“No, I’m fine.”
The summer night was warm, and Carole was still flushed from the fun of the evening. As she stood beside Tom and leaned back against the stone wall, his body so close to hers, the last thing she felt was cold.
Out here on this quiet country road, there were no streetlamps and although the taxi’s headlights continued to glow further back along the road, the darkness of the summer night fell around them like a gentle cloak. The night was clear and a billion stars spun across the sky. The spectacle of the heavens above was awe-inspiring.
“It’s a beautiful night,” Carole said, her head tilting back farther and farther as she took in the stars and galaxies that twinkled overhead. “We would’ve missed this if the tyre hadn’t blown.”
“You’re right. This is really something.”
They stood side-by-side for a long moment, gazing at the miracle of the night sky. An owl hooted somewhere in the trees that lined the other side of the road, and the sound of a fox barking echoed in the distance.
The brilliant star-filled sky, the sweet night air, and the wild sounds around them worked together to cast a spell. Carole dropped her gaze from the starry universe and found Tom’s eyes on her.
There was no mistaking now the look in his eyes.
And Carole knew there would be no mistaking the look in her own eyes, either.
A long beat passed between them, and Carole’s skin tingled with anticipation. She slid her hand into Tom’s and pulled him closer, her heart racing and her breath shallow.
When he lowered his head and his mouth found hers, it felt like every star in the night sky exploded in a spectacular supernova.
It was a kiss for the ages, and one that Carole felt in every cell in her body.
She didn’t know how long the kiss lasted. It might have been seconds or hours. But a sudden wave of clarity swept through her as if she was watching herself from above, watching herself pressing against Tom’s body as he kissed her and she kissed him…
… and with that clarity came horrified understanding.
Carole drew back, gasping for air and for her senses. “I’m sorry, Tom! I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
Tom blinked, dazed. “Uh, sorry, I didn’t mean to, er…”
“It’s my fault,” she interrupted. “I got carried away. The wedding, the wine, the starlight, the two of us stuck here in the dark on the side of the road. We… we’reneighbours, Tom. We can’t mess around like this.”
The dazed look cleared from his expression and he shifted away from her, slowly nodding as he ran a hand across his chin. “Of course we shouldn’t. You’re right. We’re neighbours. Next-door neighbours. Kissing one another just complicates things, right?”
“Right.”
Tom didn’t look convinced, but Carole knew she was right to nip this in the bud. They’d let themselves get caught up in a passionate moment, and who could blame them, given the circumstances?
But Carole wasn’t prepared to let her mindless crush on this man spoil the new life she was trying to live.
Kissing Tom was fun—more than fun. It was… absolutely amazing.
But she was only a few weeks out of a long-term relationship, and Tom’s emotions were probably all over the place thanks to the fact that he’d just watched is ex-girlfriend marry another man.
The two of them hooking up had rebound fling written all over it.
And rebound flings always ended.
Which would leave her living next-door to a man with whom she’d had a stupidly ill-advised affair thanks to a heat-of-the-moment mistake.
A heat-of-the-moment mistake she could avoid by not kissing him any more than she already had.
They stood beneath the starlight, watching one another warily, awkwardly. Carole tried of think of something to say, but her mind was blank.
Blank thanks to her stupid mistake and her cringing embarrassment and her aching regret.
Movement further down the road caught her eye and she saw the taxi driver waving to catch their attention.
