Anyway, I’ll be home for the rest of the evening, staring at that annoying smiley emoji in the top corner of Happy, waiting to hear back from you.

  Pathetic, much?

  Chat soon,

  DadBod.

  Rayne actually sighed when she came to the end of his message, that’s how much of an effect his words had on her. She loved his sense of humour and his honesty, and she wished she could see him face to face so they could have a real chat.

  To stave off the insanity of this wish, she shovelled sticky date pudding into her mouth, barely tasting the sublime caramel and date blend, her gaze riveted to the screen, drawn to four little words: if we ever meet.

  She liked that he said ‘if’, not ‘when’. He wasn’t presumptuous. And he was keen to hear from her, so after washing the pudding down with a few swigs of wine, she dragged the laptop closer and started typing.

  Hey there,

  Glad I’m not the only one looking forward to seeing a message from that way too chipper smiley emoji. You’re right, it’s annoying.

  I’ve been out to the pub for my usual Friday night dinner and eaten way too much sticky date pudding. But it’s okay, I’m a mum, and I’ve never quite got back to the svelteness of my youth. Does that make you feel better about the dad bod?

  I think at our age we should own it. Own everything about ourselves. Our achievements, our faults, our less-than-perfection. What do you think? Or am I just making excuses for too much pud?

  Sounds like you’re busy. I am too. I own and run a shop, but I think I told you that last time? It keeps me out of trouble and I love the eclectic items I stock. We get locals and tourists stopping by regularly because they know they’ll find some hidden treasure among the chaos.

  As for watching sport, it’s not my thing. I do yoga regularly. Yeah, I’m a hippy cliché.

  And your secrets are safe with me.

  She dithered over sending her response, wondering if the bit about ‘locals and tourists’ would give away too much. She didn’t want to reveal her location to a stranger. Then again, tourists could visit any part of Australia, so she wasn’t exactly sticking a pin in a map.

  She’d barely sent her message when a reply came, making her insanely happy that he was, in fact, sitting at his computer on a Friday night happy to converse with her.

  You’re philosophical tonight, but I agree we should own it. No blaming anybody else, no excuses. So on that note, I’m going out on a limb here.

  I like you, Hippy Chick.

  And I’d love to meet you in person.

  I know the way this works is we move from typing to talking on the phone, then maybe video chats, but I’m owning this like you said.

  I’m too old to play games. I don’t want to go through some fake dance where we pretend to be other people on the phone or on a video, when one face-to-face meeting will prove whether we’re compatible or not.

  What do you say?

  I’m happy to come to you, wherever you are, but I’m guessing you’ll want to err on the side of caution and not disclose your location because you don’t know me and that’s absolutely fine. I’m in Melbourne, so we could meet in the heart of the city, in the middle of the day, on a weekend, so it’s busy and you don’t have to worry about me being the aforementioned nutter. There’s a great café in one of my favourite laneways where we could sit outside, watch the people parade go by, and get to know each other. Or I’m happy to meet any time to fit in with your schedule.

  If you think this is a completely outlandish idea, that’s okay too. But your talk about owning stuff got to me. Life’s too short and the way we chat online has shocked the hell out of me. I hadn’t expected to click with anyone on here let alone so quickly.

  So let’s do this.

  Rayne stared at DadBod’s invitation, trepidation making her fingers tremble a little as they rested on the keyboard.

  She knew nothing about this man. And the visceral fear that tainted all her relationships with men, even friendships, made the pudding in her gut congeal.

  But she had to get past this. Had to take a chance. So before she could second-guess her decision, she typed the one word she hoped would change her life for the better.

  Yes.

  CHAPTER

  23

  Jy didn’t have a romantic bone in his body. Or so Aggie had accused him many times. He was a firm believer in everyday actions speaking louder than any grand gestures of flower bouquets or boxes of chocolates, so he’d split the cooking and cleaning duties, content to hang out with Aggie, enjoying the intimacy that came with sharing the mundane everyday. He’d been attentive and loving rather than overly demonstrative.

  It hadn’t been enough. He’d watched his wife change before his eyes, morphing from a caring teacher to a go-getting woman who preferred after-work drinks at the latest hip bar than chilling on the couch watching a new reno show. It hadn’t bothered him at first because they’d always maintained their individual lives despite being a couple. But as she stayed out later, and came home smelling of expensive whiskey and aftershave, he knew he was on the brink of losing her.

  And he’d done nothing.

  The fact he hadn’t summoned the enthusiasm to fight for his wife, for his marriage, told him all he needed to know. They’d been drifting apart for a long time and when she’d finally announced her intention to leave he’d been relieved rather than devastated.

  While romance may not be ingrained, he’d gone to a lot of trouble to source this picnic dinner for Summer. In a town this size, it wasn’t hard to discover what she liked and Merv, who’d given him a grilling at the pub earlier in the week, had been more than forthcoming when he’d bumped into the old coot at the supermarket earlier. Then again, he wouldn’t put it past the local to deliberately mislead him, so along with caper quiche, grilled eggplant and stuffed capsicums, he’d thrown in some reliable brie, camembert, strawberries and figs, just in case. He’d almost bought those caramel chocolates her mum had said Summer liked, but that would’ve been overkill, like he was trying too hard to impress her.

  When he pulled up outside Summer’s house at three minutes to seven he killed the engine, but he didn’t get out of the car immediately. He saw the curtain in the front room twitch and knew he looked like an idiot, sitting in the car like a nervous teen on a first date, but he needed a moment to get his shit together. Not being a romantic meant he didn’t get flustered around women nor did his heart pound. But as he continued to grip the steering wheel and resist the urge to slam his forehead against it, he battled a strange combination of both.

  With a shake of his head and a deep breath, he got out of the car and strode to the front door. She hadn’t invited him inside after his tour of the community and considering how badly he wanted his hands on her again he hoped she wouldn’t do it now.

  He’d barely knocked once before the door flew open and she was there, radiant in a turquoise sundress with tiny straps, one in danger of slipping off her shoulder, her smile wide, her eyes warm and appreciative.

  He wanted her on the spot.

  ‘Hey.’ Not only had his cool deserted him, his vocabulary had followed suit.

  ‘Hey there, yourself.’ She opened the door wider. ‘Want to come in?’

  ‘I think we should get going.’

  ‘Why? Think I’ll ravish you?’

  ‘Something like that.’

  Stupidly, he took a step back, as if he was in actual danger of that happening, when he’d like nothing better.

  ‘Maybe later.’ She patted her stomach, drawing his gaze there. ‘I can’t ravish you properly until I’m fed, so let’s go.’

  As she stepped out and pulled the door shut, he took her hand because he couldn’t resist touching her.

  ‘You look beautiful,’ he murmured, brushing a kiss across her cheek, wanting to linger, to claim her mouth. But he knew what would happen if he did: they’d be inside pronto and he wanted tonight to be more than just sex. He wanted to put her at ease so she wouldn’t avoid him again when they did hook up.

  ‘Thanks.’

  When her gaze met his, he could’ve sworn his heart twisted. She didn’t hide or play games. He could see every emotion clear as day in her eyes: hope, happiness and enthusiasm. She was looking forward to this date as much as he was.

  ‘Got any ideas where we should head?’ He held the car door open for her and she raised an eyebrow in surprise before thanking him with a pat on his arse.

  ‘There’s a nice beach about five minutes beyond Serenity Cove. It’s a great picnic spot.’

  ‘Done.’

  They didn’t say much as he followed her instructions to the picnic spot, a palpable sexual tension between them that he’d never experienced before on a date. But when he pulled off the road a few minutes later, parking almost on the sand, and turned to face her, she eyeballed him.

  ‘Let’s see how long we can last before we tear each other’s clothes off, okay?’

  ‘Glad to know this lust isn’t one-sided.’

  ‘Honey, you and me?’ She fanned her face, her lopsided smile making him want to haul her across the console. ‘Combustible.’

  ‘The sex was pretty great the other night.’

  ‘Which is exactly why you asked me out again tonight, but I want to chill and eat, and get to the good stuff later.’

  ‘Just good?’

  She rolled her eyes. ‘Phenomenal. Better?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  They grinned at each other, heat arcing between them, before she flung open the door and tumbled from the car. With his pulse thrumming in anticipation, he popped the boot, grabbing the cooler bags as she got the blanket.

  ‘I haven’t been to this spot in ages,’ she said, as they walked onto the secluded beach. ‘In fact, the last time I was here with a boy, it didn’t end well.’

  ‘Lucky for you I’m a man.’

  He took the blanket off her, shook it out and waited for it to settle before placing the bags in three corners to hold it in place. Not that there was much of a sea breeze tonight but he wanted to do something mundane to buy time so he could clamp down on his irrational urge to demand the full story.

  ‘You certainly are,’ she said, sitting on the blanket and patting the space next to her. ‘Don’t you want to hear about the boy?’

  ‘I do, but I’m trying to play it cool. Is it working?’

  She laughed and the sound shot straight to his groin. Pretty much everything she said or did or even when she merely glanced at him had the same effect. ‘You get this little furrow between your brows when you’re trying to pretend you’re not bothered. I saw it the first time I met you at the school, at the pub when the locals kept staring at us and the night I shut down after the phenomenal sex.’

  ‘Right,’ he said, loving her bluntness and pressing a finger to the skin between his brows. ‘Better?’

  ‘Yeah.’ She mimicked his action, but took it one step further, trailing her finger down his nose, tapping the end, before dropping to his mouth and tracing his top lip.

  He made some kind of embarrassing strangled sound and her wistful gaze fixed on his mouth before she removed her finger.

  ‘You’re making it extremely difficult for me to focus on food and not ravishing,’ he muttered, dragging the nearest cooler bag closer and unzipping it.

  ‘I like touching you.’ She shrugged, like her admission was the simplest thing in the world, when he’d never met anyone quite like her. The women he’d casually dated were all about keeping up appearances, usually in the hope of more dates. But he’d always been upfront, like he had been with Summer, and most women didn’t like it. With Summer, not only had she accepted the truth of what their brief relationship would entail, she didn’t seem bothered by it. Her honesty surprised the hell out of him and he found it infinitely refreshing.

  ‘Distract me. Tell me about this boy.’

  ‘Oh. Him.’ She leaned back on her extended arms, legs outstretched, clearly defined by the soft cotton of her skirt draped over them. He wrenched his gaze away and focussed on getting lids off the plastic containers and arranging them on the blanket. ‘I was almost fifteen. He was my first kiss. And it changed my life.’

  ‘On second thoughts, don’t tell me. I’m jealous and want to beat this faceless teenager to a pulp, which is just plain wrong.’

  ‘It was life-changing in a bad way. Someone had told Mum where I was, she saw us kissing, Dad found out and went ballistic. He left not long after and I got sent to boarding school in Melbourne.’

  ‘Wow. That seems like an overreaction.’

  ‘I thought so too and told Mum at the time, loudly and repeatedly. But nothing I said made an ounce of difference. The kiss happened in the summer holidays and by the first term the next year I was in that hellhole of a school in Melbourne.’

  ‘Was it really that bad?’

  She rolled her eyes. ‘You’re a principal of an elite private school, probably very similar to the one I abhorred, so you wouldn’t understand.’

  He didn’t like being dismissed or judged, even if what she said held a hint of truth. He’d attended a private school for those last few years of his education, he’d taught in them, so he’d never know what it had been like for her, a country girl suddenly transported into a posh boarding school.

  ‘Try me.’

  ‘The usual fish out of water story. I didn’t dress like them or sound like them or have the same money as them. They were obsessed with image and the number of followers they had on social media; I couldn’t care less. Plus being a scholarship kid brings its own brand of loathing, apparently.’

  He wanted to hug her but her ramrod posture, like she was trying to hold herself together, told him she wouldn’t welcome it.

  ‘I never understood Dad’s overreaction to that kiss. And at the time, I stupidly wondered if that somehow drove him away, like he thought I was going to turn into a wild child or something …’ She shook her head, her gaze fixed firmly on the sun dipping towards the horizon. ‘And for Mum to send me away … She knew I was miserable. She knew I hated every minute of it and my marks suffered as a result. I hated being apart from her and Karly and Nev, but nothing I said made her re-evaluate. It’s like after my dad left she turned into a different person and I couldn’t relate to her anymore.’

  This time, he gave in to impulse and bundled her into his arms. She didn’t cry—she was too stoic for that—but he hugged her fiercely, trying to convey how much he felt for her younger self.

  ‘You smell good,’ she murmured, nuzzling his neck, igniting his lust for her in an instant. He’d love nothing better than to drag her down on the blanket and have the make-out session to end all make-out sessions, but that would diminish her heartfelt revelation and she deserved better than that.

  ‘You need to eat,’ he said, easing her out of his arms and scooting away. ‘I brought your favourites.’ He gestured at the quiche, eggplant and capsicums, not surprised in the least when she wrinkled her nose.

  ‘At the risk of sounding fussy, I loathe capers so that quiche is a no-go, and despite being vegetarian I have a hate-on for eggplant and capsicum too.’

  ‘I knew it,’ he muttered, pointing at the cheese and fruit he’d spread out. ‘Merv kindly informed me of your “favourites” at the supermarket, so I bought these too just in case.’

  ‘That crafty old codger,’ she said, and he was relieved to see her smiling again. ‘You better lock your door at night because that lynch mob know you’re staying at the motel.’

  ‘You really must be the town darling.’

  ‘Yes, but am I your darling?’ She batted her eyelashes in exaggerated coquetry that had him laughing with her.

  ‘For as long as I’m in town, absolutely.’

  The amusement faded from her eyes and he inwardly cursed. Then again, he hadn’t said anything they both didn’t know already.

  He picked up a packet of crackers and offered it to her. ‘Here. Slather these with the brie and camembert, while I eat that caper quiche under sufferance.’

  ‘You can share my cheese. I’m generous like that.’

  ‘You’re all heart.’

  As she sliced a fat wedge of brie and smashed it onto a cracker, he glanced around, noting that the few walkers from earlier had vanished and they now had the beach completely to themselves. The sun skated the horizon, casting deep mauves and magentas across an indigo sky. For a guy who didn’t believe in romance, this moment came pretty close.

  ‘Here.’ When she held the cracker out to him, he took it, laid it on a paper plate, and captured her hand.

  ‘Look.’ He pointed at the sunset, content to watch her rather than the dazzling display of nature.

  ‘Beautiful.’

  ‘Stunning,’ he agreed, not tearing his gaze from her, and when she slowly turned to him, her face bathed in a golden glow, he knew that no matter how much they both reiterated this was a fling, leaving her in three weeks would be tough.

  ‘I’ve lost my appetite,’ she said, soft enough he had to lean forward to hear her. ‘Fancy a carpet picnic instead?’ A wicked smile curved the lips he’d been dying to kiss since he’d picked her up. ‘Later?’

  Jy didn’t have to be asked twice and after packing up the picnic at record speed and navigating the road back to her place, they barely made it through the front door before they were all over each other. Frantic hands, eager mouths, and heat, so much heat. He couldn’t think. He didn’t want to. All he wanted was her.

  All night.

  CHAPTER

  24

  Summer sat cross-legged in the middle of her lounge room, her body sated and her stomach full. Who knew that two vigorous bouts of sex could make her demolish twenty crackers piled with soft cheese?

  ‘I have a confession to make.’ She popped another strawberry into her mouth, savouring the sweetness, belatedly realising she’d practically eaten the whole punnet herself.

  ‘You’re just not that into me?’