‘It was so nice meeting you,’ I lied to Natalie. ‘And seeing you again, Holly,’ I added, which was entirely true.
Natalie inclined her head slightly. ‘I’m sorry if I came across a little frosty,’ she said, ‘but as a parent you have to besocareful about who your child associates with.’
I nodded and gave a tight smile, as though the icicles in her glare hadn’t been the least bit uncomfortable. I didn’t exactly run towards the checkouts, but I walked fast enough to be out of breath by the time I got there.
*
‘I’m so sorry,’ Nick said, for what had to be the fourth time in just ten minutes. ‘She had no right to be rude to you.’ To be fair, I hadn’t once said that Nataliehadbeen rude. But perhaps that was his ex-wife’s default setting.
Nick ran a hand through his hair, which was already dishevelled from the strong westerly breeze blowing in from the sea. ‘I should have told her everything to begin with. It wasn’t fair of her to blame you for something that was entirely my fault.’
‘I’ve got broad shoulders,’ I said, with anit really doesn’t mattershrug. And I wasn’t exaggerating. With the amount of clothing I was wearing for our beach picnic, it was safe to say I had a broadeverything. Somewhere, several layers below the jumper, hoodie and thick fleecy jogging bottoms, there was a very small, insubstantial bikini. But every time I thought about peeling off my clothes to reveal it, I shivered, for reasons that might have absolutely nothing to do with the weather.
I was reliably informed that beneath his own warm clothes, Nick was also wearing something more suited for a heatwave than the biting chill of the wind we were currently experiencing.
‘I didn’t want to get you in trouble,’ I said, leaning forward to lift a few more food containers from the picnic hamper.
‘That’s not something you should have to worry about.’
Was that a very polite way of sayingyou need to mind your own business, I wondered?
‘I’ll have to find a way to make it up to you,’ Nick said with a smile, passing me the tray of olives. ‘To thank you properly.’
I plucked up a meaty kalamata olive and popped it into my mouth. ‘What you’re doing today more than squares us up.’ I burrowed a little deeper into the folds of my chunky jumper. ‘Although I’m really sorry about the weather. I had no idea it was going to be this bracing today.’
‘Is it cold?’ Nick asked, his eyes twinkling. ‘I never noticed.’
Warmth briefly flooded through me, despite the fact that the sun hadn’t even put in a passing appearance so far. I reached for the pair of oversized sunglasses I’d brought with me and slipped them on my nose, grateful that their lenses covered so much of my face. I’d always been hopeless at hiding my feelings.You’re an open book, Amelia used to say, which always struck me as a great description for an editor. But right now, I’d give anything to be just a little more mysterious.
Our lunch was every bit as delicious as I’d hoped it would be, and with the dedication of a magazine stylist I’d managed to create the image of a picture-perfect summer’s day. But the inviting picnic hamper and plaid blanket couldn’t disguise the fact that it was bloody freezing.
‘This is crazy,’ I said, as I saw Nick surreptitiously rubbing his hands together in an attempt to restore his circulation. My teeth were chattering against the plastic champagne flute, and I was probably spilling more Prosecco than was making it to my lips. ‘Let’s just call it a day and go back to my place.’
‘No. We’ve got this,’ Nick said. It was a phrase he’d used before, and I liked the feeling it always gave me, like I was in safe hands. He set down his plate of food and got to his feet, holding out his hands to me.
‘On your feet, Lexi Edwards. Let’s get you out of those clothes.’
As cold as it was, his words still had the power to ignite a small flame somewhere inside me.
‘Do you have much success with that line?’ I asked, going for humour because anything else felt way too dangerous.
‘Absolutely none.’
I might have continued the banter, but my train of thought was derailed as Nick peeled off his thick hoodie. With it came the T-shirt he had on beneath it, leaving him bare chested in the sharply biting March wind. I’d guessed he’d be muscular by the width of his shoulders, but the fine dark hair on his chest that arrowed down from his torso and disappeared into the waistband of the joggers was a surprise.
His hands went to the white drawstring cord and as hard as I tried, I couldn’t drag my eyes away as he undid the knot and began to tug them down. A muscle was throbbing so violently at the base of my throat he could probably see it, even across the width of the blanket between us.
‘You’re not chickening out on me, are you?’ Nick asked, looking up as he kicked his clothing to one side. He was wearing a pair of darkly patterned board shorts that sat low on his hips and clung to his thighs in the wind.
‘No, of course not,’ I said, suddenly embarrassed, because he must surely have seen me staring at him as though he was a present being unwrapped.Don’t you dare objectify him, I told myself sternly. Guilt is a powerful motivator and it had me pulling off my own clothes, several layers at once, until the pile of garments at my feet grew into a small mountain. I gasped when I pulled the T-shirt over my head and although I can’t be certain, I thought maybe Nick did too… or it might have just been the wind. I could feel the heat of his eyes on me as my joggers hit the pile, and for a second or two I felt the blaze of it on my bare limbs, but then the wind picked up again, sand-blasting our bare skin and making it impossible to think of anything except getting back into our clothes as quickly as possible.
I picked up my phone and ran over to a nearby low crop of rocks that I’d already checked out for suitability. Nick straightened up the picnic blanket, while I fumbled with the settings on my phone, setting a ten-second timer on the camera.
‘Are you ready?’ I called out to him, checking my mobile was securely propped up on the rock.
‘Just get over here, woman,’ he called back.
I was laughing as I ran towards him. We hadn’t discussed how we’d pose. But when he held out his arms to me, I fell straight into them. I clasped my hands together around his body and the smell, the feel, and the goddamn sexiness of him was so potent I almost forgot to turn to the camera and smile.
