‘Who says? My sisters are all partnered and familied up, so it just makes it easier for everyone, and Mum and Dad get a day where they don’t have to split their time of share. All the kids come home for a few days.’
‘When you put it like that, I guess it makes sense. My sister and I are both single, so it’s just us, and we’re going from onehouse to another, trying to make everything even so no one feels left out.’
‘Sounds exhausting. No wonder you hit veto this year.’
‘Yeah. I love my job, and my family, despite everything, but I just get so tired.’ Amanda placed the tray on the counter before flopping right back down beside me on the tiles.
‘Tired of being in charge,’ she murmured. ‘If I stop to breathe, everything falls apart this time of year.’
I watched her fingers tease the button on her cardigan, turning it as she spoke. The small line between her brows as she vented.
‘Do you always have to control everything? Or do you ever stop and just let yourself enjoy something?’
‘I’m not a robot, but no, it’s hard to let go when there’s no one there to help take the slack. Then everything piles up and just makes it worse.’
I smiled. ‘Maybe you should try letting someone take care of you for once?’
‘Who?’
‘Oh, I don’t know. Maybe a fantastic, and handsome, gardener who knows how to take control long enough for you to enjoy yourself.’ My brazenness was risky, but I couldn’t help myself. Amanda would leave in a few days, and I wanted to lay my cards on the table before she did.
She blinked at me. And for a heartbeat, her guard slipped. Heat flickered in those dark eyes. Temptation. Desire. Excitement.
A bit of sauce glistened on her lip.
I reached out, my thumb brushing her mouth. Gathering up the sweetness, I tasted it.
Her breath caught, and the room tilted a little. Or maybe I did.
‘Henry,’ she whispered, half-warning, half-breathy need.
I leaned close enough to catch the warmth of her skin and the faint hint of perfume clinging to her cardigan. Her pupils darkened, which had my pulse escalating. For one perfect moment, strung with so much possibility, I breathed her in.
There was nothing more I wanted than to kiss her. To feel her lips lock with mine as I lost myself in her. To show her that it was okay to loosen the reins.
Then sanity clawed its way back in. She didn’t even like me. Was I pushing myself on her in a moment of vulnerability? That wasn’t me.
I exhaled sharply and pushed up to my feet. Kissing her might push her to somewhere that made her uncomfortable, and I didn’t want to do something we’d both regret in the morning.
She stayed on the floor, looking up at me with her cheeks flushing.
‘Night, Amanda,’ I said, trying to sound relaxed, but my voice was decidedly hoarse.
I made for the corridor before I could change my mind, pulling the kitchen door closed behind me. I made it to the centre hall, at the foot of the stairwell, before I stopped and cussed myself out for being a wimp.
I’d wanted to kiss her more than I’d wanted to breathe, but kissing Amanda would be about as sensible as letting Merv weed the vegetable patch.
Since when did we worry about sensible, Henry?
nine
AMANDA
I looked like a sticky-fingered raccoon,crouched over the sink at nearly midnight while scraping toffee residue off the catering dish. I couldn’t decide if it was the pudding sitting heavy in my stomach or the uneasiness of my time with Henry.
For a moment, I’d thought he was going to kiss me.
And for a moment, I would have let him.
