“Will’s on the platform this week. You know she wouldn’t ask unless she was desperate. Do it for me,” she implored, stroking his cheek. “Please.”

He let out a groan, swung his legs onto the floor and grabbed his boxers. “Just for the record, Libs, I’m getting tired of being Jess’s Mr. Fixit. We’re giving her a tool kit and DIY classes for her birthday.”

Libby laughed, knowing he wasn’t serious, just a tad testy because of the timing and the wet weather. Nick loved his community and prided himself on being helpful. The widowed Italian nonnas in town adored it when he arrived on their doorstep with his tool kit. Once, one of the tech-savvy oldies posted a photo of a bare-chested Nick digging out her septic on the town’s Facebook page. She’d tagged it #ifonlyIwasthirtyyearsyounger. Nick didn’t have the heart to ask her to take it down and the blokes at the coast guard had ribbed him about it for weeks.

Libby scrambled to her knees and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Thank you for being such a wonderful man. I’ll be right here waiting with my grateful thanks.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” He gazed down at her, his face softening. “Love you, bella.”

“Love you too.”

The headlights of Nick’s car swept into Jess’s living room, casting shadows on the walls, and then the light faded along with the throb of the diesel engine. Jess was surprised she’d heard the noise over the clamor of the rain, which didn’t seem to be letting up. According to the weather bureau, Bairnsdale and Kurnai Bay were being hammered by a once-in-fifty-years storm. Luckily, she lived on a hill—the low lands would be flooding.

Despite the tumult and the racket Jess had made finding buckets, Leo was sleeping soundly. Even so, she didn’t want to risk Nick ringing the bell and waking him so the moment she heard Nick’s familiar tread on the veranda, she opened the front door.

“Hi.”

“Seriously, Jess? Tonight?”

She forgave Nick his hostile greeting. Despite the short distance from the car, the man was wet through and rain droplets clung to his hair and eyelashes. “Come in before you get any wetter.”

Kicking off his boots, he stepped inside and accepted a towel, burying his face in it before dragging it over his head. When he looked up he visibly startled. She glanced down at her rather boring dressing gown. It was identical to Libby’s—her friend had bought two and given her one. Jess rarely wore it as it really wasn’t her style, but she’d pulled it on to cover the berry-colored silk and lace negligee.