Page 32 of Fool Me Twice

Evie felt her cheeks flush.

“Are you blushing?” he said, a slow smile tugging at his lips.

“No,” she said, in little more than a whisper.

He reached out and touched her cheek with his thumb. “I think you are,” he said, his eyes softening as he trailed his thumb along her cheekbone and down to her lip. She sat there motionless, like a rabbit caught in the headlights. She knew she should run, but she was stuck fast, rooted to the spot.

Peter leaned toward her and kissed her, gently at first. She tried to resist, but there was such a tenderness to his lips, a warmth she hadn’t felt in forever, that she gave in, unable to deny herself any longer. She returned his kisses hungrily, like a starving woman feasting after an overlong famine.

“Evie?” Someone rapped on the door. “Evie?”

“It’s Matt,” she whispered, pulling back.

“Stay,” Peter breathed against her flushed skin, his lips trailing along her throat.

“I can’t,” she said sadly, trying to control her shaky breaths. “I can’t do this. Not again.” She rose unsteadily to her feet. “Coming!” she called as she crossed the room.

“I’m sorry.” She forced herself to give Peter a steely look before leaving the room, her lips still tingling with his kiss.

When Peter arrived at the studio the next morning, Evie was waiting for him, sitting cross-legged on a yoga mat on the floor. She looked up when he entered, but said nothing. The room was pleasantly warm and filled with a fresh citrus scent he found comforting, despite the anxious fluttering in his stomach.

He hadn’t meant to kiss her, but it had felt so natural, so right, and their encounter had stirred up a whole mix of emotions he wasn’t sure he should be feeling. Everything was going so well with Jaxon that he couldn’t bear the thought of messing it all up and losing him.

Finding out he had a son was one of the best things that had ever happened to him. He’d scarcely allowed himself to believe it could be true when Shari had told him, expecting it all to have been a misunderstanding or a bad joke. He’d barely glanced at the papers she and her lawyer had thrust in front of him, both of them stressing how important it was that he sign them to protect himself and his assets – all he was interested in was meeting the boy.

Shari and her lawyer had tried to insist they met at her lawyer’s office, arguing that they needed to find out what the boy was after, what his price was. But Peter had no intention of meeting his son for the first time in a boardroom filled with lawyers in some kind of ridiculous power play. Instead, he’d met him at a beachside café, far away from prying eyes.

He’d recognised the tall, gangly kid sauntering toward him instantly. He didn’t need any DNA test to prove Jaxon was his son; apart from a couple of mannerisms he’d inherited from his mother, it was like looking in a mirror.

Despite what Shari and her lawyer had said, Jaxon had wanted nothing from him other than to get to know his father. It was only a matter of time before he wanted something, Shari had raged when he’d recounted their meeting to her, but she’d been wrong. The only thing Jaxon wanted from him was his time.

Evie stood up and pointed to a second yoga mat on the floor that she obviously intended for Peter to use.

“About our kiss—“ he began, deciding it was better to clear the air.

“Do you know what clinical Pilates involves?”

The question took him by surprise. “Er... no. But I think we should—“

Once again, she ignored him and explained what clinical Pilates was, what they’d be doing, and how it could help him recover.

Evie kept their session short. Maybe it was intentional, or maybe the closeness of their bodies as she helped him stretch was as awkward for her as it was for him.

At the end of their session, they both lay flat on their mats while Evie talked him through the cooling-down phase, helping him to focus on his breathing until their heart rates returned to normality. After several minutes, Evie got to her feet and helped Peter to his.

“Evie, I think we should talk about—“

“No. We shouldn’t.” She put her palms together as if she was going to pray and bowed her head. “Namaste,” she said before turning and walking away.

Chapter eighteen

“I don’t think you’re going to need many more sessions,” Evie said as her hands brushed his body with long, sweeping strokes, infusing his mind and body with a sweet, intoxicating blend of frankincense, ylang-ylang, sandalwood and bergamot. “The doctor is really pleased with the progress you’ve made. And you seem to be walking a lot better.”

“Hmmm.” Peter let out a grunt, or maybe it was a snore, hoping to deter her, but she persisted, telling him things he didn’t want to hear, let alone think about.

“Well?”

He didn’t answer. They’d been following Evie’s therapy regimen for four weeks now and Peter could feel his knee getting stronger, and his shoulder was almost back to normal, thanks to her carefully structured routine of swimming, yoga and clinical Pilates. But it wasn’t just about how much better he was feeling physically. The sessions had allowed him to spend time with Evie.

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