“Shit, did I say that out loud?” Kelly hadn’t meant to, she’d rather talk about Lucy than herself, and in all honesty, she didn’t want to answer the question.

Hoping to dodge a bullet, Kelly returned fire. “What about you, do you like the sea? New Plymouth has some lovely beaches, right?”

One thing Kelly had discovered about Lucy was that six months ago, she’d relocated from New Plymouth to Palmerston North, for work.

“The beaches are gorgeous. I miss building sandcastles with my nieces and nephews.”

How many were there, four or five? “Remind me again how many you have?”

“Five.” A warm smile spread across Lucy’s face. “My eldest brother has two boys and a girl, and my younger brother, or should I say the middle child, has a boy and a girl. My parent’s spoil the kids rotten.”

“I’ll bet.” Kelly smiled, happy to hear about Lucy’s family, to see her eyes light up when she talked about them.

“Now it’s your turn to answer my question, Kelly.”

Shit.

So much for deflecting.

A knot formed in Kelly’s stomach as she searched for the right words, the right tone, light and breezy or regretful? On one hand she regretted what happened, but on the other, how could she when it led to where she was? Well on her way to falling head over heels in love.

“It was the day after Paula’s party.” She flipped down the sun visor.

“Which one?” Lucy asked nonchalantly. “I mean which party.”

Kelly wiped her sweaty palms on her dress. She really didn’t want to spell it out. Shame washed over her every time she thought about her actions that night.

When Kelly took too long to reply, Lucy glanced in her direction.

Taking one look at Kelly’s unsmiling face, Lucy mouthed, “Oh, that party.”

Finding her voice, Kelly replied, “Yeah, that party. I was a wreck, I didn’t know what to do. I needed to think. The sea helps clear my mind, so I headed straight for the nearest beach, Himatangi.”

“You, Ms cool, calm, and collected, were distraught? Colour me surprised.”

Unsure how to respond, Kelly turned the tables. “What did you do the next day?”

“Masturbated.” Lucy shrugged like it was a no-brainer.

Unbidden, and totally against her will, a dull ache throbbed between Kelly’s legs. Knowing she hadn’t left someone scarred for life, quite the opposite according to Lucy’s declaration, made Kelly giddy with relief.

“I had nightmares about you, well I didn’t know it was you, trying to erase me from your mind, to scrub my scent off you.”

“Oh, Kel.” Lucy’s words were heartfelt. “I’m so sorry. If only I’d had the strength to stop you, but no I just gave in to the moment…”

No, no, no, no no, no!