His Irresistible Darling - Sarah Randall Page 0,50
without assistance and turned at the sound of Pippa jogging down the hallway behind him, clutching the bag of his pain meds. “Got ‘em,” she shouted, now waving the bag around in front of her body.
He couldn’t agree more. “Thank you. I plan to.”
Chapter Eight
“PIPPAAAA,” Jumal yelled, trying to make himself heard over the heavy bass music radiating throughout his apartment and Pippa’s yodelling.
Huh, he thought, surprised that he actually knew this one as he hummed along to the Simple Minds eighties classic… Over the last week he’d learned the hard way that Pippa liked her music one way—loud.
“Don’t…don’t…don’t…don’t—oh hey,” she finally greeted him, smiling widely as she strolled into the living room, wrapping her hair up in a towel and wearing a long white waffle-style robe, tied tightly to emphasise her tiny waist. “You should have shouted to let me know you were back.”
“Yeah, I’ll try that next time. Are you deaf? And what the hell is that green stuff on your face?”
“What was that?” she yelled, tilting her head and catching the towel as it started to slide from her head. “Hang on,” she suggested, waving a hand at him, “I can’t hear you. Let me turn the music down.”
Little minx, he thought as he rolled his eyes whilst she vanished momentarily. He recalled her squeal of delight when she’d first arrived and noticed the state-of-the-art sound system wired throughout the apartment, quickly followed by her scream of horror at learning that they were going to be sharing a bathroom as in typical style all over the world, the plumber Maria had arranged hadn’t turned up and Jumal simply hadn’t bothered to chase it up.
She joined him again, having turned down the volume to merely loud. “Sorry, what were you saying?” she prompted.
“You like Simple Minds?” he asked, walking over towards the kitchen and popping the bag on the table.
“Sure, I love old stuff,” she declared before winking at him and joining him at the kitchen counter. “I used to listen to whatever Matt was listening to,” she continued, popping herself onto a high stool.
Jumal pushed the bag towards her. “This is for you.”
The puzzled look on her face made him smile. “For me?” she asked, putting her hand to her chest.
“Hmm-hm.” He nodded. “Well, for both of us really. Go on and open it.”
She grabbed the bag and excitedly and ripped open the packaging. “Wow, headphones!” she exclaimed as he watched her check them out. “Really good headphones,” she added, looking up at him.
“Yeah,” he said, walking over to the fridge for a bottle of water. “The guy in the shop said that they were the best, something about brilliant noise reduction…or something.” He shrugged his shoulders and noted that the pain wasn’t quite as bad as usual. “I just asked for the best they had,” he said, walking back to the counter and trying to open the bottle unsuccessfully with one hand. She grabbed it and did the job for him before returning to admire her present.
“Thanks, Jumal,” she said quietly. “That’s really thoughtful.”
“No problem,” he said dismissively, taking a swig from the bottle, feeling strangely nervous all of a sudden. “Well you said you left yours at home and we both know how much you love listening to your music. Now we won’t have to have a battle over the volume.” A battle she’d been winning for the last week since she’d arrived.
She popped off her stool and came over to him, surprising him when she reached up and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek.
He rubbed at the spot her lips had touched. “Oh sorry, I forgot I had that on my face, here,” she said, taking hold of his chin and turning it to the side to wipe at it with the belt of her robe.
“So why do women insist on slapping that stuff all over their faces?”
She cocked her head to the side for a moment before stepping back and pursing her lips. “Hmm, well it’s great for the skincare routine and helps relaxation.”
He gave her a look that conveyed his doubt.
“Not that you would have a clue what relaxation was; you’re a workaholic. You can see it in those little lines starting to form around your eyes,” she baited and raised a finger to the edge of his eye as she continued, “I’ll make a deal with you: let me give you a facial and if you don’t find it relaxing I’ll offer you something even you can’t say no to…”