‘No,’ said Will, looking adorably contrite all of a sudden. ‘It’s a humble request from a friend who’s got quite a bit of grovelling to do.’
Leah opened her mouth, then closed it again. She wasn’t sure which word to focus on first. Friend? For some reason, that stung. And as for grovelling, was he really going to apologise for being weird all day yesterday?
‘Fine. We’ll have breakfast,’ she said, too curious to see what he had to say for himself to tell him to sod off straight away. ‘You want to come up?’
Will shook his head. ‘Come out with me for breakfast.’
‘I’m not going anywhere wearing this,’ she said, glancing down at her tee-shirt with a wince. ‘And I need a shower.’
‘Fine,’ said Will. ‘That’s cool… I can wait for you out front.’ He fished his mobile from his back pocket.
Leah raised an eyebrow. ‘I might be a while. You sure you don’t want to come up?’
‘Go,’ said Will. ‘Take as long as you need. I’ll be waiting for you.’
Leah didn’t need to be told twice. She was about to turn around and scarper upstairs to make herself a bit more presentable when she paused, more than aware that Will’s eyes were still on her.
‘What?’ he said, looking amused.
‘Would you mind… turning around?’ said Leah, her cheeks flushing hot again.
‘Oh… right… sure!’
Will turned away in slow motion. Leah waited until he’d retreated several steps before turning on her heel and sprinting back upstairs.
CHAPTER 13
WILLIAM
Will leaned on the railing and stared out over North Beach. The image of Leah appearing in nothing more than a flimsy tee-shirt and pair of pants was seared into his brain. Not that he was complaining… it wasn’t an image he wanted to get rid of in a hurry!
Even so, he needed to focus for a second. He had a message to send before she reappeared.
Leah’s fine. Breakfast plans are a-go. ETA about 15 mins.
He’d barely sent the message when a reply pinged back from Rosie.
You’d better be on your best behaviour or your nuts will have my knees to contend with. Rx
His phone pinged again.
Connie says hers too… though she said she might have to defer the physical exercise for a few months!
Will rolled his eyes and smiled. He knew his two proto sisters-in-law were all talk. They were the sweetest people he’d ever met, and the fact that they were willing to help him try to fix the chaos he’d caused was proof of that.
Even so, Will had no intention of messing this up. If there was any chance Leah might give him a second chance to prove he could be a decent human being, he was going to grab it with both hands. Will couldn’t imagine life without her, and that went for the professional side of things…andthe personal.
‘Alright, I’m ready!’
Will whirled around only to find a very different version of Leah standing a few feet away from him. In the time it had taken him to send two messages and moon around a bit, Leah had clearly managed to shower, dry her hair, put it up in its customary sleek up-doandget changed.
Will frowned slightly. He couldn’t help it.
Gone were the relaxed waves and washed-out denim of the day before. Leah had raided her holiday wardrobe and somehow managed to come up with a look that was all business. She was wearing black, ankle-length trousers, a tucked-in, white shirt, and a pair of neat ballet pumps. All she needed was a suit jacket, and she could be negotiating contracts for his next tour.
In short, Leah had put her armour back on… and it was all his fault.
‘You look nice,’ he said.
