CHAPTER FOURTEEN
‘I thought it would be a good idea to rent until I decide exactly what to do,’ Ruan said after a pause that Tammy thought had gone on a little too long.
‘So you haven’t decided whether to stay in Cornwall yet?’ she said lightly.
‘Well, kind of yes. Just not exactly where to live.’
‘That makes sense,’ she said. ‘Though I’m surprised you haven’t rented some swanky Airbnb. The whole county is swamped with them these days.’
‘I can’t afford to pay holiday let rates for a long-term let,’ he said. ‘Even a medium-term let. The caravan suits me. For now.’ He shivered even though Tammy thought the sun was warm. ‘I’m getting cold sitting here on the damp sand. Shall we get up and walk?’
‘Sure. You probably got chilled out on the water.’
‘Maybe.’
Although he was smiling as he spoke, Tammy sensed she’d pushed him on his choice of accommodation enough and he wanted an excuse to mark an end to that topic of conversation. She didn’t want to sound as if she was judging his choices or let her own problems with a permanent home become an issue.
‘Let’s walk towards the castle,’ she said and he nodded his approval.
‘Don’t you miss anything about the city at all?’ she asked teasingly as they strolled along the beach. ‘This part of Cornwall is hardly sophisticated for a city boy like you. Like you say, it’s mostly potatoes and surfing.’
‘I don’t know,’ he said, stopping to gaze out to sea. ‘It has other attractions … and I don’t mean the castle.’
Her words dried in her throat and every nerve ending tingled. The sun was directly behind him and she blinked, almost unable to see his face.
‘Does it?’ she murmured. ‘I’m glad you decided to come down here too. And we’ve established there are no secret lovers, no skeletons waiting to spring out of a cupboard and sabotage everything.’
‘I guess we’re free to take this forward, then?’ Ruan asked.
She tried to laugh away the intensity of her attraction to him, afraid it was more than she could handle. ‘You make it sound like a work project.’
She was dazzled by the light behind him until he shifted slightly and she could see his face again.
‘Do I?’ he said, raising his eyebrows. ‘Because work was the very last thing on my mind.’
Heat flooded her face. ‘Good,’ she said. ‘Because it sounds as if we both deserve some fun this summer.’ She tried not to emphasise the ‘f’ word, even though she was hinting that they should keep things light and flirty. Nothing serious, a summer of fun. She could handle that.
Their fingers brushed and entwined. Strange, but her body felt as if it was shimmering like the myriad of sun sparkles on the sea. ‘I like the idea of fun and I think getting together could be beneficial to both of us.’
‘What kind of benefits?’ His hand was so warm in hers and felt as if it belonged there. As if it always had and always should – and that scared her.
‘Oh, I don’t know … a good time?’ He turned his smoky blue gaze on her and leaned a little closer. ‘Mutual pleasure, hopefully?’
She licked her lips, realising too late that she’d done it. ‘That’s something I could buy into.’
She knew they were going to kiss but who leaned in first, she would never be able to remember. In a heartbeat, his mouth met hers and they were fused in a kiss that tasted of salt and summer, of promise and possibility.
He rested his hands on her waist, creating a delicious tension in her body that was almost painfully pleasurable. She flattened her palms on his back, exploring the firm muscles under his T-shirt. The breeze brushed against her cheek as Ruan carried on kissing her, exploring her mouth with his tongue. Snatches of sound reached her – shouts, gulls crying – reminding her they were on the beach, in full of view of everyone, and nothing more could happen even though she wanted it to go much further …
‘Hey, Ruan!’
At the sound of the man’s voice, Ruan grimaced, mouthed ‘Sorry’ and glared at the stocky man with a dripping wet beard who was casting a shadow over them.
‘Not interrupting anything, I hope?’ he said, a cheeky smirk on his face.
‘No, Kane,’ he ground out. ‘We were just having a boring chat about tax laws.’
Struggling to come down from that kiss, Tammy nibbled her lip, unsure whether to be annoyed or amused and settling for the former. She was aware her face must be red.
