AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He cleared his throat and took the seat opposite. “You got that right. Those were special times, huh?”
“The best.”
The words popped out before she could think and she grabbed her fork and speared a piece of grilled calamari, concentrating on filling her plate with the deliciously aromatic garlic prawns, miso-glazed salmon fillet, and scallops he’d barbecued to perfection, anything to avoid blurting any more home truths.
“Do you miss those days as much as I do?” He asked, his gaze fixed on her and filled with hope.
She couldn’t lie to him, couldn’t hold him back forever, and she nodded, forking a ring of butter-soft calamari into her mouth, savoring the fresh sea taste with a burst of lemon, using the scrumptious food as an excuse not to speak considering she had a lump of emotion lodged in her throat.
“We could have those times again, you know.” He reached across and captured her hand, his long, warm fingers curling around hers like the most natural thing in the world. “I think you want it as much as I do.”
This was why she shouldn’t have come away for the weekend. A bit of light-hearted flirting she could handle, it was this revealing-your-soul thing she sucked at. And boy, would he get the shock of a lifetime when she bared her soul.
Swallowing, she washed the yummy seafood down with a sip of wine, much slower this time. “Honestly? I don’t know what I want.”
He withdrew his hand and she raised her eyes, disheartened by the hint of wariness in his. “That’s okay. I didn’t mean to get all heavy on you. This weekend’s meant to be about relaxation, remember?”
He sounded flippant, but as he helped himself to seafood she could tell she’d hurt him by the tension in his shoulders and the groove between his brows. It was the last thing she wanted to do, but she had to be honest with him, and while they were growing closer every day she still couldn’t throw all her reservations away at once.
“Relaxation. Right, got it,” she said, picking up her fork and twirling it between her fingers, her emotions tumbling in a confusing torrent: fear and hope waging a fierce battle as she struggled to come to a decision.
Married or not, there would be no middle ground for them. She couldn’t go on being friends with her husband forever and she wouldn’t expect him to sit around and wait indefinitely.
She had to make a choice, and soon, for both their sakes.
Reaching for his wine glass, he raised it in her direction. “I propose a toast. To focussing on this weekend and making it a new and exciting time to remember.”
She’d drink to that and she picked up her glass and clinked it against his. “To new and exciting times ahead.”
But excitement wore off. The gloss of getting reacquainted would soon fade and pale in the face of making tough decisions, the type of life changing decisions effecting both of them once she told him the truth.
She would have to tell him about her fertility problems if they were to take a second chance on their marriage; there would be no holding back despite the sick, hollow, ache deep in her soul every time she thought about what she’d been through and how it effected her future…theirfuture.
Excitement was fine for now.
But the thought of renewing her commitment to her husband was confusing the hell out of her.
Chapter Ten
Camryn lowered onto the threadbare rug, tucked her feet under her, and cradled a mug of hot chocolate, staring out the window at the inky darkness, hearing the waves crashing on the shore but unable to see anything beyond the low-wattage street lights dotting the foreshore.
This place may be a ramshackle shack with its loopy wood letting in the blustery wind through tiny cracks, its mismatched furniture and broken spring sofa, but it held a certain appeal.
Namely the man walking toward her with a plate piled high with small, symmetrical squares of caramel slice, her favorite, considering the gooey richness was smothered in chocolate.
“You certainly know how to spoil a girl.” She selected a large piece, bit into the caramel and coconut biscuit base, and sighed. “Mmm…good.”
She flicked her tongue out to catch a stray crumb, unwilling to let the tiniest morsel escape her lips, when her gaze collided with Blane’s, the heat she glimpsed enough to send a thrill of excitement through her.
Considering the hash she’d made over dinner, dragging up her confusion about their relationship, she was surprised he felt anything other than compassion for her. But there was nomistaking the hunger in his eyes, the smouldering glow of desire she’d seen many times before and had shrugged off with a witty quip or light flirtation.
However, this time was different. This time they were spending quality time together, more than a snatched coffee as they ran out of his penthouse in the morning or a brief greeting as they passed in the hallway heading to their respective bedrooms at night.
Here, there was no hiding behind her busy schedule, and while he’d made it clear he didn’t expect anything from this weekend beyond a bit of R&R, she knew all it would take to send them both up in flames was a little encouragement to fan the sparks.
“Would you like some more?”
He held out the plate toward her, his steamy gaze stoking the fire between them and she knew he wasn’t just talking about the caramel slice. Playing the nice guy, he was giving her the choice of how far she wanted to take this.
