by Sarah Morgan
‘Calm down, Arch! You’re like a kangaroo, and it’s in Louisa’s garden, but I think that’s right next to the beach.’ Much as she was looking forward to the day, all she really wanted to do was sleep, Kat thought as she stuffed sun hats and cream into a brightly coloured shoulder bag.
She felt totally exhausted.
For the first time for as long as she could remember, she wasn’t sleeping well. During the day—apart from the X-ray incident, which she was trying valiantly to forget—she managed to keep her thoughts pretty much under control. But the moment she slid between the sheets it was an entirely different matter. Her mind took on a life of its own. It didn’t help whether her eyes were open or closed, the vision was still the same. Josh, with no shirt on. Josh, his bronzed skin gleaming under the sun, his muscles flexed as he worked on the boat, his hair gleaming, glossy black.
Josh, Josh, Josh. He crowded her thoughts until her body was so heated and shivery that no amount of night air could cool her down. She’d tried sleeping with the window open and the window closed. She’d counted sheep and every other animal she could think of. She’d reminded herself that she didn’t date men. That she wasn’t interested in men. Nothing worked. Her head was still full of Josh and she was exhausted.
Maybe she needed to work harder, she thought grimly as she zipped the bag and slung it over her shoulder. She obviously just wasn’t tired enough. If she exhausted herself physically, then she’d stop thinking about sex and sleep.
It wasn’t as if she was even that interested in sex!
Well, today she was going to run on the beach and swim in the sea and make sure that she was so physically worn out that not sleeping just wouldn’t be an option.
She’d followed Louisa’s instructions and had dressed casually in a pair of denim shorts teamed with her favourite cream strap top. ‘Your job, Archie O’Brien, is to keep an eye on that dog,’ she said sternly. ‘Make sure he doesn’t eat everyone’s lunch.’
Archie grinned at the prospect. ‘Will Josh be there?’
Kat froze in the middle of slipping her feet into a pair of flat sandals. The possibility hadn’t even occurred to her. Why hadn’t it occurred to her? ‘I don’t know.’
Oh, help—she sincerely hoped not. She was trying to put him out of her mind. She closed her eyes briefly. Please, no, she thought. Not Josh…not today.
And then she remembered that he was working. He’d generously given her the weekend off to be with Archie, but he himself had worked yesterday and she knew he was down for today as well.
Having convinced herself that there was no way he could possibly be at Louisa’s, she had a shock when she walked into the garden and he was the first person she saw.
Stripped to the waist again, a bottle of beer in his hand, he was chatting to a tall, dark-haired man who Kat remembered vaguely from that first day on the beach and presumed to be his brother.
Josh noticed her arrive and broke off in mid-sentence, his blue eyes fixed on hers for endless seconds. Then his gaze slid slowly down her body, lingering on every curve.
‘Put your tongue away, Josh,’ his brother suggested helpfully. ‘It’s hanging out.’ He stepped forward and held out a hand, his smile friendly. ‘I’m Mac Sullivan. You must be Kat. Good to meet you. I apologise for my brother. Manners and subtlety have never been part of his make-up but I expect you must know that by now.’
Kat took his hand, immediately remembering their encounter on the beach. ‘Hello again. This is Archie.’ Suddenly overwhelmed by the presence of so many adults, Archie shrank against her, his fingers clutching her shorts.
Josh dropped to his haunches and smiled at him. ‘Well, if it isn’t my little boat friend. You did a great job the other morning. That section you helped me with…’ He shook his head in disbelief. ‘It’s better than the rest. You must have a really good technique.’
Distracted, Archie let go of Kat’s shorts. ‘Are you a pirate?’
Josh threw back his head and laughed aloud. ‘Do I look like a pirate?’
Yes, Kat thought helplessly, her eyes drawn to the strong column of his throat, the dark stubble on his jaw and those wicked blue eyes. You look exactly like a pirate.
‘It’s just that there’s a picture of a pirate who looks just like you at my summer camp,’ Archie said solemnly, his eyes fixed on Josh’s face. ‘He’s standing on the deck of his ship and he looks really cool.’
Mac groaned. ‘Don’t tell my brother he looks cool.’
‘Why not?’ Josh arched an eyebrow in his brother’s direction. ‘I am cool. Seriously cool. Not that I expect you to know anything about that. You’re heading for fatherhood and a people carrier faster than a guy can say “duck”.’ He winked at Archie. ‘I’m not a pirate, but I love the sea so maybe I should have been one. Do you like the sea?’
‘More than anything.’
Kat felt her heart twist as she looked at her son. She really, really had to arrange for him to go sailing.
‘Josh?’ Archie sounded breathless, his little voice full of hope. ‘If I can get my mum to say yes, can I help you with the boat again?’
Josh looked at him, a thoughtful expression on his handsome face. ‘You know how to get your mum to say yes to things?’
A smile flickered across the little boy’s face and he nodded. ‘Mostly.’
‘Is that a fact?’ Josh glanced at Kat, a wicked gleam in his blue eyes. ‘Well, then, I know who to come to for tuition in that direction. Yes, Archie.’ His gaze returned to the boy. ‘If your mum agrees…’ he shrugged carelessly ‘…then, yes, you can help me with the boat again.’
Torn between gratitude that he’d made her son feel at home and anxiety about potentially seeing more of him, Kat found herself at a loss for words. He made her feel breathless and shaky and aware of every single feminine part of herself. ‘Well…’ She flushed slightly and brushed strands of her long hair out of her eyes. ‘I don’t—’
‘Good.’ Josh straightened, his eyes fixed on her hair. Then he sucked in a breath and smiled. ‘That’s settled, then.’ He dragged his gaze back to Archie. ‘I’m guessing you’re too young for beer, am I right?’
Archie grinned with delight. ‘I’m six years old. What do you think?’
‘Archie!’ Kat’s tone was sharp and she looked at her son in shock. ‘Manners!’
‘Stupid of me.’ Josh nodded and his eyes slid over the boy. ‘Of course you’re too young. It’s just that you look so grown up.’ He rubbed the dark stubble on his chin, his expression serious. ‘So what do kids of your age drink these days? Educate me.’ He glanced towards the cool box, which was filled to the brim with ice and bottles of beer. ‘I think there’s cola in there or you could try Louisa’s lemonade. It’s good. She makes it herself and everything she makes is pretty good.’
‘I like lemonade.’
‘Lemonade it is, then. Good choice.’ Josh strolled over to the cool box and pulled out a bottle. ‘Kat? What about you?’
She wished he was wearing more than just a pair of shorts. His upper body was bronzed and powerfully built and he had muscles in every place a man should have muscles. There was no getting away from it. Josh Sullivan had an amazing body and she was finding it harder and harder to look away.
‘I’ll have lemonade, too, please.’ Maybe if she drank enough, it would cool her down. She wasn’t used to thinking like this. She wasn’t used to feeling like this. She—
‘Here.’ He pressed a chilled glass into her hand. ‘Hot, isn’t it?’
Something in his tone made her lift her gaze to his and she was instantly trapped. ‘It’s summer,’ she croaked, and he gave a slow smile that was more than a little ironic.
‘I wasn’t talking about the weather, Kat.’
Instinctively she looked for Archie but he’d taken his lemonade and was now at the other side of the garden with Hopeful and Louisa, entirely at home and comfortable.
‘He’s fine.’ Josh knocked the top off a cold beer. ‘Stop hiding behind
your child.’
‘I’m not hiding.’
‘Yes, you are.’
Her fingers tightened on the glass. ‘Why would I be hiding?’
‘I’m asking myself the same question.’ He took a step closer to her, a wicked, sexy gleam in his blue eyes. ‘And I’m coming up with all sorts of interesting answers, Kat. You look good, by the way. In fact you look amazing. Just as good as you did in your nightdress, and that is really saying something. I ought to tell you that I thoroughly approve of what you wear in bed.’
She felt her cheeks heat. So he had noticed. ‘I—You—I woke up and found Archie missing.’ She brushed her hair out of her eyes, thoroughly flustered. ‘I didn’t even think about what I was wearing.’
‘I know.’ The smile in his eyes faded, to be replaced by something more serious. ‘All you thought about was Archie, wasn’t it?’
‘I love him.’
‘He’s a lucky boy.’
Was he? Kat glanced across to her son who was rolling on the grass with the dog, helpless with laughter and thoroughly enjoying himself. ‘I try to give him a good life, but it’s hard not to worry.’
‘Because you’re a single parent?’
She gave a wry smile and blew a strand of hair away from her face. ‘Actually, I’d probably worry even if I was married,’ she confessed. ‘Worry is my middle name.’
‘Because you’re a devoted mother.’ Josh raised his beer to his lips and drank. ‘Is his father on the scene?’
She shook her head. ‘No.’ She kept her tone light even though just thinking about Archie’s father was enough to turn bright sunshine to darkness. ‘He didn’t want the responsibility.’
And although she’d long since recovered from the hurt, her heart still ached for Archie. He should have had a father who cared. Who wanted to be with him.
‘So you handle it all on your own.’ Josh looked at her keenly. ‘That must be tough.’
‘Actually, sometimes I think it’s a lot easier than dealing with a grown-up relationship,’ Kat said wearily, taking a sip of her lemonade. ‘His father was far more work than Archie ever is. He’s a really, really good boy and very good company.’
Josh glanced across at Archie. ‘Why does he always wear his clothes inside out?’
Kat laughed. ‘Because he insists on dressing himself every morning and he hasn’t got the hang of which way the labels go. I’m not allowed to help. He’s fiercely independent.’
‘I wonder who he gets that from?’ There was no missing the irony in his tone, and Kat smiled.
‘I admit it, he has my genes. But I’m pleased about that. There’s nothing wrong with being independent. And he and I have such a good time together.’
‘Yes.’ Josh looked at Archie. ‘He has a very entertaining line in conversation. Surprising, really.’
She lifted an eyebrow. ‘You don’t like children much, do you, Dr Sullivan?’
‘I admit to very little personal experience in that area,’ Josh drawled, and Kat’s gaze slid to Louisa’s bump.
‘But all that is about to change.’
‘Yes.’ Josh lifted the bottle to his lips and drank again. ‘I’m about to become an uncle for the first time. I’m hoping someone will buy me a manual. I know something about the general components, having worked at the hospital, and I could definitely do an emergency repair job if needed, but anything else is going to be beyond me.’
In spite of herself, Kat laughed and felt herself start to relax. No matter how wary he made her feel, she liked his sense of humour. ‘Well, Archie certainly likes you.’
‘Because, apparently, I look like a pirate,’ Josh reminded her with a glitter in his eyes, ‘and I own a boat.’
She swallowed. ‘Thank you for making him feel at home.’
‘He’s a nice boy.’ Josh turned to look at her and the tension in the air suddenly rose several notches. ‘I know I’m in danger of repeating myself,’ he said softly, ‘but you really do look fantastic.’
She coloured and looked down at herself, suddenly self-conscious. ‘It’s just a pair of shorts.’
He laughed. ‘I wasn’t talking about your clothes.’ His voice was a sexy drawl and his smile was all male. ‘I was talking about you. You’ve gone very pink. You’re not used to receiving compliments, are you? Why’s that? You must know you’re incredibly beautiful.’
She stared at him and swallowed hard. ‘I don’t—I mean, I’m not…’
Beautiful? He thought she was beautiful? Her heart took off like a dog after a cat and she made a wild grab at her sanity. This man probably seduced women on a daily basis. She wasn’t going to fall for his patter. ‘Is that one of your lines?’ She sounded breathless and he threw back his head and laughed.
‘Ouch. You have a suspicious nature, Katriona O’Brien, do you know that?’ There was a lazy, sexy look in his blue eyes that made her stomach roll over.
‘Don’t, Josh.’
‘Don’t what?’
‘Don’t look at me like that!’
‘Why? Because of Archie?’
‘Because of Archie, yes.’ She looked away but it made no difference. She felt his gaze on her. Felt the powerful chemistry pulse between them and spread her hands in a helpless gesture. ‘We both know it wouldn’t work.’
His eyes dropped to her mouth and lingered. ‘I think it would work very well.’
‘No, it wouldn’t! I have a child and you—’ she broke off and bit her lip.
‘I what?’ His gaze lifted to hers. ‘I what, Kat?’
She sighed. ‘We have different priorities, Josh, and you have to know enough about me by now to know that I would never do anything that might hurt Archie.’
Actually, at that precise moment she wasn’t sure that their priorities were that different, but she wasn’t about to share that thought with him.
If she put some distance between them and filled her mind with something else, then she could get herself back under control, she knew she could. As long as she didn’t look at him. As long as he put a shirt on. And maybe he should shave, too. There was something wickedly attractive about his roughened jaw.
Pirate.
Thoroughly flustered, she took several steps backwards. ‘I’m not looking for a relationship, Josh.’ She felt breathless and lightheaded under his searching gaze.
‘You may not have been looking,’ he murmured, raising the bottle of beer to his lips again, ‘but I have a feeling you might have just found one, angel.’
His soft endearment made her breath hitch in her throat and she took another step backwards. ‘I’m going to help Louisa with the barbecue.’ Without giving him a chance to answer, she turned and virtually sprinted across the grass to where Louisa was carefully laying pieces of chicken on the barbecue.
‘This is my secret recipe for barbecue chicken.’ She cast a smile in Kat’s direction. ‘It’s quite spicy. I hope you like it. Are you all right? Your face is pink. Maybe you should wear a hat.’
Kat lifted a hand to her cheek, relieved that Louisa hadn’t sensed the tense atmosphere between her and Josh. ‘It is a little warm.’ But she knew that if she was pink it had nothing to do with the heat of the August sunshine and everything to do with the way Josh made her feel.
Like a woman.
Like an attractive woman.
And she wasn’t used to feeling that way. She bit her lip and passed Louisa a plate. She was used to feeling like a doctor. She was used to feeling like a mother. But she wasn’t used to feeling like a woman.
‘You’ve got time for a swim if you want one.’ Louisa placed more chicken on the barbecue and Archie came sprinting up to them.
‘Can we swim, Mum? Please? I’m boiled and so is Hopeful.’
The prospect of swimming had seemed very appealing when she’d woken that morning and seen the sunshine. But that had been before she’d discovered that Josh was present. Wherever she went she was aware of his gaze lingering on her, and her body was rapidly reaching boiling point. What was
the matter with her? she wondered desperately. She never thought about sex and suddenly she could think about nothing else. It was just because she’d denied herself for so long, she reasoned, determined to apply logic to the situation. She just needed something to take her mind off Josh, and who better to do that than her son?
She smiled at him. ‘All right, let’s go swimming.’
Cold water. Lots of it. And physical activity. Surely that had to be a good thing.
Archie gave a whoop of excitement and immediately struggled out of his shorts and T-shirt, dropping them with careless abandon on the grass.
Louisa smiled indulgently. ‘He’s gorgeous, Kat, you’re so lucky. Josh…’ She waved a spatula at her brother-in-law. ‘Go with them and do your lifeguard bit. They should avoid that area round the rocks. The currents are deadly.’
Kat glanced at her in dismay. She didn’t want Josh to go with them. It was the last thing she wanted. ‘We’ll be fine, honestly, we don’t need—’
‘Josh will go with you,’ Louisa said firmly. ‘We don’t want any accidents. I’m not as nimble as I used to be.’
Everyone laughed and suddenly Kat remembered what Josh had said about Louisa interfering and matchmaking. Was she up to something? She looked at the other woman suspiciously but Louisa was concentrating hard on turning the chicken, her expression innocent.
Kat relaxed. Of course Louisa wasn’t up to anything. She was just a naturally kind, caring woman. She obviously hadn’t sensed the chemistry between Kat and Josh and therefore hadn’t recognised that Kat was trying to put distance between them.
And Josh was already wearing a pair of surf shorts so he’d clearly intended to swim at some point during the day.
Horribly self-conscious, Kat stripped down to the emerald green swimsuit she was wearing under her shorts. He saw millions of women on the beach every day, she reminded herself, gritting her teeth and telling herself not to be so ridiculous. If she ignored him, he’d soon lose interest.
And then her life could get back to normal.
She could forget about Josh.
They could work together as colleagues and nothing more.