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‘No, you’re not a sook.’ Shanti’s hand instantly came to hers. ‘You’re an empath, Jess, like me, with a big beautiful heart.’
‘I’ll take that.’ Jess nodded again and smiled through her anguish. ‘And on another, much lighter note …’ She gazed down at her legs, grimacing. ‘I really need to shave this Amazon jungle.’
‘Yes, you most certainly do, my friend.’ Shanti giggled. ‘And if the state of your legs is anything to go by, you may need to introduce a razor to your private bits while you’re at it.’
‘Shhh.’ Gobsmacked, and amused, Jess gave Shanti’s arm a playful shove. ‘Stop it.’
Shanti flashed her a mischievous glance. ‘I might, if you’re lucky.’
Feeling a little lighter with the banter, Jess rested her head back as she watched the lovely nail technician working wonders with her tired feet. And once again, when she wasn’t distracting herself, her thoughts wandered to her unexpected housemate. Morgan Savage was proving time and time again to be a true gentleman at heart. No matter how much she’d hurt him, he’d chosen to remain her friend. And that meant the absolute world to her.Hemeant the absolute world to her.
A few hours later, with matching coral-coloured fingernails and toes, Jess followed Shanti into the haberdashery store, where they were going to buy a few metres of silky material to zhoosh up the tables by running it down the middle, beneath the candelabras Shanti had chosen. As they made their way up and down the aisles, Jess couldn’t help but feel a sense of excitement at the prospect of what their end result would look like. Trailing her fingers down the various fabrics, she admired the way the light shimmered across some of them.
‘What do you think of this one?’ Down the end of the aisle, Shanti held up a copper-coloured fabric to the light.
Jess walked over to her, and felt the silky material between her fingers. ‘It’s beautiful,’ she said, nodding in approval. ‘It will definitely add some warmth to the room.’
‘Perfect,’ Shanti said, grinning. ‘And it will match the candleholders perfectly.’
Jess took the roll of fabric from Shanti’s hands. ‘This is my shout,’ she said, and before Shanti could argue, she added, ‘and I don’t want to hear another word about it.’
She headed up to the counter and plonked the roll down. The young girl on the other side studied her mobile phone as though her life depended upon it, her fingertips skating across the lit screen. Growing impatient, Jess drummed the countertop. Then, when she still wasn’t greeted, she did it a little louder.
The girl finally lifted her gaze. ‘Oh, hey, sorry, I didn’t see you there.’
‘I gathered,’ Jess said with a tiny smile.
It was so different to the lifestyle she’d become accustomed to in Florence, where people were too enthralled in their surroundings to be staring at their screens.
‘Hey, Jess.’ Shanti’s voice carried over her shoulder. ‘What is Morgan doing in a haberdashery store?’
She turned to follow Shanti’s gaze and her breath caught. Man, he looked mighty fine as he took long, easy strides down the aisle, seemingly lost in his thoughts. His country swagger screamed testosterone and fortitude. And with that smile on his handsome face, as he paused to ask an assistant something, he should come with a warning label –high voltage. If she hadn’t reined her libido in, she’d be gushing like a few of the other local women, ogling him as they strolled past where he stood. What she really liked, though, was that he didn’t seem to notice the attention one little bit.
‘Hey, Shanti.’ His deep voice resounded. ‘Jess.’
Jess felt her heart racing as his eyes met hers. ‘Hey, Morgan.’ She tried to ignore the way her body responded to him, and the way her skin tingled when he was near. ‘What are you doing in here?’ she asked, hoping to sound casual.
‘Oh, I needed some fabric for a project,’ he said, holding up a roll of deep green material. ‘What about you two?’ His gaze lingered over her like a heated caress, igniting places she didn’t want roused.
‘We’re sprucing up the tables for the wedding with this,’ Shanti explained, gesturing to the folded fabric in Jess’s hands.
‘I reckon that’s going to look beautiful,’ he replied, his eyes lingering on Jess for a moment longer than necessary.
‘Hopefully,’ Shanti added, looking from him to Jess.
As time froze, Jess felt a flutter in her stomach. The heat between them was palpable. His sharp blue eyes pierced hers, evoking feelings she wasn’t prepared for, feelings she didn’t want reminding of. Helpless, she tumbled into his eyes. For a few brief seconds. Before she firmly reprimanded herself for being so lovestruck. The air shifted as he moved closer to let a lady past. He smelt so good. Edible. Extremely aware of how close he was to her, she took a little sidestep in Shanti’s direction before she could forget herself, grab him and bury her face into his chest. She fanned her face as he paid for his fabric – it was suddenly stifling hot in here.
‘You all good?’ Shanti whispered in her ear.
‘Uh-huh.’ Drawing in a deep breath, Jess gathered her scattered emotions. ‘I’m fine and dandy.’
Bill paid, Morgan turned and flashed them both a smile. ‘I’ll catch you two later.’
Jess nodded. ‘Yup, see you at home.’
See you at home,she repeated silently.Now that sounded nice.
‘Catch you, buddy.’ Shanti offered a wave.
