Page 143 of In at the Deep End

For the first time all week, it became difficult to remember why he’d been trying so hard to keep his distance. In the past few days he’d convinced himself what had happened in the office had changed nothing. That waking up in Owen’s arms had simply been… waking up in Owen’s arms.

Yet here Owen was, planning a weekend away, booking a room before he’d even asked…

Wanting two whole days with him.

Eric’s words drifted back into his mind.

Maybe he will.

Matt closed his eyes for the briefest moment.

Don’t.

Don’t build castles out of a ferry booking.

Owen had always been generous with his time. Perhaps this was just another example of that.

Even so, the knot that had been sitting in Matt’s chest all week eased a little.

It was impossible not to smile.

Owen’s face lit up. “I’d like to show you the island. It was always a very special place for me.”

Matt held his gaze.

Owen wasn’t talking about beaches or ferry rides, but about somewhere that mattered. Somewhere he’d loved for years.

A place he wanted Matt to see.

Matt took a deep breath. “I’d love to go.”

Owen beamed. “Excellent.”

He closed the laptop. “What time do you want me to be ready?”

If Owen had suggested leaving that very minute, Matt wasn’t sure he’d have objected.

“We’re booked on the 08.00 ferry, and we need to be there half an hour before, so I’ll pick you up at 6.45.” Owen grinned. “I’ll have a travel mug filled with coffee for you.”

He laughed, and that knot in his chest all but dissolved. “I’ll be ready.”

He still didn’t know where any of this was leading.

He decided not to care.

The first few miles were terrifying.

Owen didn’t speed, but everything happened so much closer on a bike than it did in a car. The hedgerows seemed almost within touching distance, the road narrower than it had looked from behind a windscreen, every bend arriving quicker than Matt expected.

“Relax.” Owen’s voice crackled through the headset. “You’re fighting the bike.”

“I’m trying not to die.”

Owen laughed. “That’s usually my job.”

Matt loosened his grip on Owen’s hips by sheer force of will, and the machine answered immediately, feeling steadier beneath him.

“Oh.”