Red Wine and Her Sexy Ex

‘Intimidate, then.’

‘I’m not intimidating.’

‘Actually, you are,’ she said quietly. ‘You have strong views and you’re not afraid to voice them.’

‘Which doesn’t make me a bully. I do listen. I listened to you, the other day,’ he reminded her. ‘Without judging. Much,’ he added belatedly, trying to be fair.

‘And you’re so sure of yourself, of where you’re going.’

‘I see what needs to be done, and I do it without making a drama out of it.’ He shrugged. ‘If that’s intimidating…sorry. It’s how I am.’

‘Whatever you throw at me, I’ll handle it.’

So there was still some fire there, even if it was buried fairly deeply right now. ‘Is that a challenge?’ he asked, interested.

‘No,’ she said, sounding bone-deep tired. ‘Why do men always have to make issues out of things?’

‘I’m not making an issue out of things. Yes, I admit, I’d prefer you to be a silent partner, the way Harry was, but that obviously isn’t going to happen. For the next two months, we’re stuck with each other. I’ll expect a lot from you, but I won’t go out of my way to make life difficult for you.’

‘Thank you for that. And I do mean to pull my weight. I’m not a slacker.’

Had this Peter accused her of that? he wondered. But for her to have wrapped up all the loose ends in London over the last couple of days and said her goodbyes, as well as emailing him a detailed report that had clearly taken time to research—no, Allegra Beauchamp wasn’t a slacker.

Finally, Xavier parked on the gravel outside Harry’s farmhouse. He was out of the car and holding the door open for Allegra before she had a chance to unclip her seat belt, and then he took her cases from the back of his car.

‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘Um, would you like to come in for a coffee or something?’

‘It’s kind of you to ask, but I have work to do.’

‘Of course.’ And there was something else she needed to know. Her normal skill with words deserted her, and she ended up blurting out, ‘Um, is it going to be a problem for your wife, having me as your business partner?’

Xavier gave her a speaking look. ‘If you want to know if I’m married, chérie, just ask me—don’t do that feminine subterfuge stuff. It’s annoying.’

She felt the colour flood into her face. ‘All right. Are you married?’

‘No. Happy?’

Right at that moment, she really regretted accepting the lift from him. ‘It doesn’t actually make a difference to me whether you’re married or not,’ she said, looking him straight in the eye. ‘I was just thinking, if you were involved with someone, I’d like to reassure her that I’m no threat to your relationship. Out of courtesy to her.’

Xavier spread his hands. ‘You wouldn’t be a threat.’

Of course not—he’d made it clear years ago that she wasn’t what he was looking for. That he didn’t have time for her. Though the comment still stung.

It must have shown in her face, because he said, this time a little more gently, ‘I’m not involved with anyone. My energy’s concentrated on the vineyard. I don’t have time for complications.’

‘Don’t tell me you’re celibate.’ The words were out before she could stop them.