now that I know you’re okay I should probably be off.’ She took a long time to get to her feet, and cursed silently when she saw how smoothly he did it.
‘How can I repay you?’
She snorted. ‘For what? Rushing over here and embarrassing us both?’
‘Why would you be embarrassed?’
Good question. ‘Because clearly you were fine and I panicked over nothing?’
‘You panicked?’
She rolled her eyes. ‘It was a hard fall, okay? I was worried.’
She couldn’t tell what had changed on his face, but something had. And it made his already too perfect features seem even more appealing. ‘So, I’m repaying you for being worried. It’s not often that people care.’
‘No, it isn’t,’ she agreed, feeling the words hit a little too close to home. ‘But I don’t need to be repaid. You’re fine. Right?’ He nodded. ‘So, I’ll be seeing you.’
She turned to leave and managed to get a few steps away from the gate before his voice called out, ‘Which window?’
She turned back. ‘What?’
‘From which window did you see me fall?’
‘That one.’ She nodded to the window on the second level of the house next door, grateful that the chair she’d been sitting on—or the chips she’d been eating while watching him—wasn’t visible.
‘That’s my sister’s house.’
It took a moment for her mind to process the new information. ‘Your sister?’ she repeated. ‘You’re Dylan?’
‘Yeah,’ he said, his forehead creasing. ‘Who are you? And why are you staying in my sister’s house?’
‘I’m Jess. Jessica,’ she added quickly. ‘I’m staying at the house while Anja and Chet are away.’
His features tightened. ‘Away where?’
‘Sydney. They wanted to get Anja’s new yoga studio up and running before the—’ She caught herself before it was too late. She couldn’t tell Dylan about the baby. Anja would kill her. And she didn’t need to upset one of the few people who cared about her. ‘Does she know you’re here?’
‘No.’
‘Oh.’
There was a long stretch of silence before either of them spoke again. And then she asked, ‘You’ve been back for at least a week. Why haven’t you come over? Or tried to call her?’
He frowned. ‘How do you know how long I’ve been back for?’
Jess felt her eyes widen, her cheeks heat, before she managed to reply with something other than I’ve been watching you. ‘I heard the garbage truck pick up your bin earlier this week.’ She held her breath and hoped he’d buy the somewhat lame excuse.
‘And how do you know that I haven’t tried to call her?’
‘She...would have told me.’
He studied her. ‘How exactly do you know Anja?’
Something about the way he asked it put her back up. ‘I’m her PA.’
‘She let her PA stay in her house?’ There was barely a pause before he continued. ‘She would tell her PA if her brother called her?’
Jess straightened. ‘Yes. Your sister and I are also friends. Good friends.’ She kept her hand from going to her stomach—to the proof of the bond that she and Anja shared—and forced herself to calm down when an inner voice questioned why she was responding so defensively. ‘I didn’t realise it was you when I came over.’
‘But you knew I lived next door?’
‘Yes,’ she replied, but it got her thinking about why it hadn’t occurred to her that Mr Sexy-Next-Door was actually Anja’s brother. ‘I knew you lived next door, but Anja didn’t tell me which next door you lived in.’
‘And you never asked?’
You’re not exactly a topic of conversation either of us readily bring up. ‘It didn’t matter.’
‘Because my sister doesn’t talk about me?’
‘Because you weren’t here.’
Though both answers were true, it seemed as if Dylan cared more about the option she’d offered. Because when he’d given his option his face hadn’t tightened the way it had after she’d spoken. Hurt hadn’t flashed across his face, quickly followed by a blankness she couldn’t help but feel was desperate.
‘Why are you here?’ she said after a moment, unable to help herself.
‘I live here.’ There was a beat of silence. ‘This is my home.’
‘It hasn’t been,’ she reminded him, still compelled by reasons she wasn’t quite sure of. ‘Not for the last two years.’
‘No, it has been,’ Dylan replied softly. ‘But even the best of us run away from home sometimes, don’t we?’
Her heart stalled, reminding her of the old car she’d seen just that morning, spluttering down the road in front of Anja’s house. Why did it feel as if he was talking about her? To her? As if he instinctively knew that she’d turned her back on the place she’d once called home? As if he knew that she’d run from the parents who hadn’t cared enough to even try to make her believe that they wanted her to stay?
‘When are they coming back?’ Dylan asked gruffly. Jess shook her head, ignoring the need to push for more answers. To find out why telling her he’d run from home had clearly upset him. It was none of her business.
‘The end of the month.’ Though Jess had a feeling it would be a lot sooner once she told Anja that Dylan had returned. ‘How long have you been back?’
‘You were right,’ he replied. ‘About a week.’
So he’d been chopping up wood since the day he’d returned, she thought, and forced away the sudden disappointment that came from knowing she’d no longer be able to watch him. How could she, knowing who he was?
Older brother of her best friend. Uncle to the child she carried.
‘Do you know where I’ve been?’
‘The UK?’ He nodded. ‘Yeah, Anja told me you’ve been away for...business.’
‘Clearly that isn’t all she told you,’ he said with a self-deprecating smile.
‘No.’
The smile dimmed. ‘There’s a lot you seem to know about me, Jessica, and yet I haven’t even heard about you.’
‘Does that surprise you?’
‘No.’ A fleeting shadow of pain darkened his features. ‘But I’m back now.’
‘So you are.’
‘And I’d like to have my return start on the right foot.’
Something pulsed in the air between them, but Jess refused to acknowledge it. ‘Yeah, okay. Go for it.’
He smiled at her, and this time it wasn’t laden with emotion. It was an easy, natural smile she imagined he’d give when he saw an old friend, or during his favourite movie. But it sent an unnatural frisson through her body.
‘You should have lunch with me.’
‘No,’ she said immediately.
‘You have somewhere else to be?’
‘No, but—’
‘Then have lunch