She bit back her first response, that she’d spent enough time cleaning it over the years, and said, ‘Shall I give you the grand tour?’
‘Please.’
As he followed her through the house, commenting on the bathroom that had aged well, the welcoming kitchen and the brightness of the rooms, she was acutely aware of his proximity. Her skin prickled with awareness, muddling her mind. She hadn’t reacted this way to any of her dates over the last six months and Bert had elicited a comfortable warmth within her rather than this … buzz.
She blamed her overactive imagination. Remembering a teen crush had brought this on. That had to be the only explanation. The only rational one—to be this attracted to a man she barely knew seemed incongruous.
After they finished the tour, she led him back to the kitchen. ‘Fancy a cuppa?’
‘Sure, tea would be great. I drink way too many coffees all day.’
The caffeine hadn’t done him any harm, as she watched him unbutton his shirt cuffs and roll up the sleeves, revealing strong, sinewy forearms. She had a thing for guys’ arms. Some women perved on butts; give her impressive biceps any day.
‘White with one,’ he added, his right eyebrow giving the barest twitch as she realised she’d been staring.
‘Coming right up,’ she said, her voice tight and way too high. What the hell was wrong with her? She needed to get a grip so the man soon to be tasked with selling her house didn’t think she was a total ditz.
‘How long have you lived here?’
She knew he was making polite conversation and she should welcome the distraction from the craziness of checking out his forearms, but conversing meant looking at him and that was just as off-putting as secretly ogling him.
‘About twenty-nine years. Bert’s parents gave us this house when we got married.’
‘So that means you were a child bride of about ten?’
She made a pfft sound. ‘I’m fifty and you know it, considering you gave a talk to my year ten class over three decades ago.’
He grimaced. ‘Don’t remind me. I was petrified every time I had to do one of those talks at the high school.’
‘Why? You were articulate, an expert in your field.’
‘I wasn’t scared of talking in front of a group of kids, I was terrified of your teacher.’ He gave a mock shudder. ‘Jill still intimidates me to this day and she’s only a few years older than me.’
She laughed. ‘Jill and Hugo are the best. I thought you were going to say you were terrified of all the girls making goo-goo eyes at you.’
The deep grooves bracketing his mouth deepened when he smiled, making him even more attractive. ‘That too.’
‘You were a hit, that’s for sure. All the girls couldn’t stop gushing about you at lunchtime that day.’
‘Including you?’
The twinkle in his eyes made her hand tremble a little as she dunked the teabag in his cup. She could deflect or pretend she hadn’t heard the question, but she wasn’t the naïve schoolgirl she’d once been. She still had that buzz going on and it made her wonder, if Jem was single, would he be interested in someone like her?
‘At the risk of incriminating myself, I was the worst.’ She added a splash of milk and a spoonful of sugar to his cup and stirred before delicately tapping the teaspoon against the cup’s edge. ‘And with that embarrassing revelation, here’s your tea.’
As she handed him the saucer, their fingertips brushed, a fleeting touch that shouldn’t have registered. But as a jolt shot up her arm and that buzz electrifying her skin intensified, she hoped this wasn’t one-sided.
If he ignored her remark and left it alone, she’d know he wasn’t interested and the logical part of her hoped that would happen. After all, what did she expect? For the two of them to have a fling in a town this size? No way, no how.
‘Thanks.’ He winked. ‘I like a good cuppa with a side of crush.’
They laughed and she waved away his comment. ‘That was years ago, in another lifetime when I still had stars in my eyes.’
He sipped at his tea, watching her as she laid out macadamia cookies on a plate and placed it in front of him. ‘What about now?’
She had no idea if he was asking if she still had a crush on him or if she had stars in her eyes, so she settled for a safe answer. ‘Now I’m a woman intent on selling this place and making a fresh start.’
‘I can help you with selling.’ He raised his cup of tea. ‘Maybe the fresh start too.’