The Little Teashop in Tokyo by Julie Caplin Page 0,84

at the studios that were producing the umpteenth version of Wolverine that a shoot at London Zoo would make a dramatic backdrop. It wasn’t as if he were proposing that the sodding actor got into the lion enclosure or posed with a tiger.

All the lovely anticipation that had built up over a morning of fresh air and mountain views had been wiped away and now he was irritable and cross. Hardly fair on Fiona. He paused, picturing her earlier today. She was lovely and she didn’t deserve him in a cranky mood. In fact, she didn’t deserve him full stop. Far too lovely, innocent and full of life. She deserved someone decent who still saw things through rosy lenses.

And he ought to be taking her to a nice restaurant, wining and dining her in style, but he was sick of those kinds of places. Of polite conversation and careful manners. Dinner with Yumi at Kikunoi had been dull, if he was honest. The food had been divine, no denying that. It was a fabulous restaurant. But it hadn’t been fun. It had been grown up and stilted. Well mannered. Tonight he wanted the loud, raucousness of an izakaya – loud music, beer, and small bites. Casual and informal. In fact, he couldn’t imagine Fiona in a posh restaurant. He mentally reviewed what he knew of her and what he’d observed of her – which was rather a lot, he realised –over the last ten days. Taking her to a restaurant like that would make her awkward and uncomfortable; he’d seen the way she hunkered down into herself sometimes when she wasn’t sure about things or stood on one leg abstractedly rubbing the other behind it when she was a little lost or vulnerable. Or lifted her chin when she was being brave, which was more often than not. In fact, he realised, there were so many things he’d noticed about her, almost as if he’d been cataloguing her with the numerous photos he’d managed to take of her when she wasn’t aware.

Suddenly he was keen to get going, to see Fiona. He smiled at himself in the mirror. Fiona. Oh, God, he looked positively goofy. Thinking about her seemed to have miraculously cleared his bad mood and turned him into a lovesick idiot. He glared at himself and picked up his card key. Lovesick idiot indeed. Men his age did not get lovesick, although the jury was probably out as to whether he was an idiot. Haruka often told him he was.

He knocked on Fiona’s door with a pleasant buzz of anticipation. He was looking forward to spending the evening with her … bloody hell! His heart almost leapt out of his mouth when the door opened. The golden hair rippled down over her shoulders and her blue eyes popped, her pink lips mysteriously plumped. She was gorgeous, an earthy sex goddess rolled into one.

And like an idiot – see, Haruka was right – all he could do was stare at her as if he’d swallowed his tongue, which he damn well nearly had done.

‘You l-look …’ he swallowed.

She smiled. ‘Thank you.’

He was truly grateful that she simply pulled her door to and fell into step beside him because he had as much aplomb as a sixteen-year-old on his first date.

By the time they reached the lift he’d recovered a little. No, he hadn’t. All he’d managed to do was pick up a skein of golden hair and rub its softness between his fingers, inhaling the apple-scented shampoo.

He took a deep breath and caught her smiling at her reflection in the mirror, both bemused and amused. There was no doubt about it; he must seem like a complete idiot. He rolled his eyes.

‘Sorry, my usual sang froid has left the building. I like to think I’m a bit smoother than this but … you’re gorgeous. I like your hair down. It kind of took my breath away back there.’

She laughed. ‘It did … I thought you were in pain at first.’

Gabe groaned and slapped his forehead. ‘Great, spare me my ego, why don’t you? You’re not supposed to tell me that.’

‘Sorry,’ her eyes sparkled with mischief and he wanted to kiss her. Since when had his heart taken up junior acrobatics?

‘You will be, young lady. Teasing your olders and betters.’

‘Sorry, old man.’

‘Less of the old,’ he growled and tugged at her hair. The lift stopped and a middle-aged Japanese couple stepped in. Gabe moved closer to Fiona to make room,