Page 19 of Prognosis Irreconcilable Differences

CHAPTER FOUR

Nate got home fromthe office with half an hour to spare before dinner. ‘Jacqui?’

Silence greeted him and he frowned. The stillness was ominous, and a trickle of doubt slithered up his spine. Had she bolted? She’d been upset on the beach. Angry. Maybe she’d decided it wasn’t worth the hassle. He wasn’t worth the hassle.

He clenched his fists as the thought undermined his usual unwavering confidence. He needed her. But, more than that, after a few days in her company he was actually looking forward to seeing her again. His day at work had dragged, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so unproductive.

Yes, he’d been fighting a vague sense of disquiet for a while now, the usual thrill of walking into his office at Trent Fertility having been annoyingly absent, but it had never interfered with his productivity. Until now.

All he’d done today was stare at the wall and think about her damn lips.

About that kiss.

And then, after the beach incident, he hadn’t been able to rid himself of the vision of her with a child on her hip. Or the way she had looked at him with her big toffee eyes and told him she’d never wanted a baby with anyone else.

He hadn’t been sure how he was going to be greeted, and his pulse had thudded in anticipation the entire way up in the lift like some teenager on a first date. But he had expected her to still be here.

‘Jacqui?’ he called again.

He moved through the living area, calling her name and checking the deck before ending up in her bedroom. He could hear the shower spray coming from the open en suite bathroom door and, despite knowing he should turn around and leave, his relief that she was still here was so overwhelming it banished all caution.

He sauntered across the room until he was standing in the doorway. The frosted glass of the shower stall gave away no details, just a blur of flesh, but knowing she was here, naked and near, gave him a sense of satisfaction he doubted he’d felt in a long time.

The desire to open the door and join her, take up where he’d left off last night, was surprising in its intensity. It had been a long time since he’d held her naked body, and hearing her splashing around was setting fire to his libido. He grasped the doorjamb to prevent the impulse becoming a reality.

‘Thirty minutes, Jacq.’

Jacqueline’s hands stilled in her hair, shampoo suds streaming down her face. ‘Nathan?’

‘Were you expecting another man to come visit you in the shower?’

Her pulse tripled at the flirty edge to his voice. She was excruciatingly aware that she was naked and wet, and that only a thin panel of glass separated them. She covered her breasts, turning away from the door. ‘Get out of here,’ she spluttered, ducking her head under the shower spray.

‘It’s okay. I can’t see anything much.’

The fact that he could see anything at all had her nipples growing hard beneath her palms. ‘Nate!’

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