Two Against the Odds by Joan Kilby Page B

this come from?” she asked, taking the bottle and glasses from him so he could climb up.
    â€œI bought it yesterday and stuck it in the back of your fridge.” He placed the pillow so she could lean against it and popped the cork, spilling the foaming liquid into the flutes.
    Lexie raised her glass. “To living for pleasure.”
    â€œI’ll drink to that,” Rafe said, and they clinked. He glanced around at the fence blocking the viewfrom the street, the high hedge separating her yard from her neighbors, and the studio and tall gum trees at the back of the lot, bordering the creek. “Do you make love out here often?”
    â€œFirst time.” She sipped the bubbly wine. “But I’ve always wanted to.”
    He leaned down to kiss her, the taste of champagne on his tongue. She shivered and he pulled back, taking her glass and the bottle and wedging them between the springs. Then he lay down beside her and drew her to him in a long searching kiss. Their bodies moved together. Springs creaking, the cool rubber mat of the trampoline bounced lightly beneath their weight as they shifted positions.
    She laughed with the strangeness of it and he rolled her suddenly, chuckling as their odd mattress sprang back and her eyes widened. Then he stilled and the trampoline dipped in the center forcing them closer. Rafe’s arms went around her, his legs twined with hers. She could feel him hard and pulsing against the moist warm silk of her lingerie. Her blood began to throb.
    He eased out of the kiss, his lips a whisper away from hers. His long lashes were individual spikes of black as his eyes met hers. “I’m twenty-six years old. I just wondered if you knew.”
    Twenty-six.
    He was even younger than she’d thought. She was nearly forty. He was just a baby.
    â€œHow would I?” She gave a breathy laugh and ran a finger over the rasp of dark stubble on his chin. “Do you…know how old I am?”
    â€œI saw your birth date on one of your documents.” A second later, he added, “You look amazing.”
    For your age. Lexie rolled onto her back. She should congratulate herself on attracting a hot young guy. Small recompense.
    â€œI’m really robbing the cradle, aren’t I?”
    â€œI like to think I’m a grown man.”
    â€œYou’re not worried because I caught the bouquet, are you?” Lexie asked suddenly. “Everyone seems to think I want to get married but it doesn’t mean I do. It doesn’t mean I think you’re the one.”
    â€œNo, that would be crazy. We hardly know each other. We’re so…different.” He gazed up at the moon. “By noon tomorrow I’ll have finished tabulating the raw data. In the afternoon I’ll prepare a tax assessment for you. Tomorrow evening I’ll leave Summerside and finish the audit at the office next week.”
    Studying his long forehead and straight nose in profile she felt a pang of regret…envy…for how young and handsome he was.
    â€œSo, one more night together.” She pressed against him. “How are we going to make the most of it?”
    Rafe inserted a finger under the flat silk strap of her chemise and slid it down her bare arm. He kissed the spot on her shoulder where it had been,then trailed more kisses down her breast. “I’ve got some ideas….”
    Lexie pushed aside the regret she wasn’t supposed to be feeling and moved into his arms. “I’ll just bet you do.”
    Â 
    R AFE WOKE at dawn and slipped out of Lexie’s rumpled bed, leaving her to sleep. He tiptoed down the hall and dressed in the living room. Murphy rose from his makeshift bed of an old blanket, tail wagging, ready for anything.
    â€œCome on, Murph. Let’s go fishing. This is probably our last chance.”
    Rafe walked down the quiet road toward the sea, listening to the birds waking, watching the sky gradually lighten. He stopped