Love for Beginners: An Under the Hood Novella by Sally Clements

thought that climbing back into bed might stop him from leaving. There was no doubt in his mind that he wanted Mel, but all day he’d thought about the repercussions of sex with her. She liked him, trusted him. If they went to bed it would only strengthen that bond. But he couldn’t give her what she wanted, what she needed. He couldn’t give her more. In a few weeks, Alice would be back to work and at that point he’d be moving on. She was already screwed up by her father walking away; she didn’t need another man walking out on her. She thought she could control everything—that they could have sex without changing the relationship between them, but she was wrong. Even having this conversation had changed things, had hammered a wedge between them.
    He drank some wine. Leaned back in the chair and tilted his head up to the star-strewn sky. When she’d made her offer, he’d wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her mouth. Had wanted to drag her down onto the soft ferns and make love to her. To show her that in his arms, her clearheaded logic would dissolve and mean nothing. Instead, he’d croaked out “no” and alienated her forever.
    It was the right thing to do. But damn, he regretted it.

Chapter Nine
    Mel woke early the following morning. She climbed out of bed, dressed, and went into the kitchen. Outside, the air was fresh and clean. She perched on the top step, pulled her knees in to her torso, and hugged them tight.
    Last night had been a complete disaster. Heath’s rejection had hit hard, so hard she’d been driven by hurt feelings rather than logic. She’d lain awake for hours after storming out, wondering what was so wrong with her that even the Ladyslayer refused to take her to bed. Eventually, she’d remembered the regret in his eyes.
    Heath had his reasons—he’d told her about Cindy, and she’d told him about her father’s desertion. He’d said she was different from the women he usually bedded, had suspected that she wouldn’t be able to just do it without getting her emotions involved.
    And the way she’d acted…Mel rubbed her hands over her eyes. Well, she’d proved him right, hadn’t she?
    Her stomach growled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since lunchtime the previous day. With a sigh, she stood and walked back into the cabin. Last night’s steak was in the fridge, and a steak sandwich sounded pretty appealing for breakfast.
    …
    Heath woke to the smell of coffee in the air. Mel must be up. For a moment he just lay there, thinking back over the night before. She’d been angry and hurt and he’d warred with himself for hours, wanting to go after her but knowing that it wasn’t the right thing to do.
    He wanted her. She wanted him. But the price for a night of sex was too high. He couldn’t risk her falling in love with him. He groaned. He’d gone about the whole thing clumsily, but the result would be what it needed to be.
    This morning, she probably hated him.
    He climbed out of bed, dressed quickly, and followed the lure of coffee into the kitchen.
    Mel turned from the oven at his approach. “Good morning.” Her back was straight, and a fixed smile was on her face.
    “Hi.” He walked over. A steak sizzled in the frying pan, and she had cut thick slices of bread and arranged them on two plates.
    “I’m making steak sandwiches for breakfast. I’m starving,” she said. “Would you like one?”
    He always woke up hungry. “Sure. Sounds good.” He grabbed a cup from the cupboard and filled it with coffee from the jug perched on the stovetop.
    She took in a deep breath. “I overreacted last night. Can we start again? Pretend last night never happened?”
    Perversely, the fact that she was willing to move on irritated him, but he forced himself to nod in agreement. “That’s probably for the best. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
    “I know.” She turned back, took the steak from the pan, and started to carve it into thin slices. “Let’s eat, then head out to