Persuading Spring: A Sexy New Zealand Romance (The Four Seasons Book 4) by Serenity Woods Page A

call it that, even in her head. Aaron was her friend—she’d leave it at
that for a moment.
    They sat, and the waitress handed them a
menu, then left them for a while to make up their minds.
    “Mmm, this all sounds wonderful.” Bridget
scanned the list of fish and seafood dishes. “I think I’ll have a grilled Jalapeno
tuna steak. That sounds amazing.”
    “It does. I’ll have the same. That was
easy.” He smiled, put the menu to one side, and leaned on the table to study
her. “How are you, anyway?”
    She placed her menu on his. “I’m okay. I
get a feeling of unreality every now and again. I’ve been with Mal so long that
I can’t quite believe we’re not together anymore. You know what it’s like when
you’re with someone—your whole life is plotted out ready for you—engagement,
marriage, house, babies… I thought I had it all figured out. Turns out I wasn’t
even close.” She gave a wry twist to her lips.
    His reply was halted by the arrival of the
waitress, so he had to wait until they’d given their orders and she’d moved
away again before he replied.
    “Yeah, been there done that.” He rolled his
eyes. “Life has a way of biting you in the arse just when you think you’ve got
it all sorted.”
    “It does. I suppose we have to see it as a
learning curve. I mean, I wonder if you would have been so sympathetic with me
if you hadn’t been through it yourself?”
    “True. Maybe not. So I wonder what poor
soul you’re supposed to help out with the knowledge you’ve gained from your
experience?”
    She laughed. “I don’t think I’ll be giving
anyone lessons in relationships, unless it’s in what not to do.”
    He frowned. “You speak like you think what
happened is your fault.”
    “Well, I have to bear some of the blame for
being an idiot.”
    “No you don’t, Bridget, and it makes me
angry to hear you say that.”
    She pursed her lips. He had a gleam in his
eye that gave her shivers all the way down to her toes. Ooh. “Well, we
wouldn’t want that, would we?”
    She held his gaze for a long moment, her
heart racing. Gradually, the glint in his eye faded and his lips curved up.
    At that moment, the waitress arrived and
gave them their drinks. Bridget had decided to have something different and had
asked for a cocktail. The Watermelon Coconut Refresher had just the right
amount of tequila and lime, as if they’d managed to squeeze summer into a
glass.
    “It’s so much warmer up here,” she said.
    “I know. We always used to say summer
started on Labour Day. Now, it seems to start and end later, and spring goes on
for a lot longer.” He’d taken off his jacket and shivered, which amused her, as
it felt like an early summer day to her. “So, Hitch wasn’t too happy about you
coming up here. I’m sorry about that.”
    She shrugged. “Sometimes he thinks he’s my
father. It’s nice that he’s worried about me, but he forgets I’m grown up. I
mean, yeah, I make mistakes—huge ones, often—but it is my choice. He has to
learn to let go.”
    “It must be hard for him, though. I
understand that he’s wary about you coming up here. He doesn’t know me, and
he’s going to think the worst.”
    “Mmm. He thinks you’re going to seduce me
and ravage me.” She blinked as his eyes widened. “Sorry, did I say that out
loud?”
    He laughed. “That cocktail must be strong.”
    “I’m sorry.” Exhilaration swept through
her. She was in a place where nobody knew her, and nobody was going to make
judgments about her. No one here knew her past—they had no idea about what had
happened with Mal, and they wouldn’t know or care about her background or what
sort of person she was. She didn’t have to maintain her reputation; she didn’t
have to answer to anyone. If she wanted to, she could take ten lovers over the next
week and nobody would ever know.
    Not that she was planning on doing that.
Having only ever slept with one man, the notion of taking off her clothes