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‘Sorry to interrupt, ladies, but here’s the first course.’ He placed the dishes down with pride, loving the way both his mum and Samantha looked at the decadent food with the wow factor he’d been aiming for.
‘Connor, I take my hat off to you,’ Samantha said with a gasp. ‘Because by the looks of this, you’ve certainly walked the walk.’
‘He has, hasn’t he?’ Joyce picked up her knife and fork. ‘It smells divine, I can’t wait to tuck in.’
His plate in hand, Connor joined them at the table. ‘Well go on, tuck in then, and don’t be backwards in coming forward with your thoughts.’
The groans from both Samantha and his mum were enough to let him know just how much they were enjoying their first course. Come time for the main course of beef cheek slow cooked in a homemade Thai red curry sauce, served with lime and coconut jasmine rice, both women were speechless. Chuffed with his culinary skills, he almost licked his plate clean but held back, wanting to uphold some manners at the table. All the while, he kept sneaking glances at Samantha as she rolled her eyes in foodie pleasure. With that flush on her cheeks, be it from the heat of the spicy curry, or his presence – yeah, dream on Gunn – damn, she looked sexy without even trying. Mind you, she’d always driven him wild.
‘My gosh, Connor, if you weren’t a diehard cattleman, I’d be encouraging you to become a chef.’ Samantha rested back against her chair and rubbed her belly. ‘I think I’m going to go into a food coma, I’m seriously full to the brim.’
‘So does that mean you want to skip dessert, then?’ His hand rubbing the five o’clock shadow across his jaw, Connor eyed her interrogatingly.
‘Would you like to ask for legal representation before answering that, Sammie?’ Joyce chuckled, shaking her head. ‘I don’t think she’ll be able to say no to your homemade apple and mulberry pie, son.’
‘Yes, you’re correct, Joyce. I’ve got this.’ Sucking in an almighty breath, Samantha leant forward and placed her hands on the table. ‘Let’s see this irresistible dessert you’ve made, Gunn.’
‘Right you are,’ he replied, in the worst but best English accent he could muster, sending both women into cackling laughter again.
An hour later, with his mum now settled on the sofa with a mug of hot chocolate watching her favourite movie, When Harry Met Sally, Connor was enjoying his Frangelico-spiked hot chocolate on the back verandah along with Samantha. It was a lot quieter now they were on their own, and he was enjoying the silence of surrounding bushlands and her mesmerising company. Just out of his reach, standing tall as she looked out over the moonlit landscape with her arms wrapped around herself, she was clearly resolved to keep a safe distance from him. And that was probably a good thing because the attraction between them was undeniable. Like a bee to a honey pot, he was drawn to her more and more each and every time he was with her, and he liked to believe she felt the same way. Stolen glances across the dining table, when both of them had thought the other wasn’t looking, but in fact was, had been frequent. Over a decade ago, she’d run for the bright lights of London. Yet, here they were, with that same old familiar feeling between them.
If the gossip was true, and she was a single woman again, maybe he should do something about whatever this was, before he went and lost her to another man again because something was telling him he’d need his head read if he denied the chemistry between them.
But what was he meant to say?
If anything at all?
Maybe keeping his mouth shut was the best option?
‘Do you ever think about what could have been, with us, I mean, Sammie?’ Shocked at his own audacity, Connor had to look away from her wide-eyed glance. ‘Damn, did I just say that out loud?’ He grimaced as the sound of the crickets chirping from the down pipe seemed louder than ever.
Samantha’s intake of breath was audible, as was her heavy sigh. ‘That was another lifetime, Connor.’ Her chuckle was short, and maybe even a little cynical, but without being able to see her face, he couldn’t be completely sure. ‘We were just messed-up kids back then, with no idea about the world.’
‘Messed up, yeah, but I don’t agree with the latter half.’ His hurt at her flippancy was evident in his tone, but he couldn’t help it. ‘We’d been dealt so many blows I reckon we knew much more about the world than most kids our age, to be fair.’
She seemed to think about this for a few lengthy moments, and then shrugged. ‘Yeah, I see where you’re coming from, but I still think we were very young and naive in a lot of ways, too.’ Then she did what she always did when she was feeling out of her depth, and bit her bottom lip as if stopping herself from speaking her truth.
Connor wished to god she’d say whatever it was trapped behind those oh-so-kissable lips of hers, but he wasn’t about to force her – maybe he should take a leaf from her book and stop re-reading old pages. ‘Sorry to put you on the spot like that, it’s just, you know me, I like to say it how it is, and I couldn’t help but wonder if you ever thought about what would’ve happened between us if you hadn’t left here.’
She nodded, but remained silent, and Connor knew that was enough of this conversation.
She yawned, but it looked and sounded forced. ‘Gee whizz, I’m tired, I think it’s home time for me.’
‘Yeah, righto, it is getting on a bit.’ He glanced at his watch and noted it was almost ten-thirty. ‘Just let me grab my keys while you say bye to Mum, and I’ll drop you back.’
‘Okay, thanks.’ She followed him back inside, where they found Joyce fast asleep on the couch.
‘I won’t wake her,’ Samantha whispered.
‘Cool, I’ll let her know you said goodnight,’ Connor replied quietly before switching the television off.
They both tiptoed back outside, and climbed into the LandCruiser. With the energy feeling a little weird, Connor flicked the radio on and turned it up just enough to make any silence somewhat more comfortable. The drive back to Shea and Jack’s place was nothing like the trip they’d had earlier. The energy between them had undeniably shifted, and it felt uncomfortable. And he hated the fact that it was he who’d made it this way. As the four-wheel drive ate up the white lines of the highway, he beat himself up the entire way for being such a fool in bringing up a past that should have been left where it was. But it was too late now – he would have to just do his best to shovel the pile of memories he’d verbally dumped at her feet to the wayside.
Pulling to a stop outside the homestead, he shifted in his seat to watch Samantha clamber out. ‘I’ll catch you sometime over the next couple of days,’ he said to her back.
After shutting the door, she turned and cleared her throat. ‘Yes, okay.’ She could barely meet his eye. ‘And we can go over the last of the details before the big day, just to make sure we’re both on the same wavelength.’
‘Yup, sounds like a plan,’ he replied, all the while wondering if there was an underlying meaning behind her words.
