Framed by the midday sun pouring through the old windows, he looks almost ethereal. The light emphasises the sharp curve of his jaw and the rough stubble on his skin while making his silhouette seem almost fragile and untouchable. No man should have the effect he has on me, but he does, and I can no longer find the strength or need to fight it.
Instead, I embrace it.
I take a step closer to him without thought, needing to erase a little of the distance I’ve put between us the last half an hour. The clanging and banging and general building noise fades away under his intense gaze, and I happily revel in it. I bask in the knowledge that this man is as affected by me as I am by him.
This thing between us is more.
More than attraction.
More than lust.
So, when he unexpectedly breaks eye contact and, with a hand in his pocket, turns to look out onto the terrace and the seascape beyond, I feel oddly bereft.
“I, uh…” He clears his throat, the hand in his pocket coming up to run through his hair. “I was hoping you could help me with that.” When he turns, his eyes finding mine once more, I see uncertainty in his gaze.
“I’m not sure how much help I can be, but if you need to run your ideas by me, and use some of my local knowledge, sure. That’s no problem at all.”
“No, that’s not—” His hand grips the back of his neck and squeezes, then once more slides into his pocket as he shifts from foot to foot. “I mean, yes. That would be great, but I meant more than that.”
I find myself shaking my head, my shoulders rising in confusion.
“I don’t understand what you’re asking, Macs. I’m not a hospitality expert if that’s what you’re planning here. I’m a man who’s recently dragged a small, local pub out of the gutter. My help could be worthless.”
“You could never be worthless.”
“That’s not what I said.” I can’t help the small smile that curves my mouth. His defence of me seems to have calmed his nerves and set off something warm in my belly. “I just don’t want you to think I’ll have any worthwhile information, that’s all.”
“I want you to run this place for me.” His words come out so fast and direct, it takes a second to process them. When I do, my brain, like my heart, seems to skip a beat.
“I’m sorry?” I can feel furrows carving deep grooves in my brow. “I don’t understand what you just said.”
“You, Ell.” He takes a step forward, his hand sweeping out to indicate the space all around us. “I want you to take over this place for me. Which is partly why I invited you here today. I’d like your input from the start. I want things put in place how you think they should be.”
“You’re crazy.” The words splutter from my lips on an incredulous laugh. “Or I’m hearing things. You want me to run this place?”
“Yes.” He nods firmly. “You’re the perfect person to take this on. If anyone can make it something special, it’s you.”
“Then, you are crazy.” I turn my back to him, my head tilting back to look at the cracked and cobwebbed ceiling. “But, then again,” I mutter. “What did I expect from a man who bought this place on a feeling?”
When I turn around and face him once more, he’s calm, less anxious, and dare I say looks determined.
“This place brought me to you, Ell. What’s crazy about me wanting you to have a part in it?”
“Everything, Macsen. I have a job, one that takes up far too much of my life as it is.”
“Safe Harbour has a great team in place. They could handle it for you, no problem at all.”
“What if I don’t want them to handle it?”
“Then tell me no. Tell me you don’t want to work on this with me. I’d respect that decision. But just think about it, Ell. Think about leaving your mark here. Think about how great this place could be. Think about how exciting it would be to have a hand in her revival.”
I don’t know where the thought comes from, but suddenly everything seems to become clear.
“Are you planning on leaving soon? Is that it? Do you want me involved so you can leave Lily Bay and go back to what you were doing before? Maybe come back on weekends and fuck around a little with your top employee?”
“No, that’s not—”
“Are you leaving, Macs? It’s an easy question.”
He steps forward, his hand reaching for me.
“I’m not planning on going anywhere for a while.”
“Then why do you want me to do this?”
His fingers land on the arm I have instinctively folded across my chest, pulling it away from my body, and running along the length of it until he can take my hand in his.
“Because”—his voice is soft and low, his words only for me even though there’s nobody else here to listen— “I told you. I bought this place for you, Ellis. Who else would I want to do this with?”
He tugs me forward until he’s close enough to run his other hand over my jaw and around my neck, and adds, “Besides, you’re perfect for this place. Much like I was meant to buy it, you were meant to bring her back to life.”
I close my eyes at the feel of his touch and try to make sense of his words, searching for all the things he’s not saying because I can feel him holding back again.
“I’ll think about it.”
I can hear the smile in his voice when he replies, “That’s all I ask, Ell. No need to give me an answer right now.”
He steps in close, the heat from his body drawing mine to him, and when I finally open my eyes, his are cataloguing my features.
“Would it be too much to ask if you could have dinner with Rex and me tonight? I’d love you to get to know him.”
His fingers trace the curve of my jaw to my ear, then down my neck and around to my nape, feathering through the ends of my hair.
I don’t want to answer. I want to kiss him. The need to do just that is so compelling, I’m forced to close the distance between us.
My lips hover over his, barely touching, but wanting to more than taking my next inhale.
“I can’t take another night off, Macs,” I quietly admit. “It’s not fair on the kitchen staff or Iris.”
“I understand that. Maybe you could have a drink with us later? Once the place quietens.”
The sensation of his breath and the feather-light tickle of his skin against mine send shockwaves of electricity all over my body, starting at my lips and ending in my groin.
“Yeah, that should work.”
“Good.”
“Good.”
“Are you going to kiss me now or should I say good again?”
And just like that, Macsen’s crazy ideas about me running Lily Bay Manor, my worries about him leaving or holding information from me, and everything else around us, don’t matter anymore.
All that matters is him.
His taste.
His touch.
The feel of him in my arms.
Anything else is inconsequential.
And so, I kiss him with everything that I am, until he is boneless and breathless.
“Come on,” he pants against my mouth when we finally break for air. “I’ll take you home.”
He says it like it’s his home, too, and that empty hole inside me shrinks a little more.