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‘I swore I would never be like her, Jake. I promised myself I wouldn’t make those mistakes. I wouldn’t drag a family into the kind of life that I lead. Yet, I inserted myself into your life, yours and Brady’s, and I had no right.’
‘And we’re both so much better off for you in it.’
Which sounded a hell of a lot like a declaration that he hadn’t even known he wanted to make.
It was insane. Preposterous. And it couldn’t happen. In a matter of weeks, the summer programme would be over and he and Brady would be flying back to the UK. There was no doubt in Jake’s mind that the next sensible action, the reasonable one, would be to start creating some much-needed distance from this quirky, funny, sexy woman who had, incredibly, managed to sneak under his skin.
For his sake, but mainly for Brady’s. Because God knew they were both at greater risk than ever of falling for the unique Flávia Maura.
Which only made his next move all the more irrational.
‘If that offer to take us into the rainforest is still on, I think when I get my free weekend next week, Brady and I would very much like to take you up on it.’
‘You trust me?’ She stared up at him, her amber eyes bright, proud. ‘With Brady?’
‘There’s no one else I’d trust more,’ he assured her, lowering his head and finally, finally, claiming her mouth with his.
CHAPTER TWELVE
‘PARE! OLHE!’
Raoul stopped abruptly, pointing something out that Flávia had to train her eyes for a moment to see.
‘Wait,’ she instructed Brady and Jake in turn, then panned with her camera until it caught what Raoul had first spotted. ‘Look—there in that glory bush.’
Brady and Jake peered into the image and belatedly, Flávia realised that she had effectively invited Jake to step closer to her. As her thundering heartbeat now heralded.
The past few hours with Jake had been eased by the presence of both Brady and Raoul. She’d used the pair of them almost as a shield to help her create some distance from Jake.
It had to be one of the hardest things she’d ever had to do in her life, but what choice did she have?
Flávia didn’t even recognise the woman she’d been last week on their date. She had never opened up to anyone—not even Maria—the way she’d opened up to Jake. It went deeper than the mere secrets she’d shared with him. It was more than just the way his grey-blue eyes had seemed to shine light on the darker corners of her soul, making the things which had once scared her seem less frightening. It had gone beyond the way they’d returned to her city apartment and made love slowly and tenderly. Then hard and illicitly.
And for the first time in her life, her apartment had felt like a home instead of just the crash pad she used when she couldn’t get back to the rainforest and it was too late to travel to Maria’s.
That entire night with Jake had felt like a surrender.
And it terrified her.
So, she’d gone out of her way to avoid bumping into him ever since. She’d snuck in and out of her lab and avoided all the places in the hospital that she knew he usually frequented. She’d even avoided Brady—which only made her feel guilt on top of all these other tumbling, confusing emotions.
It had been fortunate that the week had also been one of the busiest of the summer training programme and she’d known Jake had practically been in back-to-back teaching operations and seminars, anyway.
So why didn’t she feel that fortunate?
But now she was here, in the middle of the Atlantic Forest with Jake, and it was getting harder and harder to pretend things were normal between them. She had no idea what he was thinking, and it was making her crazy.
She was turning herself inside out. Wondering. Imagining. And then, trying to act as though it didn’t matter to her.
Impossible.
‘Wow...’ Brady breathed, drawing her back to the present in an instant.
And as soon as he did, her gaze pulled inexorably to Jake. Just in time to watch as his eyebrows knitted together in disbelief.
Her fingers actually ached to reach out and smooth his brow.
Hopeless!
