Taking a Chance on the Best Man by Fiona McArthur

Author:Fiona McArthur
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-10-14T13:11:42+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

WITHOUT THE COMPANY of Chloe sharing their space, the evening with Dom felt more visceral. Everything thrummed. The air. The ocean outside. Her skin.

No amusing chatter from the child like last night, while normal chores and meals were managed. Now that her shock from the accident had receded and her ankle had finally begun to improve, instead of going to bed to rest, they sat in the lounge companionably, but both aware of the other. She could feel something but it wasn’t uncomfortable.

He relaxed back in her new recliner while she rested comfortably, her leg propped along the sofa, and they both pretended they were only chance in-laws and housemates. His dark skin and strong features looked far too good there, framed by the white leather. She’d suggested a movie, one set in Florence during the Second World War, to share memories of familiar scenery, but they’d paused it while he made another pot of tea.

Words slid out unexpectedly. ‘I’m surprised it’s so easy with you here, Dom.’

He lifted his brows with that hint of quiet amusement in his eyes. ‘I have some social skills and practise them on you.’

Yes, he did. ‘Thank you.’ She laughed. Like a schoolgirl. This was ridiculous. ‘I haven’t watched a movie for a long time. I thought this particular one might help us find topics of interest. But finding conversation with you is easy.’

She’d thought it would be awkward but any silence that fell between them felt right. Perfectly timed and not rushed.

Not just companionable. There was intimacy, their glances meeting when a scene from the film connected with them, or a place resonated.

Her cheeks had warmed and her body had thrummed. The last time she’d met his gaze he’d taken a long time to look away. Too much delicious connection and the first inkling of the loss she was afraid she would feel when he flew away. Hence the reason she’d suggested they press pause on the movie and have a cup of tea. Hopefully to calm the pulse of awareness that was steadily building between them like a distant jungle drum. Even her breath felt sensitive in her throat.

While he boiled the kettle and assembled mugs, she steered the conversation back to the reality of his leaving and needing to make a life for himself. To remind both of them. ‘What are your plans when you return to Florence?’

‘I must decide if I am a pharmacist or doctor.’

She hadn’t thought there was much choice. ‘Might be hard to be a pharmaceutical magnate without a factory?’

‘There are concerns with that, of course. And issues that need resolving rapidly or we will all lose much of what we gained. But my priorities have changed.’ He smiled. ‘I am not the same man who left Florence, reluctantly, for my brother’s wedding.’

Humour about his life in Florence. Excellent. ‘Should you decide on medicine, will that be a hard decision?’

He looked at her, his scrutiny intense. ‘No. Not now that I have discovered I wish to live and not just exist, which I fear I had fallen deeply into.

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