but the second answer was even more telling. If she’d been ready to move on from her marriage then six months was a reasonable length of time, but if the end of her marriage hadn’t been something she’d chosen then a period of readjustment was only normal. She’d said her husband had met someone else. Seb guessed she wasn’t ready to do the same. But that didn’t preclude them from having some fun. Not if she wanted to. It was all up to her.
‘I get it. You need time.’
‘Don’t get me wrong. It felt good but I don’t know if it felt right. I’m not sure what I should be doing. I don’t know if I need more time but part of me feels like I should be a bit cautious and the other part is saying just close your eyes and jump.’
‘Only you can make that decision,’ he said. He wanted her to jump, he desperately wanted her to jump, but he knew that wasn’t his call. ‘Let me know what you decide. I’m not going to put any pressure on you but I will say this—you’re only here for a few weeks. We can enjoy each other’s company, no strings attached, no commitment, and then say goodbye. But it’s up to you. Think about it. You know where to find me.’
He dropped his arms from around her waist and leaned back to open the gate, allowing them to step into the boat.
They spent the rest of the afternoon talking. Conversation flowed easily, there were no awkward pauses, but the awareness was always there. He could feel the tension in the air around them, crackling and sparking, but they both ignored it. They talked about work, about places he’d visited and her home town; they talked about everything but the kiss they’d shared and where they were going to go from there.
He was serious about his suggestion, though. He was pretty sure she wasn’t the one for him long term, it was obvious she wanted to settle down and have a family, something that was definitely not on his agenda, but she was only in town for eight weeks and he was only committed to Sydney for six weeks. There was no reason they couldn’t have some fun together. They could enjoy each other’s company and then say goodbye. But he would give her space. For now. This had to be her decision.
* * *
Luci towelled herself dry and slipped her sundress over her head. She’d had enough time in the sun but the extra layer wasn’t to prevent sunburn, it was to provide her with a bit of a barrier. Not that it afforded much protection but she needed all help she could get to ensure she didn’t just throw herself back into Seb’s arms.
She should be having doubts and reservations. She had known him for less than three days and she had never kissed a man she barely knew before. She’d never properly kissed anyone other than her ex-husband.
She should be having doubts and reservations about kissing him, full stop, but that wasn’t the issue. It wasn’t Seb who was making her nervous but the consequences of her actions.
She didn’t want to make a mistake or do anything that might jeopardise her time in Sydney. There were more important things than kissing a handsome stranger. They had to live together and work together. There were a whole lot of reasons why she should keep her distance and only one thing, her hormones, was telling her differently.
She was a single adult, there was no rule saying she couldn’t take this further, but she really wasn’t sure if she was ready. She needed some ground rules. She’d never done ‘no strings attached’ and she wasn’t sure if she could. Until she had processed the idea she felt it would be wise to keep her distance.
The kiss had been amazing. She’d seen it coming and she hadn’t stopped him. She hadn’t wanted to. She’d wanted to touch him, to taste him, but she hadn’t realised how hard it would make it to deny herself more. It was going to be difficult. She would have to find other ways of keeping busy. If she was busy she wouldn’t have time to think about him.
Seb had pulled some more food out of the ice box and assembled a picnic lunch. Luci was starving and she was more than happy to sample the selection. While she was eating she couldn’t talk but when they did talk Seb kept the conversation neutral. They talked about inconsequential things, a polite conversation between two virtual strangers, skirting around the issue that she couldn’t stop thinking about.
But not talking about the kiss didn’t stop her from thinking about it.
* * *
Seb shoved the crowbar behind the last of the kitchen cabinets in the galley of his boat. He had spent most of his spare time for the past week hunkered down, removing the shower and the kitchen cabinetry. The carpenter had told him not to expect the new fittings to be ready for installation for another fortnight but he needed to dismantle the old fixtures and he needed to keep himself occupied.
The demolition work was achieving three things—he was progressing nicely with his renovations, he was keeping his mind occupied, to a point, and he was keeping his distance from Luci. He had promised to give her time and space but over the past couple of days he’d found that if he spent too much time in the same space as her it was becoming increasingly difficult to resist the pull of attraction. It was difficult to be around her and not touch her. All he wanted to do when she was around him was to explore their attraction but he had promised not to push her.
Once again his boat was his sanctuary but this time he didn’t need it to help him over his heartbreak. This time it was to keep his mind off his desire rather than his despair. The physical work was a good antidote for the desire. He was so knackered by the end of the day that he would fall straight to sleep when he went to bed. That was a fourth benefit of the demolition work.
He’d had several brief affairs over the past three years but he had been very careful to avoid meaningful relationships. If Luci was willing there was nothing stopping them from having some fun, as her time in Sydney was limited anyway, but he realised she might still be working through her own issues. It would probably be wise to spend some time working out whether her issues were major or minor. He wasn’t prepared to get involved in anything too emotional—a physical relationship was fine but he didn’t want anything more serious than that.
There were all sorts of reasons why he should avoid Luci and he knew them all, he’d been running over them constantly.
She had led a sheltered life. A very sheltered life.
They had to work together.
They had to live together.
It was all a little bit too close.
But that didn’t alter the fact that he was excited by Luci and it had been a long time since he’d been excited by anything.
Although he knew it still might be better to avoid her he couldn’t avoid her completely. They had to work together and on Friday afternoon she knocked on his consulting-room door. He could smell her before he saw her. She smelt of frangipani.
‘Hi,’ he said as he looked up. ‘How’s it going?’
‘Good.’
She smiled at him and her blue-grey eyes sparkled. She looked happy. She glowed and he had the sense that she was filled with light that then spilled out to brighten everyone else’s day. At least, that’s how he felt when she was around.
‘Melanie Parsons is in the clinic today,’ Luci told him. ‘She has an appointment with the psychologist and then I’m going to do the health check on her four-year-old. I wasn’t sure if you wanted to see her.’
‘Good idea. What time is she
