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He nodded. “I obeyed my parents from day one, but at eighteen I wanted to break away do my own thing. The army provided. I’m grateful I joined up. As an only child, I’d had such a cossetted and privileged childhood; the army broke down all of that and showed me another way to live and think, along with a lot of guys I met, who I would never have hung about with at any previous stage in my life. It was a wonderful melting pot, a crucible.”
Kristy stared at him in wonder. There were more layers behind Josh Bridges than just the smart clothes and perfect manners.
“After you left?”
“I went to uni and around that time I met you and Amanda.”
His words stirred feelings she didn’t want to have again. The night she’d met him flashed uppermost in her mind. The spark of interest was strong, but she’d left that pub deflated. As usual, she was the second choice or no choice at all. Josh had asked Amanda for her number.
He shifted and caught her eye. Josh reached out and took her hand in his. His hands were huge, warm and comforting.
“Things can’t have been easy for you when you started the second business,” he said, stating the obvious.
“You learn to cope.”
He gave her hands a squeeze. “I understand.”
Did he?
“Any boyfriends? Any romance on the horizon?”
She let out a short sharp laugh. “Not a chance with my family history. You know my dad died from alcohol poisoning and my mum is still an alcoholic. Most of the guys in town link ‘like mother, like daughter’. Not that I have the time for dating anyway.”
Josh said in a grim voice, “Yes, Amanda told me about that.”
“Enough about me. When do you return to Sydney?”
“It’s an open question right now. The boys start school next year and once they start I want them to stay at the same school until they finish.”
Kristy looked into his unapologetic eyes. Her disappointment was palpable and she tried hard to hide it. Just when she was beginning to like having him around.
She swallowed hard. “So, we’ll only see you on the odd long weekend and Christmas?”
“That’s right,” he agreed. “It’s looking that way.”
She pulled her hands out of his and picked up the teddy bear.
“Come on, we’re too old to be behaving like teenagers. It’s time we went back to our responsibilities.”
She stood, as did Josh who gathered their rubbish together and took it to the nearest bin. He joined her as she looked out over the river.
“I’ve really enjoyed myself,” she whispered. Emotions, so unfamiliar, were clogging at the back of her throat.
He gently put his arm around her shoulder. “There’s one more thing to do today and I need your input.”
“What?” Curious, she glanced in his direction.
“There are a million and one shades of white and I’ve got to get the right shade if I’m going to paint your showroom before I go.”
She threw back her head. “What? You don’t have to. I’ve put in some extra light to make it brighter.”
He steered her out of the fun park. “I can’t leave here without painting your showroom.”
Damn.Just as she was settling down to forget about him, he wanted to do something so lovely for her that she’d remember him every time she walked into that showroom.
He’s making memories!
CHAPTER11
