Page 56 of Where the Heart Is

Sawyer didn’t have to be asked twice.

‘Should I ask why you have a blanket and pillow in this cottage, or will I hate the answer when you tell me you bring all your men here?’

‘Only the special ones.’ Mila tucked the blanket tighter over them. ‘Aren’t you lucky?’

Sawyer growled and nuzzled her neck until she squealed.

‘Okay, okay, the truth is I work late in here sometimes and I get really tired, but if I have a power nap I can keep going until all hours, so that’s why I stashed the blanket and pillow here.’

‘I can live with that,’ he said, savouring the feel of her in his arms. ‘The thought of you entertaining faceless men I’d like to pummel, not so much.’

‘Jealous?’

‘Hell yeah,’ he said, surprised by how much he meant it. He had no right to be possessive—they were friends indulging a mutual passion—but the thought of Mila with any guy made his blood pressure rise.

‘Let’s just say out of the two of us, I’m pretty sure your record with the ladies must far outweigh the occasional fling I’ve had.’ She patted his chest. ‘But please don’t tell me about them, because I’ll want to claw their eyes out.’

‘Now who’s jealous?’

They laughed and snuggled into each other, and he never wanted to let her go. A crazy thought, because he couldn’t live in this town and she was too heavily invested in the farm to ever leave.

‘I’ve got a question for you,’ she murmured, tilting her head back to look at him. ‘I know you won’t be sticking around much longer, but do you want to stay at the homestead for however long you’re in town?’

Her invitation had him equal parts stunned, elated, and wary. Stunned because he knew that meant she wanted to continue the physical side of their relationship for however long he was in Ashe Ridge, elated because he’d like nothing better, and wary because the closer they grew the harder it would be when he walked away.

‘Or you could continue staying at the motel and hanging out with Shazza in the hope Simone is still pining for you and will come back?’

He pinched her butt and she giggled, the innocence of it shooting him straight through the heart.

‘Thanks, I’d love to stay,’ he said, terrified by the adoration in her eyes.

Would her feelings turn to condemnation when she learned the truth? Because Sawyer knew if he moved into the homestead, even for a few nights, their relationship would deepen and that meant ultimately telling her the truth before he left.

It was the right thing to do.

CHAPTER

34

Unlike many of Tally Bay’s inhabitants, Adelaide didn’t fit into the cliche of an artist. She didn’t smoke or ingest weed to spark creativity, she didn’t join in their sound circles, and she didn’t only paint when the urge hit.

She believed picking up a paintbrush daily honed her craft. Even the odd day when she couldn’t express herself, she still painted something, anything. Which meant she’d never gone this long without painting, and it made her feel out of sorts.

Her excuse and she was sticking to it.

Of course her restless night and constant edginess this morning had nothing to do with Jack’s demeanour over dinner at the pub last night, or that kiss on the back of her hand. Nothing at all. It had been Jack play-acting for the gossips who’d watched them keenly throughout dinner.

But no matter how many times she dismissed that kiss as meaningless, she couldn’t stop thinking about it. Or the way it made her feel.

Since when did a harmless kiss on the back of her hand jolt her libido? So she did the one thing guaranteed to snap her out of daydreaming about her ex.

She called Raven.

Perching on a log, she tapped the icon on her mobile and it barely rang before his face popped up on her screen.

‘Hey, beautiful, it’s good to hear from you. How’s things?’

The familiarity of Raven’s smile, the creases fanning from the corners of his brown eyes, the wisps of grey hair escaping from his ponytail, should’ve comforted Adelaide. They didn’t, and she knew her accelerated heartbeat had more to do with how she’d have to fake it for him rather than the low-key attraction they shared.

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