Sophie for the first time? Had he been swept away on a tidal wave of passionate longing that I realised only now had been sadly missing from our relationship.
Whatever is was, none of this was my fault. If Ed hadn’t strayed in the first place then I would never have come to Hollisea. I would never have even thought about betraying Ed because … well, because I was happily stuck in a one-man time zone. Besides, I knew I had far too much to lose. Why would I look elsewhere when I had everything I’d ever wanted in Ed?
Sadly Ed had no such qualms and he’d just given in to his base desires. No, I was absolutely blameless in all of this. I was simply a victim of circumstance. Thrown together with a handsome stranger after being rejected by my fiancé, how was any girl expected to act in that situation? That sort of humiliation was enough to send anyone running into the arms of the nearest attentive and gorgeous man.
But when we got to the front steps of the Grand View all I got from Dave was a chaste kiss on the cheek and a squeeze of my hand.
‘Don’t you want to come up … for a coffee?’ I said, trying to hide the note of desperation in my voice.
He gave that low warm chuckle that did funny things to my insides.
‘I’d love to, Perce, but I’ve got a really early start in the morning.’ He stroked his hand across my cheek in a surprisingly tender movement for such a beast of a man. His eyes lingered on mine. ‘Do you want to go to dinner tomorrow tonight instead?’
‘Dinner?’ Aargh, I had a feeling my body might have spontaneously combusted by then. This was not of my doing. I would obviously never have agreed to a date with a strange man in all the time I’d been dating Ed. But he was the one who’d suddenly shifted the goalposts. ‘I’d love to,’ I said with a smile.
‘Good. I’ll pick you at seven, then?’
He kissed me again, lightly on the lips this time, before turning and leaving.
A date with the single most gorgeous man to ever have walked the promenade at Hollisea.
Ha! Take that Ed Fellows!
Chapter Seven
The best part about staying in a swanky hotel, apart from the tea and coffee tray in your room and the free samples of soap, shower gel and shampoo, is the magnificent buffet breakfast.
I’d woken up at six thirty feeling remarkably chirpy for a girl who’s life had disintegrated into a thousand tiny pieces only a couple of days earlier. I suspected that had a lot to do with the Dave factor. Since he’d dropped me back at the hotel last night my head had literally been in a spin as I just couldn’t stop myself from thinking about him.
Did that make me as bad as Ed? That I could be so easily swayed by the attentions of another man. I felt completely overwhelmed by the way he’d made me feel. One moment I’d been in the depths of despair thinking about Ed’s betrayal and the next I been swept up by the idea of being desired by a man who was so entirely different from Ed.
I kept conjuring up images of Dave’s lovely friendly face in my mind and the way his eyes danced all over me when I made him laugh. He made me feel attractive too when Ed had made me feel as desirable as a slice of Christmas pudding on Boxing Day morning. The memory of Dave’s strong firm body was taunting me, too, the way his touch made me feel and the effect his kisses had on my entire body. Honestly, I was finding it difficult to think about anything else at all.
The breakfast menu would have to be the next best thing. I was glad I hadn’t gone for the continental option delivered to the room because although all those croissants and Danish pastries looked absolutely marvellous, it seemed the potential for full-on breakfast gluttony came only from visiting the restaurant. I got down there for about seven thirty and was swiftly ushered to a table overlooking the sea. It was the best way to start the day. I put in my order for a full English and a pot of tea with white toast and wandered over to the
Whatever is was, none of this was my fault. If Ed hadn’t strayed in the first place then I would never have come to Hollisea. I would never have even thought about betraying Ed because … well, because I was happily stuck in a one-man time zone. Besides, I knew I had far too much to lose. Why would I look elsewhere when I had everything I’d ever wanted in Ed?
Sadly Ed had no such qualms and he’d just given in to his base desires. No, I was absolutely blameless in all of this. I was simply a victim of circumstance. Thrown together with a handsome stranger after being rejected by my fiancé, how was any girl expected to act in that situation? That sort of humiliation was enough to send anyone running into the arms of the nearest attentive and gorgeous man.
But when we got to the front steps of the Grand View all I got from Dave was a chaste kiss on the cheek and a squeeze of my hand.
‘Don’t you want to come up … for a coffee?’ I said, trying to hide the note of desperation in my voice.
He gave that low warm chuckle that did funny things to my insides.
‘I’d love to, Perce, but I’ve got a really early start in the morning.’ He stroked his hand across my cheek in a surprisingly tender movement for such a beast of a man. His eyes lingered on mine. ‘Do you want to go to dinner tomorrow tonight instead?’
‘Dinner?’ Aargh, I had a feeling my body might have spontaneously combusted by then. This was not of my doing. I would obviously never have agreed to a date with a strange man in all the time I’d been dating Ed. But he was the one who’d suddenly shifted the goalposts. ‘I’d love to,’ I said with a smile.
‘Good. I’ll pick you at seven, then?’
He kissed me again, lightly on the lips this time, before turning and leaving.
A date with the single most gorgeous man to ever have walked the promenade at Hollisea.
Ha! Take that Ed Fellows!
Chapter Seven
The best part about staying in a swanky hotel, apart from the tea and coffee tray in your room and the free samples of soap, shower gel and shampoo, is the magnificent buffet breakfast.
I’d woken up at six thirty feeling remarkably chirpy for a girl who’s life had disintegrated into a thousand tiny pieces only a couple of days earlier. I suspected that had a lot to do with the Dave factor. Since he’d dropped me back at the hotel last night my head had literally been in a spin as I just couldn’t stop myself from thinking about him.
Did that make me as bad as Ed? That I could be so easily swayed by the attentions of another man. I felt completely overwhelmed by the way he’d made me feel. One moment I’d been in the depths of despair thinking about Ed’s betrayal and the next I been swept up by the idea of being desired by a man who was so entirely different from Ed.
I kept conjuring up images of Dave’s lovely friendly face in my mind and the way his eyes danced all over me when I made him laugh. He made me feel attractive too when Ed had made me feel as desirable as a slice of Christmas pudding on Boxing Day morning. The memory of Dave’s strong firm body was taunting me, too, the way his touch made me feel and the effect his kisses had on my entire body. Honestly, I was finding it difficult to think about anything else at all.
The breakfast menu would have to be the next best thing. I was glad I hadn’t gone for the continental option delivered to the room because although all those croissants and Danish pastries looked absolutely marvellous, it seemed the potential for full-on breakfast gluttony came only from visiting the restaurant. I got down there for about seven thirty and was swiftly ushered to a table overlooking the sea. It was the best way to start the day. I put in my order for a full English and a pot of tea with white toast and wandered over to the
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