Page 68 of The Sugar and Spice Bookshop Bakery

‘I guess. But I don’t feel like tea.’ She sighs.

‘What do you feel like?’

There’s a stillness in the air that hangs heavy between them.

‘I’d like us to… resume where we left off?’ Louise asks slowly. She examines his face, wondering if he wants that too.

‘I see,’ he says. ‘Where were we exactly?’

Louise gulps. ‘I think we were heading into my bedroom.’

He takes her hand. ‘Lead the way.’

She walks into her bedroom, quickly assessing how tidy – or rather how untidy – it is. She grabs a stack of paperbacks off the bed, dumping them onto the floor. There’s a pair of discarded jeans on the carpet which haven’t yet made their way into the washing basket, and she picks those up too, shoving them into the wardrobe. ‘I er… wasn’t expecting a visitor.’

‘No judgment from me,’ Jack says. ‘I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I’m not exactly the tidiest of people.’

Her legs are shaking. Her hands are trembling. ‘It’s been a while since I …’

‘We can just have a cuddle. If that’s what you want.’

That isn’t what she wants, but she doesn’t say so.

‘We really should get out of these wet clothes though,’ he says. ‘I don’t know about you, but I’m cold. Could do with a nice hot shower.’

‘How about we have one together?’

‘If you like.’

‘Okay.’ She opens the bottom drawer of her chest and grabs some clean towels.

Jack follows her out of the bedroom and into the bathroom next door. Is he as nervous as she is? He doesn’t look it.

He peels off his jumper and then his jeans, revealing nothing underneath.

Louise glances at him, not liking to stare, but can’t stop herself from asking, ‘Do you always go commando?’

He laughs. ‘Only on days when I can’t find a clean pair of boxers. I put everything in the washing machine yesterday and forgot to turn it on.’

She grins. ‘Sounds like the sort of thing I would do.’

‘Yeah, well, I’ve been a bit distracted recently. What with Babbo and his medical problems, and building the book nooks, and…’ He looks rueful. ‘And thinking of you.’ Louise can’t help but smile. ‘Now are you going to turn that shower on or what? I’m freezing here.’

Still wearing her clothes, Louise reaches into the cubicle and turns the shower on, praying that the old boiler doesn’t choose today of all days to play up. ‘There you go.’

‘You not coming in?’ he says.

‘Yeah, you go first.’

She waits till he’s inside. The glass is already steaming up, which she’s grateful for, suddenly feeling shy at the thought of getting undressed. She strips off quickly, putting her clothes in a neat pile on the floor, then she opens the cubicle door and steps inside.

Jack has his back to her, his face angled up so that the hot water runs directly onto it. It’s the tiniest of showers, and Louise has no choice but to squidge up against him. Streams of warm water snake their way down her skin. He turns, pushing her up against the glass, and she gasps at its sudden coldness.

‘Are you okay?’ he murmurs, steadying her.

Louise flushes. ‘I don’t think I’m a “having sex in the shower” kind of person.’

He laughs, tenderly brushing wet hair out of her eyes. ‘Then we won’t have sex in the shower.’