Page 50 of Sunny Skies and Summer Kisses

Moments later, there was the rev of an engine and the sound of a car speeding off, making her heart leap.Please don’t let it be Damon.Anoushka swallowed; she was letting her imagination run away with itself. There was no way he would trouble himself to come up here, especially after his last ill-fated visit to the village when he was pretty much chased out. There’s no way his arrogant pride would risk something like that happening again. She needed to release the gripshewas letting him have on her life.

Brushing her doubts away, she took a calming breath, forced a wide smile and turned back to Gabe. ‘Okay, now it’s time to move on to what we call open and closed holds; we’ll start with open.’ She took his hands in hers, her eyes flicking shyly up to meet his gaze before quickly looking away. ‘So, this is what we do…’

Getting into his stride, Gabe didn’t hide how thrilled he was to have mastered the open hold so easily and was eager to learn more. ‘Sorry about your toes though; I’ve lost count of how many times I stood on them there; they’ll be black and blue by the time we’re done.’

‘It’s fine, don’t worry; you’re doing great,’ she said, smiling, his buoyant mood brushing off onto her and chasing away her worries about Damon. ‘We’ll try the closed hold now.’ Anoushka struggled to make eye contact with him as she demonstrated how he should place his hand on her shoulder blade. The heat of his touch burnt through her t-shirt making her skin tingle and her pulse rate soar. They were standing so close she was suddenly aware of how broad his shoulders were, of his breathing. Oh, the warmth of his body so close to hers, the aroma of his cologne… It was intoxicating. She blinked several times, taking a moment to regain her focus. As she rested her hand on the firm muscle of his arm a ripple of something indefinable ran through her, the sudden intimacy distracting. She could feel the weight of his eyes on her. Her newly recovered focus was in pieces.Oh my days. This is intense! You need to calm your jets, woman! Think of something to take your mind off it! Emptying the bin, washing Mabel after she’s rolled in fox poo. Anything!She drew in a deep breath, pushed her shoulders back and said, ‘Okay, you need to lead, but I’ll show you how first.’

They tried the manoeuvre several times before Gabe cracked it. ‘That’s great! You seem to have got the hang of that one pretty quickly, and you hardly stepped on my toes at all that time.’ She smiled, hoping nothing about her behaviour would betray the feelings she was currently battling inside. She gathered the courage to look up at him, her heart fluttering at the dark pools gazing back at her. She couldn’t stop the gasp that escaped her lips. His chest was heaving; there was no doubting his feelings for her. The jaunty salsa beat, bouncing away in the background seemed incongruous set against the electricity that crackled between them. ‘I… I think you’re ready to move on to what we call the “New York Walk” now.’ She added a breeziness to her voice she didn’t feel as she went to step away from him.

‘Rose,’ he said huskily, stopping her in her tracks.

The music came to an abrupt halt, breaking the spell. Anoushka released herself from his arms and cleared her throat as she walked over to where she’d left her water bottle. She took a quick glug, glancing up at the clock on the wall as she did so. ‘Right, well, we’ve been going for over an hour; I reckon you’ve worked hard enough for today. You’ve been a great student; you picked it up really quickly.’ She looked across at him and smiled, hoping she didn’t sound too abrupt.

He took the cue without question. ‘Thanks. I’ve had a great time; I’ve no idea where that last hour’s gone.’ Sounding disappointed, he pushed his hands into his pockets. ‘I suppose I’d best go and relieve Sim of that wee rascal Bob, make sure he hasn’t demolished anyone’s shoes – I mean Bob not Sim; I don’t think Sim’s known for his love of chewing shoes, but then again, you never know…’ He gave a chuckle, his humour relieving the tension.

When he’d gone, Anoushka flopped down at her desk and put her head in her hands. ‘What the hell’s going on with me? Why do I keep finding myself in situations like that with Gabe? Bloody Caro, pushing us together! Bloody everyone pushing us together!’ How many times did she have to tell them she didn’t want a man in her life right now? Why were they struggling to get the message? ‘Arghh!’ Their almost kiss popped up in her mind and she felt a flutter in her heart. Just because she found him attractive didn’t mean she had to act on it, she reasoned with herself. She wasn’t ready to commit to anyone else after her claustrophobic time with Damon. What did she have to do to get everyone else to accept that? Come to think of it, what did she have to do to get herself to accept it?

31

‘So, have I got this right? You’ve been teaching Gabe how to salsa dance?’ asked Brogan.

‘Mm-hm.’ Anoushka rolled her eyes as she took a sip of her Pinot Grigio.

‘And how did that go?’ asked Kristy, shooting Brogan a loaded look.

It was Friday evening, the day after her dance lesson with Gabe, and the three friends were sitting at their usual table at the Sunne. Anoushka had told them earlier in the week how he’d explained about the photos of him and Lilith Dean.

‘The whole dance lesson thing was a blatant set-up. Bloomin’ Lady Caro organised it with the voucher I’d donated to the auction; led me to believe she’d be the one coming.’

‘Sneaky,’ said Brogan, unable to suppress a smile.

‘Sneaky but genius. I like it,’ said Kristy, grinning across at Brogan.

‘Hmm. Not so sure I do.’ Anoushka looked at them warily. ‘I mean, I like him, and he’s a good laugh, but that’s it. My feelings don’t run any deeper than that. I just wish he and everyone else would get the message instead of trying to push us together. I don’t know how many times I have to say I’m not interested in him like that, and never will be.’

‘Noushka,’ said Kristy quietly, her eyes growing so wide Anoushka thought they’d pop out of her head if she wasn’t careful, while Brogan started glaring at her intently as if trying to convey some non-verbal message.

She frowned at them. ‘What?’ she asked, just as Bob shot over and pushed his head into her lap, his tail thudding against the table leg. ‘Bob!’ Anoushka’s heart sank as realisation dawned. ‘Oh…’ She bit down on her bottom lip and closed her eyes before turning to see Gabe standing close behind her. Though his face was set stern, the hurt in his eyes was unmistakable.

‘Bob! Heel!’ he said. ‘Sorry, Anoushka, I hope he isn’t bothering you.’ His cool tone, so unfamiliar, made her cringe inside.

‘Hi, Gabe, er… no, he’s fine, it’s good to see him.’ How she wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

‘Unlike some other folk I expect.’ He reached for Bob’s collar and pulled him back, clipping his lead on. ‘Come on, fella, we don’t want to make a nuisance of ourselves.’

Brogan and Kristy looked on in awkward silence as Anoushka scrambled through her mind for something to say. ‘Gabe, I—’

‘Change of plan; we’re just leaving.’ He turned and strode out of the pub.

Anoushka covered her face with her hands, tears stinging her eyes. ‘Oh, my God. What have I done?’

Kristy and Brogan looked on sympathetically. There was nothing they could say to help her.

‘I’ve hurt him, which is the last thing I want to do. It’s just… ughh!’ She pushed her hair back off her face and looked at her friends despairingly. ‘What should I do? Do you think he heard?’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Of course he heard, he never normally acts like that. Oh, shit, shit!’

‘You could always go after him,’ said Brogan. ‘Explain what you meant.’

‘I’m not sure that’s going to make things any better, Broge,’ said Kristy, wearing a regretful expression.

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