Page 21 of Winter at Wishington Bay
I shrugged. I had, so there was hardly any point in denying it now.
‘But I offset that but saying that you have a lovely smile. Which you do.’
‘And you reckon that makes it even.’
‘Pretty much.’
I risked a glance. His gaze locked onto mine. My confidence was wavering but I wasn’t about to show him that. ‘Don’t you think?’
Nate seemed to be considering the possibility.
‘It’s a long time since anyone’s said anything like that to me.’
‘What? Called you an arse?’ I raised my eyebrows. ‘Not being rude, but I kind of find that hard to believe.’
He considered me for a moment. ‘OK. Kind of rude, actually, but point taken, and I’m sure you’re right. I don’t suffer fools gladly and that can sometimes translate as being an arse, depending on who you speak to.’
‘That’s probably accurate but it doesn’t mean they’re right.’
‘True. But I was actually referring to the other part of your comment.’
I thought back. ‘The compliment part?’
‘Yes.’
I smiled. ‘Oh, come on. You do possess a mirror, right?’
He shook his head, but the expression remained. It was hard to define exactly, but as much as he tried to bluff, it was impossible to hide the sadness in those striking eyes.
‘You’re serious.’ My words were quiet and a statement, not a question.
He shrugged, the shadowy smile hovering round a mouth that was far too dangerous for me to concentrate on for too long. I met his eyes.
‘Nate…’
He waved a hand and pushed himself away from the counter. ‘It’s fine. It’s not even something I think about. Blokes don’t really, do they?’
I wasn’t entirely sure about that. Some of the men I’d met thrived on compliments. Often fishing for and revelling in them.
‘You just took me by surprise. Even if you were just trying to balance out the insult.’ He gave the briefest of grins as he turned away.
‘I wasn’t!’
He turned back, the force of tone taking us both a little by surprise. His brows raised minutely.
‘I… wasn’t,’ I repeated, trying to make it a little more casual this time, although I think we both knew that ship had sailed.
His Adam’s apple bobbed and I could practically see the cogs in his brain working. Trying to compute. What had happened to this man to think he wasn’t worthy of the simplest of compliments? Or at least for him to have found himself in such a position that he no longer knew how it felt to receive one? Whatever had gone on between him and his wife, she’d clearly done a pretty thorough job.
‘Thank you.’
I smiled. ‘You’re very welcome.’ He fidgeted for a moment and I moved the conversation on quickly. ‘So, that should be ready in about twenty minutes. I’ll pop down and sort it out when it beeps. In the meantime, I’m going to make a start on the upstairs.’
‘I guess I should get on with some work.’
‘Your enthusiasm does you credit.’
He smirked at the sarcasm. ‘I know. Bad, eh?’
