Chapter Eight

“And that’s pretty much it, in here at least!” Jon waved airily at the grand space of the main hallway that they were now standing in, having spent the last half hour wandering through the various rooms of the house.

“Pretty much?” Rachel snorted derisively at him, hands on her hips as she gazed in awe at the breathtakingly lavish tapestry that hung from the feature wall facing the main door. At least twenty foot long, its rustic elegance commandeered attention from the moment somebody walked in.

“Jon, I’m speechless, I really am!” She gestured helplessly at him, “I’ve seen some fine houses in my time obviously but this one has just shot to the top of the list!”

Pride radiated from his smile, “Well thank you, I’ve always been proud of it! Now c’mon outside and I’ll show you the rest.”

“More? Oh hell Jon, I think my real estate heart is about to go into cardiac arrest if you show me anymore!”

Jon held the large front door open for her, smirking all the while. “Better get the defibrillator ready in that case, you ain’t seen nothing yet!”

The guest house was the next stop on the tour, luxurious yet intimately decorated with what Rachel noted silently to herself, a definite woman’s touch. Jon had made no mention of his ex-wife in all of the time they had spent together so far and she wasn’t about to broach the subject. There had been some beautifully framed family photographs hanging on the walls around the main house but he had never made a reference to them quickly passing them by. Coming back out into the sunshine, they wandered companionably down a series of wide flagstones set neatly into the manicured lawn to what looked like a relatively modern cottage of sorts.

“So what’s this then?” Rachel took in the carefully trimmed beech hedging decoratively bordering the building’s perimeter before she added sarcastically. “The garden shed?”

Jon chuckled and shook his head, stopping at the plain door to wipe his feet before gesturing to a slightly rusted, quaint cream sign hanging from a wrought iron wall mounting. Rachel raised her brows in surprise as she read the inscribed lettering.

“The Shoe Inn?”

Swinging the door open, Jon stepped back to usher her inside in front of him. “Yep, welcome to the best pub in Jersey!” Slightly ruefully, his grin faded somewhat. “Well it used to be at least.”

Rachel’s trainers squeaked noisily on the hardwood floor as she stepped inside and waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. What she saw next blew her mind, a curved wooden ornate drinks bar complete with overhead glass rack and a ceramic beer tap made her feel for all the world that she had stepped into a real pub. She let her eyes slowly wander around the interior of the building, a broad smile lighting up her face as they came to rest on a fully equipped pool table positioned to her right alongside the front windows. Small armchairs hugged the wall, some slot machines interrupting their spacing but what made her nearly clap her hands with delight was a large jukebox standing invitingly beside the bar.

“Oooooooh!! Does it work?” She looked hopefully at Jon who was thoroughly enjoying himself at watching her excitement.

He arched his eyebrows and with a smirk looked directly into her eyes. “Oh everything works here baby!”

Rachel felt a small frisson of electricity jolt through her body as their eyes connected, his remark loaded with innuendo. She had been offended yesterday when he’d called her ‘baby’ but today she could feel herself blush at the label – and she liked it. 

Unbelievable, what was this man doing to her?

Feeling the heat rise to her cheeks, she quickly dropped her eyes and turned back to gaze appreciatively around the room once more. From the earthy brick fireplace with the antique ceramic whiskey jars sitting on the mantelpiece to the comfortable but worn loungers perfectly placed in front of a widescreen television to take in a game or two the place was authentic looking to say the least.

“You’ve really put a lot of work into this place Jon.” Rachel quietly observed, feeling his eyes practically burn a hole in her back. The atmosphere was charged, she could feel the fine hairs at the back of her neck stand to attention and she involuntarily shivered as she turned to face him.

Jon kept his gaze locked on her for a moment longer before breaking the connection to look almost disconsolately around them. For the briefest of seconds, his handsome face lost the bravado and a sliver of sadness crept into his features.

“Yeah……we picked up a lot of the stuff back in the late nineties and on holidays…..” His voice was soft and nearly melancholy as he wandered across to lean against the bar.

Rachel could almost see him time travel in his mind, undoubtedly going back to a time in his life when his family was intact. Little did he know just how much she could empathise with him on that particular subject. In an attempt to lighten the mood she walked over to examine the robust pool table.

“I take it you’re pretty good at this?” Running her fingers along the polished grain of the pocket inlay she grinned across at him. He blinked at her for a moment, seemingly unable to comprehend what she had just said while he was miles away in distant memories.

“Sorry, good at?”

Rachel patiently tapped the side of the table lightly with the palm of her hand. He really had been somewhere else.

“This! Playing pool!”

“Oh! Nah, well only when I’ve had a few beers. My aim seems to improve dramatically with the influence of alcohol!”

Pushing himself off the bar he had been propping himself up against, he walked over to join her at the table. His warm eyes met hers once more when he stopped mere inches from her side.

“You play?”

Rachel lost herself in the depths of his mesmerising irises, his pupils a dark slit in a swirling ocean of blue. Danger – that was the other bolt of realisation to run through her mind. This man was dangerously attractive and he was pulling her into an entangled trap of emotions.

“Not for years…..” Her response was scarcely audible uttered between barely parted lips. He was so close she could smell the faintest waft of coffee from his warm breath.

“We should play a game sometime…”

Jon let the suggestion hang in the air, his soft stare never faltering from her delicately framed face. Subconsciously holding a breath, he waited for her reply. The earlier dull thud in his head had been replaced by the eager pounding of his heart against his ribcage; he could feel hot blood race around his veins.

“I’d like that…….”

His lips curved upwards in a soft smile at her acceptance, the doe eyed look was back in her eyes. He was winning again and it felt good. Damn good. Slowly he let the fingers of his left hand sit gently atop her right where she was still softly tracing the smooth grain of the wooden table. His fingertips just reached to gently brush the base of her slender wrist, his middle finger slowly caressing the slight bump of her radius bone with the gentle friction sending lightning hot tremors up her arm. Underneath his touch, he felt her freeze.

“I should go. I have some stuff to get ready for work.” Rachel suddenly cleared her throat and took a step backwards, a deep flush spreading across her cheekbones. 

“Maybe we could finish the tour some other time?”

And just like that, Jon’s triumphant pride came crashing down; she was running out on him. It was all he could do to utter a single word as she made for the door.

“Sure.”

Rachel mentally willed her legs to support her, feeling them wobble unsteadily on her route to the exit. She was losing control here, this wasn’t supposed to happen. A million thoughts raced through her brain as every step took her further away from the man who stood motionless beside the pool table where moments before she’d felt a connection so deep it had scared her. Literally.

Reaching the door, she blinked in the bright sunshine that streamed through when she pulled it towards her. Reality slammed into her like a brick wall at the same time. What was she doing?

“Jon?” She swung round to look at him, her pulse hammering between her eardrums deafening any other thoughts that may have been screaming at her. Every muscle and sinew in her body was trembling from his brief touch.

He lifted his head to look straight back at her, his somewhat crestfallen face shadowed by the ever increasing morning stubble.

“I really would like to have that game with you.” A small smile steadied Rachel’s trembling lips, her eyes sparkling with unmistakable desire. “You know where to find me….”

Without waiting for his response she stepped outside, letting the door swing lightly closed behind her. Jon stayed where he was, semi concealed by the shadows when the sun was blocked by the door once more. The darkness couldn’t hide the goofy grin that he let break out after her parting words. He was back in the game, in more ways than one.