Page 17 of Love By Sunset

She needed to keep telling herself that.

‘You can come and help, if you like?’ He’d stopped eating and was watching her closely.

‘I might. I might drop in later, but I can do a bit of exploring, maybe. Um… shall I… shall I see you later?’ She could feel the blush creep up her cheeks as she saw him drop his eyes to his plate and grin.

‘Oh, yes, I think so.’ Jake threw her a sideways look, tongue touching his lower lip, his meaning obvious. ‘If you don’t turn up at the café, I’ll see you back here. Same time as last night. You’ve got a key. Come and go as you please. You didn’t book at the Seaview again, did you?’

‘I haven’t yet. They said they had plenty of rooms last weekend, so I thought I’d leave it until I got back… see what you had in mind.’

The infuriating man threw back his head and laughed. ‘Well, I think you know by now, don’t you?’

Shaking her head, Emily sighed. Damn, but he was getting under her skin. ‘Very confident, aren’t you?’

‘No need not to be. It’s obvious we’ve got an attraction going here. May as well indulge it. I told you, a holiday fling, and I’m glad you went for it. Life can progress very well without long-term plans, you know.’

‘Oh, yes?’ Emily couldn’t help the sharp note which crept into her voice. ‘All right for you to say that, isn’t it? But Idohave long-term plans, and it goes against the entire way I run my life, coming back here on a whim to be your… your plaything for a couple of weeks. After which you’ll simply walk away unscathed, won’t you? You obviously have no regard at all for future plans.’

His hands lay still on either side of his plate, the cutlery held loosely in his inert fingers, his eyes seemingly fascinated with the remnants of his breakfast. Half-closed lids veiled his expression.

Emily immediately felt guilty. She reached out her hand and placed it over his. ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.’

He raised his head and looked at her, and she could see the hurt etched on his face. But why, when she’d only spoken the truth?

‘Youobviously have your life very well planned out,’ Jake spoke quietly, putting the cutlery down and picking up his coffee, ‘but what happens if your plans go wrong, eh? Strikes me it would be more of a shock to you than it would to me, taking each day as it comes the way I do.’ He drank deeply before setting his mug deliberately and carefully back on the table.

It was Emily’s turn to stare down at her plate. He was closer to the mark than he could know. Her careful plans, possibly even her future, were crumbling round the edges, and it terrified her.

Damn! Being here was so stupid. Forget last night and her romantic thoughts that maybe Jake had been makingloveto her. He’d been having some good sex, that was all, and okay, part of that was to please her, but that was as far as he was prepared to go. She needed to stop day-dreaming about a long-term relationship with Jake Bradstock, and instead, carefully reflect on her future.

Pushing her chair back, the screech of the legs on the tiles sounding harsh in the silence which had fallen between them, Emily stood up. ‘I’m sorry, but I think this has been a mistake. I should never have come back. I’ll collect my things and leave you in peace.’

And be damned if there had or hadn’t been a will. If Greenall’s hadn’t found it when clearing out Mr Whitchurch’s personal possessions, what chance had she? It was nothing but a silly pipe dream on Jake’s part. She turned away from her uneaten breakfast, heading towards the door.

She was half-blinded by silly tears and didn’t dare try to say anything else in case she broke down.

Before she reached the hall, she felt a hand on her shoulder. ‘Emily. Come on, now. So we’ve had a spat. You’ve some right in what you said, I suppose. Come here. Come on… come here.’ His voice was coaxing, and she allowed his gentle but persistent hands to turn her round and pull her against his chest. Arms which were strong and supportive enclosed her, soothing her doubts and misery away.

‘Look, Jake… I’m sorry, but I really think I better go—’

He interrupted her with a finger laid on her lips, his eyes searching her face. Emily wasn’t sure what to read into his expression.

‘Did last night mean nothing to you, then?’ His voice was almost tentative. He sounded as if he cared.

Her eyebrows flew up as she stared back, before she shook her head, her lips compressing. ‘You said this was a holiday fling. You as good as said you do this often, and it’s all meaningless, even the sex. What’s the problem if I cut it off sooner rather than later?’

‘Did last night mean nothing to you?’ he repeated.

‘Damn you! For me?Yes. Yes, it did. It meant the world. I gave more to you last night than I’ve ever given to any man. I don’t know how you do it, but yes. For me…me, Jake, it meant a hell of a lot. But that’s me, looking at it from the eyes of a dreamer who’s into committed relationships, not casual sex.What about you?’

He dropped his forehead onto hers and rocked her soothingly from side to side. When he finally spoke, his voice was so quiet she could hardly hear him, and when she tried to pull back so she could look at his expression, he refused to let her.

‘I don’t know. All I know is I wondered why you never turned up last Sunday. I guessed you’d changed your mind, but I somehow hoped you hadn’t. It was a first for me to give you the key to my house. When we slept together hereall night, it was a first. And the fact I want to see you again this evening is another first. So, at the moment, I don’t know.’

Emily expelled her breath in a rush as her heart gave an enormous thump. She hadn’t expected this from him. Maybe last night had been more than just sex… for them both.

Returning to the table, she sat and ate her breakfast as her mind raced between last night, what she planned for today, and whether she should stay or go. She intended to look for the will, yes, and maybe she’d get an opportunity later, when she could sit down with Jake and talk about Approach. Explain if the company couldn’t offer him an acceptable solution, she intended to use her veto, which meant, for now, he’d be safe. Realistically, this was the most likely scenario because Gerry had already made it clear he wanted Jake gone. If Approach withdrew, it no longer mattered she was here. There would be no clash of interests. As well, she had to keep hold of the fact this thing between her and Jake was a temporary—very temporary—arrangement. By the time the offer had been withdrawn, whatever was happening between them would be over.

Jake interrupted her thoughts. ‘Well? Have you decided whether to stay?’

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