Page 44 of Italy and Forever

‘It’s not fair, you know. You’re making me deal with this all on my own.’

‘I don’t even know what “this” is!’ he insisted. ‘I don’t want to give you the wrong idea.’

She whirled to face him, arm propped on the bonnet. ‘Because all of you at Great Heart – hell, at I Do as well – treat me as though I’m a fool. But I’m not. You don’t need to explain to me that this attraction between us isn’t soulmate stuff. I don’t expect you to fall on your knees and declare undying love. I’m truly not that stupid.’

‘You’re not stupid at all,’ he agreed vehemently. ‘But you are young – too young for me.’

‘You only like women with a few wrinkles and the fierceness of another decade of existing in a patriarchal society?’

He eyed her with a flash that warmed her. ‘Something like that.’

‘Why did you kiss me, then?’ she pushed.

This groan was full of frustration. ‘I shouldn’t have.’

‘That’s not an answer.’

He bit his lip and squinted up into the clouds, as though he could find the reason there. Ginny stared at his mouth, ruefully admitting to herself how much she wanted to kiss him again.

‘Let me answer for you,’ she continued, when he said nothing further. ‘You are attracted to me, but you don’t understand why, since I make you uncomfortable.’

‘No,’ he responded more quickly than she’d expected. ‘I’m uncomfortable with you because I’m attracted to you. I always have been.’

And whoosh. Her capacity for rational thought caught fire again. I always have been. Wow, that felt good. She didn’t even care that it was attraction and not anything deeper. She was happy enough knowing she got to him in some way.

‘But that’s not the same for you,’ he pointed out with a lift of his brow. ‘You don’t like me, and I’ve given you enough reasons for that.’

The question of whether she liked him or not was complex and she didn’t have the energy to engage with it right now. ‘Maybe it is the same for me,’ she replied thoughtfully.

‘It’s not.’ He gave a twitch of a rueful smile. ‘And that’s okay. It happens all the time. One person is attracted to another, but the interest isn’t returned. I can accept that.’

A laugh bubbled up in her chest. ‘Didn’t you notice me kissing you back?’ She gave him a pointed look. ‘You know, I kissed a guy once who told me I was overenthusiastic. Is that it? Did I kiss wrong?’

Her babbling seemed to pain him. ‘There was nothing wrong with that kiss.’

‘There you go,’ she said with satisfaction. ‘Nothing wrong. We can kiss rather well, I think. So, tell me why I’m too young for you.’

‘That’s very cute, Ginny, but you want a partner and a family and I’m not going anywhere near that again. I travel a lot. We should just forget about it.’

‘You’re not listening to me,’ she scolded him. ‘I’m taking a break from the search for a partner and family and I’m not suggesting we date.’

She’d never expected a thirty-nine-year-old man could be described as sweet, but the wary, surprised look under his sweep of hair was nothing short of adorable.

He sat up straighter. ‘Are you asking me to sleep with you?’

When he said it so baldly, the embarrassment did nestle in her chest, but the spike of adrenaline at the prospect counteracted it. She sucked in some air as she gathered the courage to respond. ‘You obviously want to. I think that cat is properly out of the bag now. I’m just telling you that I’d like to as well. No expectations – well, except maybe an orgasm, if you can manage that,’ she teased.

Biting her lip around her smile, Ginny was pleased with herself for saying it, marvelling at the surge of power it gave her to put these things out in the open. Rhys blinked at her, his mouth hanging open, and that was gratifying – until his eyes clouded.

‘Oh, fuck, I’ve come on too strong, haven’t I?’ she muttered. ‘Even when we’re just talking about something casual, I come on too strong!’

‘Ginny—’

She was relieved when two cars pulled up, one with a sharp beep of the horn. Rhys’s exasperated tone told her what she needed to know.

‘It must be true that being single at a wedding messes with your head,’ she grumbled. ‘Don’t worry. I’ve got the message. You don’t need to say anything more.’

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