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CHAPTER
8
With the wedding planning having shifted into a higher gear, the following night rolled around as if on fast forward, and Jess abruptly found herself in the same spot she’d imagined kissing Morgan, stealing glances at him with the same roiling emotions that had overcome her when they’d locked eyes twenty-two hours earlier. But this time they weren’t alone, which was a godsend, because it meant there was no chance of another heart-to-heart moment. They hadn’t really even spoken since they’d bid each other goodnight the night before. It was almost if they were avoiding each other. Or at least she was doing her best to avoid him. Her attraction to him, and the feelings he aroused in her, terrified her. The best she could do to evade such sensations was to try and steer clear of him, at least for now, until she pulled her emotions into line. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate his masculine attributes from afar.
Or did it?
Either way, she couldn’t help herself. Twilight had lit the landscape in a rosy hue, and from her viewpoint she could secretly watch him manning the billowing barbecue, flipping burgers, turning sausages, timing the steak to be rare, medium or well done – the last was a terrible shame in her opinion – and the concentration on his face was adorable. Beside him, Roberto and another of his mates stood with beers in hand, supervising as if their lives depended on it. Even though she was trying to be stealthy, she knew her quick glances were turning into prolonged stares. She needed to stop it, now, before someone picked up on it.
‘Are you liking what you see, my darling friend?’
Too late. Shanti had busted her.
Jess pulled a ‘whatever’ face. ‘I don’t know what you’re on about.’
‘If you say so.’ Shanti grinned and took the last sip from her champagne flute. ‘I’m going to go and grab us another bottle of bubbly, back in a sec.’
‘Okies,’ Jess replied as she tried to rid the caught-with-her-hand-in-the-biscuit-tin flush from her cheeks.
As much as she wanted to look in Morgan’s direction again, she forced her focus onto the gabbing group of women she was sitting with. Shanti’s mum, Jaye, was stealing the limelight with stories of her youth, sending the younger ones into cackling laughter, and the older ones into playful denial while under scrutiny from their wide-eyed daughters. It was merry company to be in, but she couldn’t fully be present knowing Morgan was only a glance away. And right before she went to sneak another peek at him, she could feel him behind her the second before she turned her cheek in his direction.
His breath tickled her neck as he leant in closer to whisper in her ear. ‘Are you having a nice night, Jess?’ he asked, his voice low and velvety.
She turned to face him, feeling her cheeks flush with embarrassment. ‘Yes, I am,’ she said with a smile, hoping he wouldn’t notice the way her eyes lingered on his chest above his almost buttoned-up shirt. ‘You?’
He chuckled, the sound making her heart flutter. ‘Sure am.’ He gestured to the spare seat beside her. ‘Mind if I sit for a bit?’
‘Of course not.’ She wriggled over a little.
They chatted casually about the food, the guests and the nice weather, the easiness of his company feeling like a balm to her soul. It was nice to feel like they were just two old friends hanging out, without any of the complicated feelings that had been simmering beneath the surface the night before. But even as they laughed and joked, Jess couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease. She knew that the longer she stayed in Silverton Shores, and especially at Savage Acres, the harder it would be to resist the pull between them.
Nine sleeps and I’ll be gone … I can do this.
But then he gazed at her with a familiar fondness and she couldn’t bring herself to look away. They’d always been connected beyond any tangible explanation. Twin flames. First loves. True loves. Soulmates. In between her next inhalation and exhalation, she wished with every part of her heart that she could tell him everything, so she could give him something tangible to possibly heal the wound created by her. But the words were lodged in her throat, and she couldn’t bring herself to speak them. Instead, she smiled weakly, hoping to convey the words she couldn’t say. He smiled back, a look of understanding in his eyes. Her heart was suddenly thumping, and her mind was suddenly racing. How was she meant to spend time with him without always ending up feeling like this? For another beat, he just sat there, looking at her, as if she’d arrested his gaze.
But then he blinked, smiled, and tipped the brim of his hat. ‘I’ll let you get back to the girls, while I go and get the last of the food sorted.’ He stood, and before she’d found her voice again he was sauntering away.
Jess remained in a weird daze all through the lively dinner and the chaos of the clearing up, and then carried it to a quiet, shadowed place around the front of the homestead, where she hoped to try and make sense of it, and somehow shake it off. But then the sound of approaching footsteps came, and Morgan had taken the corner and walked straight into her reclusive bubble, unwittingly popping it.
‘Oh, hey.’ He halted, beer in hand, then followed her gaze to the star-studded sky. ‘It’s a ripper of a night, huh?’
Oh, sweet baby Jesus, that smile …
‘It sure is.’ She glued her gaze to the brightest star.
One breath, two breaths, three breaths, four …
‘Roberto and Shanti seem to be enjoying themselves.’
She nodded. ‘Yup, they sure do.’
Another scratchy silence ensued.
‘So, did you go for the steak, the rissoles or the sausages?’ Morgan’s voice didn’t carry his usual casualness.
‘I actually went for all three.’ She rubbed her stomach. ‘And because of having eyes bigger than my belly, I’m royally stuffed to the brim.’
‘Ha, yeah, me too.’ His voice trailed off as he took another swig of beer, although his gaze remained locked to her this time, instead of the sky.
