‘Relax, sweetheart. It was only a kiss.’
Only for him it hadn’t been just a kiss. It had been an affirmation.
‘B-but I’m not like that,’ she stammered, pushing a strand of dark hair out of her eyes. ‘I don’t—I mean I’ve never…’
‘You don’t go ’round kissing men you find attractive. Well then perhaps it’s time you started,’ Oliver said, pulling the edges of her jacket together and zipping it up firmly. ‘Come on. Let’s go home.’
‘I can’t have an affair with you, Oliver.’
His hands paused on her jacket. ‘Have I asked you to?’
‘No. But I’m just making it clear that I can’t.’
‘Why can’t you?’
‘For a start, I’m seriously on the rebound.’ She gave a wan smile. ‘I’m completely confused. To be perfectly honest, I don’t know how I feel about David anymore but I do know that I’m not a good bet for any man.’
‘Then it’s a good job I’ve always been a risk taker,’ Oliver said cheerfully, turning away to stuff the rest of the picnic in the rucksack. ‘Don’t worry about me.’
‘I’ll hurt you.’
‘In case you haven’t noticed, I’m pretty tough.’ Oliver heaved the rucksack onto his broad shoulders and paced back to her. ‘All right, this is what we’re going to do. Call it your rehabilitation programme. You’re going to carry on working for me, we’re going to carry on living together. You’re going to carry on recovering from David and we’re going to carry on kissing whenever we feel like it and see where it leads us.’
‘It won’t lead anywhere. In a few weeks I’ll be going back to London.’
‘Right.’ Oliver gave a bland smile and started down the path, wondering what she’d say if she knew that he had no intention of ever letting her return to London again.
He was going to marry her.
CHAPTER SIX
HELEN’S thoughts were so jumbled up for the rest of the weekend that it was a relief to return to work on Monday.
She’d spent most of Sunday trying to avoid Oliver, which was virtually impossible in a cottage the size of Bryony’s when the man in question was the size of Oliver.
Every time she’d turned around he’d seemed to be watching her with that lazy, sexy look that made her insides feel funny.
And she couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss.
She tried to think of a time when a kiss from David had left her so churned up, and failed. In fact, she couldn’t even remember what it felt like to kiss David. Maybe it was just because she’d been kissing David since she was nineteen.
But had his kisses ever felt as though she was on the verge of something deliciously exciting? Had she ever wanted his kisses to carry on and on and never stop?
Because that’s how she’d felt with Oliver.
Seriously disturbed, Helen tried to apply some logic to her tumbled feelings.
She was feeling emotionally bruised and battered and Oliver Hunter had been extraordinarily kind to her. It was only natural that she should feel drawn to him. It was nothing more than that.
But it felt like a lot more.
‘Are you all right, Helen?’ Pam, the receptionist, wandered into her room clutching some notes. ‘You look miles away.’
‘Just thinking.’ Helen forced a smile. ‘I’m fine. Are those notes for me?’
Pam nodded. ‘I know you’ve got a full clinic already, but Howard Marks has asked if you’ll see him.’ She frowned. ‘He saw Dr Hunter last week and after he came out of his appointment he was hovering around Reception for ages as if he was trying to pluck up courage to say something. That’s why I thought you might agree to see him. I’ve just got a feeling…’
‘Of course I’ll see him,’ Helen said immediately, taking the set of notes from Pam. ‘Perhaps I’ll just have a quick word with Dr Hunter first before I call him in. Just so that I have some background.’