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‘WE’RE going to a barbecue? Truly?’ Archie jumped up and down with excitement. ‘On the beach?’
‘Calm down, Arch! You’re like a kangaroo, and it’s in Louisa’s garden, but I think that’s right next to the beach.’ Much as she was looking forward to the day, all she really wanted to do was sleep, Kat thought as she stuffed sun hats and cream into a brightly coloured shoulder bag.
She felt totally exhausted.
For the first time for as long as she could remember, she wasn’t sleeping well. During the day—apart from the X-ray incident, which she was trying valiantly to forget—she managed to keep her thoughts pretty much under control. But the moment she slid between the sheets it was an entirely different matter. Her mind took on a life of its own. It didn’t help whether her eyes were open or closed, the vision was still the same. Josh, with no shirt on. Josh, his bronzed skin gleaming under the sun, his muscles flexed as he worked on the boat, his hair gleaming, glossy black.
Josh, Josh, Josh. He crowded her thoughts until her body was so heated and shivery that no amount of night air could cool her down. She’d tried sleeping with the window open and the window closed. She’d counted sheep and every other animal she could think of. She’d reminded herself that she didn’t date men. That she wasn’t interested in men. Nothing worked. Her head was still full of Josh and she was exhausted.
Maybe she needed to work harder, she thought grimly as she zipped the bag and slung it over her shoulder. She obviously just wasn’t tired enough. If she exhausted herself physically, then she’d stop thinking about sex and sleep.
It wasn’t as if she was even that interested in sex!
Well, today she was going to run on the beach and swim in the sea and make sure that she was so physically worn out that not sleeping just wouldn’t be an option.
She’d followed Louisa’s instructions and had dressed casually in a pair of denim shorts teamed with her favourite cream strap top. ‘Your job, Archie O’Brien, is to keep an eye on that dog,’ she said sternly. ‘Make sure he doesn’t eat everyone’s lunch.’
Archie grinned at the prospect. ‘Will Josh be there?’
Kat froze in the middle of slipping her feet into a pair of flat sandals. The possibility hadn’t even occurred to her. Why hadn’t it occurred to her? ‘I don’t know.’
Oh, help—she sincerely hoped not. She was trying to put him out of her mind. She closed her eyes briefly. Please, no, she thought. Not Josh…not today.
And then she remembered that he was working. He’d generously given her the weekend off to be with Archie, but he himself had worked yesterday and she knew he was down for today as well.
Having convinced herself that there was no way he could possibly be at Louisa’s, she had a shock when she walked into the garden and he was the first person she saw.
Stripped to the waist again, a bottle of beer in his hand, he was chatting to a tall, dark-haired man who Kat remembered vaguely from that first day on the beach and presumed to be his brother.
Josh noticed her arrive and broke off in mid-sentence, his blue eyes fixed on hers for endless seconds. Then his gaze slid slowly down her body, lingering on every curve.
‘Put your tongue away, Josh,’ his brother suggested helpfully. ‘It’s hanging out.’ He stepped forward and held out a hand, his smile friendly. ‘I’m Mac Sullivan. You must be Kat. Good to meet you. I apologise for my brother. Manners and subtlety have never been part of his make-up but I expect you must know that by now.’
Kat took his hand, immediately remembering their encounter on the beach. ‘Hello again. This is Archie.’ Suddenly overwhelmed by the presence of so many adults, Archie shrank against her, his fingers clutching her shorts.
Josh dropped to his haunches and smiled at him. ‘Well, if it isn’t my little boat friend. You did a great job the other morning. That section you helped me with…’ He shook his head in disbelief. ‘It’s better than the rest. You must have a really good technique.’
Distracted, Archie let go of Kat’s shorts. ‘Are you a pirate?’
Josh threw back his head and laughed aloud. ‘Do I look like a pirate?’
Yes, Kat thought helplessly, her eyes drawn to the strong column of his throat, the dark stubble on his jaw and those wicked blue eyes. You look exactly like a pirate.
‘It’s just that there’s a picture of a pirate who looks just like you at my summer camp,’ Archie said solemnly, his eyes fixed on Josh’s face. ‘He’s standing on the deck of his ship and he looks really cool.’
Mac groaned. ‘Don’t tell my brother he looks cool.’
‘Why not?’ Josh arched an eyebrow in his brother’s direction. ‘I am cool. Seriously cool. Not that I expect you to know anything about that. You’re heading for fatherhood and a people carrier faster than a guy can say “duck”.’ He winked at Archie. ‘I’m not a pirate, but I love the sea so maybe I should have been one. Do you like the sea?’
‘More than anything.’
Kat felt her heart twist as she looked at her son. She really, really had to arrange for him to go sailing.
‘Josh?’ Archie sounded breathless, his little voice full of hope. ‘If I can get my mum to say yes, can I help you with the boat again?’
Josh looked at him, a thoughtful expression on his handsome face. ‘You know how to get your mum to say yes to things?’
A smile flickered across the little boy’s face and he nodded. ‘Mostly.’
