Persuading Spring: A Sexy New Zealand Romance (The Four Seasons Book 4) (10 page)

They were never going to grow rich on the
proceeds of their business, but the two of them loved the small town
atmosphere, the tiny but loyal client base, and being part of the lives of
those in the beautiful bay. Could he give it all up and move to the city?
Wellington was a pleasant capital, small and thriving, but Aaron wasn’t a city
lad. He’d grown up in the bay, and his parents and his sister and her family
all lived nearby. The city was noisy, smelly, and dirty, and he loved spending
the evenings and the weekends he wasn’t travelling out fishing on his small
boat with his two dogs. Could he give that up?

He pushed the thought away. No point in
running before he could walk. The courts might rule that Nita had the right to
take Mateo back to Spain. Combine that with the fact that Bridget might spend a
few days up here and then decide that what she’d felt for him had been born out
of the drama of the day, and there would be no reason for him to ever visit
Wellington again.

And now he’d depressed himself for the
second time in as many minutes. He pictured her smile when she’d asked him if
it was crazy that she’d wanted to see him again, and he’d replied
If it is,
then I’m crazy too.
Not everything was about forever. He had to learn to
live for today and make the most of the gifts he was given.

Unbidden, a picture of the lacy underwear
that Bridget had been wearing beneath her gown sprung into his mind.
Yeah,
he thought, his mouth watering at the notion of her wearing something similar
under her sweater and jeans.
Gifts like that.

His lips curving up, he walked into the
waiting area and called for Mrs. Lyttle to come in.

When Aaron turned up at Jacaranda Lodge
just after six o’clock, Bridget was sitting out the front on a white bench,
waiting for him.

He was walking rather than driving, so she
guessed he must live nearby. Her heart started to race when she caught sight of
him, but she made herself stay sitting until he’d reached the bench, at which
point she rose to greet him.

“Hi,” she said, trying not to sound
breathless. It didn’t work. She was excited to see him, and she didn’t think
there was much point in hiding it after the smile he’d given her when she’d
turned up at his surgery.

Then, he’d worn a white coat over jeans,
and she’d been taken aback by how much younger he’d looked, maybe because he’d
shaved, or maybe because he was back in the place he obviously felt most
comfortable. Standing there with the boxer in his arms, he’d looked relaxed and
content, and she’d felt a flutter in her stomach as she’d watched him consoling
the dog, his large hands gentle and his voice deep as he’d hummed to it.

Now he looked different again—he’d ditched
his work coat and wore a black padded jacket unzipped to show a
blue-and-white-checked shirt.

“You look nice,” she said.

He laughed. “It’s me who should be paying
compliments.”

“Even so. You looked quite… um… rough and
ready in Wellington.”

He fingered his chin. “Oh, yeah, I hadn’t
shaved. Sorry about that.”

“You look… younger.” And even more
gorgeous, she was going to add, but thought she’d better not overdo it.

He gave a wry smile, his gaze slipping down
her. “And you look amazing in your own dry clothes.”

She laughed. “Thank you.”

He offered her his arm. “Now the
formalities are over with, shall we?”

“Why not?” Shyly, she slipped her hand
through his arm, and they began to walk down the road.

“So how’s your week been?” he asked.

“Good. I stayed in Auckland, then took my
time driving up to the Northland. I went over to the Hokianga, up to Cape
Reinga, and then down to Doubtless Bay. I haven’t done much except drive and
walk and just… be, I suppose. I needed that. You were right—time helps. Somehow,
I ended up here.”

“I wondered whether you’d call me from
Kerikeri to come and pick you up.”

“I wanted to surprise you.”

“You did. It was a nice surprise.”

“I’m glad. I did wonder whether you’d take
one look me and say ‘Jesus, I didn’t mean it.’”

“I meant it. And I’m damned glad you came.”
He smiled. “What did your family say when you said you were coming?”

“‘I think it’s a wonderful idea, and I hope
you have a great time.’”

He laughed. “I can’t imagine Hitch saying
that.”

“You’ve only spoken to him once, and
clearly you’ve already got the full measure of him!” She sighed. “He wasn’t too
happy about me going away on my own, but he realized I need some time to
reassess everything.”

“Did he know you were coming to see me?”

“I said I might call by. To be honest, it
wasn’t until this morning that I made up my mind to come. In the end, I thought
I’d wait to see your reaction, and if you looked alarmed or worried, I’d say I
was just passing through.”

“Did I look alarmed or worried?”

Her cheeks warmed. “No.”

He chuckled. “Good. So… what did you get up
to this afternoon?”

“I went to the church.” She gestured at the
white building as they passed it. “I didn’t realize it’s the oldest existing
church in New Zealand.”

“Yeah, it’s our
taonga
. Our
treasure,” he clarified at her puzzled look.

“Oh. I saw the bullet holes from the Maori
Wars and read about some of Russell’s history. I can’t even begin to pronounce
the old name for it.”

“Koro-ra-reka.” He broke it down for her
and nodded when she repeated it. “It used to be the capital of New Zealand in
the 1840s. It means sweet penguin—and that’s the name of the restaurant we’re
going to now.”

“Oh really?” She laughed. “That’s
wonderful. I do love it here—the bay is beautiful.”

“You can see why people say it’s like
paradise.”

“Definitely.” The Bay of Islands was her
favorite place she’d visited so far. She’d driven into the bustling town of
Kerikeri to check it out before heading toward Paihia on the coast. Everything
looked sub-tropical, from the brighter-than-bright sunshine, to the palm trees
that lined the roads, to the fact that it was a few degrees warmer than
Wellington. Everyone here was already in shorts and T-shirts in spite of the
fact that it was technically still spring.

Paihia looked like a pretty seaside town
with the added bonus that it sat right on the edge of the bay and had a
magnificent outlook across the Pacific to the islands in the distance. There
were passenger ferries between Paihia and Russell, but she’d driven a few miles
further south to a car ferry at Opua. The road had wound along the coast beside
the sparkling ocean, and when she’d boarded the ferry, she’d gotten out of the
car to let the wind blow through her hair as she’d leaned over the side and
watched the fish swimming beneath her.

It was all very beautiful, and she knew she
was going to have fun exploring the area, but she couldn’t deny to herself that
the glow she felt inside wasn’t due to the beauty of the scenery. The reason
her heart had lifted walked beside her, talking about the fish he’d caught the
previous weekend when he’d been out on his boat.

She cast him a glance, conscious of his
hard biceps beneath her fingers. His gentle, unimposing manner made it easy to
forget he was several inches taller and wider than her. Taller and wider than
Mal. She liked that.

He looked down and caught her watching him,
and his talk about the best bait for snapper trailed off. “Sorry. I forget that
not everyone likes fishing.”

“Don’t apologize. I wasn’t bored. I was
just… looking.”

He chuckled. “Look all you like. As long as
I can look back.”

A touch of heat simmered in his eyes, and
it made her mouth go dry. She wasn’t used to men looking at her with desire.
She’d once read that when a person has a partner, they gave off different
signals from when they were alone. Presumably, for years she’d been
subconsciously telling men she was unavailable, and it had been a long time
since her relationship with Mal had sparkled with excitement. Having a man
slide his gaze down her in a way that suggested he was wondering what she
looked like without her clothes gave her a flutter in her stomach she hadn’t
felt for a long time.

Liking the feeling, she lifted her face to
the early evening air. The spring breeze played with her hair, and the sun
warmed her face. The sweet aroma of caramel from the nearby ice cream parlor
mingled with the smell of the sea. Seagulls cried as they wheeled above her
head, and laughter spilled out from the restaurants and cafés where people were
heading for their evening meal. A feeling of peace settled over her that she
wouldn’t have had in Wellington, where the noise of traffic never ceased, even
into the night.

“Here we are.” He stopped outside the Sweet
Penguin, a restaurant on The Strand. He gestured for her to precede him, so she
walked up the steps and through the door. “I hope you like seafood,” he said,
following her in. “But if you don’t, they do offer some alternatives.”

“I love seafood.” She paused as a waitress
approached with a smile. “I think we might have a reservation under…” She
hesitated, embarrassed to realize she couldn’t remember his surname. Had he
told her at all?

“Reed,” he said easily.

“Of course. Please come this way.” The
waitress led them to a table out on the deck. A balustrade separated it from
the quiet road and beyond that, the sandy beach and then the sea. A deck heater
stood nearby for when the temperature dropped, but at the moment it was
pleasantly warm, the perfect place to eat out on a first date.

If it was a date. Bridget wasn’t sure she
should call it that, even in her head. Aaron was her friend—she’d leave it at
that for a moment.

They sat, and the waitress handed them a
menu, then left them for a while to make up their minds.

“Mmm, this all sounds wonderful.” Bridget
scanned the list of fish and seafood dishes. “I think I’ll have a grilled Jalapeno
tuna steak. That sounds amazing.”

“It does. I’ll have the same. That was
easy.” He smiled, put the menu to one side, and leaned on the table to study
her. “How are you, anyway?”

She placed her menu on his. “I’m okay. I
get a feeling of unreality every now and again. I’ve been with Mal so long that
I can’t quite believe we’re not together anymore. You know what it’s like when
you’re with someone—your whole life is plotted out ready for you—engagement,
marriage, house, babies… I thought I had it all figured out. Turns out I wasn’t
even close.” She gave a wry twist to her lips.

His reply was halted by the arrival of the
waitress, so he had to wait until they’d given their orders and she’d moved
away again before he replied.

“Yeah, been there done that.” He rolled his
eyes. “Life has a way of biting you in the arse just when you think you’ve got
it all sorted.”

“It does. I suppose we have to see it as a
learning curve. I mean, I wonder if you would have been so sympathetic with me
if you hadn’t been through it yourself?”

“True. Maybe not. So I wonder what poor
soul you’re supposed to help out with the knowledge you’ve gained from your
experience?”

She laughed. “I don’t think I’ll be giving
anyone lessons in relationships, unless it’s in what not to do.”

He frowned. “You speak like you think what
happened is your fault.”

“Well, I have to bear some of the blame for
being an idiot.”

“No you don’t, Bridget, and it makes me
angry to hear you say that.”

She pursed her lips. He had a gleam in his
eye that gave her shivers all the way down to her toes.
Ooh.
“Well, we
wouldn’t want that, would we?”

She held his gaze for a long moment, her
heart racing. Gradually, the glint in his eye faded and his lips curved up.

At that moment, the waitress arrived and
gave them their drinks. Bridget had decided to have something different and had
asked for a cocktail. The Watermelon Coconut Refresher had just the right
amount of tequila and lime, as if they’d managed to squeeze summer into a
glass.

“It’s so much warmer up here,” she said.

“I know. We always used to say summer
started on Labour Day. Now, it seems to start and end later, and spring goes on
for a lot longer.” He’d taken off his jacket and shivered, which amused her, as
it felt like an early summer day to her. “So, Hitch wasn’t too happy about you
coming up here. I’m sorry about that.”

She shrugged. “Sometimes he thinks he’s my
father. It’s nice that he’s worried about me, but he forgets I’m grown up. I
mean, yeah, I make mistakes—huge ones, often—but it is my choice. He has to
learn to let go.”

“It must be hard for him, though. I
understand that he’s wary about you coming up here. He doesn’t know me, and
he’s going to think the worst.”

“Mmm. He thinks you’re going to seduce me
and ravage me.” She blinked as his eyes widened. “Sorry, did I say that out
loud?”

He laughed. “That cocktail must be strong.”

“I’m sorry.” Exhilaration swept through
her. She was in a place where nobody knew her, and nobody was going to make
judgments about her. No one here knew her past—they had no idea about what had
happened with Mal, and they wouldn’t know or care about her background or what
sort of person she was. She didn’t have to maintain her reputation; she didn’t
have to answer to anyone. If she wanted to, she could take ten lovers over the next
week and nobody would ever know.

Not that she was planning on doing that.
Having only ever slept with one man, the notion of taking off her clothes in
front of another gave her palpitations, but it was fun to fantasize.

Her eyes met Aaron’s. He’d sat back in his
chair, one arm slung over the back, and he was surveying her with amusement
after her comment about being ravaged. She had the feeling that he was having
fun fantasizing too.

His slate-gray eyes started a warmth in her
belly, and it gradually spread up to her breasts and pooled between her legs as
he continued to study her. He was looking at her as if she were the only woman
in the restaurant. He looked captivated, his eyes telling her that he desired
her, and she knew at that moment that if she asked to go back to his place, he
was going to say yes.