must have seen the expression on his face and immediately held up one hand. ‘Forget it. I am far too nosey and you are here for the lighting rig. It’s all ready for us in the studio and...’
Scott rested one hand lightly on Toni’s knee and looked into her face.
‘When our mother moved to Paris I shared the house with Freya until I bought my own place with my fiancée. Two years ago I moved to Alaska and my former wife got the apartment as the divorce settlement. Since then Freya has kept my old bedroom in case I needed it. But home? No. It’s not my home. Not any longer.’
‘I am so sorry. About the divorce and about the apartment. That’s hard to imagine. Amy and I have already organized a tiny studio flat we’re going to call home in a few months. We need that.’
‘Everyone’s different. I’m on the move so much I don’t need a permanent base. The only place that I have ever really called home was the massive Victorian mansion in north London that I grew up in.’ He smiled across at Toni. ‘It wasn’t that much different from this house. Bigger rooms meant more space to clutter up. And my dad was certainly up to the challenge. Believe me, this place would fit him like a glove.’
Scott froze and took a few seconds to take in everything, from the Victorian glass lamp shades to the leather-bound books and heavy gold-framed landscapes.
‘He would love it here,’ Scott whispered and his two middle fingers tapped out a beat on the hard cover of a book about Victorian watercolours.
Then they stopped and he lifted his chin and stared at Toni, who had started lifting smaller books down from the bookcase on the other side of the fireplace.
‘It’s a shame that we don’t have an elevator at the office. My dad can’t move back to his top floor studio until he has more control of his legs.’
Toni glanced at him over one shoulder. ‘Oh, that is a shame. Will he move in with Freya?’
‘No. He hates modern houses. That’s one of the reasons why he stays in Italy. I do have an idea for somewhere he could rent...but it would all depend on you.’
Toni put down her book and turned around and sat on the edge of the sofa. ‘Me? Why? Do you need a second opinion?’
Scott slid forward and rested both hands on his knees so that his whole body pointed towards her.
‘Not exactly. You see, I think this little house would be perfect for my dad, and for me. I can’t stay at Freya’s, I know that now. Which means that I need somewhere to rent for the next six months...and he needs somewhere quiet but close to his friends in London. And old school. Yes, I think this could be the perfect place for us.’
Scott grinned up at Toni, who was staring at him with her mouth half open. ‘What do you say, Toni? Will you rent your house to the Elstrom boys?’
* * *
Toni stared into his face for a second in total silence, with an expression that was part shock and horror and part bewilderment.
‘You want to rent my house?’
He nodded once and gestured towards her with one hand. ‘I can offer you top rates and a good deposit if that’s what you’re worried about and I promise that we won’t trash the place.’
Toni’s jaw had dropped slightly, which probably meant that she was at least not dismissing the idea out of hand, so Scott dived in quickly to seal the deal. ‘Think of me as your ideal tenant. Hardly here. Does the washing-up when he has to and is fairly orderly. And my dad has this thing for old books and paintings. He may not be the best businessman in the world but I know that he could feel at home here.’
‘Scott, you are not making any sense whatsoever. You have only been here five minutes! How do you know what the rest of the house is like? The studio is stacked to the ceiling with canvases and painting stuff and the bathroom is going to be all modern and white and flash when it’s done. Your dad might hate it.’
‘Good. I like the sound of that already. As for the rest of the house? I would love a tour.’
And for the first time that morning Scott lifted his chin towards the window so that she could see his face in the sunlight instead of shadow.
Although his mouth was turned into a gentle half smile there was a deep crease between his eyebrows and, as she looked closer, the deep shadows under his eyes told her that he had probably had less sleep than she had. Those stunning, hypnotic blue eyes scanned her face over and over again, as though he was looking for a sign of how she was feeling about him.
And they looked at each other in silence for what seemed like minutes.
Then both of them started talking at the same time.
‘Ladies first,’ Scott chuckled, breaking the crackling electric current that was in the air between them.
‘Okay,’ Toni replied. ‘Talk to me. What’s this really all about, Scott?’
Scott looked at her then leant closer. ‘My father needs something positive in his life. He’s come out of this second divorce with health problems and the business has collapsed around him. We are totally different people in every way. But right now? I wouldn’t mind spending some time with him when he comes back to London.’
He looked around and flashed her a grin. ‘Sharing a house like this would be a blast. It reminds me of the early family house we used to have when we felt more like a family than strangers that passed in the hallway from time to time. I mean it. He would love it here. And think of it this way.’ He flicked one hand into the air. ‘Less clutter to sort out. He likes the clutter.’ Then his overly confident smile faded a little. ‘We haven’t been very good friends since I left the business. Things were totally crazy back then and things were said which cannot be unsaid. Maybe it’s time to move on.’
‘By sharing this tiny house? I don’t know, Scott.’
He flicked a tongue over his lips. ‘If this is about the other night, I owe you an apology. I should not have kissed you and I am sorry that it has put us into an awkward situation.’
Toni took a deep breath and looked into his face. His last few words had come gushing out in one long rush and she knew how hard they must have been to say. ‘No—it’s nothing to do with that. You don’t owe me an apology,’ she replied. ‘I was right there and I may even have kissed you at one time. Let’s call it evens.’
Scott shook his head. ‘I think I do. We had both worked hard, it was a lovely evening and I got caught up in the moment.’
He lifted both hands from the table. ‘It certainly wasn’t planned, but I don’t want there to be any confusion. You are one hell of a beautiful woman and I cannot guarantee that I’ll be able to keep my hands off you.’
Scott looked up at her and this time his face was pale and serious and each and every one of the frown lines were frozen into sharp relief.
‘I can understand it if you want to hit me over the head with one of those heavy books, but I’m hoping that you can forgive me and my overactive libido enough to work with me as a colleague over the next few days and think about renting me your home. How about it, Toni? Willing to give me a chance?’
Toni stared at Scott long enough to see beads of perspiration on his forehead.
It was probably only minutes but in the silence of the room all she had to listen to was the background soundtrack of birdsong and the thumping of her heart.
Because Scott had just told her in his own way that he felt just as much for her as she was feeling for him. He was trying to create some distance between them to protect them both from the pain of some crazy love affair.
And he clearly had no idea that she could see it in his face. And, if anything, his words only served to bind them more closely together instead of driving them apart. He was doing this for her as much as himself.
Toni pushed up from the sofa and put