Jessica burst into laughter. “Yeah, because you’re so easily scared. Well, you are if it’s a hot young guy flirting with you. What happened to him, anyway?” she asked as Olivia held the door open for her. “I thought he was going to join us.”
“Probably had a better offer.” She told herself it was easier this way. At least now she had no decision to make.
She’d taken two steps into the warm evening air when she stopped abruptly.
“What?” Jessica followed the direction of Olivia’s gaze and laughed under her breath. “Ah.”
Walking up from the wharf toward them, wearing a simple white T-shirt and black jeans, was the man she’d just convinced herself wasn’t coming.
“He knows how to rock a T-shirt,” Jessica murmured. “Is it just my pregnancy hormones or do other women desperately want to pull it off and find out what he’s hiding beneath it?”
Olivia swallowed. “Not just pregnancy hormones.”
It was hard to remind herself to think rationally when her insides fluttered like a flag on a blustery day.
As he came closer, his eyes skimmed up and down her body. “Nice jumpsuit.”
Beneath the too-tight suit, prickles raced across her skin. “We were told to dress like ABBA. It’s itchy, hot, and difficult to pee in.”
His eyes flared. “It’s definitely hot.”
Oh God. Her stomach swooped, and her flustered state wasn’t helped by the sound of Jessica trying to stifle a laugh beside her.
As if he’d just realized where they were, a frown appeared between his eyes. “You’re leaving already?”
“I’m leaving.” Jessica patted Olivia on the arm. “My sister is making sure I get back safely.”
“I’ll walk back with you.” Unlike their previous interactions, this time when he looked at her, he seemed hesitant, unsure. “If that’s okay?”
“Thank you.”
They set off toward the hotel. Around them were the sounds of holidaymakers laughing, the hum of music from bars, but among the three of them there was silence.
“Where are Luca and Ned?” There, she’d said something.
He looked confused. “They’re in the bar already. You didn’t see them?”
“It’s heaving in there.” Plus she’d spent most of the time sitting the corner like a wallflower.
“Yeah, it’s a popular spot.”
More silence. It felt all wrong, and she had an awful feeling it was her fault. She’d turned this confident man into someone who was unsure of his footing around her.
“How long did you say you’d been here?” Jessica asked, picking up the conversational baton.
“Came out last week.”
The rest of the walk was taken up with Jessica firing questions at him. Connor was polite, engaged, but there was a distance that Olivia knew she’d created.
“Well, this is me,” Jessica said as she stood by the lift. “I’ll be raring to go again tomorrow once bump and I have had a solid eight hours.” She gave Olivia a hug. “Night, Liv.” She turned to Connor and hesitated, then laughed and hugged him too. “Good night, Connor. Thanks for the escort service.”
He raised an eyebrow. “My pleasure, just, you know, maybe next time say that a bit quieter?”
Jessica looked confused for a beat before realizing what she’d said and blushing. “Oh God, I’m going to blame my red face on hormones.” The lift dinged and she escaped into it, gave them both a little wave as the doors closed.
Immediately the air fizzed with awareness, like the cracking, low-level hum of an electricity pylon.
Connor rubbed the back of his neck, causing the front of his T-shirt to lift and drawing her gaze to a strip of tanned, flat abdomen. And a sexy arrow of soft brown hair. “Are you heading back to the Gaslight?” he asked after a few beats.
