The thought momentarily distracted him. When had he decided that? Not that he’d intended to be something casual, but the wrongness of the idea made him realise that, at some point, Jenny had become important to him. A relationship had not been on the cards for him, not until he knew his business was up and running. He’d always been so focused and driven, making certain nothing distracted him from what he wanted to do, but that had changed and he wasn’t sure why.
He forced himself to get back on topic. ‘I know you think this is a bad idea. I get that you’ve had a good reason to steer clear of men and you’ve been focusing on your kids and your job, but I can’t help but think it’s such a bloody waste forsomeone as amazing as you to be sitting out life just because you’re worried about what everyone else might think. You deserve more than that.’
He saw the surprise in her eyes and pressed on quickly. ‘I don’t want to pressure you into something you’re not ready for. I just want you to give this thing between us a go. See if it is—or could be—anything. You’ve got too much to offer to bury yourself at home.’
The way he looked at her—so honest and intently, made Jenny’s breath catch.
‘I just don’t see how this could wor—’ Her protest was cut short as he leaned in and kissed her. It was nothing more than his lips gently probing hers, but the action sent a lightning bolt throughout her body. Her hands went to his shirt, bunching it up in her fingers as she fought to find some kind of hold against the rush of emotions racing through her. She tried to think of all the logical arguments she’d been prepared to make moments before, but she couldn’t recall a single one. Instead, she found herself kissing him back.
For the longest time, she forgot where and who they were and simply allowed herself to be swept away in the moment. How long had it been since she’d been kissed like this?
Like this?a little voice queried doubtfully.Never.
Maybe when she’d been young and blissfully in love, kissing Austin had felt like this, but that had been a long time ago … a very long time ago. They’d stopped doing a lot of thingsover the years and kissing had been one of the first, other than a quick peck goodbye. She wasn’t even surewhenthey’d stopped kissing.
As they parted, Jenny found herself staring up into two lazily satisfied eyes.
‘It seems toworkjust fine,’ Nick said, gently smiling down at her.
She couldn’t very well disagree, not when her heart was still beating against her chest like some frantic trapped animal. Maybe that’s what had just happened—she’d realised too late that she was trapped. He’d proven her body, at least, knew what it wanted, despite what her common sense was saying.
‘Come back to my place tonight,’ he said, his voice husky.
She opened her mouth to say no but found only silence.
Nick clearly decided that wasn’t an outright no and helped her into the car.
The music played softly as he drove. Neither of them really spoke. There was a definite tension in the air—not an awkward one; this one crackled with electricity. Was she seriously considering this?
As they arrived in town, Nick looked across at her. ‘My place?’
For the life of her she couldn’t say no, she simply gave him a small nod and let out a shaky breath.
