Page 16 of One Weekend in Perth

The moment she had her back turned, he jumped out of bed and grabbed the trousers he had on last night, while thinking about walking in on his parents when he’d been ten and they’d been getting busy, hoping that the memory would reduce his hard-on.

It worked and, by the time she turned around, his pants were done up and he was only semi-erect. He took the menu from her and opened it. “What’s your fancy?”

“Not sure, but I’ve got a better idea. Why don’t you shower and we go out to one of the cafés around here for breakfast? I’m sure it’s going to be far cheaper than room service.” The words tumbled over each other, so unusual for Clara. She didn’t speak nervously, usually. Her gaze kept darting to the unkempt bed.

“Sure. I can be ready in a few minutes.” At least around other people he wouldn’t be tempted to kiss her.

“Great.”

They stood there for a few awkward seconds before he collected up the duffle Reed had brought him and made his way to the bathroom.

Today was going to be the start of the new version of Clara and Ben. He just hoped Clara was on board with it.

Chapter 8

“What doyou want to do now?” Ben asked as he placed his silverware on the plate. The action shouldn’t be sexy at all, but his long fingers mesmerized Clara, and she imagined them trailing up her leg, beneath the hem of her short dress and teasing her.

She squeezed her thighs together in an attempt to soothe the ache but it didn’t work.

What is wrong with me? I spend one night sleeping beside him and now I can’t stop thinking about sex with Ben!

Focus on the question. Not on what I can’t have.

Clara mentally schooled her thoughts. “I’m not sure. We can take a walk around Elizabeth Quay. Or catch a bus up to Kings Park and walk around there. Or go home.”

The last thing on her list was the thing she wanted to do the least. She didn’t want to go home where she would stare at the four walls of her house, wishing for things she couldn’t have.

“Do you have to check out of the hotel? I didn’t think to ask when we left.”

“I booked for the whole weekend. I check out on Monday.” Clara ducked her head, letting her hair cover her cheekswhich she was sure were flashing red. Her body’s reaction was irrational. She had nothing to be embarrassed about. It didn’t matter what she did with her money, and if she wanted to splurge and spend the weekend in a hotel, then she could.

“You booked it for the whole weekend?” Ben asked.

Clara lifted her chin. “I did.”

“Nice.” Ben nodded slowly in appreciation. “Got to spoil yourself every now and then. Will you go to work from there on Monday?”

Finally, they were having a conversation that wasn’t awkward. Until this moment, their chatter through eating their food was stilted with long pauses in between.

“I’ve actually got the week off.” Because Clara hadn’t known how she would react to seeing Ben getting married, she’d decided she was going to take the week off after the event. She’d planned to use the time to regroup and get her shit together so that no one at work would know her heart had been broken.

Now she didn’t have to worry about that. Or did she? There was a definite vibe growing between them, and if she wasn’t careful she could end up with her heart being shattered into thousands of irrecoverable pieces.

“Did you have anything special planned?” Ben leaned forward as if he couldn’t wait to hear what she had to say.

“Not really, I was just going to use the time to relax. Work has been hectic with me doing a lot of flying in and out from various mine sites.”

“I’ve now got to fill in three weeks.”

Of course, Ben would’ve taken time off to go on his honeymoon. She didn’t know where he and Fern planned to go. She hadn’t asked and hadn’t wanted to know. Now she did. “What about the honeymoon? Will you still go?”

Ben shrugged and drained the rest of his juice. “Probably not. Fern wanted to go to Bora Bora, but I vetoed that because itwas too expensive, so we compromised and settled on Fiji. I’m guessing she’ll go with her lover.”

Clara studied Ben looking for any indication that the idea of Fern being with someone else hurt him, but there wasn’t a hint of anything on his face to suggest that. He looked as relaxed as he had when she’d asked the question. “You really are okay with how things turned out with you and Fern, aren’t you?”

“I am.” He leaned forward, looking at her intently, and she couldn’t help herself, she copied him. “I said it to you last night. I know now I wasn’t in love with her the way I should’ve been. It would’ve been a disaster if we got married. We would’ve been lucky to last a year. Two at the most. As much as it hurt seeing Fern with that other guy, and hearing what she had to say, it saved both of us a lot of pain.”

“I’m glad you’re content with the outcome.” She still wasn’t going to allow herself to hope that something could develop between them. “What did you think of my suggestion of things we could do?” she asked, deciding a change of subject was needed.

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