Seven-Day Love Story. Nikki Logan

Todd saw her coming and slowly stretched up to his full height, his eyes soft. ‘What would you like me to do?’

      Jayne laughed lightly. ‘Could you maybe shrink about a foot? ‘

      ‘Not much I can do about that, I’m afraid, but I’ll do my best to be non-threatening.’

      It had been a while since she’d not felt threatened around a stranger, but for some reason she wasn’t dissolving into a trembling mess around Todd Blackwood. Although he was making her a whole different kind of nervous.

      She brought Oliver closer, and Todd took a step back to give him some space. Jayne nudged the black dog between them. Ollie was as stiff as she was.

      ‘Relax, Jayne. He’s feeling your tension. The worst that can happen is that he’ll try to bite me, and if he does he and I will have a quick man-to-man conversation to figure out who’s boss.’

      She shifted until her body was slightly between them.

      Todd frowned. ‘I won’t hurt him, Jayne. Just like people, dogs like to know where they stand with others. He might appreciate the direct approach. Let’s just see how he goes.’

      Human and dog ignored each other for a few moments, and then Todd took a step closer. Ollie looked up at him suspiciously.

      ‘This could take a few minutes,’ he said. ‘If he sees us being comfortable with each other he might relax.’

      Comfortable. Right. Jayne forced her body into a parody of a relaxed pose, triggering another one of those killer smiles. Her mouth dried, just a little bit.

      The smile graduated to a deep chuckle. ‘Even I’m not buying that. Plan B … how about just some normal conversation?’

      It had been a while since she’d had any conversation that wasn’t via e-mail. Todd took a tiny step closer to Ollie. The dog stayed put. It was working. She sighed. ‘Okay. What would you like to talk about?’

      Todd let his hand drop down to his side, close to Ollie’s head so he could sniff it, but his eyes stayed locked on her. ‘How about what you’re doing out here all by yourself? Seems unusual.’

      She stiffened immediately, and Ollie pushed up onto his feet.

      Todd broke in quickly ‘Or … we could talk about something else. Where did you grow up? That’s not a Queensland accent I hear.’

      Jayne let out a big breath, and Ollie’s tail sank back towards the ground. ‘Hardly. I’m from Pennsylvania originally.’

      ‘Welcome to Australia.’

      ‘I’ve been here a couple of years, but thank you.’ She laughed.

      Ollie looked up at her, as if surprised by the unfamiliar sound. Todd took the opportunity to slide his hand down and gently rest it on the dog’s black head. Ollie forgot to flinch. ‘Keep talking,’ he said quietly, and then slowly closed his fingers into a rub.

      Jayne drew in a breath. This was the closest Ollie had been to another person since she’d found him skulking, half-starved, down near her back dam. ‘I moved here two years ago. I was looking for somewhere different to where I’m from.’

      Blue eyes met hers. ‘Different?’

      Safer. Further. ‘Somewhere new.’

      Todd was fully squatting now, and Ollie glared at him guardedly. But he was prepared to tolerate it as long as the gentle rubbing continued. It did, and Jayne found herself transfixed by the sight of those strong fingers pushing through Ollie’s black fur.

      ‘This must be quite different to home,’ he said.

      ‘Not so much. Jim Thorpe is a small community in the valley of a mountain forest. This all feels quite familiar. The trees are different. But still beautiful.’ She smiled down at Ollie and added her gentle strokes to Todd’s.

      ‘You miss it?’

      She lifted her eyes back to his but couldn’t hold his gaze. She glanced out at the towering forest circling her sanctuary. And then it hit her. She was making conversation. And her chest wasn’t imploding. ‘I miss parts of it. But everyone grows up, moves on.’

      ‘You didn’t want to stay close to your family?’

      Oh, how she had—and her mother had cried and cried on hearing how far from home her only daughter was moving. But Jayne loved them too much to expose them to any further risk. Not that she’d told them about any of it.

      ‘We stay close. We talk via the internet. We e-mail.’

      Ollie shifted, and Jayne cupped his ridged silken skull and stroked him reassuringly. Then warm, strong fingers accidentally tangled with hers. A heat-burst surged up to her palm and she only just managed to suppress a yelp as she leaped back, sending Ollie scampering for cover.

      Her eyes flew to Todd’s. His were carefully schooled.

      ‘Sorry.’ The pointless apology tumbled off her lips.

      Todd tipped his head to the side and stared at her—a burning, inscrutable regard—and shrugged. ‘It’s a start.’

      Ollie. He was talking about Ollie.

      ‘I should get back to this enclosure,’ he said casually, as though the burst of static energy had been purely one-sided. Of course it had. He looked entirely unaffected.

      She cleared her throat. ‘Yes. I should get back to work, too.’

      Uh-huh. As if that was going to happen while her heart was racing and while she had something so delightfully ornamental to look at through the window. Jayne ducked her head and turned back for the house.

      Oliver trotted happily after her, oblivious to the awkward human moment he’d just caused.