Nina swapped the hot chocolate into her other hand after taking a sip and realising it was still lovely and hot. She looked out of the window at the far end of the shop as she waited for Leo, at the bay that was serene beneath rainfall that would be pitter-pattering its surface, the deep depths of the water beyond.
Leo had eventually come up behind her so slowly she hadn’t noticed, especially with her mind elsewhere. And now she could feel the body heat through her top as he stood close – or maybe she was imagining it because sheknew what it felt like, even after all this time? Leo had always been hot, not only in looks – they’d often joked about how she’d climb into bed and warm her feet on his legs, which were like little portable radiators.
‘What can I do for you?’ he asked.
‘I came to ask a favour,’ she told him, glad of the friendly welcome that at times felt as though they were those same two people who had always been at ease in one another’s company.
‘And what might that be?’ He coiled the orange rope he had in his hands and went over to slot it onto a shelf next to one rope in a bright yellow and another in striking turquoise.
She wondered whether he’d meant to sound flirtatious when he asked the question and it had her a little flustered. ‘I have some hooks to put up in the cabin and I don’t have a drill.’
‘You want to borrow a drill?’
She hunched her shoulders. ‘If you trust me to use it I’ll borrow it.’
‘Might be easier if I just did it myself. Not that I’m saying you’re not capable.’
‘Not offended at all. And you’re right, it might be easier. I could easily master it, but the paintwork is so beautiful and I don’t want any mistakes at this late stage, not when we could get a viewing any day now.’
‘You trust me?’
The unexpected phrase took her by surprise, but there was only one response to his question. ‘I trust you.’
He nodded. ‘Then I’ll come over after I finish up here in a couple of hours, how does that sound?’
‘Perfect.’
When the door to the shop went again he said, ‘Stay here a while, enjoy the view and finish your hot chocolate.’
There was a high stool right by the window and she climbed up on it, silently accepting his invitation. Despite the rain getting harder as she sat there and eventually lashing at the windows with accompanying sound effects, the hot chocolate and the feeling of calm she felt around Leo cheered her when she hadn’t realised she needed a little bit of a lift. The emotions that came with being here in the bay, and the cabin itself sometimes had her all over the place.
Leo eventually finished with the customer and came over to Nina’s side. He had his keys in one hand, a couple of buoyancy vests in the other. ‘I’ll need to lock up, I’ve got a kayak lesson booked so I have to get down to the boathouse.’
‘No worries.’ She finished up her drink and he told her to leave the cup on the counter so he could rinse it and pop it in recycling.
‘It’s not the best weather for a lesson,’ she said as they made their way over to the door and he picked up a sign to put out front.
He positioned the sign. ‘It’s good to have lessons in different conditions, helps prepare for the unexpected. And there’s no wind, that’s the main thing.’
Nina picked up her umbrella and opened it as he locked the door behind them. And before she headed over to her cabin she looked back at Leo as he turned to go down the side of the boathouse to the bottom. ‘Stay safe,’ she called after him.
‘Promise,’ he replied.
The rain continued to hammer down for the next couple of hours and with Leo taking longer than she’d expected and the temperature outside cooling quickly despite the daylight lingering, Nina peeled, chopped and stirred and pulled together a chilli con carne that was slowly simmering away by the time he knocked on the front door.
‘Something smells good.’ Leo had a box in his hand, presumably containing the drill.
She motioned for him to come in as she stirred the meaty mixture and replaced the lid. ‘I was going to wait until after you’d been, but then I decided I’d be eating at midnight if I did that. Not that I’m complaining,’ she leapt in quickly not wanting him to think her ungrateful.
‘The lesson went fine but they wanted some free time after. And I can’t turn business down when it’s offered to me like that.’ He set down the box he had with him. ‘Right, show me where these hooks are and where you want them.’ He crouched down on his haunches and took out the drill which he laid on top of the open case.
Once she’d shown him the piece and the wall she wanted it fixed to he selected the correct drill bit and got to work while Nina turned her attentions to the chilli even though it didn’t need it. Anything to stop her watching him, his taut behind in cargo trousers, the glimpse of skin she got when his t-shirt rode up as he reached to drill the holes. A knot formed in her belly as she took out the packet of rice.
‘It’s done,’ he announced, his lips gently blowing away dust from the hooks.
She tried not to let the sight of it make her body tingle all over and focused on the hooks when she went over to admire them. ‘They look great.’
But she could feel him watching her, and the tinglingsensation crept all the way from the tips of her toes all up her body. They were so close there was no doubt now that it was his body heat she could feel. His hands hung by his side and she felt his fingers brush against hers briefly as though unsure whether to or not. Unless it was a mistake.
