Page 36 of Daydreaming at the Boathouse Cafe

But she shook her head. ‘I need to do something exciting,’ she told him.

‘Well, you’re about to open up your very own café, isn’t that exciting enough?’ he asked.

‘Pah! Not really.’ Hannah gave a heavy sigh. ‘Me! Dull Hannah. Always such a goody-goody.’

He had never heard her speak like this before.

‘So what are your plans this evening?’ he asked. ‘Skinny dipping?’

Her hand went up to her bra strap and for a split second, he thought she was going to take it off. At that point, his brain almost short circuited.

‘Skinny dipping? Why not?’ she slurred.

He automatically took a few steps forward with his crutch, anxious that she didn’t venture into the water in her drunken state.

But as he neared her, he realised that Hannah was looking at him with a certain look in her eyes. He’d seen it in a few women over the years, those that he’d dated at the end of a promising evening, perhaps. But never ever in a million years had he dreamt that Hannah would look at him like she was at that moment.

He found himself gulping as she abruptly closed the gap between them, staring up at him with something akin to desire in her eyes.

She shook her head. ‘Not skinny dipping,’ she said, slurring her words as she put her hands on his chest.

He glanced down at them before looking back at her face. He had tried so long to put his feelings for her to one side. Tried so long to ignore the lips which were now dangerously close to his.

‘No?’ he said, his voice still a little croaky.

‘Something better,’ she replied, her eyes gleaming. ‘Something more wicked.’

He took in a sharp breath. ‘You need to go to bed,’ he said.

And so do I, he told himself. Perhaps he was already there and dreaming.

Hannah giggled. ‘You can’t boss me around. I already have a big brother,’ she told him.

‘I don’t want to be your big brother,’ he muttered, his senses reeling from her perfume as she leaned in closer.

‘Good,’ she said. ‘You can be something else instead.’

Then Hannah suddenly lifted her head and closed the gap between them.

As her lips met his, Alex gave a start. When she didn’t move away, he leant back but she followed him and their lips remained together. It took every inch of his self-control not to sweep her into his arms and kiss her back, despite his heart pounding in his chest.

In a reflex moment, his arms twitched and he was brought back down to earth when he realised that he was still holding onto the crutch. What was he doing? He had to be the sensible one now.

Finally, he took her by the arms and pushed her away so that their bodies were no longer touching.

‘Well,’ he began, not knowing what to say.

Hannah had kissed him. Did she know what she was doing? What did this mean for them both?

She stared up at him for a long moment before turning away.

Hoping she wasn’t upset, he followed her before he realised that she was being sick. If that was her reaction to their first ever kiss then perhaps they really didn’t have a future after all, he thought as he went over to help her.

19

Hannah woke up in her bed, wondering why she was wearing only her underwear underneath the covers instead of her usual pyjamas.

When she moved her head, however, she was instantly greeted with a monumental headache and groaned as the hangover swept over her.