Chapter 8
Juniper
Juniper linked her fingers with his and walked on.
As they rounded the final corner, she felt him tug at her hand and she turned back, looking at him inquiringly.
He tugged again and she took two steps forward, until they were almost touching.
She raised her gaze to his face, feeling a little shiver at the heat she saw swirling in the brandy-colored depths of his eyes.
He lowered his head, ever so slowly, watching her.
She leaned into him, letting her eyes drift closed as his lips found hers, brushing softly, gently.
Then he increased the pressure, and she opened her lips, sighing as she felt his tongue tangled with hers.
She wound her arms around his neck, felt his arms come around her and she was pulled tight against him as he deepened the kiss with long, languorous strokes of his tongue.
The heat pooled in her belly, and she sighed again, luxuriating in the pure pleasure of it.
Then he slowly lifted his head and she let her eyes drift open, gazing up at him for a long moment before saying, “Hmm, lovely.”
He chuckled. “Thanks.” He reached up and pushed a golden curl back from her face. “You ready for what comes next?”
“That depends on what it is.”
He grinned. “You’ll see.” He took her hand again and led her out to the car, then they were cruising back down the road, towards Blessed Inlet.
He bypassed the town, taking the steep, curving track up to the lighthouse, driving around a triangular patch of stubby grass to park in front of one of the smaller buildings, closest to the towering lighthouse.
She got out of the car and had a good look around.
The sandstone buildings squatted in the high summer sun, their red, iron roofs shimmering in the heat.
There were a few buildings of varying sizes dotted around and she wondered what they were all for.
“Would you like to have a look around?”
“Yes, definitely.”
She followed him down the gravel drive and across more brittle grass towards a tall building. She stepped inside the open cavity onto flagstones and into the cool shadow. She looked up at the soaring ceilings and the sectioned space. “Stables?”
“Yes. It had become a bit of a dumping ground, so it was a bit of a job to clean it out, but it’s got great bones.”
“What will you use it for?”
“Evening functions.”
She could see that quite easily, the space filled with people in fancy suits and dresses, milling about, snacking on delicate canapes while they schmoozed.
It was a bit depressing, so she wandered out into the hot sunshine, heading towards the long, low building at the bottom edge of the compound.
William opened the thick wooden door but stopped her from stepping inside. “The floor’s not safe.”
She peered into the dusty gloom, looking at the wide-open space. “This’ll be the conference and team building area.”
“Correct.”
The next building had been the lighthouse keeper’s cottage and was in similar condition to the conference center. Evidence of John’s work was everywhere, from the sawhorses with long planks of flooring resting on them to the window frames neatly stacked against the wall.
William led the way to a small cottage closest to the cliff, nestled in the shadow of the lighthouse. Curious, she followed him inside. A lot of work had been done here.
“They’ve been hard at work here.”
“Yeah, they concentrated on this first so I could stay here. It’s fully functional now and will be the manager’s residence. It’s good to try it out and the view’s amazing.”
The front door opened into a little entrance foyer, which in turn opened onto a comfortable seating area, with two large, comfortable sofas that offered sweeping views of the rolling sea.
To her right was a little kitchenette that overlooked a compact dining area, beyond that was a short hallway with a bedroom or two.
The whole wall in front of the seating area had been given over to glass sliding doors that led out onto a sandstone patio.
The whole place screamed elegance and comfort.
She was impressed. William had moved into the kitchen, retrieving a picnic basket and a bottle of wine in a champagne bucket.
“This way.”
She followed him out through the sliding doors, over the grass to the old, wooden door of the lighthouse.
He placed the basket and bucket down between his feet and heaved the door open, gesturing her to go ahead of him up the narrow, spiral staircase.
The stairs opened out to a narrow, beamed platform, where, to Juniper’s utter delight, a table and chairs were tucked under the wide window.
It was set for two with a white plastic tablecloth, plates, cutlery, wine glasses and a bunch of yellow daisies in a vase.
She looked at William and saw him watching her with uncertainty.
“I love it. It’s perfect.” She looked out across the ocean, the white caps of the waves, the gulls circling, the little town nestled in the curve of the beach. “Wow.”
“It’s something, isn’t it?”
“It’s amazing.”
“Hungry?”
“A little.”
She sat down, more than intrigued when he sat opposite her and placed the bucket and basket on the ground next to him.
“Right, so confession time. I love wine and I can’t cook for peanuts, so this part was extra challenging.” He opened the wine and poured for her first. She took a sip and nodded her approval. “Great, that’s the best seven dollars I’ve ever spent.”
She laughed. Next, he took out two containers and put them in the middle of the table. “Salmon frittata and a green salad.” He removed the lids and served her a generous portion. She waited until he had served himself before she lifted her fork and took a bite.
“Mm, delicious.”
“It’s from Coco’s.”
“They do great food. You chose well. A toast.” She lifted her wine glass and held it out, waiting for him to do the same, then clinked her glass gently against his. “To cheap dates.”
He laughed. “To cheap dates.”
They ate in companionable silence for a while. “Tell me about your family,” Juniper said, after taking a sip of wine.
“There’s not much to tell. It’s just my Mum and Dad, me and my sister.”
“What are their names?”
“Dad’s Robert, Mum’s Gwen and my sister is Cassandra, but we call her Cassie.”
“You’re close?”
He gave it some thought, then nodded. “We are close, but to be honest, I don’t think about it that much. I guess I just take it for granted. I shouldn’t. It scared the shit out of all of us when Dad had the stroke.”
“I can imagine.”
“Yeah, but he pulled through and he’s doing okay, so I forget sometimes how terrifying it was.”
“What about your Mum?”
“She’s a rock. She runs the whole show and always has been, even before Dad got sick.”
“And Cassie?”
“Hmm, Cassie.” He pondered for a moment, a faraway look in his eye. “She’s got Dad’s business acumen and Mum’s take no prisoners attitude. Nothing gets by her. She’s fiercely loyal and protective. You cross someone she loves and she’ll squash you flat.”
“She sounds amazing.”
“Yeah, but she’s my baby sister so she still gives me the shits every other day.”
Juniper laughed. “Fair enough.”
“What about you, Juniper? You’ve mentioned your family. What about Billy’s Dad?”
“Well, that’s a bit of a weird story.” She leaned back in her chair, taking a sip of wine and holding onto the glass as she gazed out at the ocean for a long moment.
It was a weird story, and he might not like it, might judge her.
She weighed up the options. She decided that if he was going to judge her, she’d rather know now than later.
“My late twenties precipitated a bit of a crisis for me. A lot of things were coming to a head with my family, my work wasn’t fulfilling me anymore and I just had a feeling that something was missing, that there had to be something more to life than this.
” She paused, considering how best to explain it.
“I know the feeling,” he said softly, surprising her.
“Really?”
“Yes, but back to you.”
“Right. Well, I started feeling like the something more might be a baby. Once I got the idea in my head, I couldn’t let it go.
It just grew and grew. So, I started seriously looking around for someone I could marry that would give me a baby.
That seems so ridiculous now that I’m doing it on my own, but I was still tied to my family’s expectations so at first that seemed the obvious solution. ”
“That makes sense.”
“But there was just no one I could imagine being with in that way. Then one day I went to a Celtic festival, and I saw this man, and I just got this feeling. This flash of rock-hard certainty. This was it. This was exactly how I should do it. So, I approached him.” She paused, searching his face, but it was shuttered, impassive.
She took another sip of wine, feeling a little niggle of nervousness.
“We talked for a little while, then I just came out with it. I just told him what I wanted. And he agreed.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that. I said I had no interest in a relationship, but he could be as involved as he liked. He said he wasn’t ready to be a dad, his lifestyle didn’t really allow it. But I’ve got his phone number, so if ever Billy wants to get in touch with him, he can.”
“He doesn’t ask?”
“Not yet. Maybe he’s still too young. But he’s got Mikayla and Rafe, and John and Nora.
They’re his family. Maybe he just doesn’t want for more.
” She stopped then, looking at him, trying to gauge his reaction.
Pure nervousness washed over her as she realized that her reasoning before, was based on false bravado.
It mattered that he not judge her. So much more than she could have imagined even a few minutes earlier.
“I think you’re amazing.”
She let out an explosive breath. “Really?”
“God yes. What a thing to do, on your own. And Christ, you can hardly look at Billy and think he was a mistake.”
She put a hand over her heart, where it was squeezing painfully. She couldn’t control the tears that welled in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks.
“Hey,” he said, softly. She rose hastily to her feet, rounding the table and before he had the chance to do the same, was in his lap, her arms around his neck, her face buried in his shoulder. His arms came around her, holding tight.
She stayed there for a little while, basking in the feel of his body against her, of the relief that had flooded her at his reaction.
She pulled back to look at him, wiping at the tears on her face.
“It matters to me that you think that.” Then she pressed a soft kiss to his lips, but he pulled back before she could deepen it.
“Why would I not think that?”
She reached up and with the tip of her index finger, rubbed at the furrow between his brows. She’d hurt his feelings. “I can’t explain to you how it was with my family when I told them. It was awful. They were awful. So, I’m a little sensitive about it. I’m sorry.”
“Fair enough.” He kissed her again before saying, “You know what you need?”
“What?”
“Dessert.”
“Yes!” She moved to get off his lap, but he tightened his grip around her waist.
“You can have it where you are.” He reached down into the picnic basket and pulled out two chuppa chups. “We’ve got strawberries and cream or coca cola. Lady’s choice.”
She laughed, delighted. “Budget didn’t stretch to dessert?”
“You got it.”
“Strawberries and cream, please.” She worked the wrapper off then looked at him quizzically. “You’re giving me a lollypop without making any rude jokes?”
“I’m a responsible, mature adult. I’m sure I can handle it.”
Holding his gaze, she put the lollypop in her mouth and sucked. “Hmm, it’s not very big.”
“Jesus.”
It was all so gloriously unexpected, sitting in his lap, mischievous laughter bubbling up inside her.
She gazed out at the ocean as she sucked on the lollypop and for the moment, she was content just to be with him.
The moment spun out for an eternity. The cool breeze played with her hair.
His scent surrounded her, earthy and fresh.
She just wanted to start kissing him and never stop.
Dropping the half-eaten lollypop on his plate, she wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her lips over his.
He ran his hands up and down her back making her want more, need more.
She sighed, shifting a little, trying to get closer.
He broke away, but only long enough to press hot, desperate kisses along her jawline.
She tilted her head to give him better access as he found her earlobe, grazing it with his teeth, sending a shiver through her.
He left a trail of kisses down her neck to her collarbone, but the dress was in the way, so he made his way back up to her lips, claiming them in a deep, drugging kiss.
Juniper sighed when she felt his hand slide down over her hip, to the hem of her lacey dress, and under.
His fingers brushed against the soft, satiny skin of her thigh.
With one hand around his neck, the other was free to roam over his chest, then lower.
Before she could get very far, though, he hastily pulled his wandering hand from under her dress and grabbed her wrist.
“We’d better stop.”
“Yes.” But she pulled away from his grip and buried her fingers in his hair, kissing him deeply, hungrily. It just wasn’t enough.
“Juniper,” he said against her lips.
“I know.”
“Not here. Not like this.”
“No.” She sighed and broke the kiss, resting her forehead against his, her breath shallow. “You’d better take me home.”
“Okay.” He smiled as she got to reluctantly to her feet, then blew out a sharp breath as he stood up. “Christ, you can kiss.”
Chuckling as she smoothed her hands over her dress, she said, “So can you!”