Page 114 of The Summer That Changed Us

But Barney, where was he? How would he feel about her now? A woman who’d exposed herself in front of a camera and who had been in charge of his daughter all evening. Her eyes roamed the group frantically and found him. He stood at the table, arms braced on the back of his chair, his gaze pinned to her. Her heart raced as she tried to fight through her mental fog to read his expression. A room full of people but his opinion was the only one she wanted to hear. Barney, please understand, her eyes pleaded with his.

And then he was coming towards her, pushing through the crowd until he was there, reaching for her. She slipped her hand into his, hope blossoming in her chest. It was going to be all right; he was smiling, touching her. Thank goodness, thank you, thank you Lord.

‘Excuse us,’ he said loudly. ‘Award-winners are required for photographs. I need to borrow Katie for a few minutes.’

‘Course you do,’ said Grace with a wink.

‘We’ll keep an eye on Amber,’ Robyn said, beside herself with joy.

‘Let’s go,’ Barney murmured in her ear.

Together they made their way towards the exit, weaving past tables of people who reached out to congratulate her and smile their good wishes. And then they were out of the ballroom and running along the corridor until the noise of the event was almost inaudible.

Barney stopped suddenly and Katie stopped too. They turned to face each other, laughing and breathless.

‘Katie, I think you’re fantastic.’

She blinked at him, weak with relief. ‘Really, even after seeing that photograph?’

‘Really.’ He stepped closer. ‘Even more so, since seeing it.’

She raised an eyebrow and he groaned. ‘That came out wrong, sorry.’

She laughed. ‘I think I know what you meant.’

He met her eye. ‘I never dared hope that I’d meet someone so incredible. I wasn’t even sure I’d meet anyone ever again, to be honest.’

‘Oh, Barney.’ She placed her hand on his face. This man who genuinely didn’t get how amazing he was.

‘And then there’s Amber to consider. Any poor woman getting involved with me gets two Larkins for the price of one.’

‘Absolute bargain,’ she murmured. She was staring at his mouth; she could almost taste him. She drew closer and then closer still, touching his shirt, feeling the heat of him pulsing through the fabric.

‘And then I met you.’ His hands reached to her waist, pulling her in until their hips met and the closeness of him sent her senses wild. ‘And Amber met you and I began to hope that maybe I had found someone after all. And as the weeks have gone by, I became more and more sure that you’d be good for us.’

Her heart leapt. ‘You think I’ll be good for Amber? Even now?’

He nodded. ‘But mostly me. I think you’ll be very good for me.’

His kiss when it came was exquisite. Tender and tantalising, sensuous and incredibly sexy.

His hands found hers and he brought them to his lips. ‘Is it mad to say that I’m falling for you?’

She shrugged, her body suddenly fluid and languid. She slid her arms around his neck and grazed her lips against his. ‘I don’t think so, but you’re the journalist – don’t you have a moral code to tell the truth in your stories?’

‘Good point, in that case it must be true,’ he murmured. ‘But I’m sure I just heard the most beautiful woman in Merle Bay say that our bodies tell stories.’ He kissed her again, this time with more passion and a promise of more to come. He ran his hands down her sides until they rested on her bottom and she shivered with delight. ‘I can’t wait to learn the story of this one.’

She felt lightheaded with love; yes, love. She knew without hesitation that this was the man she’d been waiting for. A man who’d hold her tight, but never hold her back, who’d fight her corner, but never try and take over. ‘It started with a kiss,’ she began and then melted into his embrace one more time.

‘Are you two going to slobber over each other all night?’ a voice cut in. ‘Or can we go home?’

Amber! Barney and Katie leapt apart like they’d been electrocuted and Amber hooted with glee.

‘Are you ready to go home or would you rather stay?’ Barney looked at Katie with such warmth that she could barely think straight, let alone form a sentence.

‘Stay. I mean go. Just … give me two minutes,’ she said. ‘There’s something I’ve got to do first.’

‘I warn you,’ said Amber, ‘it’s messy in there. The disco has started, and your friends are strutting their stuff.’