Precisely how he’d managed to get to her office without being stopped Belle had no idea. The security at the hospital wasn’t exactly exemplary but there were more than enough winding passages and surly matrons to ensure no stranger, or patient as the case may be, could get too far without being stopped. He was persistent, she would give him that.

Of course he had also taken his time in coming to see her so perhaps she had been wrong after all? Which was just as well as, without the addition of champagne she had begun to wonder why she had invited him to come and see her at all…well, no, that was wrong. She was quite aware of why, she just wasn’t sure in the harsh light of day whether it was entirely a sound idea. If he was just paying her a courtesy to spare her blushes then it was all the better.

Except he wasn’t. She knew full well that he wasn’t.

“Well I do keep him rather busy I suppose,” Belle replied with a twitching smile she simply couldn’t help, wondering whether she ought to mention that Finlay Connolly had gone home four hours ago, having done the night shift as he had been doing all week, and certainly would not have arranged to meet his cousin for lunch.

“I appreciate the thought, I can think of any number of things I would much rather be doing to while away the dark, cold days.”

Even to her own ears that sounded…not quite as conversational as she had intended and she laughed breathily at her own ill thought out words. “Goodness, I must have been locked away on my own for too long.”

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Lady made me sexy <3