Midwives On Call: From Babies To Bride. Kate Hardy

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СКАЧАТЬ she said, smiling up at him. ‘You have a great day.’

      ‘Oh …’ Aiden’s glance went over the top of her head, straight to Sophia’s. ‘I already am.’

      The woman turned her head and her smile widened. Her gaze told Sophia exactly how lucky she was. Then she winked and disappeared into the shop. The smell of something hot and delicious wafted out as the door swung shut.

      ‘Hungry?’

      ‘Starving.’ Sophia took a step towards the door but Aiden shook his head.

      ‘Bit crowded in there. I’ve got a better idea.’

      He took her across the road to the fish-and-chip shop. A short time later, they were walking down the hill and away from the shops. Aiden held the big white paper parcel in one hand and Sophia’s hand in the other. He led her across the railway lines and onto a track that took them to a grassy spot with a view through the trees to the water. The meal was still hot and absolutely delicious. A woman walked past on the track with a dog and then a whole family with a toddler in a pushchair and a small child on a bike, but nobody came to share their patch of grass or even looked their way. It felt as if they were almost invisible.

      ‘This is perfect.’ Sophia licked salt off her fingers as she looked away from the pelicans and swans gliding peacefully on water still enough to mimic glass.

      ‘Mmm. I find it pays to put some effort into planning date number two.’ Aiden turned away from the view with a smile.

      ‘One of the rules? I’ll—um—have to remember that.’

      Not that she was likely to remember anything other than the look in Aiden’s eyes that she could already recognise as the intention to kiss her. She barely even noticed the colourful cloud of parakeets landing on the fig tree that was shading them as Aiden leaned towards her.

      The cloak of invisibility was still around them but Sophia would have forgotten about the rest of the world anyway as soon as Aiden’s lips touched hers. Or maybe it was the moment she felt things change as the intensity kicked up several notches. Aiden’s hand cradled her head as he pushed her back to lie on the grass. Their tongues danced, the pang of lingering salt a delicious foil to the sweetness of escalating desire. She felt the touch of Aiden’s fingers beneath the hem of her shirt, a trail of fire on the delicate skin of her belly, and the heat when it reached her breast was enough to make her gasp into his mouth.

      He pulled away with a groan.

      ‘You make me forget where I am,’ he murmured.

      ‘You’re on date number two,’ Sophia whispered back. ‘I think it’s okay to get distracted. Isn’t it?’ she added, feeling her eyes widen.

      ‘Yes, but there’s a time and place for everything. And this probably isn’t the place for what I’m thinking about right now.’

      Sophia’s inward breath was audibly ragged as she sat up. She’d been thinking along similar lines and she certainly hadn’t wanted him to stop. Anybody could have seen them. Like that woman with her dog, who was coming down the track towards them again, presumably on the homeward stretch of their walk. The dog—a very cute miniature schnauzer—ran towards them and the woman called it back with an apologetic smile.

      ‘I doubt there’s enough time anyway.’ There was a wicked edge to Aiden’s smile as the woman disappeared along the track. ‘It’ll get cold around here when the sun goes down.’

      He wanted a whole night with her? The thought made Sophia’s toes curl. But this was a daytime date.

      Oh, help … What if there was a rule about not going any further until date number three? What if this three-dates business was just a build-up for a one-night stand?

      Hard not to believe that it would be worth waiting for, if that was the case.

      ‘We have options,’ Aiden added. ‘You get to choose.’

      ‘Oh?’ Maybe one of those options included going somewhere really private. Sophia grinned. ‘Fire away. I like choosing.’

      ‘Option one: we could take the ferry over to Sorrento to get dessert. There’s a shop there that has the best vanilla slices in the world and we might get to see some dolphins on the way.’

      Sophia nodded thoughtfully. He really had planned this date carefully. Or—the thought sent a chill down her spine—was this a standard number-two date?

      ‘Option two is a swim. The water is probably arctic but it’s warm enough to dry off on the beach and, by then, it’ll be about time to head home.’

      Home? To his place? After getting almost naked and lying in the sun for a while? It wasn’t hard to make a choice.

      ‘It would be a shame to come to the seaside and not have a swim.’

      ‘I knew you were brave.’ The kiss was swift but sweet. ‘Let’s go.’

      The walk made the day seem even warmer and by the time they went down the sandy stairs to the endless white beach with a misty lighthouse far away, they were more than ready to pull off their clothes and brave the curl of the surf. The beach was a popular place to be but most people were sunbathing. Some sat in beach chairs, reading, and others were having picnics or playing ball games. There were children paddling and building sandcastles but there were very few people swimming.

      And no wonder. The first splash of water was cold enough to make Sophia shriek but Aiden simply laughed and dived through the next wave. She jumped up and down as she went further out, getting more of her body wet each time, and suddenly it wasn’t so bad. And then Aiden surfaced right beside her and his smile made her aware of the silky caress of the sea water over her entire body.

      ‘This is gorgeous,’ she called over the sound of the waves. ‘I love it.’

      ‘I knew you would,’ he called back. ‘You’re my kind of girl.’

      They couldn’t stay in the water for long and they were both shivering as they towelled themselves dry but then they lay on their towels on the soft sand and there was enough warmth in the sun for the chill to ebb slowly away.

      For the longest time, they lay there, absorbing the warmth. Side by side on their backs, saying nothing. And then Sophia felt the brush of Aiden’s fingers and his hand curl itself around hers.

      ‘I really like you, Sophia.’

      ‘I really like you, too, Aiden.’ Sophia’s eyes were still closed and her smile grew slowly. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this happy. Even the noises around them—the roll of the waves and the shouting of children enjoying themselves—only added to this feeling of contentment. ‘I think this has been the best second date I’ve ever been on.’

      Aiden tightened his grip on Sophia’s hand. This was by far the best second date he’d ever been on as well. The only thing wrong with it was that it would have to end soon. They were almost dry and they needed to get dressed again because the heat of the day would start dropping rapidly before long. They had a long ride to get back to the city as well and by then it would be evening. They both had an early start for work tomorrow but did that really mean that it had to be over? Sophia believed that he’d planned this whole date after they’d agreed to go to a beach. She СКАЧАТЬ