(2012) Evie Undercover (43 page)

S
he
went
closer
still
to the bed.

Small though the scorpion was, she could clearly see that neither of its claws was moving, nor were its legs, nor was the tail
–
not even so much as a fraction of an inch. And the shell look
ed
hard, unusually hard.
She
look
ed
at it from different angles. She could almost swear it
was a stone fossil or lifeless,
but
that wasn’t possible
–
it had
obviously managed
to
make
its way
to the centre of the bed.

She
took a step
back, picked up the corner of the sheet and lightly shook it. The scorpion rolled over
a couple of times
and came to a stop. It lay absolutely still.

Tentatively she stretched out her arm and touched the back of the shell
. I
t
was
made of stone. Her heart stood still. She straightened up and her hand flew to her mouth. Where had it come from and how had it got on her bed
?

And then she knew.

She let ou
t a long sigh of absolute joy, and h
er face broke into a smile of sheer happiness.

‘Well, a
ren’t you going to ask me to sleep with you, Evie?’

His words came from behind her.

She spun round to face the door and
he was there,
in the doorway, one arm resting casually against the side of the door, the other holding
a jacket
which dragged on the floor. There was a dark shadow along the square line of his jaw.

‘Tom! Oh, Tom!’

She flew across the room and into his arms, tears falling down her cheeks.

‘My Evie.’ He buried his face in her hair. ‘Don’t you ever do that to me again. The last two weeks have been a bloody nightmare.’

‘I won’t
.
I promise I won’t.’ She hugged him tightly. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been as miserable as I’ve been since I left you. I couldn’t
bear
it if I lost you.’

‘You’
re never going to lose me, Evie
,
you can be sure of that.
I intend
to be here at your side for the rest of your life.
That is, if you’ll let me.’ He
put
his finger
under her chin and raised her face to look
into
his. ‘It’s all very simple
really
. I’m sure you love me, and I know that I love you
and want to marry you
.’

Her tears died away.

‘But that article in
Pure Dirt
,
an
d what I did, not that I did it
…
’

‘
Ah, how
I’ve missed that Evie logic,’ he murmured
, stroking her hair
. ‘
I never for one minute believed you wrote the story. I knew you could never
have done
a thing like that, not to me, not to anyone
else.
’

‘But I’d pretended to be someone I wasn’t, and you knew
that
I must have told Gabriela
everything you told me
. I was drunk – it was the Wagamama night. She kept filling my glass with wine and more wine.
She must be
the one
who sent the story to
Pure Dirt
.’

‘I guessed you’d told her, and I guessed she’d passed it on. Technically, though, I’m not sure that I ever asked you to keep it to yourself. But even if I had, I knew you must have been
somehow
tricked into telling
her
–
you aren’t the sort of person to do the dirty on
anyone
, so you wouldn’t be expecting
anyone
to do the dirty on you. But she’s actually done us a favour.’

‘She has?’

‘The whole sheban
g has made me real
ise
how much I love you.
I have done since the day we got here
.
I was just too blind to see it.
Which reminds me, you haven’t answered my question yet.’

She giggled. ‘This sounds like a conversation we’ve had before. What question are you talking about this time?’

‘I seem to recall asking you to marry me.’

‘You mean
“
I
love you and
want to marry you
”
is a question? I know I wasn’t an ace reporter for long, but isn’t that more of a statement?’ She looked up into his face, her eyes open
ing
wide in mock
bewilderment
. ‘Or don’t you think?’

He smiled down at her.

‘I think that I want you to be the last thing I see before I close my eyes tonight, and the first thing I see when I open them in the morning. Tonight, tomorrow, and every day for the rest of our lives. I want to make an honest woman of you, Evie Shaw. So, will you marry me?’
             

‘Of course, I will. Honesty
is alw
ays the
—
’

H
is lips silenced hers before she could reach the full stop.

~ Ends ~

About the Author

Liz was born in London and now lives in South Oxfordshire with her husband. After graduating from university with a Law degree, she moved to California where she led a varied life, trying her hand at everything from cocktail waitressing on Sunset Strip to working as a secretary to the CEO of a large Japanese trading company, not to mention a stint as ‘resident starlet’ at MGM. On returning to England, Liz completed a degree in English and taught for a number of years before developing her
 
writing career.

Liz has written several short stories, articles for local newspapers and a novella. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.
Her debut novel,
The Road Back
has been highly praised by the industry. 
F
or more information visit
www.lizharrisauthor.com
and you can follow Liz on twitter
@lizharrisauthor

More Choc Lit from Liz Harris

The Road Back

Liz Harris

‘A splendid love story, so beautifully told’.
Colin Dexter O.B.E. Best-selling author of the Inspector Morse novels.

When Patricia accompanies her father, Major George Carstairs, on a trip to Ladakh, north of the Himalayas, in the early 1960s, she sees it as a chanc
e to finally win his love. W
hat she could never have foreseen is meeting Kalden – a local man destined by circumstances beyond his control to be a monk, but fated to be the love of her life.

Despite her father’s fury, the lovers are determined to be together,
 
but can their forbidden love survive?

A wonderful story about a passion that crosses cultures, a love that endures for a lifetime, and the hope that can only come from revisiting the past.
Find out more and purchase in the kindle store
:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Road-Back-Choc-ebook/dp/B008RMKX0U

More from Choc Lit
If you’ve enjoyed Liz’s hero
, you’ll enjoy the rest of our selection. Here’s a sample:

Highland Storms

Sequel to Trade Winds

Winner of the 2012
H
istorical Romantic Novel of the Year Award

Who can you trust?

Betrayed by his brother and his childhood love, Brice Kinross needs a fresh start. So he welcomes the opportunity to leave Sweden for the Scottish Highlands to take over the family estate.

But there’s trouble afoot at Rosyth in 1754 and Brice finds himself unwelcome. The estate’s in ruin and money is disappearing. He discovers an ally in Marsaili Buchanan, the beautiful redheaded housekeeper, but can he trust her?

Marsaili is determined to build a good life. She works hard at being a housekeeper and harder still at avoiding men who want to take advantage of her. But she’s irresistibly drawn to the new clan chief, even though he’s made it plain he doesn’t want to be shackled to anyone.

And the young laird has more than romance on his mind. His investigations are stirring up an enemy. Someone who will stop at nothing to get what he wants – including Marsaili – even if that means destroying Brice’s life forever
 
…
 

Find out more and purchase in the kindle store: 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Highland-Storms-Choc-Lit-ebook/dp/B00629ZK0I

Please Don’t Stop the Music

Jane Lovering

Winner of the 2012 Romantic Novel of the Year &

Romantic Comedy of the Year
awards