Jake:Molly???
Molly lay back on the pillows and laughed. It was the longest text he’d ever sent her and the most he’d bared his soul in one go. Pity he was hammered.
Molly:Sorry, Chef. No can do. Drink some water and go to sleep.
Jake:But I want to sleep with you. Your skin is so soft. And you’re warm and cuddly and so darn sexy… I can’t fall asleep without you.
Molly:Course you can. Goodnight.
38
Molly rolled over in bed and checked the time—six fifteen on a cold and moody Monday. Her head hit the pillow again as the thought of getting up to go for a walk made her groan. But exercise was her therapy, so she threw back the covers, sat on the edge of the bed, and stretched her arms skyward. “Good morning, beautiful world.”
Just like yesterday, she wondered if Jake would call. He’d texted her late that morning to apologize for his drunken message, but otherwise, there had been no contact. And as she brushed her teeth, the memory of him and what they’d done in Mason’s office brought a flush to her cheeks. As for their moody Monday raincheck, she chose not to think about that. Drunken invitations didn’t count. Did they?
Determined not to get bogged down in the what-ifs, a restless Molly opened the small window that overlooked the garden, and pulled on her walking gear. By the time she’d laced her shoes, her mood had caught up with the action, and she looked forward to a hit of ocean air.
She parked her Suzuki outside the bandstand and headed south along the boardwalk, past the sunken garden toward the skate park, already alive with skateboarders.
Across the road, the patisserie came into view, still closed and the frontage unlit. Molly longed to go inside, to warm her hands on a mug of hot chocolate and have Jake appear from the kitchen, a soft smile on his face as they both recalled their indiscretion from Mason’s party.
But instead, with her hood up and hands stuffed in her pockets, Molly walked on, reminiscing about their nights together at Silkwood Crescent as they lay in his bed in that private corner of the world they’d created for themselves, so hungry and passionate for each other that reality ceased to exist.
When she was younger, shitty love life aside, Molly had such high hopes for her future; now, she couldn’t get her head around the uncertainty that plagued her. She missed Jake—so much so that some days she couldn’t see a way forward, and now, after the party, obvious obstacles aside, she questioned why she ever felt the need to pull back at all.
Molly slowed, taking in her surroundings. She’d walked all the way to the river mouth, where surfcasters hauled in their early morning catch. It reminded her of fishing with her father as a child, the nostalgia warming her insides but also making her restless. She’d always wanted a family of her own, with kids and a big backyard and all the pressure that accompanied it. But these days, that pipe dream seemed further and further out of reach.
Turning back, Molly inserted her earbuds to catch a page or two of her latest romantic fantasy. With the narrator’s voice soothing her into the world of Scottish Highlanders, she’d almost reached the sunken garden when she thought she heard someone call her name.
She glanced over her shoulder, then turned around. Jake, his helmet firmly in place, cut the Vespa’s engine and smiled. “Hey, I thought it was you.”
Dressed in a puffer vest and jeans and with his cheeks flushed with color, he looked so freakin’ hot she wanted to hop on behind him and hold on tight. Molly removed her earbuds and let her hood fall. Her visceral reaction to him was immediate, as if he’d transported her straight back to the bathroom of Silkwood Crescent and his whispered words of seduction in the dark.Mon ange.
“I see you took my advice,” she said.
“Advice?”
“You’re wearing a helmet.”
“I don’t like bucking the rules.”
“Is that right?”
“Well”—that lazy smile—“it depends who I’m with.”
Was that what Saturday night was all about? Bucking the rules and showing her that he could, just because?
“Apologies once again for the text the other night. I had a few more drinks after you left, so…”
“No problem.” Behind her, the ocean crooned its rhythmic song, and as he studied her without further comment, Molly shivered under his attention.She checked her watch. “Anyway, don’t let me hold you up.”
“Do you have plans for tonight? I thought maybe we could do dinner.”
“Sorry, I’m flying to Auckland this afternoon for a conference.”
“How long for?”
“Only a couple of days.”
