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We both fall silent while a million questions hang in the air between us.

I can see in her eyes that she wants to ask about my regrets just as badly as I want to know about hers.

I might have suggested one date after this, but I’ve certainly not signed up for all the feelings and shit, so I force my mouth to stay shut, no matter how much I want to get to know what she’s hiding.

It’s two hours later when I finish off the drifting seeds and write names into three of them.

“Who’s this for?” I ask, although I’m not sure it’s a really good idea. If she wanted to talk, surely she’d have offered up the information?

“My parents and my sister. They were killed a few years ago.”

“Fuck. I’m sorry.”

She shrugs. “It is what it is. Nothing I can do about it now.”

“Ain’t that the fucking truth,” I say, thinking of the people who I’ve lost that had a hand in my move over here. “What doesn’t break us only makes us stronger.”

“Jesus, you’re all about the one-liners today, huh?”

“Can’t help myself. That one I kinda believe in, though.”

“Me too. So now what?”

I blow out a breath, thinking of what I’d really like to do with her laid out here before me. “I can show you, and then we wrap it and go for dinner.”

I push my kit to the side and hold my hand out to help her up.

The sight of her in her underwear threatens to floor me, just like it did when she first pulled her dress off.

“Over here.” I pull her to stand in front of the mirror and grab another to hold behind her.

“Oh my God,” she gasps when she gets her first look at her ink.

“It’ll look better once your skin settles.” Where she’s naturally so pale, the redness around the ink looks extra angry right now.

“It’s incredible, Corey. Thank you.”

Lowering the mirror, I give in to my need to touch her. I step up behind her and place my hand on her waist, meeting her eyes in the mirror. They’re full with tears, but delight sparkles within them.

“Is it what you imagined?”

“No.” My heart drops that it’s not what she wanted. “It’s better.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Thank you so much. And it wasn’t as scary as I thought it might be.”

“I’ve got magic fingers. That’s why.” She chuckles but soon stops when I move them across her belly.

“Corey,” she half-warns, half-moans.

“Do you have any idea how sexy you are?”

“On the verge of tears with a raw back? I’m sure I’m anything but sexy.”

“That’s where you’re very, very wrong.” My fingers drop to the edge of her lace knickers, and her eyes narrow. “Last night wasn’t enough,” I whisper in her ear, edging my fingers lower.

“Corey,” Her voice is barely a whisper, so the last thing I expect is for her hand to wrap around my forearm to stop me.

“H-how much do I owe you?”

The question damn near gives me whiplash.

“Uh … n-nothing.”

“You’re not doing it for free.”

“You can buy dinner.”

Taking a step back and turning into the room, I put some space between us. By the time I look back at her, she’s holding her dress against her front, seemingly shy all of a sudden.

“Let me wrap that and you can get dressed.”

“Your artwork is stunning,” she muses as I work. “I’m assuming you’ve drawn all this?”

“Yep, all mine.”

“Have you always been an artist?”

“No, actually. I was in the army. I only got into this because of a friend. He used to spend all his time drawing when we were on tour together. I loved art in school but never really thought about it as a career. He gave me one of his sketchbooks and I’ve never looked back.”

I focus on wrapping her up and not thinking back to those times. They only make my chest ache with loss.

“Okay, you’re good. Let me tidy up and we can head out.”

“You’ve got no more clients today?”

“Nope, just one earlier before you showed up.”

“Brooke gave me this address,” she admits. “I’m assuming she knew you’d be here.”

“For someone who apparently wanted me, she’s doing a good job of pushing us together.”

“She’s a good friend.”

“So, you’re admitting that she’s doing the right thing?”

She blows out a breath. “I have no idea. She wants me to …”

She trails off like she’s not going to explain, and I can’t help prompting her. “To …”

“Live, be happy, take some risks.”

“And I do all of those things?”

“You can certainly help. I’m the only one holding me back.”

“Why?”

She pauses as I put my last few bits away. When I look up, I find her hovering by the door, chewing on her bottom lip, deep in thought.

“I—” she starts, but I cut her off.

“You don’t have to tell me. I was just being nosey. Shall we …” I gesture to the door at her back and follow her out.

Snake is back at the reception desk, faffing around with something, when we emerge.

“Was he gentle with you, sweetheart?”

“The perfect gentleman.”

I think about how I almost had my fingers between her legs and smile to myself.

“I’m glad. You happy with the result?”

“It’s perfect. Thank you for your help earlier.”

Snake nods at Harlow before turning and winking at me.

“I’m done for the day. See you in a few?”

“Sure thing, man. Enjoy.”

I wait until the door shuts behind us before wrapping my arm around Harlow’s waist and pulling her into my side. I drop my lips to her ear, and she shudders at my closeness.

“I’m not sure I’ve ever been described as a perfect gentleman before.”

“I was just being polite.”

I bark out a laugh. “I was going to say—if what happened in there was me being a gentleman, I’d hate to know how other men treat you.” She tenses in my arm, and I panic. “I … uh … didn’t mean …” I’m not entirely sure what I’m going to say, but thankfully, she cuts me off.

“It’s okay. And you were a gentleman. Mostly. Where are we going exactly?”

“Do you have a car?”

“Yes.”

“Fancy a drive?”

“Sure.”

She leads me to a silver Audi, but instead of going for the driver’s side, she opts for the passenger door.

“You can drive, right?” she asks when I hesitate.

“Yeah, of course. I just wasn’t expecting to.”

“Well, you know where we’re going.” She shrugs and drops down into the seat.

“What if I’m a terrible driver?”

“Only time will tell.”

I rev the engine and back out of the space.

I navigate us out of town before pulling onto the freeway and gunning it.

“Holy shit,” she squeals, her fingers wrapping around the edge of the seat, her nails digging into the leather.

I put the windows down and breathe in the fresh ocean air as we head towards the shore and bark out a laugh. I’ve been dying to do this since I arrived, but it’s kinda hard without a vehicle.

I feel her stare. It burns into the side of my face, but I keep my eyes on the road, not wanting to kill us both before we’ve managed this date.

“What?” I ask when her attention stays on me.

“Nothing. Just watching you enjoying yourself.”

I fill my lungs with air once more and appreciate everything I’ve got here.

So what, I can’t afford this month’s—or last month’s—rent?

I’ve got a perfectly good studio to sleep in.

It’ll get better once Mum and my sisters are sorted.

I’m meant to be here. It feels more like home than London, or England, for that matter, has done in a very long time.

“You like seafood?”

“Love it.”

“Good. I know the most incredible place.”

I turn her radio up—not because I don’t want to talk, but because I want to relax and enjoy the moment. I’m not sure I’m going to feel this free again for some time, so I need to make the most of it.