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‘I wasn’t aiming to be helpful,’ said Rob, the smile sliding from ‘playful’ to ‘seductive’.
Hannah narrowed her eyes. ‘Just out of interest,’ she asked, ‘have you ever had a woman say no to you?’
Rob’s brow furrowed. ‘Hmm, good question. I’d need some time to think about it.’
Hannah shook her head. ‘You’re quite special, you know that?’
‘Thank you,’ said Rob with a grin. The moment stretched awkwardly between them, and suddenly the gap of white sheet really wasn’t very big at all.
‘Look,’ Rob whispered. ‘Maybe now is a good time to remind you that I really like you. Like, a lot.’
‘You’ve said,’ smiled Hannah, as a million butterflies started a rave in her belly.
‘And just because I haven’t had a proper relationship before, doesn’t mean I don’t ever want one, or that I can’t be the person you need. So maybe, if we were invoking the wisdom of ABBA, you could take a chance on me.’
‘Right,’ said Hannah, wondering what he was actually asking. A minute ago he was asleep, and now they were talking about ABBA.
‘I can’t promise not to fuck up,’ he continued. ‘But I CAN promise to try my absolute best.’
Hannah looked at him intently, processing his words and mentally bundling all her reservations into a huge ball and stuffing them under the bed. ‘Kiss me,’ she whispered.
‘Really?’ said Rob, his eyes wide.
‘Yes,’ said Hannah, wondering if her heart might beat out of her chest and splatter all over the duvet. ‘I don’t care what happens tomorrow or next week or next month, I just want you to kiss me. Do it now, before I change my mind.’
Rob reached over to cup her face, his hand hot and insistent and his eyes never leaving hers. She lifted the sheet to move towards him, her nerves jangling as she anticipated the heat of his lips, his body pressed against hers, and all the things that might happen after that. But before she had the chance to move, Scrumpy bounded onto the bed and wiggled himself firmly between them, his tail wagging frantically as he licked both their faces. He barked happily, and a sliver of light appeared under the door as Barnaby turned on his bedroom light.
‘Bleurgh,’ said Hannah, batting the dog away. He turned several circles and flumped on the bed between them, before twisting onto his back and offering his belly up for a scratch.
‘I guess that’s told us,’ laughed Rob.
‘Clearly quite enough for one night,’ said Hannah.
Rob reached over and took her hand, creating a bridge over Scrumpy’s belly. ‘Well, there’s always tomorrow,’ he said with a sleepy grin.
‘That’s true,’ said Hannah, lying back on the pillow as the heat of Rob’s fingers flowed through her chest into her stomach, then finally came to rest between her legs. She thought about her fourteen years of marriage to Graham, and how nothing – NOTHING – he had ever done in the vicinity of her body had felt as powerfully erotic as having her hand held by this man. The fire inside her burned, and the promise of what might lie ahead tomorrow kept her awake long after Rob had fallen asleep again.
PART FOUR
Love Match
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
‘That was painful,’ said Hannah. ‘I want you to know that that was painful, so that I can remind you again later how painful it was.’ They were standing at the edge of Joyce’s terrace, a short distance away from the small group intently watching the doubles match currently in progress. It was Joyce and Oscar, another one of her British ex-pat neighbours, against Dominic and Clara the Danish beauty queen, who was deeply average at tennis but seemed to have attracted a crowd of onlookers anyway, all of whom seemed entirely transfixed by her one-shouldered white tennis dress, conker-brown skin, swinging ponytail and endless legs. There was no sign of Clara’s husband Eddie, who owned a huge shipping company and apparently spent most of the year in Copenhagen.
‘I’m sorry,’ said Rob. ‘I’m playing as badly as I can without it being obvious, but we needed to get to the final.’ Hannah noticed how he kept his eyes fixed on hers, determined not to let them drift to Clara even for a second.
‘Why?’ said Hannah, putting her hands on her hips and pressing her lips together. She could see the sheen of sweat on his skin and vaguely wondered how many more years she might have to wait before she was allowed to see him naked, or even kiss him without being attacked by a jealous dog. Wars had been fought and won in a shorter time than this courtship.
‘Why what?’ he asked.
‘Why is it SO important to you that you win?’ She couldn’t help but smile, so he knew she wasn’t really annoyed. If she was honest, she was just keeping up this conversation as an excuse to look at him.
‘What, today?’ asked Rob, furrowing his brow. ‘Or generally?’
‘Both,’ she said. ‘Are you always this competitive?’
Rob grinned. ‘No. OK, yes. We’re still in the final, though.’
