âYou deeply resent a lot of things, Harrietâbut mainly me!â
His mouth twisted disgustedly before he continued, âCould that be because Iâm the one who pointed out your boyfriendâs little sideline in blackmail?â
Harrie felt the remaining color drain from her cheeks. âYouââ
âI donât think so, Harrie,â Quinn whispered grimly as he effectively prevented her hand from slapping the hardness of his cheek.
Harrie was completely unprepared for what happened next. She didnât even have time to avoid Quinnâs mouth as it came down to possessively claim hers, his arms moving assuredly about her slender waist as he pulled her body in close to his.
Her limbs had all the response of jelly, knowing she would have fallen if it werenât for the strength of Quinnâs arms.
What was she doing?
This man was her enemy!
Quinn had just kissed her. And far from being outraged and disgusted at the unprovoked intimacy, she found that every part of her body seemed to tingle and feel aliveâ¦.
âIF I cross your palm with silver, are you going to tell me Iâm going to meet a tall, dark, beautiful stranger?â
Harrietâs second reaction to this less than respectful remark to her role as Gypsy Rosa, Fortune-teller, wasâyou are a tall, dark, handsome stranger!
It had been her second reactionâbecause her first had been ouch!
After being stuck in this tent at the Summer Fête most of the afternoonâa typically damp, English June afternoonâthese were the first free few minutes sheâd had for a much-needed cup of tea. This man walking in here without warning had caused her to spill most of the hot liquid over her hand!
âYou are Gypsy Rosa, arenât you?â the man prompted mockingly at her lack of reply.
Lord, she hoped so, otherwise her fashion sense badly needed working on! She certainly didnât usually wear flowery skirts that reached to her ankles, or low-necked white blouses designed to reveal rather than hide her cleavage. And her make-up wasnât usually so garish, the red gloss on her lips matching the varnish on her nails. She also wore huge hoop earrings at her lobes, and her hair was completely covered by a bright red scarf.
Her only saving grace, as far as she was concerned, was that the lack of lightning in the closed-in tent, as well as making it stifling hot, also made it impossible for anyone to see her properly, and so recognise her. At least, she hoped it did!
Her sister Andie usually took over this role at the Summer Fête, and loved every minute of it, but this morning her sister had woken with the beginnings of flu. Everyone else, it seemed, already had their role to play at the fête, and so it had been left to her toâreluctantlyâbecome Gypsy Rosa.
Until the last few moments, it hadnât been too difficult. Sheâd lived in the village most of her life, and knew all of the people who lived here, so it wasnât too hard to predict romances, weddings, even births in some cases, and the rest of what was said she just made up to make it sound more interesting.
Until the last few momentsâ¦
Because even in the subdued lighting of the tent, she knew she had never seen this man before!
Although she could obviously see he was tall. And dark. And his physique seemed to imply he was muscular as well as handsome. He was certainly a stranger, of that she was sure!
âPlease sit,â she invited in the husky voice she had adopted for her role of Gypsy Rosa, indicating the chair opposite hers at the table, surreptitiously putting her mug down on the grass at her feet before wiping her wet hand on her skirt beneath the tableâotherwise she would be crossing his hand with tea!
Close up she could see him a little better; he had dark hair and light-coloured eyes, either blue or grey. His face all hard angles, his chin square and determined, he wore a dark suit and a white shirt. Well, she could tell one thing just from looking at himâthe way he was dressed, he had no more expected to be at a village fête this afternoon than she had expected him to walk into her tent to have his fortune told!
âIt started to rain again,â the man drawled, looking across at her, his brows raised derisively.
Ah. In other words, he wouldnât be in here at all if he hadnât needed to step inside out of the rain that had dampened a lot of the afternoon!