‘You must have me confused with someone else,’ Susie said, taking the drink Amy placed on the bar before her and turning away.
‘I was sure that was her,’ Sharon mused as she stared after Susie, who’d not returned to her table, but had instead headed upstairs.
‘So, you reckon this new bloke would let us have a bit of a squiz around the place, then?’ George asked, dragging Jenny’s attention away from the staircase.
‘Oh. Yeah. I’m sure he would. How long are you here for?’
‘We’ve set up the van at the showground overnight. Thought we’d leave tomorrow sometime,’ George said, scratching at the stubble on his chin.
‘If you leave me your number, I can ask and let you know. Maybe you could drop by in the morning before you leave town?’ Jenny suggested.
‘Sounds good. What d’you reckon, love?’ George added, turning to his wife.
‘Tomorrow?’ she repeated sounding a little distracted, before nodding. ‘Yes, I suppose we could do that.’
Well, don’t sound too excited, Jenny thought sarcastically, mustering a smile for George as the pair turned and left. Jenny ordered her coffee, adding a slice of lemon meringue pie, and made some general chit-chat with Amy, before sitting at a table to wait for Nick.
When he finally came in, dressed as usual in jeans and a T-shirt, Jenny realised she was ogling him before remembering she had a forkful of lemony tart halfway to her mouth. She quickly shoved it in.
‘Sorry. I got stuck talking. Why are you sitting out here? You could have gone upstairs to my room or the office,’ he said, stooping to plant a kiss on her lips. ‘Hmm, you taste incredible.’ His voice dropped an octave and her insides melted just a little bit more.
‘It’s the lemon meringue.’
‘Mixed with you. Have you finished?’ he asked, dropping his gaze to her mouth, making it suddenly difficult to remember how to swallow.
Managing a jerky nod, she pushed the plate away and got to her feet, allowing him to lead her upstairs. Outside the door to his suite, he bent his head and kissed her, this time with far more urgency and a lot less care about who might be watching. Jenny snaked her arms around his neck and kissed him back. She would never get sick of kissing this man—ever. It was like a drug.
‘Oh. Sorry.’
The words spilled over Jenny like a bucket of ice and Nick stilled, lifting his head to look over his shoulder at his sister.
‘Don’t mind me. Please, continue—I mean, clearly no one has a business to run around here or anything.’ The fading sound of heels on the staircase filled the silence.
Jenny pushed against Nick’s chest until he loosened his hold and she stepped away.
‘Don’t worry about her,’ Nick said.
‘She’s right. It’s the middle of the day!’
‘So?’
Jenny knew she sounded prissy and, for some reason, Nick seemed to enjoy teasing her whenever she did. Now was no exception. That slow, cocky smile slid across his face with annoying attractiveness and she knew there was no way she was going to be strong enough to resist him.
‘God, it feels like weeks since I’ve seen you,’ Nick said later as they lay tangled in the sheets, the sounds of everyday life in the street below, muted.
‘It’s only been a day.’
‘It’s too long.’
She’d have liked to disagree and tell him not to be ridiculous, but the truth was ithadfelt like forever since they’d seen each other. It was crazy how much she missed him when she wasn’t with him. But reality was beginning to raise its ugly head and she knew she needed to start getting ready for her shift.
‘I really have to go,’ she said, trying her best to sound firm but failing miserably as Nick continued to run kisses along her neck, making it near impossible to think straight, let alone summon the strength to leave.
‘Take a sick day.’
‘I can’t.’
‘Come on, the place is not going to fall down without you.’
