The Aristocrat and the Single Mum. Michelle Douglas

with a vengeance and she liked it. She liked it a lot. ‘Wouldn’t that be reckless and irresponsible?’ She deliberately used the words he’d applied to Felice.

      His face grew thoughtful and he drew back. ‘It would.’

      ‘Simon, I don’t do reckless and irresponsible.’

      ‘Nor do I.’

      The longer she studied him, the greater the longing that built inside her. She hadn’t been with a man for a very long time, and normally she avoided any kind of romantic entanglement with tourists. Could she make an exception for Simon? The thought filtered into her mind and lodged there.

      The next moment she tried to oust it. That hadn’t been a holiday fling kind of kiss. It had been a…for ever kind of kiss.

      She and Simon for ever?

      Oh, for heaven’s sake, get a grip. He lived on the other side of the world. She’d known him for a couple of hours. A sensible person did not make lifelong plans with a person they’d only known for a couple of hours. She’d obviously had too much sun. A sensible person wore a hat.

      ‘I can see what you’re thinking.’

      Good God. She hoped not. She lifted her hands to her suddenly blazing cheeks. ‘What’s that?’ she managed to croak.

      ‘You’re thinking how you hardly know me.’

      ‘Bingo!’ The heat in her cheeks started to abate. ‘It’s true.’ She hadn’t even had the benefit of getting to know him by proxy through Felice.

      He reached out and took one of her hands, held it between both of his. ‘It doesn’t feel true.’

      She knew exactly what he meant. But… ‘You live a million trillion miles away on the other side of the world.’ She didn’t pull her hand from his.

      ‘Well, yes…or at least ten thousand miles, but what’s a trillion miles between friends, right?’

      She managed a smile.

      ‘I am, however, for the next fortnight or so based here in Nelson’s Bay.’ His hands tightened around hers. ‘And I’d very much like to get to know you better.’

      Her heart gave a joyful leap. She tried to curb it. Impossible. So she tried to talk sense instead. ‘Simon, what’s the point? I mean—’

      He reached out and placed a finger against her lips. ‘Some things don’t have a point, Kate. They just are.’

      His words shouldn’t make sense. They shouldn’t feel right.

      But when he eased back and grinned at her, she grinned back and they both remained exactly where they were.

      Carefully she detached her hand from his. ‘So you are going to wait for Felice?’

      ‘Yes.’

      ‘And you want to spend the next fortnight here in Nelson’s Bay?’

      ‘That’s right.’

      ‘The room Felice was using is free at the moment,’ she blurted out. ‘You can use it until she returns, if you like.’

      Simon drew back and stared at her. ‘Stay with you…in your house?’

      Good Lord, what was she doing? She gulped and swallowed and started to cough. ‘I mean, that’s not an invitation to…’ She gestured to that spot in the water again and found it impossible to meet his eye. ‘I mean, I don’t do…do…’

      He reached out and touched her knee, his smile kind. ‘I think what you’re trying to say is I’ll be firmly ensconced in the guest room.’

      She nodded because her throat had closed over at his touch and she couldn’t speak. When he removed his hand she wanted to sigh, but whether in relief or disappointment she didn’t know.

      ‘I would be honoured to accept your hospitality. And, Kate?’

      She glanced up, met the clear grey of his eyes. They’d lightened until they resembled the colour of mercury—the same colour as the bay at dawn.

      ‘I promise I will behave like a gentleman. You can trust me.’

      Could she? Yes, she had the distinct impression that she could. But could she trust herself?

      ‘And, to thank you for your hospitality, but also because I’d very much like to, may I take you out to dinner one night soon?’

      She pointed to the spot where they’d kissed. ‘That can’t happen again.’

      He met her gaze steadily. ‘It’s just a dinner invitation, Kate.’

      She should say no. ‘I’d like that,’ she found herself saying instead.

      ‘The date ends,’ he said gently, ‘when you open your front door.’

      It made her smile. He wanted to provide boundaries that would make her feel comfortable. She had a feeling that, despite their best intentions, one kiss would shatter those boundaries. It should make her feel wary. Instead, it fizzed her blood through her veins and made her want to throw her head back and sing.

      ‘Are you free tomorrow night?’ he asked.

      Tomorrow was Saturday. Reluctantly she shook her head. ‘The weekends are our busiest days on The Merry Dolphin.’

      He frowned. ‘The what?’

      ‘My boat—The Merry Dolphin. Look—’ she pointed ‘—there she is.’

      She watched The Merry Dolphin glide through the entrance to the marina before glancing back at Simon. His jaw had dropped. ‘That’s your boat?’

      ‘It is.’ She couldn’t contain a surge of pride. ‘Lovely, isn’t she?’

      ‘Yes.’

      But he was looking at her, not the boat. She tucked a non-existent strand of hair behind her ear self-consciously. ‘If you like, you could spend the day on the boat with me tomorrow.’

      ‘I’d like that. And Sunday?’

      ‘I’m working a half day this Sunday. I should be finished by two o’clock. I’m free in the evening.’

      There was that sexy grin of his again. She scrambled to her feet before she could do something stupid—like kiss him again. ‘And now I have to meet with my accountant.’ She needed to get away, give herself a sensible talking-to.

      They arranged to meet back at her office in a couple of hours and, although she did have a long overdue appointment with her accountant, although she knew she needed to give herself a darn good talking-to, she found her feet dragging as she walked away from Simon in holidaymaker mode.