Scotty gently pulled her hair, easing her head back, and started kissing her neck. Claire shuddered as she gazed up at the starlit sky. Her breath came in short, sharp rasps. The ache in her chest migrated to an altogether sweeter, more pleasurable location. He knew exactly what he was doing. It was his signature move when they were together, the one that always made her want to . . .
‘No!’ She pushed him with more force than she had intended and he staggered back several steps.
Scotty touched his fingers to his lips as if still looking for hers. ‘What’s wrong?’ he panted, trying to catch his breath.
‘We can’t do this,’ Claire said. ‘You’re engaged to be married, Scotty.’
He put his hands on his hips and stared intently at his boots. He nodded. Slowly, his breathing calmed. When he looked at her again, there was something animal in his gaze.
‘Then why do I want you so much?’
He stepped towards her, seeking to claim her again, but she moved away. She wanted him too. The throbbing between her thighs told her how much. But he wasn’t hers any more. He was Nina’s.
And Claire was convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that their marriage would be a cataclysm of epic proportions. If kissing an ex-girlfriend didn’t prove it, she wasn’t sure what would.
She couldn’t skirt the issue for another second. It was time to lay her cards on the table.
‘Don’t marry Nina,’ she said.
His eyes grew wide. ‘What?’
‘I didn’t come back to Bindallarah to help you plan your wedding. I came here to stop it. It’s a mistake, Scotty. It will be disastrous for both of you,’ Claire said. ‘I like Nina. I do. But she’s a stranger. I know she has doubts. And you obviously do too, or you wouldn’t be here, kissing me. Call it off. Please. For both your sakes.’
She scanned his face for a sign that her words had hit the mark, but Scotty’s expression was inscrutable. Claire felt desperate. He had to see that she was right. He simply had to.
‘Say something,’ she pleaded.
Scotty straightened his shoulders and appeared to steel himself. ‘Claire, I’m going to ask you a question and I’m only going to ask it once,’ he said. ‘I need you to answer honestly. Will you do that?’
She nodded.
‘Do you still have feelings for me?’
Not that. Anything but that. Jackie was right – she’d suspected Scotty had been cagey about his relationship with Nina because he was trying to spare Claire’s feelings. His question made it perfectly clear that he suspected those feelings went well beyond the bounds of friendship.
‘It doesn’t matter how I feel, Scotty. What matters is how you feel about Nina. Do you love her enough to spend the rest of your life with her?’
And did he believe Nina loved him that deeply? Claire definitely had her doubts.
‘Just answer the question,’ he said. ‘You promised.’
She searched for the right words to explain how she felt about him. In one sense she had deep feelings for him. He made her laugh, both online and in person. He made her feel safe. He made her feel seen. She cherished her memories of the love they had once shared and felt ashamed that she’d been so cavalier with his heart. She was happy, beyond happy, that he was back in her life. She was just so glad, so grateful, to be able to call Scotty Shannon her friend.
Maybe, if things had been different, she might have considered herself worthy of a second chance with Scotty. If they had found each other again under different circumstances, the fact that they were both a little older and a little wiser might have meant they’d be great together.
But if returning to Bindallarah had revealed anything, it was that everything had changed. What Claire really wanted, she understood now, was their past. She wanted a chance to make it right. But the past was gone and she had to accept that.
‘I don’t have those kinds of feelings for you, Scotty, I swear. This isn’t about me trying to win you back or take you away from somebody that you love. It’s really not,’ she said haltingly. She felt the sting of tears. ‘Maybe you and Nina are meant to be together, but you can’t know that after a month. You just can’t. If you marry her now, you’ll get your heart broken. I care about you too much to stand by and watch that happen.’
It was like a light was extinguished behind Scotty’s eyes as she watched. All the passion, the fire she had felt in him just moments ago, seemed to drain away. His face fell and his shoulders sagged as though he was collapsing in on himself. The transformation frightened her and again she fought the urge to go to him, to pull him close and never let him go.
When Scotty spoke again, his voice was flinty. ‘Thanks for your help with the plans, but I think it’s probably a good idea if I handle things myself from here.’
‘Scotty, don’t,’ she pleaded. ‘If you’d just let me —’
‘I’m marrying Nina on Christmas Eve, Claire. It’s happening,’ he said. ‘Perhaps it’s for the best if you don’t come to the wedding.’
Claire was stunned. She had misjudged him – misjudged them. She had believed their friendship was strong enough that they could say anything to each other, share even the most uncomfortable truths, the way they used
