from the horse trailer at the other end. My darling boy must have known what was happening to him wasn’t right. Apparently he reared and thrashed around and...and broke his leg.’ Her voice became almost unintelligible as she fought off tears. ‘It wasn’t the new owner’s fault. They didn’t know Toby was...was stolen. But he...he had to be put down.’
‘And what about your father?’
‘He made me hate him,’ she said simply. ‘And it never really went away.’
Something deep and long unused inside Declan had turned upside down in the face of her grief. To comfort her became more important than the inhibitions he had imposed upon himself.
He reached out and clasped her hand in his. Her hand was slender and warm but he felt calluses on her palm and fingers. Warrior calluses.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘Not just about your horse but about your father too.’ He suspected the pain of losing her horse was inextricably tied up with her father’s betrayal.
She returned the pressure on his hand, not knowing what a monumental gesture it was for him to reach out to her. For a very long moment his eyes met with hers in a silent connection that shook him. What he felt for her in this moment went way beyond physical attraction.
In the quiet of his kitchen, with the ticking of the clock and the occasional whirring of the fridge the only noise, this one room of many in the vast emptiness of his house suddenly seemed welcoming. Because she was there.
‘I’m sorry to lose the plot like that,’ she said. ‘I know that my loss is nothing—absolutely nothing—compared with your loss. I know he was only an animal but—’ She sniffed back the tears that obviously still threatened.
‘But you loved him.’
There’d been no pets in his childhood household, despite his constant clamouring for a dog. Then Lisa had been allergic to pet hair. One day he might get a dog. It was a new thought and one immediately rejected. He did not want to take the risk of loving anything, anyone again.
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I adored Toby. There’s an incredible bond between horse and rider, you know. It’s not quite the same as loving a cat or a dog. Two become one, horse and human, when you ride. There’s a kind of mutual responsibility. It’s very special.’
‘Do you still ride?’ He couldn’t admit how he had observed her heading out of the house dressed in her breeches and boots.
‘Fortunately Centennial Park is so close by I can ride each weekend. Riding a hired horse is nothing like riding your own but I’m fortunate enough to ride the same lovely big boy every week. His owner is so grateful to have someone competent to exercise him and groom him, she only charges me a pittance.’
‘Sounds like a deal,’ he said.
‘It’s another reason I really wanted to stay in this area rather than moving out further where rents are cheaper. Again, thank you for the apartment. I love it.’
‘Thanking me with a pie was a great idea,’ he said.
‘I make a mean chocolate-fudge cake too,’ she said. ‘Unless you’d prefer something more savoury.’
‘Cake is good,’ he said. The strict exercise regime he followed let him eat whatever he wanted.
He realised he was still holding her hand—and he didn’t want to let it go. She seemed in no rush to relinquish his grip either.
‘Tell me the type of treats you like so I can keep you in mind when I’m baking,’ she said with her generous smile, leaning closer, so close he breathed in her sweet, flowery scent. ‘If it isn’t in my repertoire, I’ll find a recipe.’
It was a thoughtful offer. But right now there was only one treat that was tempting him. Before he could rustle up a reason why he shouldn’t, he leaned across and kissed her. Her lush, lovely mouth was soft and full under his.
She stilled at first, startled, then relaxed against him, her lips parting for his with a soft murmur as he traced their warm softness with his tongue.
He had not kissed a woman other than Lisa since he was nineteen. The feel of Shelley’s mouth under his was both familiar and different at the same time. The thought of Lisa was both poignant and fleeting—then his mind was filled only with Shelley and how much he wanted to keep on kissing her. She tasted of cinnamon and apple with a fresh tang of mint as her tongue tangled with his.
As she kissed him back this kiss became unique, special like nothing he had ever experienced. Shelley. Beautiful Shelley. It was all about her.
Her mouth was soft and warm and generous, their hands still linked on the table between them. It started as a gentle, exploratory kiss but very soon escalated into something more passionate as she kissed him back with equal ardour.
They strained towards each other—awkward on bar stools but she didn’t seem to care and he certainly didn’t—he just wanted to be as close to her as he could possibly be.
But she was the one to break the kiss, her face flushed, her eyes bright.
‘That was a surprise, Declan,’ she said. He could see a pulse beating rapidly at the base of her throat. ‘Of the nice kind. Very nice, actually.’
He took a deep breath in an attempt to steady his breathing.
‘Much more than nice,’ he said.
His thoughts were filled with Shelley. But he felt disloyal that he hadn’t given thought to his late wife. Yet from nowhere came the insistent message: Lisa would approve. If he had been the first to go, would he have expected her to lead such a desperately lonely life?
But he wasn’t ready to move on to someone else—might not ever be ready.
‘You know this can’t lead to anywhere,’ he said, his voice husky. ‘I have nothing to give you. Nothing. It...it all drained away when—’
Shelley put her finger on his mouth to silence him.
Her face was flushed, her voice throaty when she finally spoke. ‘It was just a kiss. A very nice kiss but just a kiss. Does it have to lead anywhere?’
‘I guess not,’ he said, somewhat taken aback. Shelley was so different from the predatory women on the hunt for the wealthy widower.
It hadn’t entered his head that Shelley might not be interested in him.
‘Men are more trouble than they’re worth.’ Her earlier words echoed through his brain.
Her mouth was pouty and swollen from his kiss—which made him just want to kiss her again.
‘I’m aware you might not be ready for...for anything serious.’ Her stumble made him realise that perhaps she wasn’t as indifferent to him as it might appear. ‘And I don’t want to risk opening myself to...heartbreak. I’ve just got over an almighty dose of that.’
He hadn’t been planning on heartbreak. In fact that was just what he wanted to avoid. Not just for himself but for her too.
‘The
