British Black Sheep - Lauren Smith Page 0,10

glanced down at his lap. “I am sorry about last night, by the way. I didn’t mean to knee you in the…you know.”

Alec shrugged, trying to forget the memory of that honey sweet smell of her that invaded his senses even as his body had bucked in pain at the collision. For the rest of the night, with her soft moans a foot away from him, he’d been half hard just from the drowsy sound of her voice.

“It’s fine. I shall persevere.” He lifted his chin nobly and she half laughed, covering her reddening face with her hands. He reached over and gently pried her palms away so he could look at her.

“I’m only kidding.”

She changed the subject. “So, you’re headed home?”

“Yes. Time enough for a shower and then back to work. You?”

“I’m catching another flight from here later today to an airport near to my client.”

“They’re not in London?”

“No.” But she didn’t reveal anything more. She turned back to her work and he to his.

Once the plane started to descend, he remembered her fear of flying. He looked at her and saw her white knuckled grip on the arm rests. He reached over and put a hand over hers without a word and she relaxed ever so slightly. The plane hit the runway and the bounced a second or two before the squeal of tires signaled they were slowing down.

“Thanks,” she said as she as the plane slowed and started taxiing to the gate.

“My pleasure.”

As the plane stopped and the seatbelt sign clicked off, the people around them all stood. He opened the bin above him, grabbed her purse, and handed it to her.

“Thanks.” She took it and slung her backpack on. Alec was tempted to ask for her number, but he stopped. He didn’t have time for a fling and neither did she. She was off to parts unknown and he had to head to work.

“It was nice to meet you,” she said, and their hands briefly met in a polite shake. It seemed so…unsatisfying.

“Safe travels,” he said as he let her leave ahead of him. And just like that, she was gone. He retrieved his jacket from the overhead bin and then pulled the handle on his rolling briefcase to start down the aisle.

“Sir!” An attendant called after him. She held up the battered romance novel.

“That’s not mine” But it was no use. Brie would be long gone. He accepted the book and tucked it into his briefcase.

Once off the plane, he checked the crowds milling by the gate but didn’t see her. And he had no way to contact her about her book. He could try looking her up on social media later… As silly as that sounded it was his only option.

He caught a black cab back to his flat at Regent’s Crescent. Alec stepped out of the cab and rolled his suitcase up the steps into the magnificent two-story lobby. It was bathed in natural light with sweeping views of the private gardens behind the building.

An imperial split staircase curved down from the entrance to the concierge desk. It was a modern take on the old flats that had been here since the Regency period. Brie would have been interested in that. She would have—

Alec stopped the thought before it could travel any further.

His flat had large windows and lofty ceilings that welcomed in the sun. The surrounding gardens had a host of tall trees which cast shades of green into his rooms in the spring and summer, and golden amber hues in the fall. Even though the white painted walls were modern in style and his furniture clearly set a modern mood, the marble mantle and tall mirrors along with the fireplace and woodworking lent an air of bygone craftsmanship that was rarely seen in the world anymore. There were no family photos, no hints of his past. He preferred it that way.

Look only to the present and the future. That was what his first boss at Barclays had said to him. Alec had let it become a sort of mantra for him.

His mobile vibrated as he set his suitcase and briefcase in his bedroom. He pulled the phone out of his trousers and answered without checking who it was. He assumed it was his assistant, who already knew he would be headed into the office soon.

“Hello?”

“Alec, dear, are you still coming home tonight?” His mother’s voice filled him with a sudden pang of longing.

“Yes, mum. I only just got home and was