Page 52 of Washed Up

‘Something like that,’ he said, biting his lip.

‘That…’ her voice stuttered in time with her heart.

‘In fact, I know how long to the exact day,’ he said after a second. ‘I fell for you the moment I stepped off the boat that first day on the job.’

Frankie tried to cast her mind back, but it was hazy.

‘I don’t… there was a lot of you, all at once.’ And there had been. Only a few of the oyster fishermen came back year on year depending on quotas, but that year, there had been a boon. A boat full of young, athletic men and a few salty old sea dogs arriving in the harbour had caused quite a stir among the ladies of Herm. That, she remembered.

‘You and Sally were sitting on the harbour wall,’ he said, as if reading her mind. ‘You had on these little denim shorts and a floaty top and you gave me this smile as the boat pulled in… I’ll never forget that smile.’

‘I think we were just delighted to see some actual men in real life,’ she said, almost shyly. ‘My mum enjoyed that day especially.’

‘I do seem to remember your mum practically pushing all the other women out of the way to get to us,’ he said with a chuckle. ‘She’s a force to be reckoned with.’

‘That’s one way to put it,’ said Frankie. ‘I can’t believe you remembered me.’

Jake took a sip of his pint, which had been sitting, untouched, before him.

‘Like I said, you were pretty unforgettable. You are pretty unforgettable.’ His eyes dropped to her mouth, making her belly flip.

‘I…’

‘You don’t have to say anything,’ he said softly. ‘I get to be your friend and that’s enough for me. That has to be enough. But…’

‘But…?’

‘But if you ever want to get back at that dickhead musician, I am available.’

Frankie laughed lightly, grateful to him for breaking the tension but also strangely turned on. He was making jokes with his mouth but the look on his face… he was serious. Partially, at least. She gazed at him, her brain on a go-slow just when she needed it to extricate her from this situation. ‘I wouldn’t want to take advantage, Jake. I’m not a user.’

‘I know that. You wouldn’t be. It’s not using if someone is complicit. Willing, even.’

She reached up a hand and touched his cheek. His skin was soft beneath her touch. ‘You’re sweet.’

‘Ouch. Just what every guy wants to hear.’

‘Sorry. I meant it in a good way.’

He laughed, dropping his gaze to the table. ‘Don’t worry. I know that secretly means you think I’m both sweet and devastatingly sexy all at the same time. It’s a killer combination.’

She giggled. He sidled closer to her. ‘We could get back at him right now… if you wanted.’

She hesitated, bit her lip, shuffled on the bench. It was enough. He slid out from the table and stood up in one easy movement, as if he’d been poised to run all that time.

‘You know where I am if you change your mind,’ he said, and then he was gone, his nearly full pint still fogged with condensation.

Frankie put both hands on the table and took four deep, slow breaths, trying desperately to quiet her hammering heart.

That, she had not been expecting today.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Jake had a crush on her. What the actual hell? How could bloody Dylan be right about everything?

If she was being honest with herself, she had suspected it once or twice over the years, not that she’d ever been arrogant enough to admit it. There had been a couple of occasions when Jake had looked at her a little too long, or he’d been the only one in a room to laugh at her lame jokes, but she’d never really analysed it. As Frankie made her way back to the Manor, she thought about how he’d made her feel in the pub, how her heart had beat faster when he’d moved so close, how her belly had fizzed and popped when he looked at her mouth like he was going to kiss her. What would it be like to kiss Jake? He was practically like family, almost – but still, he was handsome. She could appreciate handsome. And hell, she thought, the two gin and tonics making her reckless, he’d be a good person to practice on.

With.