quickly covering her lips with mine. Moving her back towards the work surface, I half-lifted her up. Pushing her thighs apart, our bodies melded together.
“Is this real?” Jamie whispered in my ear.
“Very,” I whispered against her lips. Cupping the side of her face, I kissed her, running the tip of my tongue along her bottom lip, seeking entrance. She tasted of red wine and chocolate. The warmth of her touch was mind-blowing. I could feel the blood rushing from my brain in favour of other more important areas.
Jamie pulled back briefly to whisper, “Would you like to stay over?”
Hearing those words spill from her mouth brought me back to reality. I so wanted to but the fear had set in – the ifs and buts. I knew from my short time with Jamie that I could very easily get lost in her.
“I’d love to, but … I can’t … I need to finish off some work and email it off to James tonight. I’m sorry.”
I saw the look of hurt in her eyes. I felt awful. I’d led her on only to let her down. It wasn’t that I didn’t want her; I just needed to take a step back, think it through. She definitely didn’t seem the fling type; no one lays down this much ground work for a one-night stand. What did that mean for me, especially as we had to work together?
I stepped back, leaving her sat on the worktop. “Are you free for lunch tomorrow, say one o’clock?” I asked hopefully. I didn’t know what I wanted long-term, but I knew I didn’t want it to end like this.
“I could be,” she finally said. She looked a little brighter at my invitation.
“I’ll pick you up,” I offered.
Stepping closer again, I noticed her hands were firmly gripping the worktop this time. I kissed her softly on the lips. “Good night and thank you for a lovely evening.”
I quietly closed the front door behind me before slipping into my car. Looking back at the neat cottage as the outside light flicked off, I hoped I’d be clearer in my intentions the next time I visited Jamie.
Arriving back at my hotel, I did a bit of surfing, looking for a good restaurant we could walk to from Jamie’s place. I figured Saturday lunchtime was going to be a pretty busy time. Luckily, I managed to call and make a reservation ready for our next meeting – or date, if that’s what it was. It felt like a date. We had never actually used that word but it was pretty clear to me what it was. And this would be our fourth meeting, if you count the burying of the hatchet, the night walk and tonight’s meal. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been on so many dates, especially with the same person. Now I just needed to figure out what I wanted from all this.
Chapter 7
Pressing the doorbell, I felt the nerves begin to jangle again. I quickly wiped my moist palms on my thighs before the door opened fully.
“Hello there!” Her voice was warm and kind.
“Hey!” I stepped inside, pushing the door closed behind me.
“I just need to find my shoes. Where are we going exactly?”
“Piccolino’s. It’s meant to be good?” I half questioned.
“It is. I took my parents there when they visited a few months ago.”
Watching her walk off down the hall, dressed in hipster jeans and a short, red, checked shirt, she looked amazing. I reached out, grasping her hand as it swung towards me. She turned at my touch, a half-smile on her lips. Using my free hand, I cupped the side of her face.
“I’m sorry about last night. I promise I don’t make a habit of declining such an invitation.”
“Good, because I don’t make a habit of giving them out.”
Touché. I hoped I was up to this challenge. “I’ll try and remember that.” I kissed her tenderly, sucking on her bottom lip before she slipped from my grasp. I glanced around the bright hallway as I waited. My eyes fell on the watercolour again near the bottom of the stairs.
“Where’s this?” I asked as Jamie reappeared from the
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