Page 53 of Love like the (Real) Reel Thing
“Hey, honey.” He stopped. “Rob, isn’t it?”
“Robert.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Nice day for a run.”
“I like to keep fit. And this little wood suits me, away from the paps.” Doug winked at Jess. “Be good, now.” He jogged off.
Jess unwrapped her roll and took a bite, as Robert made himself comfortable beside her.
“I’d say that guy’s full of himself,” he said.
Jess shrugged, unwilling to admit that he made her feel a bit … icky. He’d never said or done anything that awful – she was probably being totally unfair to him. She chewed, feeling a little self-conscious as Robert slipped his arm around her.
This was the same river that ran through Ballygobbin, she thought – the little village where she and Simon had planned to marry. She and Adam had taken a detour there last year after spending the morning in Linford Castle. They’d walked along the riverbank before going to see the village’s tiny, picturesque church. The one where she and Adam had kissed.
She half-wished she could feel guilty about that. It hadn’t exactly been her finest hour, especially when she’d been keeping so many secrets from both Simon and Adam. Which brought her neatly back to her current predicament – now she was keeping secrets from Robert. It wasn’t fair.
“I was engaged,” she blurted out.
“Recently?”
She turned her head and met his eyes. “I was meant to get married last July.”
“You were the runaway bride at that celebrity wedding.” He frowned. “But people thought you were just a decoy. Was that –”
“My actual wedding day too?Yup.”
“Wow.” He looked a bit stunned. “So who ended it?”
“Would you believe it was mutual?” Jess wrapped up the mostly uneaten roll. “We parted as friends.”
“That’s pretty rare.” His laugh was half-disbelieving. “I thought you said you had no dark secrets.”
She thought of Adam, and the baby they should have had. But those were far more personal than the wedding that never happened. It was self-preservation to keep all that private, she told herself. She’d shared enough for now. “That’s it.”
Robert regarded her with interest. “So, how did you end up in Linford on the day of your wedding?”
“Good question.” Jess stretched her legs out in front of her and sighed. “It’s kind of complicated. And I’m not allowed to talk about it.”
“Let’s not talk, then.” He slid one hand up to her face, angling her mouth to meet his.
She closed her eyes and leaned in, focussing on the sensual combination of the kiss and the warm breeze on her skin. Robert didn’t make her feel dizzy and needy, the way Adam had – the thought nudged the edges of her mind, and she wriggled closer to him. She had to stop comparing every man she met with Adam. Who wanted to feel dizzy and needy all the time? It was probably bad for your health. Adam had been bad for her health!
Only because he pulled away when you needed him most.There it was – the painful memory pierced her consciousness and her eyes snapped open.
“What’s the matter?” Robert frowned and Jess realised she’d pulled away.
“Nothing.” She couldn’t keep doing this. “I was just a bit distracted by theum…” she looked quickly around, “the heron.” She pointed to the river. Was that the same heron she and Adam had seen that day in Ballygobbin? Great, she was doing a first-rate job of putting Adam out of her mind. And there were probably dozens of herons on the river.
“You managed to see the heron while we were kissing? I’m going to have to work on my technique.”
“Ha-ha.” Heat flashed to her cheeks, despite the breeze from the water. “It wasn’t that, honestly. I think I justum, heard a splash and …” What was she even saying?
Robert was looking at her in amused disbelief.
“Have you never seen one in real life before?”
“Of course I have.” Maybe she could go splash some of the river water on her face to cool it down.
“Do you want to really see this river at its best?”
