What was she doing, sitting on this pretty terrace, sipping wine with a man who drew every female eye in the room?
Dreaming?
Indulging a feminine fantasy?
Aware that he was waiting for an answer, she managed a smile that said nothing. Revealed nothing. ‘Eating a delicious meal, enjoying a fabulous view and drinking the best sauvignon blanc I’ve ever tasted?’
He laughed. ‘That’s it?’
‘What else is there?’ This time her smile was teasing. ‘Are you looking for flattery? Do you want me to tell you that you look hot, Dr Sullivan?’
‘Do I look hot, Dr O’Brien?’
Something shifted and curled deep in her pelvis. Something dangerous. Oh, yes, he looked hot.
‘Come on, Josh.’ She kept her tone light and avoided his question. ‘We both know the sort of man you are. You live for the moment. So let’s enjoy the moment and stop worrying about tomorrow. Tell me about you. I already know about the fast car. Now tell me about that boat in your garden.’
He smiled and leaned back in his chair. ‘I have two boats. The one in my garden I’m restoring.’ His fingers closed round his glass. ‘Just a hobby, but it’s as good a way as any to spend a day off when I’m not on the water.’
Kat finished her starter. ‘And the other boat?’
‘The other boat I race.’ He fingered his glass, a strange light in his eyes as he looked at her. ‘And she’s as fast as the wind.’
She saw the glitter in his eyes, the wicked tilt of his mouth as he smiled, and her breath caught in her throat.
Pirate.
‘Who do you sail with?’
‘Mac, a couple of GPs from the village…’ He lifted his glass and drank. ‘There’s no shor
tage of crew in a place like this.’
Kat listened, enjoying adult company for the first time in ages. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d sat with a man like this and talked. Really talked. And Josh was good company. He had a sharp brain and an equally sharp sense of humour. She found herself telling him about her childhood in Ireland, growing up next to the beach and how she’d dreamed of the same for Archie. She found herself telling him about her plans for the cottage. In fact, she found herself telling him things she hadn’t shared with another living soul.
And it felt good. Just this once, it felt good.
* * *
Josh settled the bill, ignoring Kat’s protest that she should pay half.
‘Fancy a walk before we set off?’
‘In these shoes?’
He looked down at her feet. He’d forgotten about the shoes. ‘Why do women choose shoes like that?’
‘Because they’re pretty and frivolous and it’s fun to keep looking at your feet?’
He laughed. ‘I’ll remember that next time I’m shopping for shoes.’ It was probably safer not to point out that it wasn’t her feet he was looking at. That it was her amazing, endless legs that held his attention in that equally amazing short dress. He took her hand and they walked back to the car. ‘We’ll drive back a different way. There’s something I want to show you.’
The shoes added a good three inches to her height and suddenly the top of her head was almost level with his chin. Her scent wrapped itself around him, teasing and seductive. Was it her perfume or her shampoo? He wasn’t even sure. He just knew that it oozed into his senses and fed his frustration.
He unlocked the car and held the passenger door open while she slid inside.
‘Where are we going?
‘It’s a secret.’ He started the engine and looked over his shoulder as he reversed the car out of the space.