Tangled Vines: An Australian Rural Romance (5 page)

With that he walked off in the other direction, leaving her standing there watching his retreating back—again.

Jordan shook her head as she made her way back to the house. When she’d gone to bed last night she’d never imagined her life would become a rollercoaster ride when she woke up. She had a feeling she was only a quarter of the way through the ride. The next three quarters were going to be full of loops and sharp turns.

Was she ready for all the challenges she was about to face on the rollercoaster?

• • •

Kyle downed the glass of water, wishing it were a shot of whiskey or tequila. Something stronger, that would knock some sense into him. What the hell had he been thinking, asking Jordan out for dinner? His plan had been to avoid her as much as possible. Not spend time with her.

He stalked over to the sink and rinsed the glass under the water. He should’ve phoned Shey back. He’d seen the note Jordan had left for him, letting him know Shey had called. But, as much as he loved Shey like an older sister, the way she’d dealt with Jordan’s contract annoyed him. He had a feeling she deliberately left out the clause about vacating the property.

Now all her comments about him needing to re-evaluate what he wanted out of life started to make sense. In all her female wisdom, Shey had decided he needed to think about something other than work. Have a meaningful relationship. She’d always raised her eyebrows when he arranged to send some flowers to his latest lover, when he ended the liaison. Shey had called him cold and callous on more than one occasion. The description never bothered him. He owned the way he acted. Getting close enough to one single person wasn’t something he planned on doing. He’d barely survived losing his family. Kyle couldn’t imagine what it would be like to lose his wife or child. In a weird way he was glad his parents and sister had all died together. Being left behind to deal with the consequences of his actions suited him.

It really should’ve been him though. He should’ve been the one to die.

The sound of glass breaking penetrated his thoughts. He looked at the remains of the glass in his hand and the red staining the jagged pieces.

“Shit.” He dropped the pieces in the sink and put his hand under the running water.

“Kyle, what did you do?”

He swiveled his head at the sound of Jordan’s voice. “Nothing, it’s okay.”

“It doesn’t look okay,” she continued as she came to stand beside him. “Let me see it.” She took hold of his hand, touching gently around the cut. His body ignited at the softness of her actions. Her hair floated around her shoulders, like a pool of sweet caramel. An irrational need to lower his head so he could inhale the freshness that epitomized Jordan overwhelmed him.

He didn’t like feeling vulnerable, and Jordan made him feel the uncomfortable emotion.

Kyle snatched his hand away from her grasp on a sharp stab of pain. “It’s fine. Just a scratch.”

“Really?” She took a step back and folded her arms across her chest, emphasizing the swell of her breasts hidden beneath the silky fabric of her blouse. “So that’s not a small piece of glass I see in your hand?”

He gazed down at his hand again. Sure enough, her probing of the wound had encouraged a sliver of glass to work its way to the surface of his cut. “Oh.”

“Yes,
oh
. Now do you want some help?”

He didn’t want to admit it, but his hand throbbed in time with his heartbeat. He couldn’t find the balls to pull the piece out on his own. He knew he could do it if it was someone else’s hand. But his?

Nuh uh. He couldn’t watch as his flesh released its purchase on the piece of melted silica. He would swallow his pride, just this once, and accept someone’s help. “Please.”

Jordan’s mouth stretched into a small smile. Damn her for catching on that he didn’t make concessions—until now. “Okay, let’s do this.”

As Jordan reached past him to grab a roll of paper towel off the bench, her light flowery fragrance wafted toward him. He closed his eyes. Never before had he wanted to stand and just inhale the fragrances of a woman. Jordan woke up the parts of him he thought had died along with his family. She was far more dangerous than the women who blatantly went after him at the various functions he attended.

“You’re not going to pass out on me, are you?”

Kyle’s eyes snapped open and meshed with her green ones, eyes filled with worry and concern. Something he’d only ever seen in Shey. No other woman he’d been with had ever been concerned about him or his wellbeing. The thought brought him up short. He had chosen shallow women deliberately. He never wanted them to get close to him. He didn’t need Jordan thinking she was an exception to his type.

“No, I’m not.” He grabbed the paper towel out of her hand and slammed it onto his cut, wincing as he, more than likely, pressed the sliver of glass deeper into his hand.

“Smart move, you’ve—”

“Don’t say it.”

“
Men
,” she exclaimed and turned on her heel and headed out of the kitchen.

“Where are you going?” She wasn’t going to walk out and leave him to deal with this cut himself. Was she?

“I’m going to get some tweezers,” she threw over her shoulder. “Why don’t you sit down and
gently
apply pressure to try to stem the bleeding. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Following Jordan’s instructions, Kyle sat at the kitchen table. He wrapped the paper towel around his cut, the white paper quickly becoming stained with red. Who knew so much blood could come from a small cut? He pressed a little firmer, hoping it worked and the bleeding would stop soon.

The click-click of heels echoed around the quiet kitchen. He bit back the groan of disappointment when he saw Jordan reappear. A plain black t-shirt had replaced the cream silky blouse she wore earlier.

“You changed,” he blurted out.

“Uh, yeah, I didn’t fancy getting blood on my shirt. Especially not a two hundred dollar silk blouse.”

Kyle whistled low. “That’s a lot for a bit of fabric.”

Jordan shrugged her shoulders as she placed various items on the table. “The price of fashion. I only own a few expensive pieces. I like to look after them.” She sat and held out her hand. “Let’s get this glass out. Can I have your hand, please?”

“Seeing as you asked so nicely.” Kyle winked as he held out his hand toward her.

“Ever the charmer.”

“I try.”

Jordan laughed and he joined in, enjoying the moment of lightness between them, knowing the next few minutes weren’t going to be pleasant for him. She picked up an antiseptic wipe and ripped the packet open, pulling out the folded, damp square. Giving it a shake until it was completely unfolded, she began to wipe the cut. “This is going to sting,” she murmured as his hand jerked in hers.

“No shit,” he grunted. “How about a little warning next time?”

“Now where would the fun be in that?” Apparently satisfied she’d cleaned the wound sufficiently, she placed the wipe on the table and reached for the tweezers. He turned away to gaze out the window. Anything to take his mind off what was about to happen next.

God, he hoped he didn’t faint.

• • •

“Did you want to be a doctor?”

Jordan whipped her head up from her scrutiny of his hand at the sound of Kyle’s query. Silence had descended around them the moment she’d picked up the tweezers. “No. Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know. You seem so intense and look like you know what you’re doing.”

Laughing, Jordan gently probed the cut. “Let me just say I’ve had plenty of practice getting splinters out of many a grape picker’s hand.”

“Oh, so you’re a resident first aid specialist.”

“Something like that. Now ssshhh, I need to concentrate.” She looked up and locked eyes with Kyle. As clichéd as it sounded, time stood still. The beating of her heart sounded loud in her ear. The mixture of vulnerability and trust in his eyes held her mesmerized. Unconsciously, her tongue came out and licked her lips. The golden flecks in Kyle’s eyes glowed brightly. He moved his head forward and, as though connected by an invisible thread, hers followed to meet him.

Never in all her time with Don had she been drawn to him like she found herself drawn to Kyle. They’d only met that morning, but she wanted to know more about him. What secrets did he hold in the shadows of his eyes?

Softly, like a feather floating on a spring breeze, his lips brushed hers. They were firm and cool. Angling her head to increase the pressure, she sighed in bliss. As quickly as it started, it finished. Instead of lips touching hers, she had air.

An urge to lay a finger on her lips, to lock the memory of the kiss into them, threatened to overtake her. But she didn’t cave to the temptation.

If she didn’t have hold of Kyle’s hand, he would’ve been up and out of the chair. She could feel him bracing himself to move.

She tightened her hold. “I’m not done yet.”

Focusing her attention back on the weeping wound, she caught the glint of glass and aimed her tweezers at it. Her hands appeared steady. After the kiss they’d just shared, she’d figured her hands would be shaking with enough force to rattle the table. With slow, precise movements Jordan guided the tweezers and on first try gripped the sliver of glass. “Don’t move,” she ordered.

“Not planning to.”

Jordan didn’t know what to make of the comment. Did he mean he enjoyed being with her? Or did he mean he couldn’t move because she had a hold of his hand?

Taking a deep breath, she pulled and the piece of glass slipped out. “There,” she said triumphantly and held the piece up for Kyle to see. “Now, let’s get you cleaned up.”

Kyle’s hand tensed beneath her grasp. “You’re not going to spring a stinging surprise on me again, are you?”

Jordan laughed softly. “Yes, I am. I’m sorry. I have to make sure it’s cleaned. But,” she paused, patting his hand, “if you’re a good boy, you’ll get a lollipop.”

Kyle snorted. “There aren’t any lollipops in the house. Besides,” he angled his head and fixed his gaze on her lips for a moment, “I can think of something sweeter I’d prefer.”

This time Jordan tightened her hand around Kyle’s. The man needed to come with a warning when he started flirting. And she knew he wanted to kiss her again.

She placed Kyle’s hand on the table and picked up another medicated wipe and some antiseptic cream. “Maybe you can get something sweet when we’re out to dinner.”

Kyle gave a non-committal “hmm.” The tension had returned to the room and she had a feeling it was going to be a long dinner.

Kyle took a sip of his wine, surprised he actually enjoyed the mellow red Jordan had suggested would go well with his steak. Who knew grapes like the ones on his property, with so much care and hard work, could turn into something so smooth and flavorful? He couldn’t fathom the thought of putting in the time needed to achieve this final result.

He flexed his hand, wincing at the dull ache. He had expected Jordan to question him on how the glass had broken. He had no plans to explain to her the thoughts that had been flying through his brain moments before he’d broken the glass, yet he was irrationally disappointed when she didn’t even ask.

“Are you enjoying the wine?”

He glanced over at her. The muted light of the restaurant cast a golden glow around Jordan, accentuating the blonde highlights in her hair. The silky fabric shone softly, inviting him to reach out and touch it.

For a woman who worked outside, she had an unexpected softness about her. She could prove to be dangerous to him. Something about her called deep to him, a calling he’d never experienced before.

He didn’t like it.

“Kyle, I asked if you liked the wine.”

“Actually, yes. I am. It goes well with my meal. Just like you said it would.”

“You sound surprised. Did you doubt me when I suggested the Cabernet?”

An edge in her tone made Kyle look up. He’d unintentionally offended her again.

God, women were complicated.

He almost reached across the table to take her hand. Almost. He held back at the last minute. If he did grasp her hand, rub his finger over the softness, she’d see it as an attempt to placate her and that wasn’t his intention at all. Facing the fact he wanted to touch her again wasn’t something he wanted to accept either.

“More surprised at how much I’m enjoying it.”

Jordan’s shoulders relaxed and her lips lifted a little. “You never know. By the end of my stay, beer won’t be your favorite drink anymore.”

Kyle pushed his glass away. “I don’t think so.”

“Time will tell I guess.”

“I’m pretty certain my tastes won’t change that quickly.”

“As I said, we’ll see because,” she paused and nodded toward the glass. “you’re on your second glass of the night.”

Kyle reached out and picked the glass up again, swirling it, admiring the way the light caught the deep red tones of the wine, before placing it back down on the table. “I will admit it’s very smooth. But wine and I don’t get on.”

If it hadn’t been for wine on that December night, perhaps he wouldn’t have awakened to chaos.

“Why is that?” Jordan laughed and he liked the sound of it. “Too many Saturday nights spent getting hammered drinking cheap cask wine?”

“Something like that,” he muttered. He pointed his fork toward Jordan’s plate. “How’s your food?”

“It’s good.”

He thought he heard disappointment in her tone. Like she wanted to continue their wine conversation. He had to admit that, for the last few moments, words had flowed easily between them. Unfortunately, the moment had passed and he couldn’t retrieve it.

He continued eating. The steak had lost a bit of its flavor and he refused to blame it on the fact he’d stopped drinking the wine or because he’d annoyed Jordan.

“Would you like dessert?” he asked after the waiter had cleared their plates and placed dessert menus in front of them.

“No thanks. I’d rather head back to the house. I’ve got an early start in the morning.”

“Sure I can’t tempt you with some?” Kyle looked at the menu. “Double chocolate cheesecake maybe?”

“I’m more a cheese platter type of girl.”