New Year, New Man. Laura Iding

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      As Sarah sipped her champagne, she wondered if Nick really approved of her view. Maybe he thought her prudish, since he’d always claimed to be a roué.

      But surprisingly, other than that first incident, when he’d pushed her down to her knees, her sexual encounters with him had not been the least bit decadent. Passionate, yes. But not dark.

      On New Year’s Eve he’d been very romantic, something he’d claimed he would never be.

      Sarah held the opinion that people were as good, or as bad, as you let them be. Certainly, that applied to children. She’d discovered during her teaching years so far that if she had high expectations of her pupils they usually lived up to them.

      Especially the so-called bad boys.

      Nick was a bad boy. But he wasn’t bad through and through, no matter what he thought of himself, and no matter what he’d done in the past. Her father had seen his worth. Her dad had also expected a lot of Nick. And Nick had lived up to those expectations.

      Admittedly, he’d lost his way a bit since Ray’s death. Sarah could not deny that he had earned his playboy reputation. Women had been relegated to sex toys in his life for so long that it probably was foolish of her to think he would ever embrace a better way of life. With her.

      Very foolish.

      But love was foolish, wasn’t it?

      Why else was she sitting here, in a seat that had been booked for Chloe? The bottom line was that if Chloe hadn’t made that faux pas on Christmas Day, she’d be the one sitting here today.

      This pessimistic train of thought irritated Sarah to death. Hadn’t she decided last night to be positive, and not negative; to view Nick’s invitation to share a whole month with him as a step towards a real relationship? Hadn’t she vowed to use this time not just to explore the sexual chemistry between them, but also to revive that special bond which had sprung up all those years ago when they’d both been so very lonely?

      She hoped that, besides the sex, they would have deep and meaningful conversations during which Nick would tell her everything about himself, and vice versa.

      ‘You’re not drinking your champagne,’ Nick pointed out.

      Sarah turned a rueful smile his way. ‘It is a little early. I think coffee would have been a better choice.’

      ‘It’s a woman’s privilege to change her mind,’ he said amiably, and pressed the button for service.

      Sarah watched with pride as he gave the stewardess back the champagne and asked for coffee instead. She loved his decisiveness, his ‘can-do’ attitude. Nick was a natural leader, something her father had once commented on.

      Sarah believed he would make a great husband and father. But would Nick ever believe it?

      ‘I have a confession to make,’ he said after the coffee arrived.

      Sarah’s stomach contracted. ‘Nothing that will upset me, I hope.’

      ‘No reason why it should.’

      ‘Out with it, then.’

      ‘I read all your Christmas cards. The ones on your dressing table.’

      Her stomach relaxed. ‘Oh? When?’

      ‘Yesterday. When you were having a shower.’

      ‘And?’

      ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen such glowing words. It’s a privilege to be in the company of the “bestest” teacher in the whole wide world.’

      Sarah laughed. ‘A slight exaggeration. But I am pretty good.’

      ‘And yet you’ve resigned?’