Page 43 of Italy and Forever

‘Oh, fu-u-u-uck!’ She slammed on the brakes, alarmed when the tyres didn’t grip as quickly as she’d expected on the damp bitumen. She hauled the steering wheel around to avoid the carnage ahead, causing the Fiat to bounce off the barrier and perform a disturbing, slippery turn before the hire car finally came to a stop safely on the hard shoulder.

Her exhale was more of a wheeze and she wasn’t sure how to unclamp her fingers from around the steering wheel.

‘Ginny.’

The way Rhys said her name washed over her with the leach of adrenaline and her jaw wobbled. Breathing out between pursed lips, she ignored her rapid heartbeat as her head cleared.

‘Ginny.’

One moment, she was plagued with images of what could have been, their car mangled on the autobahn, and the next, her senses roared to life as Rhys’s fingertips lifted her face – and his lips found hers in a scorching kiss.

Ohmygodohmygodohmygod.

Nothing coherent formed in her head until wow. His mouth was hot and firm, kissing her as though he had no other choice. His hands grasped her face, fingers tightening in her hair.

‘You did so well,’ he whispered between kisses. ‘That was some great driving. You kept both of us safe. It was amazing.’

With an abortive groan, he tilted his head and kissed her deeply. Her thoughts and feelings scattered and only after several moments did she catch up with the fact that Rhys’s bottom lip was between hers, and her skin – her whole body – was on fire.

Her hands came up involuntarily, one gripping his woollen sweater and the other stealing around his neck as she opened her mouth on his. There was no self-consciousness; she was so absorbed in the unexpected familiarity of having him close, holding him there until she worked out what this magic was that closed down her brain and fired up her body.

He held her still. She’d suspected he would be a good kisser, but this was… exhilarating, his lips dragging over hers, the needy touch of his tongue.

There was no way to misinterpret this kiss.

As though the world had flipped upside down in an instant, her picture of him became clear. Her eyes flew open. As soon as she stilled he drew back quickly, his expression shuttered, and shifted in his seat. His exhale was heavy, his jaw tight. She wondered when his weathered skin and wary blue eyes had imprinted on her brain, because she could envisage this expression when she closed her eyes.

She opened her mouth, but she couldn’t decide what to say, between, ‘Where did that come from?’ and, ‘Can we do it again?’

So, he was attracted to her. She knew it didn’t mean they were soulmates. She was taking a serious break from all that stuff. But maybe now she could admit to herself how badly she was attracted to him in return. But he’d been the one to pull away.

‘Um,’ she began, not very promisingly.

A knock on the window of the car made her jump and she found a man in a blue uniform and a jaunty hat peering expectantly at her. She lowered the window, wondering if she was correctly interpreting the disapproving glint in his eye. Imagining the police officer had seen them making out made her want to laugh.

‘Hello, officer,’ she said brightly. She felt rather than saw Rhys gritting his teeth and shaking his head next to her.

Ginny stared at the deepening sky to the east as she perched on the bonnet of the scratched and dented pink Fiat. She didn’t want to know what time it was. The iron clouds had made it feel like evening for hours as the police and emergency vehicles had cleared the road and the hire-car company had held internal meetings or performed ritual magic or whatever they had to do to process Ginny’s request for a replacement car.

Thankfully, no one had been hurt in the accident, although the two other drivers had walked into a pair of ambulances to be checked at hospital. A paramedic had asked Ginny and Rhys a series of questions – that Ginny had answered in as much of a daze as she’d described events to the police – to determine that they were uninjured. After several hours at the side of the autobahn, she was growing cold and thirsty and her insides felt like jelly.

Worse than all of that, Rhys had barely looked at her the whole time. He seemed determined to pretend he’d never grabbed her and kissed her, while that memory alone was keeping Ginny warm at this point.

She didn’t hide her glances in his direction. He did notice her. She’d always… felt that, but then he’d be cold and distant with her and she’d gaslighted herself into thinking he looked right through her. But he didn’t. He’d kissed her. The gleeful, romantic part of her heart that she was trying not to indulge insisted he’d wanted to kiss her for some time.

‘I thought the hire-car company would be faster than the police,’ he commented absently as the last blue-and-white hatchback pulled out.

‘I’m never using this company again,’ Ginny grumbled, propping one foot up on the bumper and hugging it to herself.

‘Cold?’

‘Why?’ she asked, shooting him a glance. ‘Are you offering to keep me warm?’

The grumble from his throat was eloquent. ‘Ginny,’ he began, his tone tight, but she wasn’t interested in a brush-off.

‘Don’t put this on me. You’re the one who kissed me and are now acting as though you’d rather throw yourself off the edge of the autobahn than spend any more time with me.’

He swallowed thickly, the bob of his throat visible.