As I strolled along the beach, I decided that I’d overreacted. Yeah, we’d established that Ben was a prick, but I couldn’t let that ruin this incredible opportunity for me.
Jess and Theo weren’t stupid. They wanted the best results for the library, so once they saw that Ben was rubbish at online stuff and I was useless working at property tasks, they’d soon see sense and leave us to focus on our strengths.
After that, I was sure that I’d barely have to interact with him. The extent of our contact would just be formalities.Hi, byeand that’s it.
Yeah. It’d be fine.
Once I’d dusted the sand off my feet, I headed to the library. The doors were already open when I arrived, so I stepped inside.
As I was walking down the hallway, I saw Jane and Jackson coming towards me, holding hands.
Jane and Jackson were childhood friends who’d lost contact after they left school, but by a stroke of luck they were reunited when they got jobs at the Romance Library. Their journey togetting together was a bumpy one, but now just like Jess and Theo, they were all loved up.
If only I was so lucky.
‘Hi!’ Jane said.
‘Hey.’ I smiled at them both. ‘How are you?’
‘Good,’ Jackson replied. ‘How about you? How was your first night in Sunshine Bay?’
‘Fine, thanks,’ I lied.
‘Sorry we couldn’t meet up to welcome you officially,’ Jane said. ‘We had to cover for Jess and Theo here.’
‘No worries! I was exhausted anyway, so I just got myself settled in the B&B, had dinner, then crashed out.’
‘Oh, okay,’ Jane said. ‘Looking forward to your first day?’
‘Um…’ I paused. ‘Yeah!Course!’ My voice shot up several octaves. I was trying to think positively. I didn’t want to start bitching about Ben. I wasn’t even going think about him.
‘And you finally got to meet Ben!’ Jane smiled mischievously.
‘Yeah, and I wish I hadn’t.’ The words spilled out of my mouth before I could stop them.
‘Oh? Is that because he?—’
‘Did I just hear my name being mentioned?’ a deep, plummy voice sounded from behind me. A delicious woody scent wafted through the air, and seconds later, when Ben appeared in front of me, my eyes popped.
Lord have mercy.
As I caught sight of him, I swallowed hard.
He was dressed in a crisp white shirt with, yep, you guessed it, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of dark blue jeans which looked annoyingly good on him. Today, he wasn’t wearing a baseball cap, which meant I got a full, uninterrupted view of his dark wavy hair.
Not content with looking like a Levi’s and Ray-Ban model yesterday, today he was doing a very good job of resembling amodel on a TV advert, promoting a shampoo that made your hair look thicker and shinier.
And don’t even get me started on the stubble around his chiselled jaw.
Or his lips.
Or those eyes, which weren’t green, but more hazel-ish. Like a rich shade of golden brown.
Plus he had those insanely long eyelashes that even had the audacity to curl up at the ends like he’d used eyelash curlers, then mascara.
Arsehole.
I was too angry to study him closely in the office yesterday, but that beach walk had made me feel way too relaxed and now I was suddenly seeingeverything.
