“Maybe this is why I don’t do relationships. How many women would get involved with someone who’s never going to leave the place where they grew up, especially when it’s a tiny, inconsequential place like Severton.” It was a truth he’d acknowledged years before, when a girl he’d been out with a couple of times laughed when he told her where he was from.
“Zack did. And Scott. Jonny too. It can happen.” Her hand landed on his arm, as if she was trying to soothe, only his body didn’t interpret it like that.
Only the glint of the moon and the stars lit them, standing there in the open. Everywhere else was draped in darkness, so there was no one to see when he put a finger under her chin to raise her face to his and leaned down to press his lips to hers.
She tasted of cocktails and sugar, her lips soft, and he lingered there for a moment before pulling back, his heart racing as if he’d just finished a fell race.
“Goodnight, Lainey.”
She nodded, and for a moment he thought he’d overstepped, until she touched her lips as if she was trying to capture the kiss.
“Goodnight, Jake. See you in the morning.”
He watched as she went into her house, waiting to hear her lock the doors and see her bedroom light come on, knowing she was safe inside.
Then he went home to sleep, his dreams filled with images of Lainey, and that kiss under a starlit sky.
Chapter Eleven
“So, what do I wear to a battle of the bands in a barn?”
Lainey looked at Imogen who was standing in front of her wardrobe, holding Lainey’s favourite pair of jeans, and eyeing them with a degree of desire that was almost concerning.
“Jeans. But your own. Not mine.” Lainey covered the space between her and her sister and pulled the jeans out of her hands. “When are you going home?”
Imogen laughed. “Not soon enough for you. Monday morning. Then it’s nose to the grindstone, work my sweet ass off for the family firm time.”
“It’ll keep you out of trouble.”
“No. It really won’t.”
Imogen was right. Nothing would keep her out of trouble. She was the family’s naughty child, the one who was a magnet for trouble, in whatever form it chose to take.
“I’m still not sure why you’re sticking around for this.” Lainey hadn’t quite understood why Immy hadn’t gone home as planned on Tuesday. It wasn’t that she wanted her sister to go, although there were moments when that was the case, it was just that Lainey knew that she wasn’t going to be in Severton with her forever, and she wanted to settle in by herself a little more, get to know more people. Make friends. Something that she’d neglected in the few months she’d lived here already.
Imogen sat down on the bed, wearing a huge, oversized T-shirt that had belonged to an ex-boyfriend and whatever was underneath.
“It’s a break before I get stuck into this case.” Immy stretched. “It’s a huge lawsuit and I’m going to end up working long hours and weekends. Being here’s like being on holiday. The pace is slow and relaxing, it’s peaceful and there are some hot men. Who’d have thought that a little town could have so many attractive blokes?”
Lainey shook her head and went to the drawer where she kept her tops, searching for one to go with the jeans. Barns were great for music events, such as this, but it was impossible to guess what the temperature would be like inside, plus there was the trek across the fields to get to them, because Jake had decided to use two of them that were at the other side of his property, and away from the animals.
“Go for that cute vest top that’s green satin and a shirt over it.” Imogen proved to be a mind reader. “If that’s the right sort of thing to wear for a barn band thing.”
“Decent plan.” Lainey rummaged round and found it, pleased that it wasn’t too crumpled, which meant Maven must’ve put it away when she’d helped her unpack. “Is there a particular Severton male you’re looking to put your hooks into tonight?” She felt slightly apprehensive asking. Not for a moment did she think Imogen was interested in Jake, but she didn’t want her sister to become the centre of gossip every time she came to visit, because small towns did like their gossip.
“Nope.” Imogen got off the bed and started to rummage through Lainey’s drawer. “Do you still have that cropped sweater? The white one.”
“It’s somewhere in there.” Lainey frowned. She thought having her younger sister steal her clothes was something they’d moved past years ago. Clearly not. “You’re not interested in Will?”
Imogen shook her head. “No. I’m not interested in Olly either, or Jake. Not like you.”
Lainey froze, trying to keep her thoughts off her face. She hadn’t mentioned the kiss to Immy. She’d tried not to think about it, passing it off as a figment of her imagination and feeling pretty sure that she’d made it into more than what it was.
“I’m not interested in Jake. I’m not interested in anyone.”
Immy snorted. “Whatever. No, tonight I’m just going to enjoy unpretentious fun. I’ll miss this when I’m drowning in precedents and briefs.”
“And city boys in suits.” Lainey wrinkled her nose. She didn’t miss them. She didn’t miss Hugo. Why she was with him, even though it had just been for a few months, she didn’t understand, not now. But then hindsight was always a beautiful thing.
