‘I don’t know. I just thought—you seem very tense all of a sudden. I thought maybe you needed some space.’ She took a deep breath. ‘If you want to talk to someone, you can talk to me.’
Ryan turned his head in astonishment and she bit her lip, her smile faltering.
‘I know, I know—men don’t like to talk about their problems. But you’ve listened to me often enough over the past month—I just want you to know that the friendship works both ways.’
‘Friendship?’ He realised that he was looking at her mouth again, and the strange thing was he didn’t need to look. He’d memorised everything about it, from the way her lips curved to the soft pink colour. ‘Is that what we have?’
‘Of course. I mean, I hope so. You’ve certainly been a friend to me since I arrived here.’
He stared down into her eyes and something shimmered between them. Something powerful. So powerful that if they hadn’t been standing in the middle of a crowded beach with the entire population of Glenmore watching he would have kissed her again.
Unsettled by his own feelings, Ryan shifted his gaze back to the sea. ‘I don’t have any problems.’ His tone was rougher than he’d intended and he heard her sigh.
‘You’ve known me long enough to kiss me, Ryan,’ she said quietly. ‘Hopefully you’ve also known me long enough to trust me.’
He was about to say that it was nothing to do with trust, but he was too late. She was already walking ahead, her hair tumbling down her back, sand dusting her toes.
Wondering whether he’d hurt her feelings, Ryan followed her to the water’s edge, relieved when she smiled at him.
Clearly Jenna Richards didn’t sulk. Nor did she bear grudges.
Fraser and Lexi were either side of
Kirsty, holding her hands and swinging her over the waves while she squealed with delight. All of them were laughing.
Ryan was about to speak when he caught the wistful expression on Jenna’s face. Her eyes were on Kirsty, and she had that look on her face that women sometimes had when they stared into prams.
He wondered again why she’d only had one child when she was clearly a born mother. Patient, caring, and unfailingly loving.
Pain shafted through him like a lightning bolt and he watched as she lifted her skirt slightly and tentatively allowed the waves to lick her feet. With a soft gasp of shock she jumped back, her eyes shining with laughter as she looked at him.
‘It’s freezing! Forget swimming. I’ll definitely turn to ice and drown if I go in there!’
Forcing aside his dark thoughts, Ryan strode into the waves. ‘No way are you using that pathetic excuse.’ He took her hand and pulled her deeper. ‘You get used to it after a while.’
‘After losing how many limbs to frostbite?’ Still holding his hand, she lifted her skirt above her knees with her free hand. ‘I’m not going to get used to this. I’m losing all sensation in my feet.’
‘What are you complaining about?’ He tightened his grip on her hand. ‘This is a warm evening on Glenmore.’
‘The evening may be warm, but someone has forgotten to tell the sea it’s summer. My feet are aching they’re so cold.’ Her laughter was infectious, and Ryan found that he was laughing, too.
Laughing with a woman. That was something he hadn’t done for a long time.
He intercepted Lexi’s shocked stare and his laughter faded. She glanced between him and her mother, suspicion in her eyes.
Jenna was still laughing as she picked her way through the waves, apparently unaware of her daughter’s frozen features.
‘We wouldn’t be doing this in London, would we, Lex?’
‘Pull your skirt down, Mum,’ Lexi hissed, and Ryan watched as Jenna suddenly went from being natural to self-conscious. The colour flooded into her cheeks and she released the skirt. Instantly the hem trailed in the water. Flustered, she lifted it again.
‘Lexi, watch me, watch me—’ Kirsty bounced in the water, but Lexi stepped closer to her mother and dumped the child in Jenna’s arms.
‘Here you are, Mum. You take her. You’re good with kids. Probably because you’re old and motherly.’
Ryan was about to laugh at the joke when he realised that no one was laughing.
Old and motherly?