So that was how Caitlin found herself squeezed into a worn red velvet corner seat in the pub, with Rick on one side and Jake on the other, as the band members stood round the cosy fire in the iron grate, hogging the heat and nursing their pints of beer.
From the jukebox Sting’s voice boomed out: something about not standing so close… Caitlin could easily have echoed the sentiment. Rick had hung her raincoat over the back of a chair but she wasn’t bereft of warmth—not when Jake’s hard-muscled thigh was pressed against hers. A full-on radiator couldn’t have made her hotter. Every time he shifted even slightly the renewed contact made Caitlin’s heart miss a beat.
‘So tell me, Cait. What music do you like to listen to?’
Rick had been shortening her name ever since they’d arrived at the pub and she tried not to flinch, because her ex, Sean, had always called her that. Her gaze anxiously swept the room. There were several groups of young people seated around the tables, clearly enjoying themselves. Thankfully nobody had paid her any particular attention. Behind the bar two barmaids were busily serving customers, and one of them, a voluptuous blonde named Tina Stevens, was wearing a neckline so low that if she wasn’t careful she’d be arrested for indecency.
Bringing her attention back to Rick, Caitlin answered. ‘Oh, I have such a wide taste you wouldn’t believe it. If I had to sum it up I’d say I love music with a good beat and great songs with good lyrics. How about you? What do you enjoy listening to?’
Shrugging, Rick took a sip of his beer then put it carefully back down on the cork beer mat. ‘My taste is very similar to yours, honey. It’s clear that you and I have a lot in common, a hell of a lot in common, in fact.’
‘That’s the beer talking,’ Jake observed wryly.
The gravelled intonation of his deep voice made all the hairs stand up at the back of Caitlin’s neck. Was it her imagination or had his thigh moved even closer to hers?
‘He’s just trying to get into your good books.’
‘That’s unfair. A man like me doesn’t have to try to get into any woman’s good books. They naturally gravitate towards me. I’m gifted like that. Talking of which…’
Suddenly getting to his feet, Rick carefully eased his way round the table so as not to dislodge their drinks. Caitlin saw that his avid glance was focused determinedly on a smiling Tina Stevens behind the bar, who at that very moment was leaning dangerously across the counter in her figure-hugging red top, chatting to yet another appreciative male customer.
‘Excuse me, guys, but I can see a maiden’s honour is at stake if I don’t go and rescue her…’ Rick headed purposefully towards the bar.
Breathing out a relieved sigh, Caitlin was glad to have a little more room to manoeuvre, but she was still dizzy at the thought of having to deal with Jake on her own. As discreetly as she was able, she moved her leg away from the hot press of his jean-clad thigh.
‘She’ll have him for breakfast,’ he said, and grinned.
The shock of suddenly meeting his steamy blue glance at such close quarters trapped Caitlin’s breath somewhere between her throat and her mouth. She found herself a little too intimately aware of the faint shadow of beard across his top lip and jaw, his long straight nose and the sexy indentation in his sculpted chin. Most of all she was aware of the provocative message his hypnotic blue gaze seemed to be conveying to her. It was indisputably sexual. And it made every muscle in her body tighten and clench.
The whole room diminished down to just that look.
‘He looks like he can take care of himself,’ she murmured, hardly aware of moving her lips.
‘So…’ Taking a leisurely sip of his beer and studying her at the same time, Jake asked casually, ‘Why no boyfriend?’
Hypnotised by the long fingers that curled round his glass, Caitlin found herself envying it his touch, wondering what it would be like to feel those same long fingers intimately touching her. The very notion made her burn, and she took a hurried sip of her dry white wine, deliberately focusing her gaze on the drink instead of him.
‘I didn’t know it was compulsory.’
‘Did I imply it was?’
She didn’t answer. Thinking about Sean and how she had let him come that close to wrecking her life was not something she wanted to revisit…certainly not in casual conversation.
The flash of pain he witnessed in Caitlin’s eyes just then took Jake by surprise. As defensive as she undoubtedly was, she hadn’t been quick enough to hide it. There were also faint lines of hurt round her mouth that betrayed her. Clearly she had let someone get too close and got herself burned in the process.
Even though he’d experienced a similar painful scenario in a relationship, something inside him said he should be careful not to let empathy lower his defences. Relationships by their nature were always going to be challenging, no matter what the situation. But Jake wasn’t such a bastard that he couldn’t find it in him to be concerned.
‘So, what happened?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You got hurt by a man,’ he said thoughtfully. ‘Who was he?’
‘Do you mind if we don’t talk about this?’
Jake’s question was definitely too close for comfort. Taking another sip of wine, she felt her cheeks burn as she sensed the alcohol take effect.
‘We’re going to be spending a lot of time together over the next few weeks—the next few months, even. Things are bound to come out. Why not tell me now and get it over with?’
Inadvertently glancing down at her purple T-shirt, at the scooped neckline that revealed a tantalising glimpse of her cleavage, Jake felt the muscles in the pit of his belly clench. He shifted in his seat.
‘That might be the case, but my personal life is not up for discussion. Please don’t press me on this.’
There was a tremulous hitch in her voice that made Jake feel like the most insensitive oaf on earth. On impulse, he reached across and covered her hand with his own—even if he did risk going up in flames at the contact.
‘I’m sorry…’ he murmured.
Caitlin didn’t know whether he meant he was sorry for putting pressure on her or whether he was sorry for what he guessed might have happened in her relationship. Either way, she didn’t welcome his sympathy. It was easier to deal with his irritation. At least it stopped her feeling sorry for herself. In any case, she’d done enough wallowing in despair to last a lifetime.
But it was impossible not to stare down at the strong, capable hand covering hers. As she did so, she examined the unique silver and jet ring that he wore. It comprised two black stones in a figure of eight setting and didn’t detract from his masculinity one iota… In fact it enhanced it. She found herself strangely reluctant to extricate herself.
Speaking her thoughts out loud, she commented, ‘That’s a beautiful ring.’
‘Yes, it is. It was a gift.’
