As far as Sam could see it, he had two choices. Either forget about the burgeoning feelings he had for her, or try to persuade her to give them a chance. It didn’t need to be anything serious, a spring fling, maybe leading to a summer romance if they were both so inclined. They could focus on their separate businesses without guilt or expectation, and what free time they managed to eke out could be spent getting to know each other better. If it didn’t work out, they’d part as friends, and if it did…well, there was plenty of time to think about that later.
He was a builder. Time to lay the foundations of what might be a promising future.
‘All right, all right, I’m coming.’ The bell above the door jangled as Beth yanked it open.
Her face was pale, her eyes bruised and puffy. She looked like hell and for a moment the idea he’d come up with whilst staring at the sea seemed at best foolish, at worst like he was taking advantage of her vulnerable state. Or maybe he was just scared of finding out her heart was still taken. He needed to act before he chickened out. ‘Here. These are for you.’ He thrust the huge bouquet of roses in shades of cream, lilac and pink at her.
She stared at the flowers. ‘What are these for?’
‘Read the card.’ He pressed the stems against her fingers until she took them.
Balancing them in the crook of her arm, she tugged the little card from the envelope. Her eyebrows rose, and she stared up at him. ‘Is this some kind of joke?’
Sam leaned one shoulder against the doorway. ‘Nope. I mean every single word.’
Colour spotted her cheeks. ‘Let’s have a spring fling?’
A strand of hair had escaped her ponytail and he reached out to tuck it behind her ear. Unable to resist the softness of her skin, he traced the delicate shell of her ear with the tip of his finger. ‘We don’t have to call it that. How do you feel about a little March hare-madness, followed by some April fool-about? I know we said we should stick to just being friends, but I can’t stop thinking about you, Beth. We could have a great time together.’
Her arms tightened around the bouquet and her eyes narrowed. ‘Your timing’s lousy.’
She opened a metaphorical door with that comment, and Sam decided to shoulder his way through. ‘Eliza told me about Charlie. Don’t sulk, it’s unbecoming.’
‘Don’t sulk? Who the hell do you think you are? The man I loved, the man I planned on spending the rest of my life with is getting married, and you have the nerve to tell me not to sulk about it?’ She slammed the flowers against his chest. ‘Get lost, I never want to see you again.’
He straightened the crumpled cellophane around the flowers before handing them back to her. ‘You don’t mean that, you’re just pissed off because you failed.’
Her jaw dropped, and he decided to take the roses back before she beat him around the head with them. They’d cost a bomb, even with Emma, the florist, giving him mate’s rates.
A sharp scowl distorted Beth’s features. ‘I hate you.’
‘Nah, you don’t, not really.’ He set the flowers down on the wide window sill of the emporium then cupped her shoulders. ‘To be clear, I don’t think you’ve failed, but I’m betting that’s what you’re thinking. I bet you lay in your bed all night soaking tissue after tissue in bitter tears, telling yourself your heart’s broken and wracking your brains trying to figure out what you did wrong, why he wants to marry someone else and not you.’
She would’ve twisted away had he let her, but he tightened his grip on her arms, so she resorted to turning her face to the side to hide her tears. ‘Stop it, stop it.’
Doubts wracked him and he questioned the wisdom of playing bad cop, but he’d come too far to stop now. Every tear that trickled down her cheek stabbed him in the gut, and it would be so easy to gather her close and let her cry on his shoulder.
No. No way. If he did that, she’d park him so far in the friend zone, he’d never get back out again. Beth needed someone who would stand up to her, as well as stand up for her. He gave her a gentle shake. ‘Your pride is hurting, and that’s understandable, but you haven’t been acting like a woman with a broken heart for the past few weeks. You’ve been acting like a woman who’s excited about making a fresh start. A woman who’s open to new opportunities in both her professional and her private life. When we kiss, it doesn’t feel like you’re thinking about someone else.’
Releasing one shoulder to cup her cheek, he urged her to turn back and face him. ‘When we kiss, it feels like you are one hundred per cent in the moment. That the butterflies dancing in my belly are fluttering around in yours too.’
Her lashes shuttered down, and he knew she wasn’t thinking about Charlie any more. ‘And it would be just a fling? Nothing serious.’
He ducked low to whisper against her lips. ‘Nothing serious, just two friends exploring an attraction. Nobody’s business but ours. If you need someone to rebound into, why not me?’ Turning his face to the left, he kissed his way across her cheek, seeking the tender skin beneath her ear.
‘Oh, Sam.’ She melted against him, the tension in her body easing until she fit perfectly against him. Her hands stole around his waist to grip his back. ‘What if we’re making a big mistake?’ She didn’t let him go though.
Sliding a hand up to stroke her nape beneath the length of her ponytail, he cuddled closer. ‘We’re going into this with our eyes wide open. We can lay down some ground rules if you like.’
Her shoulders hitched with a little laugh. ‘You’ve been thinking about this a lot, haven’t you?’
‘Every day since we were in your stock room.’ He kissed her temple. ‘Speaking of which, I’d be quite amenable if you wanted to lure me back there.’
Her lips brushed the underside of his jaw. ‘Can I have my flowers back?’
Releasing his hold, he gathered the slightly sorry-looking roses from the window sill and held them out. Beth took them in her arms and lowered her head to breathe in the scent. ‘They’re really beautiful.’
Feeling like he could take a decent breath for the first time since she’d opened the door, he relaxed his shoulders. ‘I thought they’d look good in one of those pewter vases in your bedroom.’
She shot him a glance through her lashes that set his heart racing faster. ‘I know what else would look good in my bedroom.’
‘Oh, really?’
Beth gave one of those one shoulder shrugs that every man knew spelled trouble. ‘I saw this gorgeous antique mirror in one of the shops in the arcade yesterday. I could do with a hand to carry it.’ She buried her nose back in the flowers, but couldn’t disguise the amusement shaking in her shoulders.
He supposed he deserved it after accusing her of sulking, but raising a man’s hopes—and other things—was just plain mean. ‘Low blow, sweetheart.’
She flashed him a smile that showed not one ounce of repentance. ‘Well, I’ve got a busy day ahead. Thanks for the flowers, and your very kind offer. I’ll take it under consideration.’ Stepping back inside, she closed the door in his face, the happy jangle of the bell adding insult to injury.
He knocked on the glass to catch her attention before she walked away. ‘I’ll meet you by your back gate at eight tomorrow morning. We can go for a run and work out some of those ground rules.’
She shook her head, but her eyes were bright with amusement. Taking that as acceptance, he tucked his hands in his pockets and sauntered off. Sam couldn’t fight the grin spreading over his face. He was a builder and the foundations had been laid.
‘I haven’t been up here for ages,’ Beth said when they paused at the top of the hill to catch their breath.
He shaded his