Page 30 of Prognosis Temporary

CHAPTER SIX

Callie heard the amplifiedcalls of a coxswain setting the pace a minute or so before the slap of oar against water could be heard and a rowboat came into view. The sun was barely up and it was chilly in the early morning along the banks of the Yarra, but the river was alive and, even at this hour, the city pulsed around her as she walked along the boardwalk.

She’d given up on sleep about an hour ago. Her king-size bed was the ultimate in cloud-like comfort but its sheer size conjured up pictures of rolling in the sheets with a lover.

It was an image that had not been conducive to sleep after she’d fled to her room last night so hyped up from the overt sexual chemistry pumping between her and Sebastian she’d had to leave. They’d made the decision to be work acquaintances only and it would be stupid to go back and undo two months of collegiality.

So she’d left.

But separation hadn’t stopped her blood thrumming loudly through her veins all night. It hadn’t stopped her tossing and turning either as she tried to ignore its insistent call. Eventually she’d just had to get out of the damn bed.

‘Hey.’

Callie startled as Sebastian’s voice came from behind her. She turned to check she wasn’t imaging his voice. Nope. There he was in full Technicolor, his jogging gear exposing a lot of his superb, sweaty body. His broad shoulders and bare biceps. And those muscular thighs - the quads lengthening and contracting with each footfall.

Last night in his tuxedo she’d thought she’d never seen him look more magnificent. The dark suit had emphasised the breadth of his shoulders and the lush brilliance of his hair and she’d wanted to reach out and brush non-existent lint off his shoulder just so she could feel all that coiled strength she knew lay beneath the jacket.

He’d looked tall and commanding, a standout in a room full of black tuxedos. Confident and assured, with a touch of arrogance.

Just as he had been on the bridge.

But, jogging Sebastian was pretty damn fine, too.

She turned back to watch where she was going but also because she was afraid she’d start to drool. ‘Hey, yourself.’

He drew level with her and slowed to a walk, pulling the cool morning air into his lungs.

‘I didn’t know you jogged,’ Callie said.

He grimaced. ‘I don’t. Not really. I love it along here, though.’

They walked on for a few moments, their gazes tracking the glide of the rowing boats through the water as Sebastian caught his breath.

‘How’s the headache this morning?’

‘Fine.’ The lie slid easily off her tongue but she didn’t believe for a minute that he believed there’d actually been a headache.

‘I thought you’d still be tucked up in bed, sleeping it off.’

Callie snorted. ‘I couldn’t sleep.’ She regretted the admission instantly. He didn’t need to know that. A smart man like Sebastian could probably join the dots himself.

‘Neither could I.’

She faltered a little at his quiet admission then determinedly picked up the pace. It was that or give into the crazy urge to stop and bury her face against his throat.

‘How long have you known Brent?’ she asked distracting herself from the ridiculous craving.

‘Since uni.’

‘He seems like a real jack-the-lad.’

‘Oh, yeah.’ Sebastian nodded. ‘He wasn’t always, though. He was engaged at twenty to this girl from uni. He was besotted with her, wanted the white picket fence and two-point-four children, the whole catastrophe. She broke his heart.’

‘Twenty?’ Callie’s mind boggled. How could someone know at that age they wanted to spend their entire life with one person?

She looked back to herself at that age. She’d been in the middle of her nursing degree and trying to keep her family together. Life had been chaotic. She couldn’t even begin to fathom being so sure about anything, let alone a happily-ever-after.

But she supposed that’s what normal adults in their twenties did — she’d just never had the luxury.

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