Will I go into a bit more detail about "the facemask incident"? I suspect you want me to . . .

Valentine's weekend was a big weekend for the hotel. Valentine's was also a bit of a hard time for me as I always remembered that party where I missed my chance to kiss Iona all those years ago. I'd got over it eventually during my years with Kelly but, as soon as I was single again, my hatred of it had came flooding back almost immediately.

This year was going to be even weirder with Iona actually here as my right-hand- woman. I wasn't sure how to feel.

We were staggering our shifts that weekend, with Iona taking the earlier shift each day and me working the later one. I really wasn't looking forward to the next few days. But, on the upside, the hotel was closing for a few days for renovations as soon as the last guests left on Monday, so I knew I had a few days off to relax at the end of all the drama.

Friday was actually going pretty well. We had a special Valentines package, so Iona had double-checked the rooms to make sure they all were equipped with a bottle of prosecco and luxury chocolates, as per the deal. Then we both helped out the receptionist, getting guests checked in and shown to their rooms, and making reservations for the restaurant. Shortly after that rush, Iona finished her shift and headed back to the accommodation.

I knew she wasn't far away but somehow I still missed her. The rest of my shift dragged and, when the clock turned to ten, I was delighted to be finished.

"Just give me a shout if there's any issues," I told Angus before I left; he shot a joking salute in my direction. I headed directly for the kitchen in the staff block, wondering if I actually had anything to eat in there. It had been a while since my last shopping trip.

I swung the door open to find Iona's head emerging from a cupboard. She was holding a bag of Doritos, and appeared to be wearing red Valentine's themed pyjamas. The pyjamas were covered in massive white hearts; the hearts had arms, legs and faces. They were each clutching an object: a rose, a box of chocolates, a Valentine's card. They were somehow adorable and terrifying at the same time.

"You done? Any notable incidents?" She asked. I knew she was looking for Valentine's themed guest gossip but unfortunately - or fortunately, really - there hadn't yet been any.

I shook my head. "Thank God," I muttered. She looked sympathetic . . . And, now I properly looked at her, really weird. What the heck? Her face was the wrong colour, a light shade of yellow, and somehow shiny and wrinkly? I couldn't work it out at all.

"In the nicest possible way, Iona," I said slowly, not wanting to offend. "What the fuck is going on with your face right now?"

Her free hand flew to her face. "Oh holy crap, I forgot about my face mask." Ah. That made more sense.

I moved towards her, examining her face more closely. "You look a bit like you're made of plastic."

What a line, Thorne. Smooth, real smooth. Inwardly I gave myself a mental smack around the head.

"It's a peel-off mask," she explained. "It's my favourite beauty treatment."

"Why?" I was genuinely curious. And hoping to distract her from my previous words.

"Do you remember when you were a kid, the first time you accidentally got glue on your fingers? How much fun was it to peel it off when it dried?"

I laughed at that childhood memory. "A lot. Sometimes I'd end up deliberately getting some on my skin just so I could peel it," I confessed.

"Exactly." She nodded, clearly pleased at my response. I felt as if I'd won a Blue Peter badge "Well, a peel-off face mask reminds me of that. It's actually kind of therapeutic. Here." Unexpectedly, she grabbed my hand, pulling it up towards her face and resting it on the edge of her jawline. "Give it a go."

What the hell was happening?

I felt my eyes widen in shock, and we both froze in that pose for a moment, my hand on her skin. My breathing quickened."Just find an edge, grab it and start pulling," she said eventually. Her voice was small.

My laugh was nervous this time. "Okay." With shaky fingers, I fumbled my way over her skin until I caught a corner of the mask. All of a sudden, I felt exceptionally clumsy "Tell me if I'm hurting you," I said quietly, as I gently started to pull.

"You're not." She looked down and I could tell she was also breathing faster. This was awkward for her too.

The air was suddenly thick with tension. I felt the need to fill the silence. It was far too heavy.

"I don't want to rip your skin off," I continued, carefully removing another section of mask from her skin.

I may as well have been actually removing the skin from her face. This was not remotely sexy.

And yet I was so turned on.

"It'll be fine as long as you're gentle and don't try to tear it all off in one go," she joked, a catch in her voice. "It's not waxing, after all."

I winced at the thought, barely aware of my other hand. It had raised itself without permission and now rested lightly on her neck. "I promise I won't do that."

I couldn't make any other promises though. The original hand had apparently decided it was bored of removing the mask, and was now just stroking her cheek. I studied her face, still ridiculously pretty even when half covered by that ludicrous mask. Her lips were bare again and I watched my thumb moving towards them, snagging finally in the middle of her bottom lip.

I was no longer in control of my actions, and I knew I had no choice but to kiss her. She was still looking down, avoiding my eyes.

"Iona," I exhaled. Needing a reaction from her.

Her eyes snapped upwards at that, met mine square on. And in that moment, I knew with absolutely certainty that Iona Stewart wanted me as much as I wanted her. For once, her face completely betrayed her feelings.

Finally, this was going to happen.

And then I heard the footsteps in the corridor, rapidly advancing towards the door.

Iona stepped back as Angus flew into the kitchen. "Code red," he announced breathlessly. "We've got a middle-aged couple half dressed and covered in chocolate body paint. Well, one of them is half dressed, the other one is stark-bollock naked."

"What, and they're just wandering the halls like that?" I asked, struggling to get my head back into professional mode, cursing the horny couple for their inconsiderate timing.

Angus shrugged. "I think one of them dared the other one to streak down the hall and they both somehow ended up locked out of their room," he said with a laugh. "Can't wait to tell my mates this story."

I nodded briskly and turned back towards Iona, who almost seemed to be in the same position she was in before we heard Angus coming. Her packet of crisps was on the floor. I didn't even remember her dropping it. I bent to pick it up, my brain cells thick with the fantasy of sex with Iona. I barely knew what I was doing as I passed her the crisps and moved my lips towards her ear. "You were right, by the way," I hissed. "That was therapeutic."

As I stepped back, I noticed the skin on her neck flare up with goosebumps, and her mouth formed a shocked "o" shape. Then I turned, and forced myself to walk out of that kitchen without a backwards glance.

Angus caught up with me as I exited the building. "Sorry, mate, did I interrupt something back there?" He asked apologetically.

"It's fine." I shook my head, before letting out a bark of laughter. "But remind me to show you how to program a keycard so it doesn't happen again."

After I dealt with the (mortified) couple, I ended up grabbing dinner in the bar. While I ate my fish and chips, I wondered what to do about Iona.

Technically I'd left her high and dry, albeit through no fault of my own. But I also felt that this particular moment had passed. If Angus hadn't interrupted, we'd have kissed for sure. We'd possibly even have been in bed together right now. But it would have happened organically. To try to re-start something tonight felt like rushing in.

And suddenly I didn't feel the need to rush.

I knew with certainty now that Iona had feelings for me. And so I didn't mind waiting for the next perfect moment to arise . . . Because I had no doubt that it would.

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