Page 22 of Where the Wattles Bloom

Steadily. Expectantly.

His eyes on her mouth like he already knew what she was going to say. But … God—how could she speak those words? Practical or not, she’d known him for five days.

‘It’s okay.’ He inched a little closer, his blue eyes earnest. ‘Just take a breath. And say it.’

‘What if it’s … shocking?’ she asked huskily. It sure as shit was shocking the hell out of her.

His smile was slow and warm. ‘I don’t shock that easily.’

Rowena shut her eyes and drew in a shaky breath, tuning into the thud of her heart as it coursed through every pulse point. Gathering her courage, she opened them again.

‘My radar is kinda rusty right now so if I’ve got this wrong, I’m going to die of embarrassment and will probably have to leave town, but …’ She took a beat to steady her voice. ‘Is there a thing going on between us?’

He chuckled, all low and sexy, and it reached her on a warm puff of air. ‘You don’t have to leave town.’

The muscles in Rowena’s neck loosened at the confirmation. As did her hold on the railing she didn’t even realise she was gripping. Okay then—that was the hard bit.

Now for the harder bit.

Rowena glanced down at the mug of rapidly cooling coffee. Here went nothing …

‘I know you have no reason to believe me, but I don’t usually go around propositioning men. I’ve certainly never propositioned a man I’ve known for less than a week.’

It was kind of reckless, really, and Rowena didn’t do reckless. But she’d seen enough of him this past five days—on the side of the road, in the bakery and tonight at the pub—to trust her instincts where he was concerned.

And they were telling her he was a good guy.

‘I believe you.’

The statement was stark and simple in the night, striking in its sincerity, and Rowena lifted her eyes to him.

‘Right … so …’ Unable to break their gaze, Rowena cleared her throat. ‘I was thinking that we should do something about it. This thing. Except I don’t have the head space for any kind of emotional entanglement and I’m only here for six months and then I’m gone.’

He nodded. ‘And I learned a long time ago not to get into an emotional entanglement with a woman who’s just passing through.’

Rowena vaguely wondered if that had been the cause of one or both of his divorces but, ultimately, it didn’t matter. It seemed like they were both on the same page, right? A trill of sexual anticipation squirmed through her belly.

‘So, if I were to suggest a one-time thing to burn off whatever this is and then we both go on our merry ways, would you be A) morally offended, or is that B) something you could be on board with?’

‘B.’ His gaze drifted to her mouth before returning to hold her eyes captive with its intensity. ‘Definitely B.’

Rowena let out a steady breath. Hallelujah. But she wanted to be sure. She needed to be sure.

‘To be clear—this would be one and done. No second time. No one more time to be really sure. No pining around the town, no passive-aggressive guy bullshit. We’re not a thing. We’re just a … brief interlude.’

He laughed then, sending a delicious shiver zipping up and down her spine. ‘Yes, ma’am.’

‘And when would’—Rowena swallowed against a throat dry as three-day-old toast—‘it suit you for such a thing to happen?’

Please, please, make it soon.

Without breaking their gaze, Lachlan held out his hand. ‘I’m not doing anything now.’

The leap in Rowena’s pulse thrummed through her entire body. Good answer. She wanted him. He wanted her. There was no time like the present, right?

Rowena didn’t bother to reply, she just slipped her hand into his, which was big and warm and a little rough. Then he gave a gentle tug and her body, shivering in anticipation, met his eagerly, her breath hitching at the heat and hardness of him. At the spice of his aftershave and the warmth of his breath at her temple.

The bang of a door on the street, followed by a burst of laughter, spiked her pulse and pierced the intensely intimate bubble that had formed around them. A group of people were crossing the road, their voices and laughter loud, and Rowena took a step back from the railing.