Page 16 of Taming the Wild Mountain Man

Hume turns to me and offers a wide smile. The same smile I mistook for cockiness at first but have since come to realize is a genuine smile that belongs to a man who has gone through one of the most traumatic, awful things a child could go through, but has come out of it a goodhearted, kind, and decent man. Withmaybe just atinysplash of cockiness. "Oh, I can handle the heat."

Forty-five minutes later, I've showered, changed, and am sitting at Hume's table as we feast on a delicious spread of curries, and true to his word, Hume is handling the lamb vindaloo and jalfrezi like a pro.

"How's work going?" he asks, tearing apart a Naan bread in half with his hands and placing one half on my plate.

"Thanks. It's getting there. I'm sure Belle is sick of me, though."

"I doubt that."

I pick up the Naan bread and smear it through my butter chicken sauce. "It's not personal, I'm sure. She's just eager to start her new life, and I don't blame her."

"What are her plans?"

"She's always wanted to work on boats, so she's looking for something in that area."

The conversation flows easily and moves naturally from topic to topic the way it always does. Once we're done eating, Hume washes while I clean the table and stow the leftovers in the fridge.

We move to the living room, sitting on opposite ends of the same couch, Chewy at my feet as usual. "What made you move to Cedar Crest Hollow?" I ask, settling into the sofa. I've told him about my spur of the moment decision to pack up my life and move here, but what brought him here hasn't come up yet.

"I started my contractor business on the side while I was still doing stunt work in LA. Age was creeping up on me, and I needed a back-up plan. It proved difficult to get the business off the ground in the city. Then I got a big job up here, at the Lodge actually, to help with remodelling some rooms."

I know the rooms he's talking about. They were updated about seven years ago.

"While I was up here, I had a look around and basically fell in love with the place. When I saw this house listed online for basically the same price as a one bedroom shoebox condo in LA, I made my mind there and then."

"Do you like it?"

"I do. It's a beautiful spot. Quiet and peaceful…Well, it was until a certain someone moved in."

"Hey." I fling a cushion at him.

He catches it with no problem and hugs it into his chest. "I didn't say it was a bad thing."

Our eyes meet, a yummy feeling oozes in my belly, and once again, I’m completely lost. He's flirting with me…Isn't he? So that means he's interested. So then why the fudge has he stopped kissing me?

We fall silent until I notice him looking at me, still clutching that cushion, smiling softly.

"What is it?" I ask, my eyes drawn to the upward pull of his lips.

"I was just thinking back to the time when you told me you were anti-chitchat, and look at us now. We're been chitchatting away."

"Well, you're not as rude and arrogant as I initially thought."

He lets out a chuckle. "Thank you?"

I smile. "You're welcome."

After a short pause, he speaks again. "So, is it my turn to ask you a question?"

"If you want to."

As his head bobs in thought, his silvery eyes roam over me, and it's as if he's touching me without touching me. I can't explain why, but goosebumps prickle up and down both my arms. No man has ever had this effect on me.

To be perfectly honest, I thought this kind of stuff only happened in romance novels, like the type Schapelle writes. Inreal life, I knew love was an emotion, sure, I just didn't realize it was accompanied by so many physical manifestations.

Not that this is love…But then, if it's not love, what is it?…Invisible hives?

"Where did theStar Warsthing come from?" Hume's deep voice breaks me out of my thoughts.

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