He could see the attraction. Trading the rumble of the city for the gentler rush of the river. A woman like Jess to walk beside him. Someone who apparently cared about loyalty, if she could be trusted at her word and he didn’t see a reason not to.
But it would never work like that in reality. This was all just part of the escape. Part of his fake world. One day, not too far away, he’d have to return to real life. To a cancelled wedding and answering everyone’s questions. Saving his job and his apartment. Salvaging what he could and starting over again. He had to stop running and get his life and medical career back on track.
Then again, what if he started a new life? Jess was still dripping wet, her mascara from the filming now smudged and running down her cheeks, her clothes clinging to her curves. So beautiful inside and out. Would it hurt to open himself up to the possibility?
She caught him looking and smiled at him, a soft, genuine smile, as if she couldn’t think of a better place to be than beside this river with him.
Right now, neither could he.
SINCE THE WALK WITH NATE, JESS COULDN’T SHAKEthe warm, glowing feeling. She’d promised herself, and her best friend Poppy, no more men. No more chaotic hookups. One guy after another and a wake of messy text messages and hurt feelings to navigate. But being down by the river had softened her defences.
She shouldn’t have invited him, definitely shouldn’t have started a water fight, but watching him strip off his wet shirt back at the cottage, it was hard to feel bad about her decisions.She was right about the flat abs, too, she noted, trying not to stare directly. Nate was gorgeous and, unlike most of the guys she dated, didn’t seem aware of it at all.
“I saw one of those indoor washing lines in the cupboard,” she offered, trying to shake herself back to reality.
“Here?” he pointed to a tall cupboard in the kitchen, found the clothes rack, and hung out his clothes, still shirtless. Jess leaned awkwardly against the bench, finding it difficult to form coherent thoughts, let alone make small talk.
“I saved room for yours,” he said.
How dare he be thoughtful and sweet while half naked. It was too much.
“Thanks,” she said, rushing to the bedroom to get changed before she did anything stupid. Dressed in her least sexy polka-dot pyjamas and a sweatshirt, she returned to hang her wet clothes next to his. Apparently, the cotton and polka-dots didn’t deter him as much as she’d hoped. She could feel his eyes on her, and the rush it gave her, the feeling of being desired, made her want to take as long as she could.
“So, do you, ah…” She stood next to the wet clothes, unsure if she should stay or head to her room. Sheshouldleave. Then why wasn’t she?
Glancing at Nate, she tried to get a read on what he wanted, but he examined the fold-out couch, his expression unreadable.
“Need a hand with that?” she finished, deciding, perhaps unwisely, to stick around a little longer.
“That would be much appreciated. Thank you, Jess.”
Always the gentleman. It didn’t feel put on, though, like it did when she first met him. It wasn’t fake charm. This was who he was. How rare.
She helped him pull out the bed and found a fresh pair of sheets in the linen cupboard. Unfolded, the bed took up almost the entire lounge area.
“It’s not a huge place,” she said and, without thinking, perched on the edge of the bed, blushing deeply when he sat next to her.
“Kind of perfect, though, don’t you think?”
The warm rush spread through her again, and she pressed a hand to her chest to calm her pulse. What was all this blushing and shyness around him about? ‘Shy’ wasn’t in her typical repertoire of emotions.
“It’s completely perfect,” she agreed, trying to get hold of herself. “This is exactly the kind of house I want to buy one day.”
“I can see why.”
They sat in silence, their hands centimetres apart on the thin mattress. The tiny space between electrically charged.
“I’m sorry,” Nate said, breaking the silence. “I…” They locked eyes, and she could feel her throat tighten with anticipation.
I what? I want to kiss you? I want you to leave?
Why did this man make her feel like a silly school girl?
“I wanted to say thank you.”
“For what?” she asked, thinking of everything that had happened since the morning: the waitress collapsing, acting in the show, taking Lilia to hospital. It felt more like a week than a day.
“For taking me to see the river. And sharing your memories about your grandad.”
