Esme chuckled but shook her head. ‘Sadly not, Jessica. The quicker we get started with the packing, the faster it will be finished. The early bird catches the worm, dear!’
She winced at Esme’s cheeriness. It was way too early in the morning for such a happy, loud voice, but she couldn’t deny that Esme’s presence helped her in more ways than one. Truth be told, Esme was exactly what she needed. Someone to motivate and push her. Especially as she’d contacted an estate agent the night before. She’d been put through to a chirpy woman called Deb who was excited to see the house ‘as soon as possible’.
‘Can we at least have a coffee before we begin?’ She tugged the suitcase up the porch steps, unlocked the door and stepped into the hall. Parking the suitcase beside the staircase, she headed straight for the kitchen and shrieked when she smacked into Rueben’s chest.
‘My GOD!’ she cried, slapping a hand to her mouth. Esme barrelled into the back of her and squeaked in surprise.
‘Rueben, what are you doing here?’ Jessica asked once she felt able to talk and had regained her breath. Once she had gotten over her initial shock and the zap of desire of being so close to him had diminished, she glanced behind Rueben. ‘What’s all this?’ She took a few steps further into the kitchen, eyeing the white plastic bags of food spread out across the countertops. ‘You went shopping?’
Rueben grinned as he shrugged in reply. ‘Well, you couldn’t stay here with no food, could you?’ He turned back to the open fridge door and placed a lettuce inside, followed by a pack of tomatoes and a stick of cucumber. ‘You would have starved to death. You have no transport either so it was the least I could do. And before you thank me, trust me, it was my pleasure.’
Jessica stared at his back then looked at Esme, who was also grinning at him.
‘Oh, Rueben. You are wonderful!’ Esme exclaimed, watching him with delight and performing a little dance on the spot. ‘Isn’t he wonderful, Jessica?’
He closed the fridge door and his eyes sought out Jessica. ‘I thought, too, that perhaps I could treat you to some of my cooking tonight? You know, once you’re finished with the house side of things. I know you’ll probably be exhausted seeing as there’s so much to do, but if you fancy it, then I don’t mind cooking for you at all. I’m actually not that bad, seeing as I learnt from the best.’ He winked playfully then rummaged around inside one of the bags.
‘That would be great,’ Jessica replied, feeling a tingle of pleasure oozing down her spine. ‘I’d love that, actually. Esme, what do you think? Are you up for a taste of Rueben’s home-cooking?’
‘Oh, no! Don’t worry about me dears, I’ll be seeing Jane tonight.’ Esme boiled the kettle and began gathering mugs for the coffee. ‘Besides, two young things like you don’t need me as a third wheel. I’ll only cramp your style.’ She let out a tinkle of a laugh as she grabbed the milk from the fridge.
Jessica frowned, not at all okay with Esme’s reply. She’d found the prospect of dinner with both of them pleasing but just herself and Rueben? She wasn’t so sure about that. She sneaked a glance at him, wondering what exactly his intentions were or if he had any at all. His eyes were on her as he leant up against the counters, arms folded across his broad chest, studying her intently. ‘But, Esme…’ She floundered, running a hand through her hair and trying to come up with some sort of excuse as to why she needed Esme there. There was definitely something between her and Rueben. She could feel it whenever they were around each other. A strange sort of chemistry that was completely new and exciting. She looked at him again only to find him watching her as he accepted the cup of coffee from Esme’s hand and blew on it, steam curling up from the rich brew.
‘There you go, Jessica dear. A nice, hot cup of coffee.’ Esme passed it over and sipped her own. ‘We’ll drink these and then get started, shall we?’ She smiled broadly, and glanced between the two of them, oblivious to the nerves that were racing around Jessica’s body, running through her veins like adrenaline. There it was again. The chemistry. Just looking at the man did funny things to her insides. His mouth was so appealing but it was ridiculous because never before had she found a mouth so distracting and pleasing to look at. She wondered what he was capable of with those lips, and those big, strong hands… Probably thoughts best kept for when she was alone, rather than in the kitchen with two people, one of those people being the man in question.
‘Oh, Rueben, I forgot to say, did you manage to bring those boxes over from your father’s farm shop?’ The sound of Esme’s voice broke the spell and, finally, Rueben’s eyes turned away from Jessica. She felt able to let out the breath she’d been holding now that his attention had shifted to Esme. Her shoulders dropped from being almost up near her ears as she’d returned his stare across the kitchen, intense and powerful. There was something about those eyes of his. Something that held her interest more than anything had before.
‘Yep, boxes are in the van. I’ll put the rest of this away and then start bringing them in. There’s loads. More than enough, hopefully.’
‘Excellent. We’re going to be needing plenty. And you, Rueben Greer, are a knight in shining armour.’
Esme’s off-hand comment fluttered around in Jessica’s mind like a trapped bird. Knight in shining armour? The thought definitely appealed but this wasn’t a fairy-tale. Although, she supposed she played the part of damsel in distress pretty well and the same could be said for Rueben playing the role of a hero. He’d definitely saved the day by getting the food in, and the rugged good looks didn’t go amiss.
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