Persuading Spring: A Sexy New Zealand Romance (The Four Seasons Book 4) (7 page)

Bridget smiled at him, his words warming
her through. What a lovely thing to tell her after she’d been so pathetic and
sobbed all over his bathroom floor. This guy always seemed to know the right
thing to say.

“Maybe,” she said. “I’m not so sure. I
still don’t know what to do. Not about Mal. That’s clear. I mean… in general. I
don’t know that I can go back to the way I was as if nothing’s happened.”

“What do you do for a living?”

“My friends and I run a lingerie business
called Four Seasons.”

“Oh? The shop in the high street?”

“That’s the one. My friend Callie runs the
business, Rowan designs the clothing, Neve does all the marketing, and I’m in
charge of the shop itself. I organize all the stock, help the customers with
fittings, that sort of thing.”

“Nice.”

Earlier, he’d looked into her eyes and the
desire there had made her heart race. She’d known it was ridiculous—she’d just
met the guy, for Christ’s sake—she couldn’t possibly have feelings for him
already. Not today, hours from when her long-term boyfriend had ditched her at
the altar. The absolute last thing she needed to think about was falling for a
man because he’d shown her a fraction of kindness. That was rebound on a
monumental scale.

She liked him, though. She couldn’t help
it. He looked at her as if she was something precious, and that made her want
to melt. At first she’d thought him the boy-next-door sort, kind and gentle,
attractive in a cuddly teddy bear sort of way. Then he’d studied her lips as if
he’d yearned to kiss her, and a sexy light had appeared in his eyes when she’d
mentioned working with ladies’ underwear. It sent her heart hammering in a very
non-teddy bear kind of way.

“It’s funny the reaction you get when you
tell guys you work with lingerie,” she said, trying to ignore the shiver than
ran down her spine.

“Do you get free samples?”

“Oh, we all wear the Four Seasons brand.
Rowan likes to try out her new designs on us. The torsolette I wore today was
from her Snow White range.”

“The what now?”

“Torsolette. It’s a camisole and a corset
thing with garters.” She started to giggle. “You should see your face.”

“Sorry. It’s been a while since I’ve had
any connection with ladies’ underwear.”

“Oh? You haven’t dated anyone since you
separated from your wife?”

“No. She’s been the only woman in my life
for eight years.” He exhaled slowly, a sigh of resignation.

“It’s kind of scary, isn’t it? The dating
game.”

His lips curved up. “Yeah, a bit.”

“It makes me wonder how many people stay
together out of habit, because they’re too afraid to step into the ring again.”

“Or how many stay single because they hate
the process of making themselves vulnerable. To love someone you have to open
up, and if you’ve been hurt it makes it twice as difficult.”

She rolled a Malteser around with her
finger. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to date again.”

“You’re going to say that because you’ve
been hurt badly today. Of course it will take time for you to get over that,
but you will. One day you’ll meet someone. Maybe you’ll be friends first, and
then it will gradually develop into something more. You’re too lovely to be
alone for the rest of your life.”

The unexpected compliment made her look up
to meet his eyes. His smile spread slowly. “I understand that you don’t want to
go back to your life as if nothing’s happened,” he said, “but I’m sure you’ll
feel better by Monday.”

“I don’t know.” Her brow furrowed. “My
friend Neve is taking over the shop for two weeks, so I’m not needed there. I
was supposed to be going to Vanuatu for my honeymoon.”

“Perhaps you should go anyway,” he
suggested. “Seems a shame to waste the holiday.”

“I did think about it. I thought I might
have a torrid affair with an islander and have my wicked way with him in the
honeymoon suite.”

He tipped his head back and laughed. “You
should.”

She sighed. “I wish I could, but I’m not
that sort of person.” Frustrated, she rose and walked across to the window. The
clouds had parted to show a splash of stars clearly visible in the blue-black
sky above the city. The moon, three-quarters full, looked down on her with cool
disdain. “I don’t want to be like this.”

“Like what?” He turned in his chair to face
her.

“Reliable. Predictable. Dull.”

“You’re not dull.”

“No offence, Aaron, but you don’t know me.
I’m very dull. I can’t name one exciting thing I’ve done in my life. I’ve
worked hard to be a nice person, and I don’t regret that, but it’s hardly made
for a stimulating time. Everyone knows they can rely on me, and that I’m
supportive and will help out with anything they need. But if they wanted one
person to go to a party with them, they wouldn’t choose me.”

“Perhaps you should travel,” he suggested.

“I did a bit, when I was younger, but it
was on a package holiday, with everything organized, hotels, coaches. I’ve
never been courageous enough to do the backpacker thing and just venture out
into the great unknown. I’m not very brave or impulsive.”

“Being impulsive is overrated, believe me.”

She turned to rest on the window sill and
smiled. “It might not have ended in the best way, but I bet you don’t regret
proposing to Nita.”

“No, I suppose not. As I said, she gave me
Mat, so I can’t regret it, not really.”

“I’d like to do something impulsive for
once.” Her gaze rested on his mouth. What would he say if she walked over to
him, straddled him on the chair, took his face in her hands, and kissed him?
She’d sink her hands into his hair and take time to move her lips across his,
to delve her tongue into his mouth. Those large, strong hands would rise to
hold her, maybe even to cup her breasts. She could only imagine how it would
feel to make love with someone else. Mal hadn’t been bad in bed, but the thought
of letting another man strip her, cover her body with kisses, slide inside her…
It made her heart race.

She wouldn’t, of course. For a start, his
son lay asleep in the bed next to them. And even if he hadn’t been there, she
would never have been brave enough to do it anyway. Aaron liked her, or at
least he gave signs that he did, but she was rusty where signals were
concerned, and maybe she’d read him wrong. She’d die if she plucked up the
courage to kiss him only to have him thrust her away in shock.

Besides, what would he think of her? Only
hours ago, she’d been jilted at the altar. It didn’t say much about her if she
immediately turned to the first guy she met and asked him for sex.

This morning, she’d been prepared to pledge
her life to one man, but he didn’t want her. She’d thought the humiliation had
died down, but at the memory it swept over her again, taking her breath away.
How long would it be before she could think about this morning without bringing
up these emotions?

“Hey.” Aaron stood and walked over to her,
obviously spotting her change of mood. “Come on, don’t get upset again. He
doesn’t deserve your tears.”

“I know. It’s just… I thought I’d gotten
over it. But I haven’t. I keep thinking of that moment when I saw Hitch’s face
and I knew that was it…” She pressed her lips together. She wasn’t going to cry
again!

“Come here.” He put his arms around her
again. “It’s going to be okay. You just need time. It heals all wounds.”

She could barely remember the last time
he’d hugged her—she’d been upset, and it had been nothing more than one human
being giving another comfort. She’d been so caught up in her misery that she
hadn’t really thought about it at all.

This time, though, it felt different. Her
emotions were still in turmoil, but as she slid her arms around his waist, she
was extremely conscious of him as a man. The All Blacks top was silky and
tight, his muscles firm and defined beneath her fingertips. He smelled of warm
male and his enticing aftershave. In the V neck of the top, she could see tanned
skin with a dusting of hair, and she had to restrain herself so she didn’t
reach up and kiss him there. She didn’t know him at all, and yet at that moment
she trusted him as much as any of her friends, even as much as her brother.
He’d rescued her from the rain, brought her back to the room with his son,
shared his food, and attempted to comfort her.

Being there with him, thinking about him
this way… Her brain knew it was wrong. Why did it feel so right in her heart?

She moved back a little, rested her hands
on his chest, and looked up at him. He dropped his arms but slid his hands to
her hips as if reluctant to let her go.

“I want to kiss you,” she said, surprising
herself. “That’s stupid, right? It’s because I’ve been dumped, and I’m hurt,
and I’m looking for comfort. That’s all, isn’t it?”

“Of course.” Except he looked at her lips
as if they were covered in melted chocolate and he wanted to lick it off. “It
can’t be anything else.” His gaze rose to meet hers.

For a long while, they just studied each other.

“I’m not going to kiss you,” he said
eventually. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

His lips curved up. “It would be very wrong
of me. I’d be taking advantage of you. You’re vulnerable right now, very
emotional, and you’ve had a couple of glasses of wine. I’m not perfect by any
means, but I do consider myself a gentleman. If I were giving myself advice,
I’d tell myself to pick up the phone, book you another room, and get you out of
here as soon as was humanly possible.”

“I’d understand if you did. That would be
the sensible, practical thing to do.”

They studied each other for another long
moment. Bridget was sick of being sensible and practical. She wanted to throw
her arms around him and kiss him, and be comforted by the fact that he
obviously found her attractive.

He must have seen the hunger in her eyes
because he cupped her face with his large, strong hands, his skin warm on hers.
He moved closer. Then he leaned forward and touched his lips to her forehead
and rested them there for a moment.

She sighed. “A whole city full of guys who
might have taken advantage of me, and I pick one with principles.”

He chuckled. “Sorry about that.” He moved
back, took her hand, and led her back to the table. “Sit down for a moment. I
have an idea.”

She sat back at the table, and he shuffled
his chair forward. To her surprise, he took her hands in his.

“It seems to me that maybe you need a
little break,” he said. “Some time away from your normal life, to heal and
recover from the trauma. So I was thinking… I live up in Russell, do you know
it?”

“You said it was in the Bay of Islands?”

“Yes. It’s actually at the end of a long
peninsula, but for all intents and purposes it’s like an island, and most
people get to it by boat. It’s small and beautiful, nice and quiet, with lovely
beaches. It would be the perfect place to get away.”

She surveyed him blankly, not quite certain
what he was suggesting.

“My surgery’s in the center of the town,”
he said. “And I live just up the hill, in walking distance. You could stay in
one of the hotels, or there are lots of bed and breakfasts. During the day, you
could have a look around the town, and maybe hire a car and go across to Paihia
and Kerikeri, and then after work we could meet up and have dinner, if you
wanted, or I could show you around… whatever you felt like.”

Her lips started to curve up. “It sounds
like a lovely idea.”

He hesitated. “I don’t want you to think…
I’m not suggesting it because I assume…”

“I know.”

“I like you,” he said simply. “And I’ll be
honest—I’m attracted to you. You’ve been through an awful time, and it wouldn’t
be right to act on it now. But if you came up and stayed, we could spend some
time together and see how things go. Maybe we’ll just stay friends. Maybe it
will develop into something more. Who knows? I don’t want to get in the way of
anything—if you think you might get back with Mal and make a go of it—”

“I won’t.”

He gave a short laugh. “Okay.” He glanced
at the beds. “Look, of course it’s entirely up to you. But I can sleep with Mateo,
there’s a spare bed over there, and it’s getting late. Why don’t you stay here
and make your decision in the morning? I’m catching the two p.m. flight out of
Wellington tomorrow. If you like the idea of getting away, you can follow me up
tomorrow or Monday, whatever you wanted. If not, and you’d rather go somewhere
else, or just go back to work, that’s fine. Maybe in the morning we’ll wonder
why on earth we felt like this and realize it’s all a stupid mistake.”

Why on earth we felt like this…
He felt the same way as her, that there was something between them
that wasn’t only due to the rebound effect. But he was right—she was tired and
emotional, and it was possible that in the morning she’d wake up and think how
close she’d come to making a fool of herself.