He didn’t care a bit.
CHAPTER 18
William
William took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he finally left the snarling Sydney traffic behind him. Hitting the A1, he eased back in his seat, turning some music on and tapping to the beat. He was anticipating being back in Blessed Inlet more than he cared to admit; to the point where he had skived off the last meeting in Sydney early, citing a meeting with the builder in Blessed Inlet as an excuse. It wasn’t entirely a lie. He did have a meeting with John set up. But it was at the pub—the next day. They would probably chat about the progress at the lighthouse a little.
John was very capable and efficient, and the project was flowing smoothly. The fit out of the Keeper’s cottage was almost complete, they just had to rework the framing for the windows and put in some skylights in the roof. The mezzanine level for the stables was the next big project, but once that hurdle was jumped, it really was smooth sailing, with the main lodge requiring minimal work now that the flooring was fixed.
He felt a tightening in his chest as he realized what that would mean. No more Blessed Inlet. His role in the business didn’tinvolve sticking around in a location after he’d scouted it and made it fit for purpose. Cassie took over after that and she mainly managed the onsite staff via video link. He pushed all that out of his mind, preferring to focus on what he had to look forward to in Blessed Inlet. He smiled to himself as he sped down the highway, thoughts of Juniper swirling through his mind. They’d seen as much of each other as they could since she had first spent the night, but even with their best efforts, she’d only managed to sneak in one more overnight stay before Violet had left.
After that, their encounters had been brief and opportunistic. A quick text message to say Leah was covering the shop and Billy was at a friend’s house had William clearing his afternoon meetings and dragging Juniper to the bedroom as soon as she arrived. One time he’d dropped into the shop to see if she wanted lunch to find her there alone. Quick as thought, she’d locked the door, thrown up a sign saying she’d be back in thirty minutes, pulled him into the workroom, pushed him into a chair, and had her way with him. He felt his body stirring at the memory and his smile widened. He turned the music down and reached for his phone.
CHAPTER 19
Juniper
“Hey.”
“Hey yourself.” Juniper smiled into the phone. God, she’d missed him.
“I managed to get away from the meeting early, so I’m heading back now.”
“Great! Do you want to come over for dinner?” She moved to the back door of the shop, checking that Leah was okay with Billy. She smiled. Billy was sitting in his Tonka truck, gripping onto the sides, while Leah, bent low, pushed him along the driveway.
“Sure. I’d love to.”
She paused, thinking how best to say the next bit. “Billy will be here.”
“Ah, yes, I expect he will be. He’s a bit young to be heading out on the town with his mates.”
She laughed. “No, I mean, you know…”
“I can’t drop F bombs allnight long?”
She rolled her eyes.
“I heard that.”
“Heard what?”
“Your eyes roll.”
She laughed again. “It’s just, you know…”
“We can’t have any hanky panky in the house. I know. I can’t trust you to keep the noise down.”
“Well, if I’m noisy, you’ve no one to blame but yourself.”
“A cross I’m willing to bear.”
God, she loved flirting with him. She also loved snuggling with him. She made a snap decision. “I tell you what. You can sleep over if you bring pajamas.”
She heard him clear his throat and said hastily, “I mean, you have to wear them. All night. You can’t just bring them.”
He chuckled. “Dammit, I almost had you. It’s a deal. I’ll be there around five. You’ve got an air fryer?”
“Ah, yes,” she said hesitantly.
