‘Yes.’
‘Who?’
‘Him.’ Kate nodded in the direction of her bedroom.
Josie’s eyes widened. ‘Who?’ she squeaked.
‘Damien Savage.’ Kate picked up her coffee mug, washing and drying it before putting it away. ‘And before you jump to the wrong conclusion I think I should just explain that I didn’t invite him here. And he’s in my bed because that’s where he passed out.’
Josie frowned. ‘But how did he get—’ she broke off in embarrassment.
Kate sighed. ‘Now that’s something I don’t intend going into. Just except that he’s there and I intend sleeping on the sofa.’
‘Are you sure? We could probably both get into my bed.’
‘No, I’ll stay out here. I’ll have to keep an eye on our unwanted guest, he may start wandering in the night.’
Josie giggled. ‘Well, if he does, steer him in my direction!’
‘Josie!’
‘Well,’ Josie smiled sheepishly, ‘I think he’s gorgeous. Really fantastic looking.’
‘Mm, maybe.’ Kate got on the sofa, pulling the blankets over her that she had collected from the linen cupboard. She yawned tiredly. ‘Put the light out, Josie, there’s a love.’
Josie looked disappointed. ‘Oh—okay. See you in the morning.’
As soon as Josie had left all tiredness left her too. She would certainly have a few things to say to Damien in the morning.
Morning seemed a long time coming round; she could find little rest in her sleepless tossing and turning on a sofa that suddenly seemed to have developed numerous lumps and bumps she had never noticed before.
By seven o’clock she had had enough, and moved quietly about as she dressed, not wanting to wake Josie. She made two mugs of coffee and carried them over to her bedroom. She closed the door firmly behind her. What she had to say to Damien was totally private.
She looked down at him as he still slept, the dark stubble on his chin evidence of his night’s sleep. Some time during the night he had discarded his jacket and shirt, although his trousers still remained. Kate allowed herself a few minutes of just looking at him, at his strong tanned chest and the dark good looks of him. For a few minutes she looked down at him tenderly, and then the remembrance of last night came back to her and she slammed his coffee mug down right next to his ear.
Damien stirred druggingly, opening bleary green eyes and sitting up gingerly as he tried to focus on her. That he had a king-size headache was obvious, and he drank his coffee thirstily before attempting to speak. ‘Good morning,’ he said groggily.
‘Good morning!’ Kate dismissed scoffingly.
He pushed back his ruffled hair, rubbing his aching temples. ‘Okay, so there’s nothing good about it. But do you have to shout about it?’
‘I wasn’t shouting!’
He tried to open his eyes to their full extent and failed, groaning as she callously pulled back the curtains, allowing the early morning light to penetrate every corner of the room. ‘You bitch!’ he swore at her.
‘If you can’t take your drink you shouldn’t attempt to try,’ she told him curtly. ‘Now would you mind getting out of my bed and then out of my flat?’
‘I’d mind a great deal.’ He winced as he swung his legs to the floor. ‘What happened here last night?’
Kate looked at him sharply. ‘You mean you don’t remember?’
Damien gave her an impatient look. ‘Would I be asking if I did?’
She gave a careless shrug. ‘You burst into this flat last night hurling abuse and intending to make love to me, by force if necessary.’
He looked pointedly at the rumpled bed. ‘Would it be asking too much to hope that I succeeded?’
‘You didn’t,’ she told him shortly.
‘Pity.’ He raised dark eyebrows at her. ‘Why didn’t I?’
‘Mainly because you passed out and secondly because I didn’t want you to.’
‘I see.’ He looked at her thoughtfully. ‘Did I ask you anything last night?’
‘You asked me several things. Like, where my lover was, if he was still here. You asked me that quite a lot.’
He ran a tired hand over his aching eyes. ‘God, my head hurts! And that wasn’t the type of question I meant. Did I ask you anything—anything more personal?’
She gave a short derisive laugh. ‘What could be more personal than that?’
He stood up with an effort. ‘Will you pull those damned curtains! The light’s killing me,’ he snapped.
Sighing, she did so. ‘You shouldn’t have drunk so much.’
‘I drank so much because you’re driving me quietly insane. I can’t take any more, Kate. I give in.’
Her eyes widened. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean exactly what I say. I give in. I’ll marry you. That was what I meant to ask you last night, but I guess I wasn’t in any fit state to do it. I’ll marry you, Kate—any time you say.’
CHAPTER NINE
SHE stared at him aghast. Had Damien really said he would marry her? Yes, he had said that, exactly that. Not that he wanted to marry her, but that he would. It wasn’t her idea of a proposal.
‘You have to be joking,’ she said scathingly.
Damien arched his neck, running a hand round the back of his head to his tired nape. God, how he ached everywhere. ‘Did I sound as if I were joking?’ he asked disgustedly, feeling as if he could drink a gallon of coffee and still feel lousy.
‘Well, no. But you—’
‘Then don’t be so damned stupid!’ he snapped impatiently. ‘I’m hardly in the mood to indulge in that sort of humour at the moment.’ He flexed his shoulders, his muscles rippling under his tanned skin. ‘God, your bed’s uncomfortable! How on earth do you sleep in it?’
‘You seemed to consider it very comfortable last night, comfortable enough for two in fact. And you don’t appear to have had any trouble sleeping in it. Uncomfortable though it may appear to you, I would have preferred to be sleeping in it rather than trying to sleep on the sofa.’
He focused on her with an effort. ‘You could have shared the bed with me—the offer was there, and
