It Was Only a Kiss

Jess lifted her shoulder. ‘I have an idea for the campaign but I need to get a sense of St Sylve as it is now, not how I remember it.’

Luke lifted his eyebrows and looked at her sexy dress and ridiculous heels. ‘You want to walk in those shoes? That dress?’

Jess held out a foot and rotated it. ‘What’s wrong with my shoes? They’re gorgeous.’

‘But totally impractical for walking in—especially on farm roads. Take the path back, Jess.’

He could see her spine stiffening and her chin lifting. ‘Thanks, but I’ll take the circuitous route.’

Luke suppressed his smile at her stubbornness. Within twenty-five metres those spiky heels would be stuck in mud and her stockings would be flecked with dirt.

He gave Jess another up-and-down look and watched for her response. Her expression remained stoic while her eyes heated. He wondered what it would take to get her to lose the mask of sophistication she’d acquired.

He spoke casually. ‘Do you ever think about what we did the last time we met?’

He didn’t need to spell it out...she was a smart girl. Luke watched carefully and saw her composure slip for a fraction of a second, before her lips firmed and her eyes narrowed.

‘No. Do you?’

‘No,’ Luke replied.

My, my, my, Luke thought as she walked away. Look what good liars we’ve become.

* * *

Jess, sitting on a hard seat at the airport, waiting for her flight to be called, looked at her shoes and grimaced. Once black, they were now streaked with reddish-brown mud and, she was certain, were beyond repair. Her stockings were splattered with runny sludge and dirty water. Her feet were aching from negotiating the uneven roads and paths at St Sylve in two-inch spikes and her toes had long since said goodbye to any feeling.

Damn Luke Savage for being right.

Jess felt her mobile vibrate in her hand and squinted down at the screen, where a message was displayed from the Sherwood family group.

John: Just to let you bunch of losers know that I ran 5K today in 24:30. Eat my dust, girls.

Jess had barely finished reading the message when a reply was posted.

Patrick: For an old guy, that’s pretty good. But I run sub 24 routinely.

And they were off...

Chris: Liar! Your last race time was 30 mins plus.

Patrick: I had a stomach bug.

Nick: Prove it, squirt. You run like a girl. Even the Shrimp can take you down!

Patrick: I was sick! And Jess couldn’t catch me with wings strapped to her back...

Jess, being the Shrimp and a girl, took offence at that. She was often faster than Patrick over five kilometres.

Jess: Hey, brainless...name the time and place and be prepared to watch my butt the whole way!

John: What are the stakes?

Jess wrinkled her nose. The last bet she’d lost to her brothers had ended up in her doing Chris’s tax return. Maybe she hadn’t thought this through.

Nick: A weekend cleaning out the monkey enclosure at the rehab centre for the loser.

Chris: Good one!

Eeew, thought Jess.

John: Hand-washing our rugby kit after practice.

Double eeew.

Liza AKA Mom: Now, now, children...play nice. Mommy’s listening. And the loser will replace all the washers on my leaky taps. And they will not pay anyone to do this!

Jess twisted her lips. Unfortunately for her she knew how to wield a monkey wrench and thus would not be excused on account of gender. This was just another instance when she deeply regretted being a tomboy for most of her life.

And, really, when was she going to grow out of this absurd compulsion to prove that she was as big and as strong and as capable as her four older brothers? As a child she’d thought it deeply unfair that she’d been born a girl, and had decided early on that anything they could do she wanted to do better. So she’d studied hard and played harder in an effort to keep up with her siblings...and still always felt that she was on the outside of their ‘brother circle’ looking in. They were good-looking, charming, sporty and successful—a very annoying bunch of over-achievers... She thought that Luke would fit in very well with them.

The bet was madness, Jess thought, frowning at her feet and wondering how to get out of it. And as for her gorgeous shoes...they were history.

THREE

Jess’s thin heels made tiny square marks in the thick carpet of the passage outside the smallest conference room at the hotel where Luke had chosen to view the various campaign presentations. She was scheduled to present last, and was getting more and more nervous. Realising that her hands were slick with perspiration, she hustled off to the closest bathroom to wash her hands and check her face. Again.

She was being ludicrous, she decided, drying her hands for the third time in twenty minutes. Since her contretemps with Luke eight years ago she’d always been nervous before presentations, but no one besides Ally ever knew it. She appeared to be ice-cool and confident, unflappable, but underneath her façade her heart misfired and her brain spluttered.

Jess slicked on another layer of lipstick and smoothed down her scarlet mid-thigh-length jacket. The bottom of her short black pencil skirt just peeked out under the hem, and she wore a black silk polo-neck jersey underneath. With sheer black stockings and knee-high boots, the outfit was dramatic and eye-catching, and not what she’d usually wear to pitch for a job.

But if this was the last time she’d see Luke Savage then she’d damn well make sure that she made a lasting impression.

Ally stuck her head around the door to the Ladies’. ‘Jess, it’s time.’

Jess walked out of the Ladies’ and was grateful for Ally’s steadying hand on her back, unaware that she was biting the inside of her lip. ‘Let’s knock their socks off.’

‘Okay...but maybe you should take a deep breath first...’

‘Why?’ Jess asked, picking up her laptop and boards.

‘Your knees are knocking together.’ Ally reached into her bag and pulled out a small bottle of Rescue Remedy. ‘Open up.’

‘Ally!’ Jess muttered, but she obediently stuck out her tongue as Ally shook the foul-tasting drops into her mouth.

The door behind them opened and Jess’s eyes slid over. She winced as Luke stepped out of the conference room.

‘Hi—’ He stopped suddenly and Jess yanked her tongue in. Could she feel any more stupid?