Alex unwound himself from the chair as Shea entered and her legs were suddenly unaccountably rubbery. His shoulders were square beneath his loose T-shirt, and his faded, threadbare jeans accentuated his long legs and narrow hips.
‘Shea, this is my cousin, Alex Finlay,’ Jamie said with obvious pleasure. ‘Alex, meet Shea Stanley, who’s now my unofficial sister.’
‘Shea’s mother and I were the best of friends since our schooldays,’ Norah was explaining. ‘Even though we lived in different states we’ve always kept in touch.’
As Shea’s eyes moved over him, taking in each feature, his gaze was making its own exploration of her. Until their eyes met, held, passed an earth-shattering message.
That was the moment she’d fallen in love with him. It had been as simple as that. They had looked at each other and the earth had seemed to tilt vertiginously.
She could remember a multitude of incidents over the years but that first electric moment when she was twelve and he was a so grown up sixteen would remain vividly in her memory till the day she died. She’d wanted to run to him and from him all at once.
She’d also known Alex felt exactly as she did, while Jamie’s half-rueful glance had told Shea he suspected as much as well.
So here they were sixteen years later. Face to face. And so much had happened between then and now. Between innocence and experience. But their wonderful beginning had ended on that cool autumn night eleven years ago. Eleven years. She hadn’t seen him since. And now...
Her shocked gaze registered the change in him, sent the messages to that section in the deep recesses of her mind that she knew had stored away every memory of him. She could have been that same lanky child-woman if her present reaction to him was any indication. And her response to his sudden appearance filled her with overwhelming horror. She would have to admit it was a far cry from just uncomplicated surprise at his unexpected and unheralded arrival.
The noise of the meeting abated and the crowd faded into the background as their eyes met for those immeasurable seconds.
After his momentary pause he passed her, was moving up to the table at the front of the meeting, holding out his hand to Rob, the chairman.
‘Rob Jones. Remember me? Alex Finlay.’
Recognition dawned on the older man and he grinned a welcome. ‘Well now, Alex Finlay. After all these years. How could I forget that winning try in the footy final? We haven’t won a premiership since you retired.’
A few others joined them, took turns in shaking Alex’s hand, slapping him on the back, welcoming home one of the township’s more successful sons.
And Shea sank slowly down onto her chair, knowing all she had feared had come to be. The very person who had taken her young life and turned it upside down had returned to up-end her ordered world. She’d hoped never to see him again.
‘Who is he?’ David subsided onto his seat beside her. ‘Do you know him, Shea? Everyone else seems to. Finlay?’ His eyebrows went up and he turned sharply to face her. ‘Not any relation, is he?’
Shea swallowed the hysterical laugh that threatened to burst from her. ‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘No. Not really. A sort of cousin. By marriage.’
‘Oh.’ David continued to look at her questioningly and she swallowed to clear her dry throat.
‘He was related to Jamie, my late husband.’
‘I see. I take it this Alex Finlay’s been away.’
‘Yes. He left Byron Bay, before Jamie and I were married, actually.’
‘Oh. That would be years ago. It’s a wonder you recognised him if you haven’t seen him since then.’
Pain twisted inside Shea, clutching at her heart. And she wasn’t ready to see him tonight. Not tonight or any night.
See him! She mocked herself disparagingly. See him! She didn’t have to see him. She knew exactly what he looked like, would have known him anywhere, no matter how many years came between. How could she forget? She knew every hair, every inch of firm muscle, every secret responsive...
Shea drew a deep, steadying breath. She had to stop this, stop torturing herself.
‘Has he changed much?’ David was asking.
‘He looks a little older,’ she said off-handedly.
David’s smile held a hint of smugness. ‘A bit longer in the tooth?’
But he’s not old. Shea clamped her lips tightly closed before the words came out. He’s only thirty-two. Four years older than she was. Eleven years older than he was when she last saw him. Panic rose inside her. When she last saw him. No! She wouldn’t think about that. She mustn’t.
‘Aren’t we all,’ she said flatly as Rob Jones called for order and introduced Alex to the meeting.
Alex took the floor and Shea tried valiantly to concentrate on what he was saying, but the sound of his voice took painful precedence. Somewhere her mind heard him talking about deputations to the council, community petitions. Yet her other more perfidious senses clamoured for attention, wanted to luxuriate in the purely sybaritic excitement that was for Shea so atypically physical.
Various members of the crowd put questions to Alex until Rob glanced at his watch.
‘Time’s getting on so I think we’d better call this meeting closed. We’ll advertise the date and time of the next meeting in the usual way. And in the meantime we’ll take Alex’s advice and I’ll be carrying our continued concerns to the council meeting tomorrow night. See you all next time.’
People began to file out of the hall and Shea stood up quickly. If she hurried she’d manage to escape before Alex had a chance to approach her. Should he want to, that was, she told herself derisively.
But David was blocking her exit and for once she felt irritated by his gentlemanly consideration as he stood back to allow a group of elderly people to precede him. At long last he stepped into the aisle and turned to see that she was following him.
‘Shea.’
She had barely taken two steps when the deep voice behind her saying her name stopped her dead in her tracks. It seemed Alex did want to approach her and she’d left leaving too long. Once again, she conceded bitterly, she’d underestimated his ability to get what he wanted.
How she wished she could ignore him, move on, leave the building and pretend she hadn’t heard him, but David had already paused beside her.
‘Shea,’ Alex repeated, and she made herself turn slowly to face him.
She allowed her eyes to meet his again, and the pain it brought her was worse, so very much worse than she ever imagined it would be. It was an agony just to look at the long, tall, tanned length of him. He was standing so close she could have put out her hand and touched him...
How she’d loved him! And she couldn’t stop some part of. her reassessing him, adding the new details to her previous cache of graphic memories.
His hair, darker now, and much shorter than he used to wear it. But she remembered how thick and vital it was. She could almost feel it now. Hadn’t she run her fingers through it as she pulled his mouth back to hers?
His eyes, dark lashes now shielding the expression in their deep brown depths. They’d reminded her of smooth chocolate as he gazed down at her with passionate intensity.
His features, totally masculine, square-jawed and craggy. She knew deep creases crept into his cheeks, bracketing his mouth when he laughed.
And his lips. How his lips used to drive her crazy, bring her right to the very edge of her control. And beyond. So far beyond.
Shea forced herself