“I never planned forthisto happen between us.”
“I know and it worries you, doesn’t it?”
“A little.” Seb shifted off the bed, dealt with the condom and picked his boxer shorts off the floor. “Back in a minute.”
On the way to the bathroom, he searched through his post-sex hormones for some clarity. He liked Helen. A lot. But would she expect more from him than he was ever willing to give?
When he returned, she was still lying naked on the bed, as natural and comfortable as the birds singing outside.
“You know,” she said, “you don’t have to plan everything in life, Sebastian. Things just happen sometimes. Go with the flow.”
“The last time I went with the flow, I got drunk and arrested. I put my career in jeopardy and became a tool in a political campaign.”
“Well, chill out, you’re in the Mendips now.” She got off the bed and draped her arms around his shoulders. “Trust me, nothing that exciting ever happens here.”
Helen’s hands slid down to his chest and her gentle rubbing of his pecs had his body stirring, desperate and impatient again.
“I was joking about that sex clause, by the way.” She reached up to kiss him. “You can go on top any time you like.”
Chapter 24
Twoweekslater,Helenstood with Sebastian under the wild buddleia bush next to her cottage, spying at Gary Grice through the branches. He’d just stepped out of his car and was now helping another man pull camera equipment out from the backseat.
“Well, here goes nothing,” Sebastian whispered. After some date wrangling, today was the day of their first exclusive interview. “You ready?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Helen giggled. She’d been doing that a lot recently, having laughed more in the past two weeks than she’d done in the past two years. Regular sex had a lot to do with that and she suspected it was the same for Sebastian. Since they’d agreed togo with the flow, he’d lost that air of an uptight sergeant major. He was still a stickler for punctuality, still Mr. Uber Professional Sports Ambassador in public, but in private … she loved getting to know his dirty, wicked side.
“C’mon, Hobbs, let’s do this.”
Leaving the buddleia bush, they walked out together to greet Grice and the photographer, who Grice introduced as Omar.
“Sorry we’re late. We took a few wrong turns,” Grice said. “This place is in the middle of nowhere.”
“It’s why we like it,” Helen said, leading the way to the side of the house. “We have cold drinks in the garden.”
Behind her, Sebastian began his welcome spiel, which was part-recap of the kind of interview Get Living was expecting and part-warning for Grice to stay on the topics they’d previously approved.
Sebastian, immaculate in his soft linen shirt and khaki shorts, looked perfectly at ease in her ramshackle garden. Pouring everyone a glass of orange juice and lemonade, he small-talked comfortably about the bending country lanes surrounding her cottage, like he’d been living here for years.
When Omar left them to recon the garden for a suitable photo shoot area, Sebastian directed Grice toward the seats under the shade of the elderflower tree.
“Go for it, Gary. What’s your first question?”
Grice took a sip of his drink, taking in her garden and the surrounding view. “This isn’t my first official question, but I am curious about this place. It’s gorgeous.”
“Thank you.” Helen beamed at the compliment. The garden did look rather spectacular today. The sunshine had brought out all the flowers, from tiny daisies and buttercups forming a white-and-yellow haze above the grass line to the tall hollyhocks swaying gently in the breeze. “I don’t always keep on top of the gardening, but the wildlife prefers it that way.”
“And you have chickens. This really is the good life.” Grice watched the hens scrabble in the bushes. “A stroke of luck, Clarke, that your girlfriend lives in commuting distance from Get Living’s new headquarters.”
Helen’s heart stopped, but Sebastian’s smile remained even.
“Itwasa stroke of luck,” he said. “When I told Michael I’d be spending the summer here, he offered me the job.” He took Helen’s hand and gave it a reassuring little squeeze. “Lucky coincidence, eh?”
“Very lucky.” Helen focused her attention on a passing butterfly, not having thought about the real coincidence for a while. Her community service seemed a lifetime ago now, she hadn’t heard anything from DC Nazir since, and as for Jaxon? Funny how a summer fling with Sebastian had made her forget all about him.
