Mel POV
After dinner, harry had reappeared in to the kitchen. He had changed into a worn pair of jeans and a grey t-shirt. After opening the wine bottle and pouring each a glass, he sat in the kitchen and kept Mel Company as she packed their lunches in the fridge.
Mel was amazed. This was the side of the very unemotional man that she’d never seen. And she kind of liked it, she admitted. While the man was hot in a suit and tie, he was positively smoking hot in jeans and t-shirt.she needed to be careful, she suddenly realised. Because what she was seeing here, tonight, cause all sort of emotional storms if she let herself to think. She needed to remember who he was, and how coldly and ruthlessly he had pressured her into this marriage. She needed to remember that there was not relationship and would never be, that he had not used of her and apart from claiming his uncle’s voting options on his stock market. The man had the emotional sensitivity of a brick. Watching him tonight as he entertained her, she let herself enjoy his company. The conversation was easier tonight than it had been before. They chatted about wine, food and work. By the time the bottle of wine was empty; Mel sighed and pulled away from the table.
“Ok, I’d better clean up the rest of the mess,” she groaned.
“Just leave it for the house keeper tomorrow,” harry offered.
But Mel looked around her and shook her head. “Nah, that not fair. I made the mess, I clean it up. Besides, almost everything just goes into the dishwasher.”
“Then I’ll help.”
They worked together, while Mel rinsed the dishes and loaded the dishwasher, while Harry put away leftover and wiped down the countertop. Standing up from the dishwasher, Mel turned toward the kitchen, only to find that harry was right behind her. She stopped abruptly to prevent herself from careening into him, and nearly fell backward into the sink. But he reached out and caught her arms, holding her steady.She thanked him, and moved to walk around him, but harry didn’t step away. He just stood there looking down at her with a puzzled look on his face, his fingers still loosely wrapped around her.
“What are you doing,” she asked, silently cursing the breathlessness in her voice.
Reaching up, he lightly caressed her cheek, tucking her hair behind her ears, his expression almost tender. “That was a delicious meal, Rose. Thank you for letting me join you.”
Mel nodded. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
When he reached out again to run his thumb over her cheek, Mel pushed away.
“Stop it,” she said quietly.
He immediately dropped his hand and moved away, blanking away any expression on his face. “I apologise. I forgot for a moment...”
“That I’m not one of you dates?” Mel smiled to defuse her comment.


Harry POV
Later that night, harry couldn’t stop thinking about their conversation during dinner.
He wanted to make sure that Rose was not upset about his stupid progress toward her.He went upstairs to Rose room and the door was opened. Rose was reading a book. “Your room looks different,” he said immediately. Looks like she re-decorated her room for her own comfortable.
“Yeah I made a few changes,” Rose admitted, putting her book down and standing up. She walked towards him.
“Are you settled in? Is there anything you need?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I’m getting there. I’ll unpack my office tomorrow.”
“Good.” He hesitated, and then started to turn away. “I’ll be in my office.”
“Goodnight Rose.”
Harry sensed that there was more that she wanted to say, so he asked softly, “Rose, do we need to about what happened earlier?”
But she shook her head. “There is nothing to talk about, harry. It was an accident, and you have apologised.
Harry turned back around, spearing her with a sharp look. “We have an agreement, Rose, and I intend to abide by it. Neither of us wants to change the rules, correct?” he held her gaze waiting for an answer.
Rose nodded. “No, you’re right. I’m fine with things the way they are.”
“I do know what you mean. Good. We’re fine then.” His expression didn’t change but Rose expression did as she tried to fight back her tears.
“Night,” she said softly.
The pain in her voice almost caused him to pull her into a hug , but he just turned away from the emotions that were building up.

Notes

Thank you all