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“LOVE IT!” Evie howled.
Nick bounced harder and faster, gaining air with each exuberant spring. “Okay, Tigs, check this.” Bending his knees deeply, he vaulted higher and threw his arms up as he somersaulted backward…his feet arcing through the star-speckled sky.
“Oh my god!”
Evie’s squeal teased Nick’s ears, but her alarm was unwarranted. He landed his backflip like an Olympic athlete.
“What the hell?” She gawped.
“Gymnastics. Mum thought it would help with strength and movement, especially on stage. It’s important to be flexible.”
A strangled giggle escaped from Evie. “I can do this.” Mid-jump, she threw her legs straight out in front of her and landed on the trampoline butt-first before rebounding back up on her feet.
“Nice!” Nick’s gaze glided past the thin spaghetti straps of Evie’s top and lingered on her breasts, bouncing beneath the flimsy material. “I could watch you do this all day.” He zeroed in on her peaked nipples.
Evie laughed, leaping higher and higher. “Boys!” She pointed at her face with both index fingers. “Oi, Nick! My eyes? UP HERE—!” Her words snapped as she landed on the sliding Snowball package and propelled shoulder-first into Nick.
“Ooof!” Breath punched from his lungs, he buckled, collapsing with Evie in a laughing, wheezing heap on the trampoline. Her nose landed in his crotch.
They both froze.
“Oh my god!” She squealed through giggles, pushing herself up.
Nick roared with rumbly laughter. “Hey! At least buy a bloke dinner first.” A dog barked next door, startled by their youthful exuberance.
Straightening her top, Evie wouldn’t look at him. “I’m sorry!”
Longing panged in Nick’s chest. “I’m not.” He swallowed, boldness taking over as he sat up. “But I am sorry I didn’t kiss you.”
Evie’s flustered shirt-pulling ceased. She blinked up, her posture stiffening as her cheeks grew pink. “Kiss—when?”
“Two years ago, behind your mum’s shop. I might’ve been mistaken, but I swore you wanted me to…”
Eyes and shoulders softening, her throat bobbed.
“And the thing is, I still do.” Nick let out a shuddering breath. “Evie, I need to know. Am I too late—?”
She lunged and crushed Nick’s mouth with hers.
Soft and warm and marshmallow-sweet, her kiss was a heady dream come true. Nick’s hands dove into her hair, grasping, twirling, holding her close as goosebumps prickled his arms. He let out a gasp and Evie shifted, the tip of her tongue teasing the seam of his lips. Nick couldn’t hold back anymore. Tilting his head, he caressed her jaw and pulled her bottom lip into his mouth, sucking hard. A heated moan escaped Evie’s throat and Nick let go, taking their kiss deeper as her hand swept under his shirt, her splayed touch exploring, climbing, desperate for more. She wasn’t the only one. A tingling ache grew hot and hard beneath his zipper. I want her so badly, but… He eased back, conscious of going too far, too fast.
“You all right?” Evie whispered, her mouth pink and deliciously swollen. She didn’t wait for his answer and kissed him again.
Nick’s eyes flittered closed, but his blissful stupor was short-lived, shattered by a flash of two blinding lights.
SIXTEEN
EVIE
Now, Thursday, July 20
Weeks into filming, Evie and Nick’s working relationship had found its groove. While they only saw each other once or twice each day, their interactions were cordial and brief, leaving no hints for onlookers of their tumultuous past. Evie had also fallen into a rhythm with Sunita. Now a proven catering team, they still ran into the occasional foodie hiccup, but most were minor and, thankfully, didn’t threaten any lives.
Waving goodbye to the Mainland, the shoot had moved thirty-eight miles north to the island of Sanday where, after a particularly hectic Thursday, Evie was contemplating a solo stroll to clear her head.
Sunita, however, had other ideas.
“Eves, stay in! Live large with me.” Sipping her canned gin and tonic, she sank back into the pillows on her bed, one of two singles in the B&B bedroom they were sharing.
