Childish adoration and teenage infatuation usually never stayed the same, fizzling out as Life took over, but not for her. For her, those feelings had deepened into something else.
How she’d wished that he could have been more than just her buddy, but by then she’d fully read and understood the writing on the wall. The category she occupied was unique but it would never extend where she wanted it.
It frightened her to think just how long she would have stayed there, happy with crumbs, in defiance of all the signposts that had been emblazoned for her to follow from the beginning...if he hadn’t got engaged to Caitlin Smyth.
That was a year and a half ago and the engagement had been short-lived because Caitlin had broken it off, but it had been the learning curve Jess had badly needed to turn away from the spell he had always weaved over her.
She had purposely avoided him for the past few months. She’d answered emails and occasionally spoken to him on the phone when he’d called, but she’d made sure to be busy every time she knew he’d be turning up to visit William.
School trip...visiting her mum, who had moved to Devon to be closer to her sister...buried under work so, oops, so sorry but no way could she snatch any time off...
The list had been exhaustive, but she’d succeeded. On the rare occasion when she had been in his presence she’d made sure to time it so that other people were around, a safety buffer against herself and her weakness.
Until now.
Because here he was, at her front door, with a box in his hand and a smile on his face and looking every bit as wickedly sexy as he had the last time she’d set eyes on him.
Of course the unbuttoned cashmere coat was crazy in this weather, as were the loafers. Underneath, she could see he was in a pair of faded jeans and his old rugby jumper.
So beautiful, so sinfully perfect in every way... Thick brown hair streaked with caramel, green eyes the colour of the sea in a certain light, the hint of a dimple in his chin and thick, dark lashes to die for.
‘Are you going to let me in or should I start calling the paramedics to come out because I’m about to get hypothermia?’
‘Curtis!’
‘Ah, so you do remember who I am... Move aside, Jess, I need to get out of this cold. My coat and my shoes weren’t made for snow.’ He nudged past her as she fell back and helplessly watched him dump the box on the little table against the wall so that he could get rid of the coat. ‘Don’t tell me, it was crazy to come up here with nothing but a wool coat, but who knew that it would be snowing? Thought I’d left that old waterproof in the shed but it would seem not.’
He looked at her and she fought down a blush.
She’d woken from her slumber when he’d got engaged, recognised where she stood, acknowledged where she’dneverstand, and she’d accordingly made a concerted effort to get her house in order.
So she was never going to be the sort of petite, adorable little blonde thing he was attracted to. She was five ten and had always been prone to generous curves. When her dad had died, her curves had unfortunately expanded with her comfort eating, but bit by bit she had cut back on the chocolate and in the past few months had returned to her usual figure.
‘Where are your specs?’ he asked, frowning and strolling towards her, green eyes intent on her face, scrutinising as though she had somehow contrived to let him down by withholding vital information about her eyesight.
‘Laser surgery,’ she said, gathering her scattered self-control and preceding him into the kitchen, where she waited until he was seated at her kitchen table before asking him what he was doing here.
‘Doughnuts.’ He nodded briefly to the box that he had deposited on the kitchen counter. ‘Since when were you interested in having laser surgery?’
‘You came here to bring me...doughnuts?’
‘Why not?’ He shrugged. ‘What else are friends for?’
‘Curtis, I was asleep when you rang the doorbell.’
‘You do look a bit groggy. Late night?’ His eyebrows shot up and he shot her a wolfish grin. ‘Don’t answer that. At least, not yet.’
‘I need to get dressed.’
‘You’ve done something to your hair as well...’
‘Curtis, I’ll be back in a sec, but honestly...today’s a very busy day for me...’
‘Doing what? It’s half-term. William told me. So you can’t possibly be going to the school.’
‘Teachers don’t just work during term time and there’s a lot going on at the moment,’ she gritted, and he grinned and patted the chair next to him.
‘No need for you to change. I’m accustomed to seeing youébouriffé...’
