Page 21 of Coming Up Roses

Instead, I think about tractor maintenance and how I need to get the power harrow ready to go for next week.

I park my bike outside the events centre and switch off the engine while Abigail carefully climbs off. When she’s clear, I swing my leg over, coming to stand beside her.

“Thank you,” she says, looking up at me with nervous eyes. “That was … less scary than I expected.” She gives me a small smile.

“We all want you here, Abigail.” I hover over her name for a brief second, wondering if, when she told Katie she could call her Abi, she meant I could as well. She doesn’t correct it though and I refocus on my point. “We want you here, for Olivia’s sake, for Sadie … and aside from them, I like having you here.”

“That’s sweet of you,” she mumbles, looking away as she blushes.

I want to tell her there is nothing sweet about the places my brain goes to when I think of her.

Abigail blows out a breath, fluttering the strands of hair hanging around her face. I reach a hand up, slowly, giving her the chance to move if she wants to. She doesn’t. She stays frozen under my gaze as I run my fingers through her hair, smoothing out the tangles caused by the ride.

My fingers reach the end of her hair and my eyes lock with hers. I reach up, without thinking, without taking my eyes off hers, and slide my fingers through her hair again.

She lets out a tiny gasp as the pads of my fingertips brush her scalp. Her hair is like silk and my fingers slip through the dark strands like I’m trailing themthrough water.

The anxiety leaves her eyes and instead I see a flash of something darker, hotter. She catches her plush lower lip between her teeth and it drags my attention away from her intense gaze.

God, I want to kiss that mouth. I want to kiss her. I want to know what her skin feels like. I want to slide my hands up her legs, beneath the skirt she’s wearing today. I want to explore every inch of her.

My dick throbs and the spell breaks. Holy shit. I cannot be thinking things like this about Abigail. I just can’t.

She’s my boss’s ex.

She’s Sadie’s mum.

We work together.

I clear my throat and take a step backwards.

It takes her a moment to catch up, to realise I’ve ruined the moment, then that heated look fades from her gaze and she looks at me with something akin to horror on her face.

“Right, well. Good luck with your meeting. I’ll see you around,” I stammer. “I’ll be here on Friday to help you set up. Let me know if you need anything before then.”

“Okay,” she says, her voice barely a whisper. “Bye, Flynn.”

She doesn’t move, she just stands there, staring at me with captivating eyes. I spin on my heel and swing my leg back over my bike. I need to get out of here before I do something reckless and so, so stupid.

I stomp on the kickstart and the bike flares to life. The vibration of the machine under me steadies me somewhat, until I glance back up at Abigail who’s watching me, one arm crossed over her chest, the other elbow propped on it while her handrests against her throat, those dusky pink nails dragging across the delicate skin there.

Nope, nope, nope. Not thinking about that.

I release the clutch and twist the throttle. The bike shoots forward and as I race away from Abigail, I will the ache in my pants away.

I wish I didn’t have to. I wish I could turn around and go straight back to her, wrap my arms around her, slide my hands along her skin, drag my lips across her throat where her fingers were stroking.

But I can’t.

Because Abigail doesn’t need more on her plate. Her priority is Sadie, and I love that kid with all my heart, so there’s no way I’m getting in the way of her reconnecting with her mum.

I shove all thoughts of Abigail away and think about my plans for the afternoon. That power harrow needs a service.

But first I might go take care of something at home. Then maybe when the pressure in my dick is gone, I’ll be able to focus on reality again.

11

ABI