Grace pulled the 4WD to a halt in front of a pretty cottage. The Grevillea trees and kapok bushes that screened it from the rest of the station were a cheerful riot of red and yellow. ‘Here are your digs for the duration of your stay. Sweet, isn’t it?’
She channelled polite and upbeat professionalism for all she was worth, kicking herself for her earlier unguarded shock. She could do this. She could spend a week with the boy she’d once loved with all of her madly beating heart.
She was no longer a naive teenager, but a grown woman who knew how to keep her heart safe. Since Mal, she’d sworn off romance and she wasn’t making any exceptions. Jamie hadn’t been worth the heartache back then, and he wouldn’t be worth it now either—no matter how broad his shoulders or how deep his chest happened to be.
‘Fitz’s Hideaway Haven accommodation is fully booked this week, but I understand that wasn’t the kind of holiday you were interested in.’
‘No.’
That’s all he said. He didn’t explain why he was here or what he was doing in the Kimberley, hundreds of kilometres from the nearest town. Biting her tongue, she pushed out of the car and went to grab his bag, but a big hand nudged hers out of the way. The contact had her remembering everything. In shocking detail. Her mouth went dry. She’d never forgotten the physical pleasure they’d discovered in each other’s arms. Even now, fifteen years later, she could still wake in the middle of the night yearning for it.
Their gazes caught and clung. Heat prickled her nape, her breasts, and other secret places. If things had ended differently between them. If…
He abruptly broke eye contact, and air rushed back into her lungs. James Creighton might be the most magnetically attractive man she’d ever met, but she had no intention of falling under his spell again.
She gave him the tour of the cottage—living room, bedroom and bathroom, ending in the kitchen where she opened the fridge door and various other cupboards to display his provisions. ‘If there’s anything additional you’d like, let me know. We’re well stocked here at Kings Reach.’
‘Thank you.’
Her phone pinged. She glanced down and her brows shot up. ‘Fitz has had a cancellation. So if you’ve changed your mind and would like to sample Hideaway Haven’s many and splendid offerings—luxury accommodation, specialist adventure tours—you now can.’
Those dark eyes lifted to hers and the breath jammed in her throat again. ‘Is that what you think I should do?’
He was asking her if she wanted him gone. Her heart gave a powerful kick, but she summoned every professional adult bone in her body. ‘What I think you should do is have the holiday you want to have, Jamie.’
Something in his face softened. And damn it all to hell, but something inside of her softened too. ‘You know what I think we should do, Grace? We should talk about what happened fifteen years ago.’
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