The Seduction Challenge

‘What a great idea.’ Lucy smiled at her son and turned to Tina. ‘Coffee?’

‘As long as I’m not interrupting anything.’ Tina looked at her hopefully and Lucy blushed.

‘You’re not. I—’

‘Shame.’ Tina pulled a face. ‘In that case, I’ll have a coffee.’

Lucy flicked on the kettle and stiffened as she heard the front door click. She reached for two mugs and met Tina’s eyes.

‘Did you have a good night?’

Lucy nodded. ‘The best.’

But now it was over, and she couldn’t even bear to think about it.

Sam wandered off to his bedroom to play with his toys and Tina moved closer, keeping her voice low.

‘Michael and Nick will have Joel’s blood if he hurts you.’

Lucy gave a soft smile. ‘He hasn’t hurt me.’

Joel Whittaker had never been anything but honest with her. If there was hurt to come—which there undoubtedly would be—then it wasn’t his fault. She’d gone into last night with her eyes wide open.

Remembering the way he’d looked at her as they’d made love made her blush, and Tina sighed.

‘It’s so romantic. I just knew you were the one for Joel, right from the first moment.’

Lucy looked at her, startled. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Oh, come on, Lucy!’ Tina’s voice was soft. ‘Since when did Joel go out of his way to be friends with a woman? The answer is never. But he did with you. He feels differently about you.’

Lucy swallowed. ‘You’re wrong.’

Tina frowned. ‘He didn’t say anything to you last night?’

‘No.’

‘What about this morning when you woke up?’

Lucy blushed. ‘You woke us up.’

‘Oh, no!’ Tina pulled an apologetic face. ‘And you haven’t even had time to talk?’

Why was everyone so obsessed with talking? She couldn’t see that there was anything to talk about.

Lucy put her coffee down and dredged up a smile. ‘Look—can we just leave it? Joel hasn’t led me on, Tina. I knew exactly what sort of man he was when I—when—’

‘When you let him make love to you.’ Tina nodded thoughtfully. ‘Well, don’t give up. If he hasn’t said those three little words yet, I’m quite sure he will. I’m sorry I came back when I did.’

After they’d finished their coffee Tina left, leaving Lucy to play with Sam.

But she couldn’t concentrate. All she could think about was Joel and the way he’d made her feel.

Even if she were to never see him again, she knew she could never regret what had happened between them.

How could she?

He’d aroused feelings in her that she hadn’t known she was capable of feeling. To have gone through life never knowing what true love felt like would have been incredibly sad.