Then she did a pretend shiver at the thought of cooking pancakes hungover.
Prentice allowed himself a moment to appreciate her behavior and allowed his body a moment to savor hers shivering in his lap.
Then he used her hair to bring her face closer to his.
“You still cross with me?” he asked softly.
“Yes,” she answered without hesitation.
“Are you having fun?” he went on.
“Yes,” she answered, again without hesitation.
“Then why are you cross?”
“Because you and Annie played me.”
“Aye, we did,” he agreed with total honesty. “Regardless, the result is you having fun so why are you cross?”
Her face grew serious and it was such a departure from her adorable irritation that Prentice braced.
Her voice was as serious as her face when she answered, “Because I wanted to talk to you tonight.”
He realized then that she had all day without him. Even with the children around, she had plenty of time to twist that head of hers into making ridiculous decisions. And, from the look on her face, she’d made some ridiculous decision she was going to impart on him that night.
He was f**king thrilled he’d come up with the idea of taking her to the pub with Annie and Dougal.
He made a mental note, until he’d bested his challenge, not to give Elle the time to twist that head of hers into making ridiculous decisions.
But, for the moment, he had to stall.
“We’ll talk later,” he lied.
“When?” she asked.
“Later,” he repeated.
“Tomorrow?” she pressed.
No way in f**king hell.
“Maybe,” he lied again.
She watched his face. Then she smiled a heartbreaking, sad smile.
His eyes dropped to her heartbreaking, sad smile and he determined that the answer was really no.
No way in f**king hell were they talking tomorrow.
Finally, she whispered, “Okay.”
With some regret he transferred her sweet ass out of his lap into the booth beside him saying, “I’ll get your drink.”
Then he bought her a drink.
When he did so it was not lost on him that their intimate conversation had been watched by avid eyes, most especially Hattie who was still gazing at him openly, that sour expression on her face even though her husband Nigel was speaking to her.
By the time he returned from the bar, Elle had forgiven Annie and the night began.