Page 22 of Finding Zara


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I laughed. “Okay then!”

I stepped outside and couldn’t see Matt anywhere. I frowned. He couldn’t have gone far, since his truck was still there. Walking along the front of the house, I rounded the corner just as Matt came the other way. “Oof.” His arms came around me instantly, stopping me from falling as I grabbed a fistful of his shirt. “Sorry,” I said, my voice low.

“It’s okay,” he replied, without making any move to let me go. I raised my eyes to his, feeling my breath catch at the heat I saw swirling in the green depths.

I swallowed. “Umm, Matthew?” Without thought, I leaned in, so our lips were a whisper apart.

“Mmm?”

“I think you should let me go, please.” I didn’t want him to let me go at all. I wanted to stay right where I was, pressed against him, his arms strong around me, his lips mere inches from mine. I wanted him to kiss me again.

“Okay,” he said, as though he was answering my unspoken thought. He lowered his head. My heart thudded as our lips brushed over each other ever so slightly, making me shiver. Before either of us could take the moment further, the sound of a truck rumbling along the drive cut through the air.

Staying in the circle of his arms, I said, “It looks like the not kissing each other thing isn’t going to work out, huh?”

He gave a slow smile, his eyes crinkling at the edges in a way I was already starting to adore. “So it would appear.” Stepping back just as Gabe’s truck rounded the curve of the drive, he flicked my nose with the tip of his finger and grinned. “We’ll have to think about what that means.”

“Okay.” It was the perfect thing he could say to settle my nerves. I knew what I was like, knew I could and would completely overthink this, jump to all sorts of conclusions and freak myself out. Matt’s calm response, acknowledging our situation and being willing to take his time considering it, made me feel so much easier about it.

“Anyway, did you want me?”

My eyes widened. That was much, much more direct than I was expecting. “Well, I, uh…”

Matt grinned at my flustered stammers. “I meant, did you come out here because you needed me for something?”

“Oh! Right. Yes, of course. Lucy asked me to come and get you. She’s got an amazing idea for the kitchen, apparently.”

“Okay, I’ll be right in. I’ll have a quick chat with Gabe before I bring him in.”

“Okay, sure. Thanks.”

Still a little rattled, I went back to the kitchen. “He said he’d be in in a minute. He’s just talking to Gabe first.”

“Oh, Gabe’s here?”

“Yeah, he’s going to give me a quote on the garden cleanup.”

“That’s excellent. He’s the best there is, so you’ll be in good hands. Although I have to admit I’m a bit biased. He’s like a brother to me.”

“That’s sweet.”

“It is. We’re just in here!” Lucy called as the front door opened. “Missed you on Sunday,” she said to Gabe, moving to give him a hug as soon as he stepped into the kitchen.

“Yeah, sorry, I thought Jake needed to get away for a bit, so I took him fishing.”

“Got it. How is he?”

Gabe only shrugged in answer.

“I see… Well, moving on, this is Zara.”

“Hi.”

‘Hi.” Gabe was tall, with dark curly hair and deep blue eyes.Soulful eyes, I thought as we shook hands. But a little rough around the edges too, with a five o’clock shadow and his hair brushing the collar of his shirt. The complete opposite to Matt, who was so clean cut. “Matt’s filled me in on what you need, so I’m just going to go and take a look around, if that’s okay. I already spotted a couple of fallen trees around the property when I drove in, so I’ll give you a quote to remove them. Plus a general tidy up, weeds, blackberry spraying, pruning back any overgrown trees. I can see the grass has already been mowed.”

“Sounds perfect.”

“Great. I’ll take a better look around now and see what I can do. I’ll come back to you with a quote and if it works for you, we can put in a few hours tomorrow to get you started.”

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