Page 29 of Wild About You

Jamie stopped fiddling with the dishwasher and turned a pair of flinty eyes full on my face. Unblinking eyes, full of such energy that his gaze startled me into temporary sobriety.

‘I’m overstepping the line,’ I said. ‘Sozzo, as Tally would say.’

A faint smiled softened his hard features. ‘How do you know what good countess material is?’ he said.

We stared at each other.

‘I don’t,’ I said.

‘You don’t?’ he said softly.

‘I mean…’ Why was I not breathing? I definitely wasn’t breathing. ‘At a guess…’

He held my gaze, not moving, but it was as though the space between us was charged with tension. I saw his lips part, saw him take a breath. ‘Yes, Anna?’

‘Hey, you two.’ Callum crashed into the doorframe, followed by a barking Hugo. ‘Are you running us down the road, Jamie? If you drop us at the end of Anna’s lane, I can walk her home then saunter to mine.’

Jamie stared at the floor for a moment. I tried to catch my breath. ‘That’s quite a walk for you, Cal,’ said Jamie.

‘I need it,’ said Callum, laughing. He pulled me towards him and gave me a squeeze. I was still trying to process what Jamie had meant and made no attempt to resist being enveloped in Callum’s bubblegum-scented atmosphere.

‘Are you okay with that, Anna?’ said Jamie.

‘Absolutely,’ I said, hardly hearing him.

‘Excellent,’ he said, and slammed the dishwasher shut.

Jamie was as good as his word, and dropped us at the end of my lane.

‘Goodnight, thanks so much,’ I said to him.

He glanced at me. ‘Goodnight,’ he said. ‘Be good.’

I was still frowning at this gnomic pronouncement as Callum helped me out. Jamie took off, wheels spinning on gravel, and within moments his Land Rover was a distant roar in the deep silence of the country night.

We walked down to my cottage. The evening had been strange, but not unpleasant, even if I wasn’t quite on top of all the feelings it had brought up. I was relieved I hadn’t put Callum off entirely. The sky was an inky blue black, scattered with stars. It was so beautiful, so romantic. As I stood on the front step of the cottage, looking at Callum, things should have been simple.

Ask him in, Anna. Have a bit of fun, Anna. It’s no big deal. This moment was so textbook it was practically one of the action points in my ‘getting over the past’ journal, although I hadn’t explicitly addedhave a flingas a bullet point. But I found I was frozen. As Callum stood, faintly smiling at me, I could say nothing.

‘Penny for them?’ he said softly, stroking the side of my neck.

I gave a nervous laugh. ‘Sorry. I’m a bit out of practice.’

He leaned in gently, and brushed my lips with his own. Luckily, I managed not to headbutt him. One kiss, then another, gentle, and kind, and soft, and for a moment I relaxed. But when his tongue gently dipped between my lips I froze again, my chest tightening as though a vice had closed over it.

‘Anna?’ he said, leaning back and looking into my face.

‘Sorry, so sorry,’ I said. ‘I can’t ask you in. Not tonight.’

If he was disappointed, he didn’t show it. ‘Hey, it’s alright! Don’t worry.’ He put his arms around me and I buried my face in his lovely broad chest. He stroked my hair and I felt the urge to weep. Here I was, attempting to have my first one-night stand, to get over Sean, and I was acting like a girl who’d never been kissed, never mind…

‘Look, I’ll see you tomorrow.’ He kissed me on the forehead. Bad, very bad. The forehead, like I was his niece and he’d just picked me up from school.

‘Night,’ I said.

As soon as the door closed behind me, I messaged Rose.

Just had first kiss with bit of yeah.

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