Persuading Spring: A Sexy New Zealand Romance (The Four Seasons Book 4) (17 page)

A tear ran down Bridget’s cheek. She wiped
it away, feeling such a swell of love for her friend at that moment that it
almost choked her. “Your son is such a lucky boy to have you for a mother.”

“Gene says he’s going to grow up singing
Abba and I’ve cursed him for life.”

“If that’s the worst thing that happens,
he’ll be pretty well off,” Bridget said with a sniff.

Callie chuckled. “Okay, well don’t worry. I’ll
tell Hitch I’ve heard from you and all’s well. He’ll be off with Rowan soon so
he won’t be thinking about you so much. He’ll be out in the middle of Canada trying
to stick his camera down a moose’s mouth or something.”

“Yeah. Thanks, Callie.”

“You’re welcome. Have a fantastic time, and
enjoy all the sex.”

Bridget laughed. “I will. Take care of the
boy.”

“Yeah, and I’ll look after Ewan as well.”

Bridget hung up, grinning. Callie never
failed to lift her spirits.

It might be a sunflower… give it a
chance to grow.

Still smiling, she put the kettle on and
began to make them both a cup of coffee.

“She’s what?”

Aaron didn’t raise his gaze, just continued
to study the list of patients the four of them in the surgery were working
through. “She’s staying with me. Just for a few days. Now, Harris the Labrador…
How are those pins in his shoulder doing?”

“Don’t change the subject,” Joe said. “How
did this happen?”

“I said ‘Would you like to stay?’ and she
said ‘Yes, please.’ It’s not rocket science.”

“
You
asked
her?
Aaron…”

Aaron looked pleadingly at Izzy and Pam,
who were also sitting around the table, drinking coffee as they had their
pre-clinic morning meeting. “Please tell him to shut up.”

“Absolutely not,” Pam said. “We want all
the gory details.”

Izzy smiled, but her face held gentle
concern. “We’re just worried about you, that’s all. You’re such a softie,
Aaron, and this has the potential to cause you a great deal of heartache.”

“It won’t,” he said, pretending to write
something interesting on his clipboard, although he was just doodling. “We both
know it’s just a fling.” He glanced up to see them all exchanging glances. “For
God’s sake. She’s a friend. It’s a bit of fun. Stop getting your knickers in a
twist.”

“So is she sleeping in the spare room?” Joe
wanted to know.

“No. We’re having lots of casual sex and
enjoying it very much, thank you. Any more questions?”

Pam laughed and went back to her notepad.
Izzy scratched her head and tried not to smile. Joe just frowned though. “So
what happens when it’s time for her to go home?”

“I believe there’s something called a plane,
and you climb on it and it goes up in the sky…”

“Very funny. Has she spoken to her husband
yet?”

“She’s not married,” Aaron reminded him.

“Her almost-husband, then.”

He returned his gaze to his doodling. “I
don’t know.” He knew she hadn’t, but he wasn’t going to admit that to Joe.

“You told me that her brother was worried
she might go back to him. What will you do if that happens?”

“She won’t, but even if she did, it
wouldn’t be any of my business once she leaves here.” Aaron’s mouth went dry at
the real worry in Joe’s eyes. His friend was genuinely concerned that Bridget
was going to break his heart.

He sighed as he focused on his notes and
realized he’d doodled the letter B and surrounded it with flowers. “Look,
seriously, we’re just having a bit of fun. We like each other, and she’s
gorgeous. Funny. Sexy. And I haven’t had any in nearly three years.”

“Three years?” Pam said. “Jesus.”

“Exactly. I’m a man in my prime,” Aaron
said. “Well, maybe a bit over it, but I still happen to like sex, so I’m making
the most of having it on tap, so to speak.”

Joe pointed his pen at him. “Stop acting
like this is just physical. That’s not what this is about and you know it.”

“What are we, teenage girls? Of course it’s
physical. You want a list of all the places and positions we’ve done it in?” He
scowled when Joe pretended to think about it. “I’m not taking advantage of her,
and I’m not getting emotionally involved.” He gestured at his friends. “You’re
all in nice romantic relationships, but some people don’t have that luxury. And
if casual sex is being offered, I’m not going to say no. Stop ruining my fun.”

“Fair enough.” Izzy nudged Joe with her
elbow. “Come on, leave him alone.”

Joe hadn’t quite finished though. “You
still coming to the
marae
on Saturday?”

Aaron had forgotten about the party. It was
Joe’s birthday, and his
whanau
or family were having a big get-together
with many of their friends. Aaron’s parents, as well as his sister and her brood,
were all going to be there, and he’d promised he’d go. “Of course.”

“You can bring Bridget,” Joe said. “She can
meet your mum and dad.”

Aaron was unable to hide a wince. “Will you
stop?’

“I’m just saying.”

He hadn’t told his parents about Bridget.
He hadn’t seen any point. He’d never been the sort to have casual
relationships, and after what had happened with Nita, he knew his mother would
worry he was going down that road again.

He wasn’t, whatever anyone else thought. He
might have mentioned to Bridget during a lapse of self-control that he might
fall more in love with her if she stayed, but he was sure that she either
hadn’t heard him or had guessed he was just saying something romantic to get in
her panties, which he sort of had been.

He stared at the elaborate B he’d doodled
as the others went back to their list of clients.
Yeah, mate. You’re not
falling for her at all. This is in no way worrying.

Well, it was too late now. Bridget had
already stayed with him for three nights, so he couldn’t have asked her to
leave even if he’d wanted to.  And he didn’t want to. He liked having her
there.

It wasn’t just about the pleasantness of
having a woman around the house after so long living on his own, although that
was a big part of it. Initially, he’d wondered whether he’d find it invasive.
When his mother or sister came to visit, for some reason they saw any clothes
that were lying around or unwashed crockery as a sign that he needed a woman,
but he always tidied his clothes and washed the dishes—he just didn’t see why
he had to do it immediately. The house wasn’t dirty—he had a cleaner for
Christ’s sake—and in spite of having two dogs, he thought he kept it fairly
tidy. But he’d spent nearly five years living in a show home with Nita, who was
extremely house proud, and it was nice now to be able to put his feet on the
coffee table if he wanted, to wash the dishes in the morning rather than at
night when he was tired, and to leave his clothes hanging on the side of the
wardrobe rather than always putting them away like she’d made him do.

He’d wondered whether Bridget would be the
same, constantly tidying up behind him, but to his joy she’d hung her jacket
over his on a chair, piled up their dirty plates in the sink and run water over
them so they could soak, merely laughed when Tycho had run into the kitchen
with mud-covered feet, and she hadn’t straightened the cushions on the sofa once.

The day before, Sunday, they’d gone out in
the morning again, to Kerikeri this time, to visit the Stone Store he’d told
her about, and then after lunch at a restaurant right on the inlet, they’d
returned home and spent a decadent, lazy afternoon in bed making love in the
warm sunshine, and a relaxed evening walking the dogs then watching movies
until the sun went down.

He liked having her around. And he wasn’t
stupid—of course it was going to be difficult when she left. But did that mean
he shouldn’t spend time with her? Should he give up on the chance of a week’s
happiness because of the possibility he might get hurt? That was like saying he
shouldn’t help the pets who came into his surgery because he might get attached
to them. It was always difficult to say goodbye to the animals he cared for,
but he did it every time. He had his heart broken on a daily basis by all
manner of cats and dogs. He was used to it. He always survived, and he’d
survive this time too.

*

To be fair to Joe, after he’d grilled Aaron
on Monday morning, he laid off the questioning, and then he surprised Aaron on
Wednesday as he prepared to leave the surgery by suggesting the six of them—including
Pam and her husband, Kevin—go out for an Indian meal that evening.

“Are you sure?” Aaron frowned. “I thought
you didn’t approve of Bridget.”

“I heartily approve of all young,
attractive females, especially those who bring a smile to your grumpy face. It
was only your girlish heart I was worried about, but you’ve reassured me you’re
not going to fall for this young lady, and I’m prepared to trust you.”

“Girlish heart?”

“Come on, Aaron, you know you’re a sucker
for a sob story. But Izzy told me I was acting like my father. She reminded me
that not every relationship has to lead to walking down the aisle, and that I
need to accept you’re a grown man who can separate sex from love.”

Aaron met his best friend’s innocent gaze
and gave him a wry look. “Give it a rest.”

“What? I’m just—”

“Yeah, yeah. Thank you for your concern.
Can I be assured that if we do go to dinner with you all, you’re not going to
quiz Bridget about our Future with a capital F?”

“Of course not.” Joe slapped him on the
shoulder. “Seven o’clock?”

“Yeah. See you then.”

As he walked home, Aaron wondered whether
he should have asked Bridget first if she wanted to go to dinner with other
people before telling Joe they’d go. During the week they’d been out several
times, to the movies, to dinner, but that was different from going with other
people. Maybe she’d be insulted that he’d answered for her, or she could be
upset because it would mean acting like a couple, and they were only supposed
to be temporary.

But she was neither of those things, and in
fact only looked surprised and pleased when he walked in and told her. “I’d
love to,” she said as he slipped off his shoes and jacket. “We were going to
try the Indian yesterday, weren’t we?”

“We were. That would have meant getting out
of bed, though.” He came over to her and slipped his arms around her waist.

Her lips curved up, and she lifted her arms
around his neck, rose on tiptoes, and pressed her lips to his. He kissed her,
long and languidly, enjoying the way she took such delight in just a kiss.
Delight in
him
, in fact.

She’d been like this all week. Whenever he
walked in, she was hesitant at first, as if worried he’d changed his mind
during the day and had tired of her. When she realized he hadn’t—he didn’t
think he could ever grow tired of having this beautiful woman in his arms—sheer
joy spread across her face, and she threw her arms around him and told him how
much she’d missed him, sending warmth spreading through his stomach and filling
him with an unparalleled pleasure that she wanted to be with him.

“Mmm,” she murmured, sliding her tongue
against his and sending him hard in seconds before she eventually moved back.
“It’s sort of a shame we’re going out. We could have gone straight to bed.”

He pressed her up against the kitchen
counter, hungry for her, wanting to strip her, press himself against her soft
body, and kiss her until she made those low cries that gave him goose bumps.
“We don’t need to go out. I’m not hungry. I don’t care if I never eat again.”

She laughed. “But we should take Tycho and
Kepler for a walk before we go out.”

He sighed and followed her gaze to the
doorway, where the two dogs sat side by side watching them, Tycho—as usual—with
the lead hanging from his mouth. Their faces suggested they were thinking,
When
you’re ready, Aaron.

“Jeez,” Aaron said. “Passion killers or
what?”

Grinning, she took his hand and led him to
the doorway. “This is going to be a lovely evening. A walk along the beach, an
Indian meal, meeting some of your friends, and coming back home with you.” Her
cheeks had flushed a pretty pink, and her eyes glowed. “I can’t wait.”

She looked like a goddess, and he couldn’t
deny the way his heart leapt at her words.

He smiled, clipped the dogs’ leashes on,
and followed Bridget out into the cool spring evening air. They walked the
short distance to the beach for dog owners and strolled along the grassy verge.
The dogs on their extended leads played with each other in the soft sand while
Bridget described her day. She’d been out on a boat for a dolphin watch, and
although she hadn’t seen any, they’d discovered a pod of orca whales, and her
face lit up as she described the beauty of their black flumes lifting out of
the waves.

He listened, but his mind drifted away with
the cries of the seagulls. She was right—the evening she’d described sounded
ideal. He couldn’t think of anything else that would make it more perfect,
except perhaps his son walking beside them, throwing sticks for the dogs.

At the thought of his son, his stomach felt
a little choppy, like the gray-blue sea that churned on the beach, riled up by
the brisk breeze. That was the real world, he reminded himself. Family and
duty. He had a lot of things to sort out before his sea began to settle. And
how could Bridget possibly fit into that world of chaos? She couldn’t, of
course. She was like the beautifully carved figurehead of a sunken ship that had
drifted past him on the turbulent ocean, and once the waves swept her away,
he’d probably never see again.

So why did she—the most temporary thing in
his life—feel as if she was the only thing he could cling to, the one thing that
would save him from drowning?

He stopped walking, the dogs turning to
face him as they came to a sudden halt on their leads. Bridget, humming to
herself, also stopped and looked over her shoulder at him.

“What?” Her face creased in a smile. “Come
on, dopey. We don’t have long before the meal and I need to get ready. I can’t
go looking scruffy like this.”