Miranda's Big Mistake - Jill Mansell [117]
`I can't.'
`A hot potato crawling with maggots.' He had heard the urgency in her voice. `Fenn, we're talking major disaster here. For God's sake, get out while you still can, before anything happens.'
Too late. It already had. Fenn led the way through to the master bedroom. What did Tina know, thousands of miles away in New Zealand? She had no idea.
Chloe was sitting on the end of his king-size bed, shaking back her hair and giving the two windows her undivided attention.
`I think blinds, you know.'
`Your fringe keeps getting in your eyes,' said Fenn. `Not those awful frilly blinds,' Chloe made frilly move-
ments with her hands, `like Scarlett O'Hara's knickers.' `Why don't I cut your hair?'
Chloe was already busy flicking through a sample book. She found what she was looking for and held it up.
`Silver and beige, and keep them really plain… oh.' Belatedly, Fenn's words registered and her hand flew guiltily to her fringe. `My Dulux look, you mean? I meant to have a go at it last week but Miranda borrowed my nail scissors to trim the flex on her hairdryer and-'
`I don't want to hear this.' Fenn felt as he imagined a surgeon might feel, upon being told that a patient haddecided to dig out his own appendix with a Stanley knife and a rusty spoon.
Spotting the shudder, Chloe pulled an apologetic face. `Sorry, I'm not usually such a pleb.' She shrugged, embarrassed. `Trying to economise, that's all.'
Will you let me do it for you?' said Fenn.
Chloe was overjoyed.
`I'm hardly likely to refuse an offer like that, am I?'
In all his years of hairdressing, this was a first for Fenn. As a rule, female clients fancied him like mad and flirted with him shamelessly. Less often, deciding that he liked the look of one of these clients, he would flirt back, take her phone number and possibly ask her out.
This, though, was a whole new experience, and it was making it hard to concentrate. For the first time since he had known Chloe, he was actually running his fingers through her hair, touching her neck, resting his hands on her shoulders…
He could look and now he could touch but he certainly wasn't allowed to flirt. She was six months pregnant with another man's child, Fenn reminded himself. She would be horrified if she knew how he felt about her.
`Cut loads,' Chloe was saying eagerly, making scissors of her fingers and showing him how much she wanted lopped off. `Not a crew cut or anything, just to the shoulders.'
`Here, you mean?' Fenn scooped the heavy blonde hair up into his hands and rested them against each side of her neck. God, even that simple action gave him a charge. He paused for a second, feeling the warmth of Chloe's
skin and breathing in the familiar light scent she wore. It would be so easy now, so easy, to bend and kiss the back of her neck
'FENN LOMAX, WHERE ARE YOOOUU?'
Chapter 47
Fenn and Chloe looked at each other in the minor; the spell was well and truly broken. In the street outside, someone was yelling at the top of their voice and they both recognised who that voice belonged to.
Wearily, Fenn went to the window and looked out. Fifty yards further up the road, Miranda spotted him and waved.
`Honestly,' she exclaimed when he let her in, `grumpy neighbours you've got around here. You should have seen the looks they gave me when I called out your name. I mean, I remembered the name of the road but I didn't know what the number of your flat was.' She shrugged. `How else was I supposed to find out where you lived?'
Another boost to his popularity, thought Fenn. Zebra-print carpets and friends with disturbingly blue hair turning up to breach the peace and more than likely mug the first wealthy resident they came across.
`You were pretty loud,' he pointed out.
`Well, if I'd whispered, you wouldn't have heard me. So this is it, is it?' Miranda darted past him, gazing around with bright-eyed interest. `I saw the dead animals in the skip outside. Hmm, wouldn't have thought you'd go for a flat like this.'
`It'll be fine when it's finished.' Fenn's tone was curt. `What