Page 7 of Wild Rush
Chapter Two
In spite of her dragging feet, Reena smiled when she spotted Mrs. Abbott. As she neared her neighbor’s gate, she called out, “Nice afternoon for tea on the porch.”
“It is. Join me.” The older woman waved her arm wildly, urging Reena closer. “Come, come. The pot is still hot and I made scones today. I know they’re your favorite.”
Reena grinned. Mrs. Abbott had emigrated from England at nineteen. A new bride with an uncertain future ahead of her, she’d held on to her British roots as best she could. Afternoon tea with some home-baked goodness was one of the practices her elderly neighbor had never given up. Apparently, Mrs. Abbott’s mother had an unspoken rule about such things and like clockwork, every afternoon at four, there was tea. On nice days, it was enjoyed out on the front porch.
It would be a cold day in hell when Reena passed up the opportunity to eat Mrs. Abbott’s homemade scones. Or anything else she made. The woman had spent her entire life as a wife and mother, never working outside the home, but Reena was pretty sure you could drop her into the kitchen of any five-star restaurant and she would run rings around the head chef.
In fact, Reena would go so far as to say Mrs. Abbott would give Riley Young a run for her money—and every member of the Collins family plus those who’d had the good fortune to eat at Sunday’s were in agreement that Riley was an unrivaled master in the kitchen.
After the disappointment of her failed attempt to contact Rush, the thought of spending some time with Mrs. Abbott lifted Reena’s spirits and widened her smile. Walking up the path toward her neighbor’s porch, she said, “Well, if the pot is still hot…”
“Good girl. Sit, sit.” Mrs. Abbott poured Reena tea in a delicate china cup decorated with hand-painted roses. Grandmother Abbott’s china bestowed on the new Mrs. Abbott on her wedding day. “Now. Tell me about that lovely young man who was here looking for you a bit ago.”
“What?” In the process of taking a seat, Reena’s ass hung in the air, all movement stopping with Mrs. Abbott’s words. “A man?”
“A very handsome one too. I haven’t seen him around here before though.”
Oblivious to Reena’s confusion, Mrs. Abbott continued to serve tea and scones and chat while Reena remained open-mouthed and motionless.
“Quite rugged looking, a smidge of bad boy in him I think, but a gentleman too.”
Dropping into her seat, Reena tried to form words, tried to get the questions swirling in her head out. “Mrs. Abbott—”
“Stop that. How often have I told you to call me Mary?” Shaking her head, Mrs. Abbott pushed the bowls of homemade jam and fresh whipped cream closer to Reena. “He’ll be back in a minute, and I want to know all about him before he steals you away.”
“Steals me away?”
“Oh my yes. No woman could resist a man who smiles like that when he says her name. He’ll have you swept off your feet in no time.”
Reena shook her head in an attempt to clear it. With each word, the conversation got more confusing. She had no idea who the guy could be. She didn’t have any male friends who would visit her at home and Mrs. Abbott knew all the Collins men, so it couldn’t be one of them… But who else could it be? Was her elderly neighbor showing signs of dementia?
“Mrs. Abbott—” At the arched brow, Reena stopped. “Sorry. Mary. Please. Start at the beginning. I don’t understand—”
“Oh bother. Time’s up. Here he comes.”
Reena’s head snapped around to look in the direction Mary indicated.
“Oh god.” It couldn’t be. All that wishful thinking must be making her hallucinate. Her knees shook as she pushed to her feet. “Rush.” His name whisper through her lips, through her veins, and left behind a sensation thatdidfeel suspiciously like being swept off her feet.
A tug on her arm stopped her when she hadn’t realized she’d moved. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Mrs. Abbott watching her closely, gaze imploring. Unable to decipher what the older woman tried to communicate with her eyes, Reena shook her head and frowned.
“Let him come to you,” her neighbor whispered out of the side of her mouth. “There’s nothing wrong with making him work a little for your time.”
Nodding, Reena turned back to watch Rush coming closer and closer. Her heartbeat picked up speed and her breathing stuttered with every step he took. His gaze devoured her, the deep blue sweeping over her like the feathery fingers of a lover’s caress, and she couldn’t stop the shiver that electrified her from neck to knee.
God. This was what he did to her. With one look, he had her fluttering and clenching, dampening in places that had no firsthand knowledge of what they eagerly prepared for only, that he could deliver it.
“Reena.” Smile sparking in his eyes, along with a healthy dose of lust, Rush bounded up the two stairs of Mrs. Abbott’s porch and pulled her into his arms. Burying his face in the crook of her neck, he breathed deep and murmured, “God, I missed this. Missed you,” against her skin.
Eyelids drifting shut, Reena lowered her head to rest her brow on his shoulder. “Rush.” His name sighed from her mouth, her body melting into his embrace with a familiarity that spoke of more than the short time they’d known each other.
The gentle clearing of a throat had them breaking apart.
Stepping back, Reena turned to her neighbor to find the woman regarding her with a knowing smile. “Mrs.—” Reena stopped at the waggle of a finger and shake of a head. “Sorry. Mary. This is my friend Rush. Rush Whelan, this is Mary Abbott, my neighbor.”
“We met earlier without an official introduction but it’s lovely to meet you again, Rush.” Mary indicated the seat next to the one Reena had been in moments ago. “Won’t you join us? We’re having tea and scones.”
