in here.’ She pushed open the door to her apartment and walked over to the bathroom, bending down and pulling things from one of the cupboards.

  Dan looked around as best he could. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the dark. The only available light was the moonlight outside, streaming in through one of the windows.

  Neat. Tidy. Everything in its place.

  There was nothing strange about that. Lots of women he knew were tidy. But there was something else. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

  He moved across the room, putting his hand on the back of the leather sofa.

  This wasn’t Carrie’s place, so she wouldn’t have chosen any of the furnishings. But she’d been here for a few months now.

  The darkness wasn’t helping. Nor was the sight of Carrie’s behind in her jeans as she bent over the cupboards and pulled out an array of candles.

  She walked back over, fumbled through a drawer for a box of matches and lit the candle she was holding in a glass jar. The warm light spread up around her face, illuminating her like some TV movie star.

  Candlelight suited her. Her pale skin glowed, her brown curly hair shiny and her eyes bright. She smiled as she held it out towards him and the aroma from the melting wax started to emerge.

  He wrinkled his nose. ‘What is that? Washing powder?’

  She waved her hand in the air to waft the smell a little further. ‘Close. Cotton fresh. I’ve also got lavender, orange, cinnamon, raspberry, spring dew and rain shower.’

  ‘Sheesh. Who names these candles?’

  She lit another one and moved over next to him again. ‘I think it would be a great job. Right up there with naming paint shades.’

  ‘You’d have a field day doing that.’

  ‘You can bet on it. Imagine the fun. Shades of yellow—sunshine rays or daffodil petals. Shades of purple—sugared violet, lavender dreams or amethyst infusion.’ Even in this dim light he could see the twinkle in her eyes and the enthusiasm in her voice were completely natural.

  ‘Wow. You weren’t joking, were you?’ He took a little step closer.

  She shook her head slowly. ‘I don’t know how the careers advisor missed it from my career matches.’

  He could see her automatic reaction. She was drawn towards him.

  A thought jumped into his head, tearing him away from the impure thoughts starting to filter through his brain. He groaned. ‘What about the power? How can we sterilise the bottles and make the milk for Abraham?’

  She touched his arm and an electric current shot straight up towards his shoulder, sending his brain straight back to his original thoughts. There was hesitation. She’d noticed it, too. ‘We should be fine,’ she said quietly, lifting her eyes slowly to meet his. ‘I had just boiled the kettle and resterilised the bottles. We can make up one when we go back downstairs.’ She was staring at him. Even in the dark light he could see the way her pupils had widened, taking over most of her eyes. Natural in the dark, but it didn’t feel like that kind of response. It felt like another entirely.

  He set his candle down on a nearby side table, letting the glow shine upwards, emphasising the curve of her breasts and hips. He couldn’t pretend any more. He couldn’t hide his reactions. He didn’t want to.

&n
bsp; He put his hand on her hip, pulling her closer, leaving her with a candle jar clutched to her chest. ‘So, not only am I marooned here—’ he waved his other hand around ‘—in a snowstorm, with the power out, with a lady who found a baby on the doorstep and knows all the words to every musical known to man—’ his hand came back to rest on her other hip, pulling her even closer with only the burning candle between them ‘—I find out she’s also slightly crazy. With career ambitions even the career-matching machine couldn’t have predicted.’

  There was hesitancy there. A little apprehension—even though they had been lip-locked a few minutes ago. But Carrie was gradually relaxing. He could feel the tension leaving her arms and her body easing into his. She moved the flickering candle from between them, pressing her warm breasts against his chest. If she moved any more, things could start to get out of hand.

  But she was smiling. A happy, relaxed smile. A warm smile. The kind he’d only glimpsed on a few rare occasions over the past two days. The kind that showed she’d let her guard down. The metal portcullis that was kept firmly in place was starting to ease up—ever so gently.

  It revealed the real Carrie McKenzie. The kind of person she could be—if she was brave enough. The kind of person he’d like to know more about—be it vertical or horizontal.

  Stop it! He tried to push those thoughts from his crowded head. Carrie just wasn’t that kind of girl. And instead of lessening the attraction it only heightened it.

  He reached up and pulled one of her long chestnut curls from behind her ear. ‘I like your hair down. It’s beautiful. Really flattering.’ He hesitated a second as his finger brushed the side of her face. He didn’t want to push this. He didn’t want to scare her off.

  Even though his male urges were giving him a whole other vibe his brain kept jumping in to keep him in check. ‘Sexy,’ he murmured, holding his breath to see the effect of his words.

  He could almost predict she would tense and pull away. It was the biggest part of Carrie that he’d seen over the past couple of days.

  But something had changed. The dim lights, the candles or just her new relaxed state meant that instead of pulling away she brushed closer against him and rested her hands on his shoulders. ‘Sexy—I like that.’ Her breath was dancing against his skin. He had to let her be the one to make the move. He had to be sure about this.