Unwrapping Her Perfect Match

Chapter Three

Nervous energy zipped through Gwen as her Tube train screeched its way into Angel. She hated, hated being late, but a bus accident had kept her rushing around at work far later than she'd planned. She'd barely had time to change her clothes, throwing on her best woolen skirt and a jumper before running out of the hospital. 'Twas the season of heavy layers and too many people on the Tube, making her sweat just as much as the anticipation of seeing John again.

How could one big man make her this jumpy?

When the train's doors opened, she and a hundred other Londoners poured onto the Underground platform and boarded the steep escalator to freedom. A blast of cold air hit her hot cheeks as she crested the top.

And there he was, looking massive and intimidating in a thick winter coat, leaning against the exit with his wooly cap pulled low over his forehead—and a bouquet of roses in his hands.

Her tummy tightened. The last time someone had given her flowers...

He's not Adam.

She took a deep breath and walked toward him. He seemed to notice her straightaway, a broad smile transforming his face. "You made it."

"I'm so sorry I'm late. There was a bus accident—"

He blanched and clasped her arm. "Jesus. Are you all right?"

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry, I forgot you didn't know. I'm a nurse."

His body practically wilted. "Oh. Thank God. I mean...was anyone badly hurt?"

"Everyone was stable by the time I left."

"Good. That must be a tough job."

"It's challenging, but I like it. And I make sure I do plenty of fun things to keep me balanced. Like tonight's plan, for example."

He leaned closer and gave her a conspiratorial grin. "Want to tell me what we're doing?"

"If I did, you'd probably jump over everyone here in your rush to get away."

He stroked the pad of his thumb across her cheek, the coolness of his touch so surprising against her overheated skin that she shivered. "I'm not running away, Gwen. Even if we end up at a male strip club."

She coughed. "Um, excuse me?"

"I saw Tess today. She kept looking at me and laughing her arse off. So I'm making guesses here about what we're doing."

"Not that. Ever."

"Just saying—I can scream 'Take it off!' with the best of them."

Weirdly, she could picture that. He seemed like the kind of bloke who could make anything fun and was dedicated to making sure others around him had fun too. "We're going to a craft store."

"A...crap store?"

"Craft. You know, where you buy materials for various crafts."

"Oh. Right. Like carpentry?"

She laughed. "Sort of. It's a few minutes' walk. Shall we?"

"Sure. But first, these are for you." He held up the roses. They were a stunning shade of dark pink that she'd never seen on a rose before, and she could smell them even from several inches away. Something shifted inside her, something that felt uncomfortably like longing.

"They're beautiful." God, she sounded breathless even to herself. "You really didn't have to."

"I wanted to. They reminded me of you."

She dipped her head to sniff them, conveniently hiding her face as she asked, "How so?"

He wouldn't let her hide. Nudging a finger beneath her chin, he tipped her head back until she looked him in the eye. "I'd never seen anything like them before. I couldn't take my eyes off them."