Page 49 of Bea's Book Wagon
‘It’s bloody brilliant!’ he said, pulling her into a hug.
Without thinking, she threw her arms around his neck.
‘Seriously? You like it?’ she asked, tipping her head back to look up at him.
‘I do,’ he nodded. ‘You’re a genius, Bea.’
‘And you’re not just saying that because—’
‘Because we’ve known each other a long time and you think I feel obliged to be nice?’
‘Exactly,’ said Bea, seriously. ‘I’ll know if you’re lying, remember?’
‘I’m not lying though, Bea. You’ve done an amazing job, you know that, right?’
‘It wasn’t just me. You, Jess, Archie – you all helped. I couldn’t have done it without you lot.’
‘Also true.’
‘Thanks, Nate. For everything,’ she said, realizing her arms were still around his neck. Why hadn’t she let go?
‘You’d do the same for me.’
‘I would,’ she whispered. They gazed into each other’s eyes for a moment, then, suddenly self-conscious, Bea let her arms slip from around his neck.
‘You know what we need to do next, though, don’t you?’ he said.
‘No, what?’
‘Get this little lady out on the road!’
CHAPTER 14
Bea looked up from the TV when she heard the distinctive purr of Lochlan’s sports car outside her window that evening. She smiled as she swung open the front door.
‘Got any dinner plans?’ he called from the kerb, lowering the car window.
‘No, but…’
‘I’ve made us reservations.’
‘Really? Give me five minutes to get changed—’
‘You look fine,’ said Lochlan, ‘just get your keys and let’s go.’
‘Okay,’ said Bea, grabbing her handbag from the banister and locking the door behind her. ‘Where are we going?’ she asked, climbing into the car.
‘It’s a surprise,’ said Lochlan.
‘So mysterious,’ she laughed.
‘I try,’ he said, flashing her a smile that made her heart soar.
‘Seriously, though, where are we going? I’m not dressed for anything fancy—’
‘Like I said, you look fine,’ he said, placing a warm hand over hers.
‘Hmmmm…’
