“I’ve missed you too.” She slid a leg between his and rose on her elbow. Brushing a curl from his eyes, she lowered her mouth to his. She savored his familiar taste, yet was slightly discombobulated by the city scent of cologne instead of his usual tang of the sea with a frisson of engine oil. “Do you really need a nap?”
“What did you have in mind?”
“Something that always helps you sleep.”
“Sex in a single bed?”
“Well, we’ve pushed the reset button on our marriage so it seems appropriate to have sex in a single bed like we did in the early days.”
Nick laughed. “At least this one’s a bit wider than the bunk on Andiamo.”
She traced his jawline with her finger. “And then we can fast forward to a new future by getting housekeeping to convert the beds into a king while we’re at dinner.”
“As much as having sex again will be amazing, I think I’m more turned on by the idea of having you sleeping in my arms all night.”
Her heart rolled in a combination of joy and aversion. She instantly sobered. “Nick, when we get home, I don’t think I can move back into the master bedroom.”
A shadow crossed his face. “Fair enough. But can I move into the guest room with you?”
“Yes, please.”
Chapter Seventeen
September
Hey, Alice my wonderland. Not getting much work done today and who slowed the clocks? Can’t stop thinking about us. Can’t wait to hold you IRL. xx
“Squee!” Alice spun around in delight on the Bairnsdale street.
A little girl asked, “Why are you dancing?”
“Because I’m happy. Do you dance when you’re happy?”
“I dance to the Wiggles.”
“Maeve! Come here.” A woman gave Alice a wary look. The little girl trotted back to her mother and Alice heard her say, “You shouldn’t be talking to strangers, especially ones that squeal on the street.”
But not even the woman’s inference that Alice was crazy could dent her euphoria. In less than two hours, she and Tim were meeting in real life. They’d video chatted every night for close to two weeks. During their first conversation, Tim had apologized for vanishing without a trace. “I wasn’t ghosting you, Alice, I swear. At least not intentionally. It’s just life went unexpectedly off the rails.”
Alice was no stranger to that concept. Tim had explained that his father had been hospitalized with emphysema and his deteriorating health meant he needed more of Tim’s time. On top of that, his brother-in-law had walked out and he’d found himself supporting his sister, Sasha, and being a surrogate dad to his confused and angry nephews.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Alice squinted at the computer screen, watching Tim’s face carefully, looking for clues that might support or disprove his words. “I would have understood.”
“It wasn’t a conscious decision not to tell you. Dad was rushed to the hospital and after that I went into crisis mode. Work, Dad and Sasha took up my time and you and me, well, we were so new. It wasn’t fair to ask you to hang around waiting when I knew I’d be tied up for weeks.”
“Months,” she said, appreciating his thoughtfulness. “And now?”
“Now we set a date and a time and we meet no matter what. In between, we talk.”
“I like the sound of that.”
Alice had almost stood Dan up on Thursday, but she’d been so wired on lust she’d gone anyway and imagined Dan was Tim. She wasn’t proud of it. To be honest, she felt a little queasy whenever she thought about it. She promised herself she’d never do it again.
Now, she hugged herself. After tonight, she wouldn’t need to do it again. After tonight, she’d tell Dan their time together had been fabulous, but it was over. Online dating was over. She had Tim. She was part of a couple again and the world sparkled around her. Just thinking about Tim made her giddy and she couldn’t resist another twirl.
“Ouch.” She collided with someone, her shoulder crashing bone on bone.
“Whoa!” Hands gripped her upper arms, steadying her. “Alice?”
For a second she thought the deep and familiar voice was Dan’s, but Dan had blue eyes and right now green ones full of questions were looking at her. Her mind finally caught up—Dan was at work in the bay. This man was wearing a suit and tie. She blinked and checked again. “Harry?”
“I didn’t realize that, on top of your many skills, you were also a whirling dervish.”
“Sorry. I had an overwhelming urge to twirl.”
Bemusement filled his smile. “In the main street?”
“Why not? When you’re happy you should celebrate. I did a twirl check and the coast was clear until you stepped out of nowhere and out of context.”
“The bookshop is hardly nowhere and you’re as out of context as me.”
“This is the second time I’ve bumped into you outside of the bay. I wonder what the odds are?”
He grinned and his eyes sparkled. “Probability’s my catnip.”
“Really? Numbers are so not my thing.” She didn’t know a lot about what Harry did for a living, other than he was “in IT” and did contract work from home. “What brings you into Bairnsdale?”
“I had a prospective client meeting earlier. And I was just looking for a fun science book for Hunter. You?”
“Doctor’s appointment,” she said without thinking.
“Everything okay?”
His smile had faded and Alice kicked herself, realizing he was remembering doctors’ visits with Helene. She waved her hand airily trying to compensate. “All good. Just an oil check.”
“I guess seeing a doctor at your twin’s practice might be problematic.”
“Only if I want to see a woman.”
“Let me buy you coffee and you can fill me in on your good news.” Harry indicated a café across the road. “It hasn’t been taken over by tree-change hipsters yet and you can still get a good, old-fashioned jam lamington.”
Even though Harry knew she was actively dating, Alice felt awkward telling a widower that she’d met someone—hopefully The One—when he was alone and still grieving. “Thanks, but you’re already cutting it fine if you
