She chose three potted conifers. Their Monterey pine was netted and carted back to their SUV, where he and Naomi strapped it to the roof racks. Then they were speeding back to Burronga, Naomi exclaiming over the time, her fingers tapping impatiently on the wheel. Back at Luke’s place, he hefted the tree into the house while she got rid of the old one. By then, it was almost noon, and they were both ruddy from their exertions and the heat.
Using both hands, Naomi lifted her hair off her neck and blew out her cheeks. “I need a shower. I stink like a pig!”
Like a clean, sweet-smelling pig, Aaron thought, and then his overactive imagination veered to an image of Naomi naked in the shower. His blood surged; his body stirred. He moved behind the kitchen counter before his body could betray his interest in her.
“We should have time for showers and lunch before we head to the store,” he said, checking his wristwatch.
“You’ve helped me more than enough. At the shop yesterday, the tree this morning.” She twisted her hair up, then let it fall around her shoulders. “I can’t drag you back to the store this afternoon, or I’ll feel really terrible for taking advantage of you.”
Resting his hands on the counter, he gave her a pointed look. “You can make it up to me by letting me take you out for dinner tonight,” he said, keeping his tone light and playful.
A line appeared between her eyes, making him fear she was going to turn him down again, but then she gave him a diffident smile.
“Okay.” She fiddled with a lock of hair, before she continued more firmly, “I mean, yes, I’d like that.”
“Good.” Aaron felt as if he’d sealed a multimillion dollar deal. “I’ll make reservations at Carlotta’s Bistro.” He fished out his cell phone, eager to find the number and make the call before she changed her mind.
“Carlotta’s Bistro?” She made a slight grimace. “It’s rather upmarket. Wouldn’t you prefer to go somewhere more casual?”
He didn’t. He wanted to take Naomi to the best restaurant in town and pamper her. He wanted their night to be something she’d remember, not a quick feed in a nondescript place. “I’m only here for two more nights, and I’m hoping Luke and Tyler get back tomorrow so I can see them before I go. So we only have tonight, and I’d like to take you somewhere nice.”
We only have tonight. As he spoke, regret gnawed at him. His time with Naomi was finishing almost before it had begun. If they could only spend more time together, he could see them becoming fast friends. Okay, who was he kidding? His feelings were more than merely friendly. Luke had warned him off, and the reasons were all valid, but rationality couldn’t stop the leaping of his blood every time Naomi came near him. Couldn’t stop the mounting desire to fold her into his arms and kiss her breathless.
As Naomi gazed at him in silence, he was sure the intensity of what he was feeling showed in his face.
“One night,” she murmured, then lifted her shoulders and smiled. “You’re right. It is just one night, so let’s go to Carlotta’s.”
Aaron felt the rush of triumph and tried to temper it. He was only taking her out for a nice, friendly dinner. Nothing more. He wasn’t going to act on his surging lust. He had two more nights in Australia, and he knew he’d better keep them clean.
…
Naomi inhaled a deep breath as she took in her surroundings. Carlotta’s Bistro was a plush, elegant oasis of fine dining. Polished oak, vintage wallpaper, discreet lighting, muted background music, well-heeled diners. The attentive waiter poured her a glass of mineral water and handed her a menu promising epicurean delights. Across the table from her sat Aaron, looking like a million dollars. Dressed in a sumptuous, close-fitting cream shirt and flawless beige trousers, clean-shaven, his skin and hair glowing, he might have stepped off a cover for GQ. He was to die for; the restaurant was splendid; the night was pleasantly warm. Everything was perfect. Perfect…but the worm in the apple wouldn’t stop wriggling.
It had started to squirm earlier that evening when she’d inspected herself in her bedroom mirror. The sleeveless, midnight-blue, wrap-over dress flattered her figure and coloring, and the high-heeled sandals complimented her calves. She’d styled her hair, applied makeup, donned jewelry. But her polished reflection revived memories of the last time she’d dressed up like this two months ago. It had been her birthday, and Justin was taking her out to dinner. It was meant to have been a celebration, but by the end of the night the crack in her heart had widened to a chasm, and she had resolved to leave Justin.
She’d tried to shake off the bad memories. Aaron was taking her to dinner, not Justin. Aaron was different. When he’d seen her all spiffed up, his face had lit up and his eyes had danced. His admiration had lifted her heart, whereas on her birthday, Justin had barely noticed what she’d worn before hustling her out.
But when she and Aaron arrived at Carlotta’s Bistro, the worm had wriggled again. As they walked into the restaurant, Aaron’s hand hovering in the small of her back, the maître d’ had greeted them effusively, and as they were led to their table, the other diners had looked up and followed their progress. Justin had always liked making grand entrances at restaurants. He liked ordering the most expensive wines and leaving extravagant tips. He liked people knowing he had money to splash about, that he could buy whatever he wanted. Perhaps that had included her.
“Is everything okay?”
Naomi glanced up to find Aaron watching her with a concerned expression. She wasn’t okay, she realized. Her stomach was a cramped knot, and her shoulders were stiff and tight.
“I’m just trying to decide what to order,” she improvised, hating the fact that Justin could still cast a pall over her. She peered at the menu. It could have been a sibling of the one from her birthday dinner. Every dish sounded pretentious—organic rosehips, black truffle foam—and the prices were astronomical. On her teacher’s salary, she could never afford to eat here.
“While I was on the Barrier Reef, I became rather partial to yabbies,” Aaron said. “I think I’ll go with them.”
Yabbies, the freshwater crayfish, reminded her of lobster, Justin’s fallback dish to order if there wasn’t something more ostentatious on offer. She scanned the menu for something plain, but there wasn’t even chicken; the only poultry on offer being squab or quail, too exotic for her mood. “I’ll have the lamb.” It was the most down-to-earth dish on the menu, even if it did come with “stinging nettles,” whatever they were.
The waiter took their order, and the sommelier came to discuss wine. Eventually they were alone, and Naomi told herself to relax. Aaron was trying to be nice. It wasn’t his fault the evening brought back bleak memories for her.
Determined to be a good dining companion, she asked Aaron about his favorite haunts in New York, and gradually the conversation became more relaxed. When she’d first arrived in London, she’d enjoyed its cosmopolitan nature, and Aaron’s love of New York reminded her that once upon a time she hadn’t been so against big cities.
“So tell me about your new teaching position,” Aaron said as their food arrived.
There was genuine interest in his expression, so she started to tell him about her upcoming employment at St. Catherine’s Primary School. She would be substituting for a teacher on twelve months’ maternity leave, a temporary position, which could become permanent if her performance impressed the principal. She’d be teaching kindergarten, her favorite class, even if it was challenging dealing with unruly five-year-olds and anxious parents because the first year of school could foster a lifelong love of learning in a child. Belatedly she realized she’d been monopolizing the conversation for some time and had barely touched her meal.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bore you,” she said, leaning back in her seat. “You should have said something.”
“But I wasn’t bored. You obviously have a passion for teaching.”
“Guess it shows, huh?” She grinned at him. “Thing is, I’m not used to rabbiting on about my job to, well, a man.”
“Yes.” She hesitated, reluctant to discuss her ex-boyfriend, but Aaron had brought up his name, and tonight her breakup plagued her mind. “Justin didn’t think teaching was a particularly difficult job, especially primary school teaching. It was only nine to three, he used to say. Kids were easy to manage, and what about all those long holidays. How hard could it be?” Bitterness had crept into her voice. God, how she hated sounding sour and resentful. “Of course there are teachers who just skate by, but I’m not one of them. I’m as serious about my teaching as he is about his legal career.” She stopped short. Her jaw was tight, and her hands were clenched on the tablecloth.
“Is that why you broke up with him?”
Aaron’s question was gentle, his face compassionate. Her pulse kicked. He edged his hand across the table toward hers, as if he meant to cover her hand. If he touched her, she wasn’t sure what she’d do, given the raw state she was in. She quickly withdrew both hands to clutch the napkin on her lap.
“I wasn’t happy with only substitute teaching,” she said. “I thought I should study for my master’s degree in education, but when I brought it up with Justin, he pooh-poohed the idea. Just dismissed it out of hand. Why go to all that time and expense when I would give up work as soon as we married and started a family?”
Anger rolled back like a thundercloud. “We hadn’t even discussed it. He simply assumed we’d have children and I’d stop working because his career was more important, and my teaching was just a stopgap, a way to earn a little pin money.” She gritted her teeth. “Justin thought he was being so generous, the bounteous provider every woman dreamed of marrying. He was flabbergasted when I told him I was leaving him. He couldn’t believe I’d give up such a catch.” Her throat ached; her eyes smarted. Aaron became a blur. “He was generous with me, and—and he did love me…in the beginning, before he became successful.” She sucked in a gulp of air and pressed the napkin to her lips, striving for self-control.
Aaron’s fists were like rocks on the white tablecloth. “Naomi—”
“I’m being terribly rude. I didn’t mean to vomit up my sorry breakup.” She tugged the napkin back over her lap and squared her shoulders. “Please ignore my diatribe.”
“That’s impossible.” A muscle flexed in his jaw.
The fierce look in his eyes made her squirm. As sanity cooled her mind, embarrassment at her outburst crept in. She’d blurted out intimate details of her failed relationship right in the middle of this ritzy restaurant to a man she barely knew. How mortifying. “This food is delicious. I-I’ve never had stinging nettles.” She grabbed her knife and fork and dug into the lamb, though she’d lost all appetite. “How is your yabby?”
If it had been anyone else, she wouldn’t have been so bothered, but there was something about Aaron… She didn’t want him to think her histrionic or self-indulgent. Silly, really, because in two days’ time he’d be gone, and she’d never see him again, but she hated the idea of him going back to the States and talking about that “drama queen who went on and on about her crummy ex.”
Aaron studied her a while longer. Then he sighed and picked up his cutlery. “My yabby is great.”
He looked like a man treading on eggshells. Perhaps he was scared she’d burst into tears in front of everyone. She forced down another mouthful, but the food might as well have been sawdust, and after another minute, she gave up all pretense of eating. The glum quietness between them reminded her how her last meal with Justin had ended, when their sharp, tense whispers had lapsed into caustic silence.
The waiter took their plates away. Aaron looked at her, his face somber. “Would you like dessert, a coffee maybe?”
Her chest panged at his solicitude when he must be dying to get away from her. She shook her head. “Thanks, but no. I think I just want to go home, if you don’t mind.”
Aaron drove them home without speaking. She wasn’t used to his silence. The longer it stretched out, the more fraught it felt. The need to break the silence and clear the atmosphere grew in her, but what could she say? If only she could be more chatty and frivolous.
They were inside the house when her nerve broke. Turning to Aaron, she said in a rush, “Thank you for being so—so understanding. It was bad of me to let you take me to an expensive restaurant and then ruin the entire evening with my blabbering. I—”
“Naomi.” He stepped up and gripped her upper arms. “Stop apologizing.”
She drew in a breath, unsettled by the firm strength of his palms on her bare skin. “You see, I don’t normally rant on about Justin like that. It’s just that”— she took in another gulp of air— “the dressing up and the fancy restaurant and fawning waiters, it reminded me too much of the last time Justin and I went out for dinner. We were supposed to be celebrating my birthday, but instead we argued, and I realized it was all over…”
Her voice dried up before the searing fire in Aaron’s eyes. Blood pounded in her ears. Dum-dum-dum. His thumbs moved over her sensitized flesh in slow circles, skittering her thoughts.
“Naomi,” he said again. Each time he uttered her name in that low, gravelly tone, a shower of sparks trailed down her spine. “Just because I’m wealthy and took you to a fancy restaurant, that doesn’t put me in the same boat as your ex.”
She swallowed, but all her breath seemed to be caught beneath her ribs. “I know that.” Agitation beat in her veins. Why did Aaron affect her so much? Why couldn’t she hold herself aloof from his mesmerizing charm? Heaven forbid she should claw her way free from a bad relationship only to fall under Aaron’s spell. She lifted her chin. “But you are both driven and career-oriented and hungry for success.”
His umber eyes flared. His grip tightened. “I’m. Not. Justin.” He punched out each word.
No, he wasn’t Justin, she thought hazily. Justin’s nearness had never affected her like this. She’d never felt swoony being held by him, never been hypnotized like she was now with Aaron. Her resistance faded. All she could think about was how she wanted to slick her fingers through his short, crisp hair, clasp his face with both hands, and bring his mouth down on hers. And then, as if she had telekinetic power, his head was drawing closer, and she realized he had pulled her into his arms, and his hot, masculine scent was all around her, captivating her. Then reasoning fizzled away as his mouth found hers, and she was lost.
Chapter Four
The animal heat of Aaron’s body enveloped Naomi, seeping deep into her pores. One broad hand splayed across her waist while the other cupped the back of her neck, his fingers imprinting her skin. His virility was almost overwhelming, yet his kiss was restrained and tender, his lips gentle and searching, rather than demanding. The fiery desire he held in check was evident in his possessive hands, his rigid body, his pulsing heat, which made his sweet kiss all the more potent and irresistible.
She ached to relinquish control, to surrender to her need and the lure of his body. But the worm in the apple reared its maggoty head once more. How could she abandon herself to another man so quickly? Hadn’t she learned anything in the last year? Why couldn’t she be happily single? Disgusted by her weakness, she jerked her head away, breaking the kiss, and their mouths wrenched apart with what felt close to physical pain.
She came back to earth with burning lungs, her thoughts scrambled. Aaron stared back at her, also breathing hard, his eyes still alight with a passion so fiery her heart skipped a beat.
“Naomi—”
“That was crazy,” she said at the same time. She stopped, gulped.
He stood too close to her. He sucked up all her oxygen. “Crazy nice?”
“Crazy…crazy.” She touched her lips tentatively, felt the lingering heat imparted from his mouth. Sensuousness curled like smoke through her veins. Oh God, how she wanted Aaron to kiss her again.
His gaze flickered over her from top to toe. “It was crazy nice for me,” he said, his voice
dense and dark like molasses. He didn’t seem to know what to do with his hands. He reached out to her, then appeared to change his mind and rested them on his hips. “Naomi?”
He wanted to know if the kiss had been crazy nice for her, too. She pleated her lips together, reluctant to analyze her feelings too deeply.
“You only kissed me to prove a point,” she said.
“That wasn’t the only reason.” He gave her a crooked little smile. “I’ve been wanting to kiss you since the day we met.”
She shook her head. “You’re something of a player, aren’t you?”
“Is that what Luke told you?”
“Just about. You’re dedicated to your job. You don’t have the time or inclination for a proper relationship.”
His eyes glinted with amusement. “Jeez, we’re just talking about a little kiss here.”
Aaron was right. She shouldn’t treat the situation so seriously. She should just laugh it off, like he was doing.
“Too true.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder and tried to look carefree. “It was nothing, really. I shouldn’t be fussing over it.” She edged past him and walked farther into the house. “Let’s forget about it, shall we?”
As she groped for the light switch in the family room, his footsteps followed close behind. “I didn’t mean we should forget it.” His breath fanned her hair, bringing her up short. “I want to improve on it.”
Unable to move, she stared ahead at the Christmas tree, which winked softly in the dimness. Its piney scent filled the room. Aaron’s hands rested on her shoulders, his touch light and gentle, as he turned her round to face him.
“Mistletoe,” he murmured. “For once in my life, I need some darn mistletoe.”
The diffused light burnished his sculpted cheekbones, his straight nose, his wide, firm mouth, his endearing dimples. She felt her barriers shaking again. Damn, she had to stay strong, if only to prove to herself that she wouldn’t turn to putty the moment a handsome man paid her any attention.
“Aaron.” She braced an unsteady hand against his shoulder to stop him getting closer. “We can’t do this.”
Stranded with a Hero (Entangled Bliss) Page 12
