‘It’s lovely up here, isn’t it?’ Nora said.
Had she noticed his sudden discomfort, the awkwardness that he’d felt as the unfamiliar passion stirred him.
‘It is,’ he agreed, his voice sounding strange. He swallowed and put a hand up to his eyes to shade them as he stared absently at the view. He would have preferred to look at her, but he didn’t dare.
Maybe it hadn’t been a good idea to share such intimacies with her, to tell her things he usually kept private, but it was done now and he couldn’t take them back. And he was still none the wiser about what made her eyes dim and her expression cloud, and why she’d cried on his shoulder.
Something was deeply troubling Nora and he wished he knew what it was, but he had a suspicion he’d never find out.
Maybe it was better he didn’t, because he was thinking about her far more than was good for him, when she probably didn’t think about him at all.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
‘I cried,’ Nora told Kendra with a wry, embarrassed twist of her lips. ‘Sobbed like a baby.’ She rolled her eyes at her own silliness. ‘Elijah must think me a proper numpty.’
She’d just finished telling Kendra about her breakdown on the way to the kennels yesterday, as they set up for the day and before any customers arrived. It was Lori’s day in college, so the pair of them were on their own.
‘I’m sure he doesn’t,’ Kendra said. ‘Anyway, from what I’ve heard, he isn’t a bundle of laughs himself at the moment. I bumped into Christina on the way home yesterday, and she said he’s been like a bear with a sore head lately.’ The sideways look Kendra gave her, made Nora think that maybeshewasn’t a bundle of laughs, either.
She was trying her best not to let it show (except for yesterday, when she’d fallen apart in spectacular fashion), but she had the feeling she wasn’t succeeding. It was hard to get herhead around the fact that she would never again be able to eat what she wanted, when she wanted. She would forever have to be careful about portion sizes and be mindful about how many carbs she consumed. It made her feel like a pariah, especially when friends and colleagues could walk into a cafe or restaurant and not worry what they ordered.
Nora hated to admit it, but she was scared that her life had changed forever. There would be no more partying, no more meals out, no more boozy nights in the pub with friends. And suddenly, without all that, she had no idea what to do with herself, or how she would occupy the long evenings on her own, even with Biscuit’s help.
‘I’ve lost another half a pound,’ she announced brightly, hoping to lighten the gloom.
‘That’s brilliant. We should have a coffee and a cake to celebrate.’
That’s what they always did when someone had good news to share. Or when the news was crap, for that matter, and one of them needed cheering up. A herbal tea and a lettuce leaf didn’t have the same appeal, somehow, and Nora pulled a face.
Kendra winced. ‘Sorry, wasn’t thinking.’
‘Don’t let me stop you. Honestly, if you fancy a biscuit or a muffin, have one.’
‘I don’t like to. Not in front of you, when you can’t.’
Nora rounded on her. ‘Ken, this ismyproblem, not yours. I don’t expectyouto suffer because I’ve got to watch what I eat. I know you’re being supportive, but it’s not fair to you.’
‘It’s not fair to you, either.’ Kendra laid a hand on her arm. ‘Congrats on the half a pound, though,’ she added.
Nora snorted and said, without thinking, ‘Elijah told me he thinks I’m perfect as I am.’ She’d thought, for one fleeting, ridiculous moment, that he’d been about to kiss her. Talk about letting her imagination run away with her. And what was really worrying was that she would have welcomed it, and she’d had to hug Biscuit tight to stop herself from throwing her arms around Elijah and snogging him senseless.
Kendra’s eyes were out on stalks. ‘Hedid?’
‘Uh huh. I think he was just being nice.’
‘I bet he wasn’t. I think he fancies you.’
‘Get off! He doesn’t!’ she scoffed, amused at the very idea of it. What would a fit, attractive man like Elijah, see inher?She was a wreck right now.
‘You’re blushing!’
‘I am not. It’s a hot flush.’ Warmth was spreading up her chest and neck, and into her face.
Kendra grinned and nudged her with her hip as she went to unlock the door. ‘I think you fancy him, too.’
‘Do you want the sack? I can have your P45 ready for you by the end of the day,’ Nora joked, but her heart wasn’t in it because she knew Kendra was right. Shedidfancy him.
Kendra’s smile grew wider. ‘I don’t blame you – he’s a dish.’
