Flirting with Danger by Bev Hardy (digital e reader TXT) 📖

Secret agent, Luke Adams, was sent from New York to London to work for MI5. He couldn't have been partnered with anyone more different to him; a rich, stunning aristocrat, who had joined MI5 as a spy. Together, Charlotte and him had been unstoppable, but their differences made sparks fly. Then a twist of fate separated them. Luke had returned to New York to help someone he thought of as his brother, who was in danger, but being impetuous, he had failed to tell anyone that he had left until two days later. By that time, he had lost his job. Luke had spent the next seven years in New York, trying to bring to justice the Mafia family who had killed his loved one. But now things had become too dangerous for him in New York, so he was back in London. Time to find Charlie and see if the sparks could turn to flames.

"It's a fine, fine day!" sang the smiling American to himself in his rented convertible.

Finally, Luke had untangled himself from the inner city London traffic and found the freedom of the more rural B road. For once, the weather was wonderfully warm in London, and he could feel the strength of the sun on his head and shoulders. The sunshine only enhanced his good mood. It was as though England was welcoming him back. He tried to think of a time when he had enjoyed the sun in New York lately. He used to before all the trouble had started for him there, he was sure. He'd enjoyed going to Central Park, particularly for a picnic with a sexy woman... lying on a blanket next to her... glasses of wine... wondering if he was going to get lucky later that evening. But that was before his vendetta against the Borelli Mafia Mob had taken up every minute of his waking day...before it was dangerous to do something as simple as go on a picnic... before the only women he met in that seedy underworld were loud and brash and only really cared about money and power... before he had ever even gone to the UK... a lifetime ago.

Now, for the first time in so long, he felt completely free. Why the hell hadn't he escaped back to the UK sooner? Okay, so he had wanted to avenge Danny's murder and there was no way he was letting the Borelli Mob get away with what they had done, but seven years away from the UK was too long. The stupid thing was, when he'd first been transferred to the UK as a special agent, he'd hated living there. It had rained constantly that first winter, and the food was weird, as were the people… the way they spoke and their funny little traditions. But slowly it had grown on him. His work had been the best part of it all to start with. It had been so rewarding and, let's face it, he'd done pretty damn well on all the assignments he'd been given… well, him and Charlie had. And there was the other attraction of living in the UK, Charlie, his assigned partner.

Again, at first, he'd thought having Charlie as a partner was going to be a disaster. The idea of having to babysit a woman in the kind of cutthroat world he was used to had not exactly thrilled him. And even worse was when he'd actually first met her. She was the complete and utter opposite to him; a snobby, upper-class heiress who looked and dressed like a damn glamour girl. But it wasn't long before he'd had to admit, to himself at least, that he'd been wrong about her. She was one hell of an agent and a damn good partner. Far from babysitting her, she could take care of herself, and had saved his life on more than one occasion. She knew how to use a firearm, that was for sure.

But, if he was honest with himself, there was another reason why he had enjoyed working with Charlie so much; she was so damn gorgeous and sexy! He'd have had to be made of stone not to be affected by that. Okay, so she had been snobby and standoffish at times, and trying to get her into bed had proved to be an impossibility; she hadn't even let him so much as kiss her. But despite that, there were moments between them that were so intense. There was something there, a spark, a connection, something simmering, just waiting to explode; he'd felt it so strongly. And now he was back, he was going to find her. He just had to.

His only worry however, was how she would react to seeing him again. They hadn't exactly left on the best of terms. She'd been so fuming with him for leaving for New York without telling her, that when he'd phoned a few days later to explain why he'd had to rush back to the USA, she had refused to even speak to him. Okay, so he should have told his boss, and Charlie, before he'd left that he was going, but he had been too focused on protecting Danny before the Mafia could get to him. Then, by the time he'd finally phoned them, he'd already lost his job in London. There was nothing his boss could do, he'd told him, it was out of his hands.

So he had spent the next seven years obsessing about bringing down the Borelli mob in New York. After all,  Charlie had left MI5 and he had no job in London anymore anyway. He'd well and truly messed everything up! But now was his opportunity to at least speak to Charlie about why he had left and try to make her understand… that was, if he could find her. Besides, even if he couldn't, he knew that it had been time to leave New York; it had become far too dangerous there for him lately.

So there he was, pulling into the exclusive Country Club in the hope that maybe, just maybe, he'd catch her there that day. How often did members go to English country clubs anyway? At least he knew for sure that she was still a member there. It hadn't been too difficult for him to find that out, and her name had been down on all number of organizations related to the club, so she must be there quite a lot. His heart began quickening the closer he got to the entrance at the thought of actually seeing her again that very day.

Then an unsettling thought entered his head; what if, God forbid, she'd got married and she was with her husband...or children! Why hadn't he thought of that? How awkward would that be? He paused at the entrance. Maybe he hadn't thought this thing through properly. What should he do?

He was seriously considering turning around and leaving, when a young couple suddenly emerged through the front doors, passing him with questioning looks.

"Afternoon," he smiled, strolling past them and finally entering. He had come here to see her; he couldn't leave now. Besides, maybe she had done himself and his libido a favour and grown fat and ugly.

The interior of the Club was considerably cooler and darker, compared to the bright sunshine he had left outside. It was set in one of those old, historic buildings, like Luke had sometimes seen on the History Channel when he'd flicked through to find something interesting to watch in the evenings, and stopped to see if they would show somewhere in England that he'd been to. It looked like most of the stuff in there, the rugs, paintings, chairs and tables, were antiques. Charlie loved all that kind of stuff.

Luke scanned the reception area, which only had a few people wandering through it, apart from a small group of people at the desk who were chatting to the receptionist. He saw no signs of Charlie there and so move swiftly past the reception area to the sunnier garden room, with patio windows which opened onto the lawn at the back. He remembered this place from before. He had picked Charlie up from there in the past. They had used the extensive outer premises for all kinds of weird and wonderful English sporting activities. Today however, most people seemed to be sitting at the white, wrought iron tables and chairs arranged on the lawn, and enjoying afternoon snacks.

Luke couldn't help but smile as he observed the scene. He'd been transported from something out of "American Gangster" to something out of a Jane Austen novel! Okay, so he was starting to stand out now. He'd sit at one of those tables and order something; give himself a chance to talk to the waitress or someone about Charlie.

It was as he walked across the lawn, heading for one of the empty tables, that his eyes picked out a head of dark shimmering hair amongst the diners and his heart did a little leap of hope. The head turned, and once in profile, he realized in an instant that it was her. Adrenalin coursed through him, freezing him to the spot when, for one moment, he thought she had seen him. She turned again however, back to the man she was sitting with. Damn. That could be awkward. He was hoping to find her alone, or with friends. Then again, of course she would have been with a guy; he should have expected that. Well, he'd come that far, he may as well see it through. He'd take a seat and wait for her to spot him. Then he'd have time to judge her reaction.

XxXxXxXxXx

"Did you see Eddie's face when he lost that last game?" Charlie laughed.

The tall, blonde man sitting across the table from Charlie laughed with her. "Sure. He was almost as surprised as Linda was for winning," he replied in an American accent.

Charlie closed her eyes and shook her head, bursting into laughter again. "I can just see his wiggle as he rolled his ball across the green."

"And his expression when Linda knocked the jack out," the man added.

"Who'd have thought a few games of bowls could be so much fun," she giggled.

"Yeah, it is when they're playing."

Charlie finished her glass of champagne and placed it on the table in front of her, folding her arms on the table top. "Well Richard, I can honestly say that I haven't laughed so much in a long time. Thanks for today," she smiled.

"No problem," he replied, searching her face thoughtfully. "Oh what the hell," he said suddenly standing up.

Charlie watched with dismay as he pulled a small, black box out of his trouser pocket and got down on one knee.

Not again! How many times did she have to make excuses for turning him down? He was persistent; she had to give him that. Maybe she should just give in and accept. Hmm, no, she wasn't ready for marriage again... not now anyway.

"Charlie..." he began.

"Richie," she interrupted, covering her hands with his and closing the box in the process, "we've had quite a lot to drink today; maybe this isn't the right time." Richie's smile slowly faded. Charlie felt awful, but she just wasn't ready to accept, as much as she did like being with him. "You might change your mind when you sober up tomorrow," she joked. Okay, that didn't work. "I'm sorry," she said, withdrawing her hands. "Please don't be upset."

"Who me?" he shrugged, standing up again, brushing off his trouser leg and taking his seat once more. "Never. But I'll ask you again you know. And I won't stop until you say yes."

She smiled reassuringly at him. "We could have one more glass of champagne though," she said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Why not?"