LITMIR.BIZ

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at the thought of that kind of connection being established between Kate and Jesse at such a young age. He had a vague recollection of Jesse once mentioning a red-haired girl back home. What had he said? Something about an ongoing joke in the family that if he and the girl never found anyone else they could marry each other...

      Sam had found it amusing at the time. He didn’t find it amusing right now. How difficult would it be to break such a long-standing bond?

      ‘So that’s the embarrassing bit?’ he asked.

      Kate pulled a face. ‘It gets worse. When I was thirteen and he was fourteen we tried out our first ever kiss together. It was awkward and I ended up giggling so much it didn’t go far. But I guess in my childish heart that marked Jesse as someone special.’

      Jealousy seared through Sam at the thought of Jesse kissing Kate, even if they had been only kids. He was aware it was irrational—after all he hardly knew Kate—but it was there. It was real.

      He had to clear his throat to speak. ‘So you dated?’

      She shook her head so vehemently her hair swung over her face. ‘Never. We both dated other people. As teenagers, we cried on each other’s shoulders when things went wrong. As adults, we lived our own lives. Until...’

      Her brow creased as though she were puzzling out loud. ‘Until a few years ago—I don’t know why—I started to think Jesse might be the one for me. After all, everyone else thought so. I developed quite a crush on him.’

      ‘So what’s so embarrassing about that?’

      She paused. ‘Three days ago we kissed—at my suggestion.’

      Now that jealousy turned into something that seethed in his gut. He’d always prided himself on being laid-back, slow to anger. He felt anything but laid-back at the thought of her in another man’s arms, even one of his friends. Especially one of his friends.

      ‘And?’ His hands were fisted.

      ‘Crush completely over. It was an utter disaster. So wrong that words can’t describe it. And I speak for him as well as for me.’

      Sam’s fists slowly uncurled.

      ‘So Jesse doesn’t want you as more than a friend?’

      ‘Heavens, no!’ Her voice had an undertone of almost hysterical relief. ‘We could hardly wait to make our getaways. And we succeeded in avoiding each other until we met in the restaurant earlier today.’

      ‘It seemed awkward between you. Tense.’

      ‘At first. But it’s okay now. We’ve been friends for so long, seems we can both laugh it off as a monumental mistake and move on.’

      With no more kissing, if Sam had anything to do with it.

      He stepped closer to her. This time he did reach out and smooth an auburn curl from falling over her cheek. She started but didn’t step away and he tucked it behind her ear before letting his hand drop back to his side. They stood as close as they could without actually touching.

      ‘So Jesse’s right out of the picture,’ he said. ‘Is there anyone else?’

      Anyone else he had to fight for her?

      Her face was half in shadow, half in the dim light coming from the boathouse. ‘No one,’ she said. ‘I...I haven’t dated for quite some time.’ She paused. ‘What about you? Question number three: is there any special lady in your life?’

      ‘I was engaged to a long-term girlfriend. But no one special since that ended.’

      He’d smarted for months at the way the engagement had been terminated, the wedding cancelled. In fact, he’d been so gutted he’d taken off to India to get away from the fallout. With perspective, he could see ending the engagement had been the right decision. But, while the wounds had healed, he had been wary of getting involved with anyone. Now he was ready. His ex had moved on, but he hadn’t met a woman who had interested him. Until now.

      ‘Oh,’ she said. ‘Would it count as question number four if I asked about what happened—or would that be part of question number three?’

      He grinned. ‘I’ll allow it as part two of question three—but it might have to wait until I have more time to answer it.’

      ‘I’m okay with that,’ she said with a return of her dimples.

      The last thing he wanted to do was scare Kate off. He had never before experienced this instant attraction to a woman. He had to work through how he handled it.

      Kate was so obviously not the kind of woman for a no-strings fling. It wasn’t what he wanted either. But his previous relationships had started off slowly with attraction growing. He understood how that worked, not this immediate flaming that might just burn itself out in a matter of days. The kind of flaming that had seen his parents trapped in an unhappy marriage, the consequences of which he had been forced to endure.

      That aside, he realised Kate might not feel the same way as he did. If he wanted to get to know her, he knew he had to take things carefully.

      ‘Before Jesse came into the restaurant, I was about to ask you out on a date,’ he said. ‘What would you have said?’

      ‘I...I... You’ve taken me by surprise. I would have said—’

      Just then the door of the boathouse opened, flooding them with further light. Ben peered through the door and called out. ‘Hey, Kate, what are you doing out there? You warned us all to be on time or suffer dire consequences and now you’re running late.’

      Kate immediately stepped back from Sam so fast she nearly tripped. ‘I’m coming!’ she called in Ben’s direction.

      Sam cursed under his breath at the interruption. He wanted to shout at Ben to get lost.

      Kate looked back up at Sam. ‘Sam, I...’

      But Ben was now heading towards them. He caught sight of Sam. ‘Sam. Mate. I didn’t see you there. Come on in.’

      Sam groaned. Kate looked up at him in mute appeal. He shrugged wordlessly in a gesture of frustration. But not defeat; he would get Kate’s reply sooner rather than later.

      Then he was swept along into the boathouse with Kate, Ben walking between them like an old-fashioned chaperone.

      * * *

      An hour later, Kate was pleased at how well the meeting had gone. Everyone who needed to be there had been there—except for Sandy’s sister who lived in Sydney, and her five-year-old daughter who was to be the flower girl. Plans had been finalised, timetables tweaked. Now the bridal party had been joined by a few other friends. Snack platters from the hotel kitchen had arrived and the barbecue was being fired up. There wasn’t much more she could do to ensure the wedding went to plan on Saturday.

      If only she hadn’t been so darned conscious of Sam the entire time. It had been more than a tad distracting. She’d found herself struggling to remember important facts, her mind too occupied with Sam. But no one seemed to have noticed the lapse from her usual efficiency.

      She just hoped they hadn’t noticed the way she’d found herself compelled to check on him every few minutes. He’d met her glances with a smile, even a wink that had made her smother a laugh. It was only too obvious he was bored by the details of the wedding meeting. He’d crossed his long legs and uncrossed them. He’d not-so-subtly checked his mobile phone. He’d even nodded off for a few minutes until Ben had shoved him awake.

      But she hadn’t had a moment alone with him since they’d been interrupted on the beach.

      She’d been just about to say yes to Sam’s suggestion of a date. But would it really be a good idea?

      Her fears screamed no. Just the light touch of his fingers on her cheek had practically sent her hurtling to the stars. She’d never felt such strong attraction so quickly. She was terrified that it might lead her into the kind of obsession that had nearly

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