Page 3 of Bay of Plenty

He caught me easily, his strong hands tightening around me. My legs gripped his waist, and our faces were so close I could see his eyes were sparkling prisms of green, his ponytail spilling over like an angel’s halo. My mouth touched his. His slow smile brushed against my lips, sending a jolt through me, zinging down to my toes and back up to my…

His eyes were more devilish than angelic. “Hi, I’m Declan. I’d ask you to dance, but I’m not as good on tables as you.”

“Isla. Guess I can make an exception tonight.” I grinned. “Let’s take the floor.”

He slid me down his long, hard body—oh God, the bumps and divots of heaven—and swept me out to arm’s length. Hey, what happened to the long, hard body? Kneeling before me, he grabbed my shoes from under the table and slipped them on my feet. Impressed he’d noticed where I’d left them! Soon, I was swirling in his arms like a… debutante?

“Hey.” I gazed up at him. “Are wewaltzing?”

As he twirled me, his mouth hitched mischievously at the corner. “Well. Youarethirty-four.”

“Hang on.” I narrowed my eyes. “How do you know my age?”

Instead of answering, he dipped me low. The strain of holding my entire weight caused his biceps to bulge from under his T-shirt, and the question slipped right out of my head. A lovely, dreamy interlude followed as we floated around the room. Time seemed to stand still.

He stared down at me. “I hope you’ve had a happy birthday.”

“I’ve had the best birthday ever, thank you.”

“So many of your workmates turned up. Pays to be popular,” he teased. “What do you do?”

“Journo. Was. Is. Am.” I side-eyed him. “Hey. I’m usually the one asking the questions.”

“I’m interested in you.” He regarded me intensely—like a scruffy Jim fromThe Office—and I felt myself blush at his earnestness. “One more question? You’re a Kiwi, right? A New Zealander?”

“Oh, thank God you didn’t say Australian.”

He laughed. “Ah, yeah, I keep hearing about this rivalry. Because Kiwis and Aussies are so, sooo different.” His lips twitched with amusement, and his eyes twinkled.

“Hey. Weareso different. For example, how we say the number six. Kiwis saysucks, Aussies saysex.”

His shoulders shook with laughter. “I’m not going near that one. Except to agree that’s an important distinction.” Something about him made me want to examine that distinction. Closely.

Most everyone slowly bid us good night. Finally, the bartender rang the bell. Exhausted and bleary-eyed, I considered taking up Declan’s offer of walking me home rather than waking Bato to come and get me, since it was a five-minute walk around the garden square. There was something about Declan that I trusted, even though I didn’t know him. I spotted two of my workmates who lived around my way, and they agreed to walk with us.

Taking off my stilettos, I tapped the heels on Declan’s biceps to test whether they were still strong and capable. “My feet hurt like hell. Any chance you could carry me?”

“Part of the service.” He shrugged on his coat and scooped me up.

I grinned up at him, surprised and impressed he’d agreed. “Five-star review.”

My work friends oohed. “Any more where you come from?” asked one.

I wrapped my arms around his lemon-scented neck and tucked my head under his chin, chatting with my old work friends as we made our way home around the now-sleepy garden square.

Back at the flat, Declan made gentlemanly noises about leaving, but I tugged him into my bedroom.

A playful push from me, and he did a funny backward fall onto the bed. Teddy leaped up beside him and growled. Declan calmly turned his face, releasing himself to the sniffing and licking. Ecstatic at making a new friend, Teddy wagged his little body from side to side like a dancer.

I sighed. Clearly, this was the man for me.

Chapter Three

The next morning,my eyes fluttered open to a poundingWhy, why, why?Every drop of moisture had been sucked out of my head and replaced with angry garden rocks. Beside me, that guy from last night lay asleep. Not touching me but still here, a presence. I turned… to see his hair everywhere.

His hair had been pulled back last night, but now it was splayed all over the pillow, like he was part of an eighties hair band. His beard was long and scraggly.Isla Joyson, line in the sand. No more binge drinking, woman.

Gah, he even had long hair trailing off his arms. Oh, phew, it was Teddy snuggled up to him. Teddy gave a blissful snore, the little traitor.

---